That is my impression too. Both Cavalry and Hounds seem to be directly linked to the Loudoun One project as a whole. However, that is exactly what is NOT happening there.
Sorry, I hate to be cynical, but this situation has Lehigh Valley Steam/Lehigh Valley Multi-Purpose Sport Complex/LV Black Diamonds/Thomas X. Flaherty written all over it. It is creepy how it is the same scenario, just 15 years later. History does repeat itself.
The LV Steam was a team in the A-League in 1999. They had planned to share a new stadium with an independent baseball team, the LV Black Diamonds. Thomas X. Flaherty was the "mastermind" behind the operation. Well, money dried up after much shady dealings with the non-profit he was a board member of. The construction site was half finished and sat there until it was finally demolished many years later. Meanwhile, the Steam only played the one year due to not having a home and the stadium situation fell apart. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lehigh_Valley_Steam http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lehigh_Valley_Multi-Purpose_Sport_Complex http://articles.philly.com/2000-10-...anaccio-northwestern-funds-armand-della-porta http://blog.pennlive.com/lehighvalley/2008/04/field_of_dreams_and_recurring.html
Many well-meaning people have done this over the years, unknowingly. Else there would be no frauds, because frauds kind of depend on well-intentioned people who miss obvious signs. I do not believe this rises (yet) to the level of fraud, which involves a deliberate attempt to deceive. Like I always say with regards to officiating, never confuse ineptitude with corruption. I know it seems to some of you like we're living in a golden age now, where no franchise that comes down the pike can do anything but fart rainbows, but we're still susceptible to the occasional franchise that just doesn't have the money or the talent or the vision or the wherewithal to be a disaster. Maybe this is the one. Maybe they come back from it, I don't know. But someone who seems reasonable and capable aligning themselves with something doesn't always give it the stamp of approval that means they're in the clear. Sometimes it just doesn't work out. David's Lehigh Valley Steam reference (which I think I made not long ago, too) is worth paying attention to. If you didn't know that story, you should. (BTW, they were coached by Daryl Shore. And they weren't a terrible team, if memory serves. I actually talked to their GM about a gig there when they were in startup, and the first conversation I had with him after I had sent him all my information made it sound like he wanted me to come there the following month and get started. Then the next conversation, it was like we never had the first conversation. At that point, my BS detector went off, and, as it turned out, that was a good thing.)
bringing back old management... http://www.soccerwire.com/news/club...arent-company-brings-back-former-ceo/?loc=psw
So...the old guy is the new guy. I wonder how well that will work out. Maybe things will turn out differently this time...
Simpson talks a bit more about the situation... http://www.soccerwire.com/news/leag...cavalry-fc-respond-to-soccerwire-com/?loc=psw
Am I mis-remembering that they were all this time supposedly owned by the same people who owned the baseball team?
I always thought they were together: One Loundon, Hounds and Cavalry. I thought they were three partnering groups, not one thing, but all committed with one another.
I think the onwership group has been restructured based on this latest release and they just don't want to admit it. That or this was some funky partnership agreement where VIP was the operator for separate owners and that's being unwound. Sounds like these guys are trying to salvage this thing though I'm not sure it's the right market to begin with.
Obviously VIP Sports is one organization and Entertainment is another. I'm out of jokes. I'm actively trying to give a shit about this team despite the location, name and every other shitty mistake they make.
UPDATE ON VIP’S FINANCING OPTIONS April 7, 2014 Goal remains to fund ballpark construction without public monies I hadn't seen this official statement posted anywhere so here it is...
http://www.startribune.com/sports/blogs/258473661.html He also sounded confident that Virginia, so recently pushed back, would see the field as well. “We’ll have some announcements pretty soon,” he said. “I was there last week, and we’ve reorganized the ownership group; they’re just finalizing some things there. We expect when we get to the [league-wide] June board meeting to be back on board and moving full speed ahead. There’s actually a lot of exciting things happening there that will come out over time when they get finalized.” The surprise is that, despite the problems with Virginia and Oklahoma City, the commissioner seemed confident that both would be on the field next season. “Both Virginia and Oklahoma City we’re still looking at 2015, “ he said. “I feel pretty good about Oklahoma City. Virginia, if they get a couple of things done in the next few weeks, they’ll also be there. They’re all committed, they all get it. We want to make sure when the teams launch now, that they’re prepared, and that they have had a fair chance to put a roster together, and get connected with the areas that they’re in too.“