http://www.accessatlanta.com/celebrities-tv/beckhams-might-name-daughter-955781.html?cxntlid=thbz_hm Announcement in 60 days...?
And now this: http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-thrash...-percent-behind-thrashers/?cp=1#comment-32316 Mayor Reed alludes to sports franchise news in wake of Thrashers' possible relocation...
I'd be OK with trading the Thrashers for a MLS team. Hopefully they would be run better - though it would be hard to be run any worse.
Boy, that would be quick wouldn't it? and awesome... ...but an MLS franchise wouldn't come in until what year, exactly?
And, hypothetically, if we were to get a team for the 2014 season, when would we know? When did Montreal find out about their MLS team?
lurking the soccerbyives website, Garber continues to express his lust for the return of the Cosmos as the 20th team. not a good sign.
Reed better not be doing something stupid like counting someone buying the Hawks and Philips Arena as big sports news. Losing the Thrashers sucks, getting an MLS team would offset that a lot though.
DC United better not move, their fans are to good to ditch. But if they do it will be to Baltimore. And the Cosmos have no money, on top of that the Money Man that was legitimately trying to bring an MLS team to NYC, Fred Wilpon, just had to see 49% of the Mets to keep them afloat and is being sued for $1 BILLION in the fall out of the Madoff scam. So it is not looking good for MLS team 2 in NYC no matter how big a hard on Cohiba Don has for it.
Feh; it'll probably end up being something like indoor lacrosse or the GA Force playing at Philips again. But hey, it would be major cool if it (MLS) were so. Naming your kid "Atlanta" is like naming it "refrigerator" or something. Then again, my great-grandmother's middle name was Missouri, so there ya go.
well the Chances are not as good pickup a expansion team as of getting a existing team If Atlanta is in the picture at all. to Be honest I dont think DCU has any deal at all and garber might eventually pull the plug on DC until there is a stadium or more better situation for DC united, theyll be on the Block to move despite what the lack thereof DC media say. In atlanta nobody is talking about or even care about the thrashers, and even at thier height around 2006- 2007 they was niche at best and mainly one group of people was really supporting them, ofcourse the owners didnt want them either. but there was and still isnt anyone who want to keep them in the A. but back to DCU, they dont have no sure shot deal, Baltimore is 50/50 because like the other possible sites it fell through. DCU needed to act four yrs ago. hate to say it yes im a DCU fan but the team isnt stable they said it and there is no one in DC PG or VA that will support funding a stadium, at least 60%. In reality who knows about what Mayor reed says because its still speculation and im just looking at at the most realistic way possible. if DCU gets no stadia they move. expansion # more likely will be NYC. the only other MLS team i can think that the league may move s New England.
The Thrashers were right around the League Avg. in attendance throughout the first 2/3 of their existence. Its only been the last few season that it really went down, and that is because people got tired of paying to see a team that they had lost faith in the ownership. Its no different then going to a crappy restaurant, after a few visits if the food is not getting any better why keep going? On top of that Hockey in the South and Soccer in the South are totally different beasts. The youth soccer population dwarfs that of its hockey counterpart, which is not to say that an MLS team would be a roaring success but it puts it on better footing to start with. I love hockey and have been a Thrashers fans since the start but I think MLS would be a better long term draw. Plus the owner would be Arthur Blank most likely and he has a lot more credibility with the fans to put a winner on the field then the ASG ever has and ever will.
I'm pretty sure the powers that be will not hold the Thrashers attendance against us. 11 seasons, 1 playoff appearance 0 playoff wins - the population never even had a chance to experience the best part of the NHL - playoff hockey. The soccer fanbase is completely different than that of hockey. Instead of the core group being transplanted northerners, the core base in Atlanta (immigrants from Central and South America, and soccer playing suburban families) are quite plentiful. I attended the Guatemala-Guyana friendly at KSU stadium this past fall thinking the turnout would be kinda low since it was two low ranked international teams...nope! There were 5,000 mostly Guatemalan fans that turned out and man did they make some noise. Combine this with the local Mexican population that turns out ~30-50k whenever there is a high level Mexican team playing at the Dome, and I'm thinking you've got 5,000 each game plus whatever the suburbanites bring to the game. I think if/when Atlanta does get a MLS team, the attendance will surprise a lot of the people that think of Atlanta as a poor sports town.
ATLanta spirit ownership was a major problem as well relating to the thrashers as they been in and out of court and they didnt want the hockey team in the first place. im still not convienced that atlanta is ready for MLS. despite being a large TV market and having plenty of areas of choice for a SSS and the ga dome is a tested venue. ATL is needs to prove that there is a fan base is going to support it. and that the media can embrace it.
see that only transcends one or a acouple area in town, if thats the Case the ATL MLS team will have alot of work todo in presenting soccer to Atlanta, not just the suburbs but also they need to come to the hood and in the city. thats another problem with Atlanta sports, not the fact that it is a bad sports town but that the teams dont have a consistent dedicated fan base... even when the braves was winning the NL east for 14 yrs straight, they still didnt make the world series. the falcons for a long time have been losers, with a few spurts and recent success even they know they have to consistently win to win fans over.
...and it's virtually impossible to get to a weeknight game on time. Speaking of which. Would you like to see an ATL MLS team have it's own venue or share with the Falcons? I'm not going to lie. Sporting KC, RSL, Portland, Galaxy/Chivas, and Red Bull Arena are amazing soccer venues (among others).
In a perfect world I would love to have a SSS but since Blank is the only possible owner that has show serious interest, and until someone else does he is who I will make my assumptions with in mind, I can not see him building both a new open air stadium for the Falcons and a SSS for a MLS team. The Falcons stadium will be constructed like Qwest not Gillette or Soldier, with an expansive lower bowl. Once the team shows it can put 15-18K in there on a game by game basis I think he might think about a SSS, maybe.
I think the latter, from what Im hearing Arthur blank is still interested in bring MLS to Atlanta, but the stadium situation is a big priority. i read one report where the the State is pitching a massive renovation of the dome making it a retractable roof and also building a nearby(maybe SSS). the closet i can think of for a near by venue would be Morris Brown Herdon stadium which has been neglected for a while now. Im sure if such a thing as that for it to happen it can. the GWCC people will have a somewhat expanded area to cover. MBC still in financial troubles and cant even open its full campus. but to answer your question it have to have a sss, but play the bigger games and playoffs in the dome.
Blank wants nothing more to do with the Dome, by the end of decade the Falcons will be gone. While Herndon fits the bill capacity wise it would be horrid for atmosphere. Two sided, no ends, very vertical to make it a more accommodating stadium it would cost nearly as much as to build a new one.
I agree with the assumption that if Blank builds an outdoor stadium for the Falcons, and own the MLS franchise, then they will share the same facility. Hypothetically speaking, if a SSS is built, where would you like it (or think it should be located)? I personally feel that the old home depot campus / abandoned project area off Sydney Marcus would be amazing. Especially after the GA 400 / 85 connector is created. Fans would be able to access the stadium through the Lindbergh MARTA station, GA 400, 85, 75, Buford Hwy, & Piedmont Rd, there are tons of bars and restaurants, and it has an amazing view of the Atlanta skyline. There is potential to tear down the existing abandoned projects and build a village of some sort too. A lot of potential in that location IMO. http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&s...rcus Blvd NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30324&t=h&z=15
I think that the stadium should be ITP or very close to to 285 if they go OTP. The biggest thing I think is that it must be within a short walk from MARTA. A friend of mine has told me that there is a patch of land by Atlantic Station that would big enough for a SSS, which if that is true could be the best spot.
