I would say great news, if their end goal is to get to MLS the sooner the league can sort out a stadium situation the better. Say a stadium opens 2015, that gives the team two solid years in the NASL to build an infrastructure and get their staff up to speed and bring a proven brand and hopefully a solid organization with a built and ready dedicated and passionate fanbase to the bidding table. Partner up with another mega rich investor and a "face" like Beckham as a minority owner and you have essentially the Sounders ownership model. Money + Brand + Celerity...that seems to me to be MLS's best option to secure a solid NY franchise the BoG has craved since 1995.
OBVIOUSLY great. We win, and continue to win. It's been a 16-year waste of time to not have the Cosmos back, and that's finally being rectified in a most satisfactory manner.
Wouldn't jump to too many conclusions that its going to be awarded to the Cosmos. From the sounds of it there were two groups of investors that were interested in the NY-2 franchise and the Cosmos were one of them. The other group has been deathly silent so I don't know if it was just a figment of Garber's imagination or if there really are investors ready to roll. I don't see this as an open and shut case for the Cosmos however.
The New York Cosmos, retracing their historic journey to the top of North American soccer, will return to the field in 2013 at their historic home, Hofstra University’s James M. Shuart Stadium in Hempstead, L.I.
Right. So catch the LIRR to Mineola, then jump on the N40 bus to Hempstead Center, then the N70 bus to Hofstra. That about right? I will be going to a Cosmos v. Railhawks game next season, so I want to make sure I'm taking the right route here. We should have a few others from the 309 Depot making the trip up, too.
There might be shuttle busses - if anything - the Borough Boys are going to be running busses from midtown to the matches too - we are going to finalize the details with the pub
http://www.bigapplesoccer.com/teams/cosmos2.php?article_id=32960 According to Garber, the Cosmos ownership is not in active discussions with MLS about being the NYC club.
But he keeps implying about another MLS club in NY so if it isn't going to be the Cosmos, who else is in line and if there is another party interested, can there possibly be 3 different MLS clubs in the NYC area in the future?
Cosmos and NASL think there is room. I believe the Man City owners and Chuck Blazer/Chris Martin have been mentioned as non-Cosmos investors.
I like this Garber quote..."They had a choice to make: Do they want to vie for a New York City MLS team or do they want to go into the second division? They decided to go into the Second Division. We support that and continue to support the NASL and the USL."
I forgot to mention above - I find it interesting because MLS/Garber sees it as an either or choice. The third option of starting out in D2 and moving was not a choice. I don't want to read too much into what he didn't say, but I did find that very interesting.
The more the I read about the Cosmos and MLS the more it seems to be shaping up as a potential rivalry rather than a potential partnership.
There might be room for three MLS teams. But two MLS teams and a D2 team team out in Long Island? Probably not given the track record of minor league teams in NY. Especially when you would have two major league teams in the area. The Cosmos brand gets devalued the moment they "finally" take the field at Hofstra and the Ghost of Pele gets further removed from memory. And that is their major problem. The more we see of the real Cosmos, the more the mythical Cosmos get forgotten. And then they become like any other minor league soccer club. It doesn't take long for fans to go from, hey didn't Pele, Chinaglia, and Beckenbauer play for the Cosmos? To, who the hell are Carlos Mendes and these other guys? More like a potential slaughter. One team vs. an entire league? We know how that ends. And so do the Cosmos. At the end of the day, the Cosmos whole silly act is posturing for MLS. All their plans are pure insanity without MLS. A 25,000 seat stadium for a minor league club? Thinking they can attract world class players for a D2 club? Thinking they can reach the top of the soccer world in a league that averages 3,800? This is their only chance. To force themselves into MLS. Garber knows it is an act and is rightfully saying they made their bed and now have to sleep in it. They are playing the "hardball" card. Despite the fact they couldn't even make the NASL season on time and have yet to play one game.
We don't know how many teams will be in the area because stadium proposals are still very much in question.
From The Wall Street Journal : "Soccer's Battle for New York" http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324678604578342361206307872.html?mod=googlenews_wsj For the Cosmos, the collective structure of MLS is a potential hindrance. Besides the franchise fee and stadium costs, the possible sublimation of Cosmos broadcasting, image and clothing rights to MLS—as might be demanded by the league's collective structure—make it easy to see the attraction of the laissez-faire model of the new NASL. "We're focused on building a proper soccer club and being competitive on all levels," Cosmos general manager Erik Stover said. "For us, we feel that the leadership that's in the NASL, and certainly the expansion opportunities that we have, find us with a group of like-minded people." NASL commissioner Bill Peterson is equally pointed about the unique qualities of his league. "In the NASL the onus is on the local owner to build his club, and the strength of the league will be determined by what those owners do," he said. "Our entry fees are fairly low; it's not a big deal for us. Our revenue stream doesn't depend on franchise fees."
NASL's revenues streams don't come from a lot of sources, including television, which MLS has. Just stop talking NASL, geez.
FYI, the RailHawks have a television agreement. http://www.carolinarailhawks.com/index.php?id=111&newsid=4152 (I know it doesn't compare to MLS and ESPN, but respectable for D2. And not unrealistic for other NASL teams. Just sayin)
Revenue stream. Meaning generating revenue from a television contract. Are the RailHawks getting any money from this deal? Or are they paying to get their games on TV, which the USL and WPS use to do with Fox Soccer and other clubs/sports have done with local cable. We are a long way from NASL clubs being able to generate revenue from television since MLS clubs are only starting to do it now. Never mind the lack of any national TV deal. Right now the NASL doesn't really have a revenue stream outside of the tickets each team can sell. Peterson would kill for MLS level expansion fees for his league. But no one would pay those for a minor league team. So his statement comes off as sour grapes and just silly. I think Garber's comments about the lower divsions being immature and fractured probably sum up his feelings about the NASL now that the USL is on board. Not good.