Only NY Cosmos and Orlando City should make sense as the 20th team

Sometimes it's better to actually refute a point by actually addressing it. So if you want to take issue with anything I've said don't just sit around and rufute it with hyperbole.

I know that the Giants and Jets are 4 and 5.

 

Due to the recent $1b+ stadium that was built for the two teams. Or did you not read the fine print? Try again.

e: And hey, if you had half a mind look down a bit further on that NBA value list and you would see the Houston Rockets at #5! #10 TV Market and no history of success? B-b-b-but whaaaaa?!

2nd e: This has even less to do with the original topic of conversation, which was you insuring that NY-based teams = big TV contracts = big revenue which you have been categorically unable to prove aside from the Knicks having the highest value (is that revenue, market value, or what?) in the league while the Nets have one of the lowest.

So, please, use this time to come up with support for your original argument or do not even bother. You are really boring me.

 

Please stop, enough is enough!

 

Vegas exhibition match involving the Cosmos called off...

http://totalfootblog.com/2012/01/16/justice-forced-to-wait-on-the-new-york-cosmos/

 

This adds to my assumption that the NYC franchise will be delayed till the 21st franchise, making way for Orlando to become the 20th in 2014. This is only in my opinion nothing to it base it upon. Therefore this is the scenario that I forsee in my opinion only, based on reading between the lines and simple logic nothing more.

1) The league finds that its taking longer than expected to get the stadium approved and built for NYC in Manhattan or Queens. Thus they move forward with plan "B" adding Orlando as the 20th team for 2014 season. This becomes a major milestone to show FIFA that they have grown the same size as the other prominent leagues around the world by the 2014 World Cup.

2) With the new national TV contact coming due in the US in 2015, in order to show the networks their abilities to capture major TV markets they add the 21st franchise to New York City beginning play in 2016. By this time they should have at the very least began construction on the new stadium within the city.

3) Lastly, needing to take care of their promises to David Beckham's contact clause offering him ownership in an expansion franchise. Also, with the Beckham's declaring their desire to make Southern California their home. The 22nd franchise is then placed in San Diego for the 2016 season. This will be made possible by the city of San Diego easing its stand on building the stadium for the Chargers making it a multi-use facility for both the NFL and MLS.

Having full filled their needs the league in part to expansion then they will place a moratorium at 22 teams for the forseeable future. This will allow the league to spend its time and energy on strengthening and stablizing league in regards to its weaker franchises and other needs. Thus full filling the statement made by Don Garber in February 2011 that he sees 22 franchises by the end of the decade.

http://www.tsn.ca/soccer/story/?id=353864

 

my guess is that Chivas is headed to San Diego...and what to do about the franchise in Columbus, they are going to have to relocate somewhere...

 

As to Chivas they are in the process of looking at having a stadium built in Ponoma or Santa Ana. As to Columbus latest rumor if they are to relocate, look to Cleveland, St. Louis or Detroit that is provided the Lamar Hunt Estate wishes to sell them.

 

I am not saying that the Cosmos could be being held to 21 but i if you think cancelling the Vegas game is a sign of that you are off.

The new owners are not following through with a lot of PKs things that might not have made sense. (Like these exhibition games)

Right now you are going to see the Cosmos cancel a lot of the plans, like the PDL team, the Vegas game because the new owners are cutting some of the costs because apparently they just want to get a stadium built. (still have to see if this is true or not)

You could be right about the Cosmos being pushed back but cancelling vegas is not a sign of that - its a sign of the new owners changing things around and getting rid of the fluff.

 

Which rumor on Columbus? I mean I know they were looking to possibly build another stadium for the Crew - has there been talk of them moving?

 

I didn't look at cancelling the Vegas game as a sign. I'm basing my assumption on what it takes to built in the city.

 

I really cannot see MLS adding another California team before they add a team in the Heartland. They would be stunting the growth of the league tremendously if they just ignored states like Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa, etc. There needs to be a team for people to root for there in the northern Midwest.

e: Or, in all likelihood, add a second SE team. Those are the two sections of the country that have gaping holes in them right now (and will even with one FL team). I just do not see why MLS would waste its time adding an infinite number of East Coast/West Coast teams.

 

But, this is Beckham's team and he can pretty much go wherever he wishes except NYC or LA. Besides, San Diego has one of the highest TV ratings in the US during the 1010 World Cup. At this point its about the ratings.

 

I really doubt Beckham will own his own team. Despite the amount of money he has likely accrued over the years, he does not have nearly enough to properly run a football organization unless he has hundreds of millions sitting in a bank account somewhere. This is why you generally only see billionaires owning teams.

Secondly, if this league knows anything it is that TV ratings are a horrible way to judge where a franchise should be placed. Not only are TV ratings literally the last thing on the list of important things for this league, but they are also wildly inaccurate for gauging interest in sports teams. Right now, this league makes its bread by selling merchandise and through sponsorships. To forgo those in pursuit of slightly better TV ratings is literal insanity.

 

TV ratings mean dollars. They right now entering into the first year of a three contract with NBC. In order to maintain this contract they are going to go wherever they can to maintain ratings. As to Beckham you can rest assure that he will own a team one day. They will most likely pair him with another big buck Billionaire. But he will own a team. This is no different than Michael Jordan owning the Carolina Bobcats. You can take that to the bank.

 

In what world do they mean dollars when they are literally pulling in multiple times more a year from the sale of merchandise, sponsorships from Adidas, and shirt sponsors? This is not the NBA. A 10/mil a year contract with NBC is a pittance.

Really, this entire argument reeks of something someone learned in their Sports Management class and regurgitated endlessly without any eye for context.

In regards to Beckham: We shall see. Right now, I do not see him having part ownership in a new franchise. Maybe part ownership of LA? Sure. But I really doubt they will bring a new franchise into the MLS just for the sake of Becks having his own shiny team.

 

You not seeing the bigger picture. Yes, it is 10/mil a year for now. This is only a start. They are looking to the future.

 

How far into the future? Should we take out our trusty crystal ball to see that far into the future? The problem is you are not seeing the big picture. Right now, merchandise is king. Anything that widens the footprint of MLS, therefore sells more merchandise, is going to be beneficial for the next decade or two until MLS has built up enough steam to possibly have significant TV ratings.

As it stands, no MLS team currently pulls high enough ratings to generate the kind of contracts that would be needed to match sales of merch/kit sponsors (in the multiple hundreds of millions, fyi). They should make moves that make sense now, not moves that might hypothetically make sense 15-20 years down the road.

e: The problem is that the assumption that SOME DAY the ratings will improve and MLS will suddenly be flush with cash because ESPN cannot wait to tug on Garber's dick is the worst sort of crystal ball crap. Unless they have Nostradamus on their financial team, they really need to look at what will help the league grow in the short term (5-10 years). This includes exposing the league to a wider variety of people and areas in the country.

 

Next to Academy Director Gio Savarese, the Cosmos only have three full-time employees on staff. And though they are a talented and committed crew, it’s far from the army of workers that pulled off this thrilling**tournament last year. While**the Cosmos Copa NYC remains a possibility, however hard to imagine at this point, it doesn’t look promising for their particiaption in the PDL.**The Cosmos U23 squad made an exciting entry into the PDL last season, playing a number of exhibition games with the intention of joining the league full-time this season. But it appears that they won’t be fielding a**side this year, they have been removed from the league’s list of teams.
Again, not surprising, but what does this mean for the Cosmos? Yes, they are losing fans, but**fans can always be lured back, right? That remains to be seen. But now they are losing talent – the players they had hoped to be part of the first Cosmos squad to play in MLS someday.
Chivas USA has confirmed that they have signed Marvin Iraheta, a 19 year-old**El Salvadoran**who had played for the New York Cosmos PDL exhibition team. He was one of the stars of the Cosmos development program, and featured prominently in their**6-0 loss to Manchester United during the Scholes Testimonial. My compatriot Cesar Diaz did an in-depth interview with the kid that you can read here.
This is good new for Iraheta, and Chivas USA. But it’s bad news for the Cosmos and their new owners, Sela Sport. While they silently wait for MLS to secure them a stadium, all the hard work they had invested in – developing fans and players alike – is steadily eroding away. A Cosmos PDL side not only would give fans something to sink their teeth into, but more importantly it would keep the**senior talent from the Cosmos Academy engaged until an MLS franchise can be secured.

 

Yeah, Cosmos don't have a lot of steam left. They had everything in place, but one by one the pieces have fallen out. There is not much left but a brand, the youth academy and the annual Cosmos Tournament. A new investor wouldn't necessarily be able to gain access to the Cosmos brand. I think everybody is starting to look outside the city now. A shame, because the city wants a team to follow that is not in NJ.

For somebody in the city, you don't want to drive to the game, the tolls will kill you. You don't want to take the train, Harrison is not a neighborhood to just take a stroll in and the train station is a nice walk from the stadium. A nice stadium around Flushing or Randall's Island would be a winner, but no investors to be seen.

 

How in the world do you get around when you come to the city?!?!?!?

 

I was referring to how people in the city want a team in one of the 5 boroughs. Yes, of course you either drive or use public transportation to move around our out of the city. But the tolls to and from Jersey are way higher than tolls inside the city. Flushing area (Queens) or Randall's Island (tri-borough area on corner of Manhattan-Bronx-Queens) both have rail and bus access as well as expressway access without the tolls involved with crossing the Hudson River and are better areas overall.

The Harrison stadium was supposed to be part of a revitalization project, but Red Bulls built their stadium and Harrison backed out of the rest of the plan.

 

I've always disagreed with the Robert Moses idea that Flushing is somehow the optimal, most central location in the NY metro region, and would instead locate that somewhere around Bergen or Hudson counties, west of the Hudson River. With midtown Manhattan as a central reference point, how close can a soccer stadium possibly be built? If you have to take a connection from Grand Central, Penn Station or the Port Authority to get somewhere then it's "inconvenient" for millions, no matter where.

I can see the case being made for Flushing and the Meadowlands as two foci of an ellipse, but from just north along the Hudson, I see both as relatively inconvenient, driving to and from Harrison a bit more predictable and often less time-consuming than getting to Flushing.

Have you ever played or watched a game at Randall's Island? Been to a concert there?

"Better areas"? No.

Possibilities were exhausted before shovel hit dirt in Harrison. The revitalization project is moving slower than anticipated there, as per the economic climate, but things are happening.

A stadium on the WestSide of Manhattan, however, would render a stadium in Harrison obsolete.

 

They'd have fun at Giants Stadium, which was torn down two years ago next week.