We have a winner! You are seeing things on that website that I am not seeing. I am just seeing crazy talk and a site that FCNY would of been embarrassed to put out. The odds of this group ever playing a game are quite low. Rodgers had his P1 visa revoked and might of left information off his visa application. He is never getting back into the country. So putting his name on any list was ridiculous. Although no more than those other names.
I am seeing two soccer coaches trying to get a team together for some friendlies. Due to their ambitions, they may stumble across some people who would actually be interested in soccer ownership/investment. Did my rewording satisfy your minor league soccer expansion ePeen?
Hey The Don for MLS says he wants the League to be a "top league" by 2022. The President of the Strikers says NASL will "compete" with MLS eventually. USLPRO people claim they have the "best" League below MLS. So this guys are not the only ones sounding "crazy". Lets all just aim high!
The sort of "legitimacy and financial backing" an entity like Providence Equity Partners LLC could bestow. Of course, Providence Equity Partners isn't likely to be content with setting its sights on a USL-Pro franchise. After all, this is a private equity and venture capital firm that already holds a stake in Soccer United Marketing, the marketing arm of Major League Soccer, as well as other entities including the United States Soccer Federation and the Mexican National Team. The Sports Business Journal has gone so far as to report that Providence Equity's share in SUM is a 25% stake that was secured for a purchase price of $150 million. Frankly, at this stage of the game, my "soccer pipe dream" is for Providence Equity Partners to take the New England Revolution off of the hands of Bob and Jonathan Kraft and unveil their plans for a soccer-specific stadium in either Greater Boston or Providence. Either location would work for me, as I spend a great deal of my summer in Newport, Rhode Island.
It would probably have to be Jonathan Nelson as owner if it were a RI team. He's local and he is involved in the community via the Brown board of trustees and I think the Newport Folk Festival. His charitable giving is also quite high. Then again, can you name me someone valued over $1.5 bil who doesn't give extensively? The company often swaps executives with their investments as they are involved in the management. If Providence's SUM investment is that high, I wonder if they could do the same with someone willing to run a soccer team. For this fantasy to play out, MLS would have to make some sort of statement that preference to all future expansion would go to existing soccer franchises. The Revs would need to move to Boston, leaving the opportunity open for a Providence entry into USL/NASL. And like you said, they would need legitimacy including their own stadium. On a related note, our state went into panic mode when MA approved their casinos. All this time, nobody has expressed concern over how much outdoor concert money Rhode Islanders give to MA each year (Whatever they call Great Woods and Gillette)? Either casinos are a bigger detriment than is let on to a state's expendable income or nobody has bothered to look and compare. That could be a good pitch to state and local officials for a soccer/concert stadium.
Unless you are personally involved with this group, there is no reason for you to clutch the pearls and then attack someone. Nice avatar by the way. And excuse me for reading this... and wonder what the hell they are smoking? For our sanity, let us ignore they actually brought up joining MLS in 2014. Even to play in the NASL and USL, you are going to need money. A good deal of it. As ceezmad said, this sounds like another Las Vegas Highrollers situation. Just more delusions and photoshop. The odds of this actually becoming reality are about nil. Remember Boston Victory SC who claimed they were going to be a world class soccer club and join the USL-PRO in 2013? They are gone now. They couldn't even survive in the PDL. No one is trying to ruin your fantasy about a RI pro soccer team. We are just commenting on the website.
The Fall River Marksmen played in Tiverton?????? I've never heard that. Irregardless, Chowda (avatar is good too) is right about the state going into Defcon 4 about Massachusetts getting gambling. In typical RI style, they ignored the two massive Connecticut casinos about 7 and 9 miles away from the RI border and are now worried about the perceived threat of future casinos. Now...........reading this thread, is Providence Equity Partners actually getting involved with the NE Force? Or was someone hoping? If PEP is involved then this thing has legs. If it is a wishlist thing then the Force are back to being nobody status.
Wait a minute. Breaking News.................................. I just went to the force website and the New England Force have already left Rhode Island!!!!! The (very) tentative schedule also shows home games being played at Hartford. Smithfield has lost its first and only pro team!
The Marksmen played in North Tiverton, just over the state line. Google Maps' satellite view indicates that the former site of Mark's Stadium is now a parking lot.
That's hilarious! Maybe they don't have the gas money to drive the team limo all the way to Rhode Island?
We also had blue laws in Rhode Island. Are you telling me there are like different blue laws? We should have used a different color then. Dammit.
They could not play a game and charge admission in Massachusetts on Sundays in that era. This impacted the Red Sox and Braves in that era as well, if you look at AL and NL schedules of the time. That was not the case in Rhode Island (which had other ASL teams at the time as well).
the New England Force is still alive http://www.newenglandforce.com/News.asp?org=newenglandforce.com#410567
"The New England Force are expecting big things from there new Albanian International defender Bruno Kepi." Oy. Enough already with people who can't use English working for soccer teams in this country.
http://www.newenglandforce.com/Page.asp?n=80511&org=NEWENGLANDFORCE.COM since when are Mahamadou Diarra (Fulham) and Email Mpenza (former Standard, Sion, Man C and Schalke 04) part of the NE squad ?
I'm glad someone started this thread with the Force. Granted, they seem to be focused more on the Hartford area now, but I would be they have NASL - not PDL, NPSL or USLPRO - on their minds. I think it could be a net win for the Force, NASL, and possibly even the Revs (who have done a friendly or two with the Force) if they ended up in NASL.