I think what people have presumed based on his and Vancouver's support of the NASL is that they would like to field their reserve teams in the league. That idea seems to be getting more talk lately, so who knows. I'm just wondering at this point what the NASL is waiting for if they have a deal in place as Downs says on a new expansion team right now.
Minnesota Stars FC are having a party two days before the home opener, and they sent an e-mail invite which said that "prospective owners" would be there along with sponsors, players, club officials, and of course, fans. Fingers crossed. I won't feel great about expansion until the Stars and two of the traffic teams have new ownership groups that are financially stable. I don't want to see teams cycling through the league like they did in USL.
USSF will make an exception as long as NASL can prove they still have plans for US expansion. Of course they can also say no but we'll just have to wait and see.
Ask and ye shall have : http://www.hamiltonnews.com/news/hamilton-gets-new-stadium-after-all/ New stadium will be built now on the same site instead of a reno. Should be done by 2014.
Great news. So it's conceivable we may have Hamilton and Ottawa join in 2014. I read that they aren't expecting Ottawa stadium done til 2014. http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2012/03/27/lions-might-not-get-to-play-in-new-winnipeg-stadium/ Although this article says Hamilton won't be done til July 2014, too late for NASL 2014.
I can't see why they couldn't split the season. D2 teams have done it before (to very small success). The move might even provide the team with just the sort of mid-season hook they'd need to energize fans.
When you say split season, do you mean start on the road or have the early home games at a alternate location? Is there an alternate location in Hamilton?
Ron Joyce Stadium on the McMaster Campus. Seats 6000, has permenant Canadian (in white) and Association (in yellow) Football markings. Underground parking, press box with facilities for live TV and radio broadcasts, medical clinic, etc. Hamilton FC (PDL) are going to be using it this summer.
Ok I found this: The expansion franchise fee for an NASL team is reported to be $1.5 million. http://www.insidemnsoccer.com/2012/...uis-as-viable-home-for-pro-soccer/#more-32263 The second-division business model compares favorably with the MLS plan, according to Van Der Beck. “You give MLS $75 million (for an expansion team), and you don’t even own the players,” Van Der Beck said. “You’re paying MLS to basically run the league. With the NASL clubs, the owners are in charge and it’s like business in the rest of the world: You can buy players, you can develop players, and you can sell them.”
Thanks for the link. For some reason my RSS feed sometimes takes a while to load IMSoccer News lately. Also, Perry Van Der Beck could be Will Ferrell's brother ...
After the Stars game we went to a bar with some of the players and some people from the NASL front office. Talking to one of them he said that the league will have an ownership group pretty soon, not sure if expansion or to buy one of the traffic teams. When I asked him when would there be an announcement he joked 30-60 days, some of them do read BigSoccer.
This is most likely the franchise Downs has referred to a couple of times now. He's said a deal is in place for a new expansion team, but just hasn't been announced yet. If the details are finalized, I can see the desire to wait until after the first week of the season when they're getting about as much coverage as they're going to get until the playoffs. So I'm guessing we'll see the announcement sometime in the next month or so, a time when the teams are settled into the season, but before the Open Cup games. All indications have been that this is an expansion team, not a new ownership group for an existing team. Remember, the league is supposed to be up to 10 teams next year. This new one will make 9 (assuming stability from the rest) and last word had Ottawa not starting until 2014. So one of two things has to be in play here. They need to announce it real soon and plans for next year need to get underway in a real hurry. The Scorpions have shown us that having as much lead time as possible til your debut is a huge positive. Or, we're talking about a team that is moving up from a lower division, so the infrastructure is largely in place already. The longer we go without an announcement, the more I'll believe there's a chance it's an existing team moving up. But then there are only a handful at the lower level currently that probably meet all the requirements for D2 right? So you all could draw your own conclusions. Personally I think it's a brand new expansion team myself, not a D3 team moving up. I just throw the idea out there as food for thought since Downs seems to indicate this expansion team will start play next year.
At the Fan Forum the RailHawks hosted earlier today, Downs seemed to tip his hand about some potential expansion cities, but I couldn't hear him well from where I was positioned. He was too far away from the mic and there was a lot of chatter next to me. Maybe someone else could verify what he said? I know he said the league was very interested in expanding west (midwest & west coast).
I just might pee my pants if any of those three is where the mystery ownership group is from. Of course, I'd be perfectly happy if the new ownership groups is simply taking control of one of the existing teams.
At least geographically, Indy seems to be the best of those three for the league right now. But geography is just one factor.
I would have to agree with you, although I haven't heard much out of Indy. IMO none of the San Diego teams are ready to make a jump and I think Tucson is closer than Phoenix in AZ.
From an article talking about the Railhawks fan forum.... "Part of that next cycle is also expansion of the NASL, which currently comprises eight teams. While Abbott avoided any definitive statements about future MLS expansion, both Downs and Davidson were more bullish, telling Indyweek Sports that the NASL is poised to announce two expansion franchises within the next 30-45 days. The league has finalized contractual terms with one club and is in the latter stages of negotiations with the other. Neither Downs nor Davidson would presently disclose the identities of the expansion markets. However, Downs said one is an existing soccer club while the other is a startup franchise. Moreover, Davidson indicated one will be stationed in the western U.S. while the other will be located within the NASL’s current main geographic footprint. Davidson also said that NASL hopes to add two more clubs before the 2013 season, bringing the league total to 14. However, according to Downs, they will not include Ottawa, an already-announced NASL expansion franchise which Downs now says apparently will not begin league play until 2014." So two teams will be announced in the next two months, one already in existence, one brand new, and one on the West Coast. Narrows the field a bit. Also, two more teams before the end of the season. Who's it gonna be, I wonder? Orlando City to the NASL perhaps?
LA Blues (Orange County) is west coast and has a rich owner ; they would bring down average attendance, but would satisfy the 3 time zone rule.
I cannot see the LA Blues as a target NASL for a number of reasons, so I hope that your winky face is a nod to the same effect. First, the Blues' owner just paid a USL expansion fee last year, and joining NASL would mean paying another within a two year time frame. That, in addition to paying USL's yearly fees. Second, from what we've heard, NASL is targeting areas which don't currently have MLS. I'm not sure why the Blues' owner thinks he's going to draw fans to a DII club in Orange County when there are already two DI clubs in within an hour drive.