I'm looking at the announcement on MLSNet.com, but I don't see any link to buy a Rapids jersey or season tickets...
Partnership with Arsenal FC and name change to Arsenal Colorado FC is great move. Cool name and stifles all arguments that it's a poser name. I'm anxious to hear the FO's explanation for the delay and hope it's very dramatic. I love the drama! RSL stadium, Rapids rebranding/partnership, Beckham coming! This is truly the best MLS off-season ever!
The announcement is up on rapids.com (). The interesting part is the news conference will be live on Altitude.
Honestly, i think the name change is a bit desperate sounding. I mean its basically bowing down to Arsenal FC as the lord and savior. They are a great club with lots of tradition, but give yourselves a chance to build your own. How do you think the brits will look at this? You think they will take this team seriously? oy vey!
except that -------------------------------------------------------------------------HERE--------------------------------^ it says ARSENALCOLORADO.COM Therefore a safe bet that it will be Arsenal Colorado FC makes sense. Also there is the fact that only ONE Kronke owned domain was registered ColoradoArsenal.com while the rest were ArsenalColorado.com , ArsenalColoradoFC.com , ArsenalColorado.US , ArsenalColorado.net , ArsenalColoradoFC.net - etc and the ArsenalColorado ones were more recent registrations. Looks like they covered all bases for Arsenal Colorado but not Colorado Arsenal. The preponderance of the evidence points to a name change to ArsenalColorado not Colorado Arsenal.
I can think of worse clubs to be associated with. The fact is Arsenal is a global brand with a lot of name recognition that says Soccer, Rapids was not and was likely not going to be one for a long time. Rapids could have been anything from Baseball to a skeet shooting team. the first time Arsenal Colorado beats a british team they will......then they will say 'ah, well it was just a friendly. meant nothing really.'
I'm so tired of the MLS copying European names. I like the name the Rapids. It sounds American, it ties in with the surrounding area, keep it. Arsenal Colardo FC sounds stupid. I hate the name FC Dallas, I hate the name Real Salt Lake, I hate Chivas USA. If they do change the name, it's just stupid.
The KSE marketing geniuses strike again. + "a groundbreaking international soccer partnership" Yep, groundbreaking, just like all the other international soccer partnerships that other teams have previously entered into. (I'm all for the idea of international partnerships. I'd just prefer that they get a grip and admit that it isn't the greatest thing since sliced bread. It's just a business deal, and Kroenke's franchise most assuredly will be the junior partner.) + "Fans will be able to watch the press conference live via TV on Altitude Sports & Entertainment or streaming video of the conference online at www.MLSNet.com." World class. They can find airtime on their own network to televise the press conference but they can't televise a road game. Awesome marketing strategy. + "WHERE: Lexus Club (formerly the Ridgeline)" Nice. They even renamed the stupid location. + "Media only invited to attend." Notice that fans specifically are NOT allowed to attend. This means that His Royal Highness, Kroenke I, does not want any pesky longtime fans booing his announcement. Then again, if he destroys the Rapids he will have fewer pesky longtime fans to contend with. After the last two weeks of cluster blunders by KSE, wouldn't it be fitting if the media found something better to do than attend Kroenke's conference like, say, alphabetizing their sock drawers?
Well it seems inevitable now - name change & partnership. If we are going to hav a relationsip w/ Aresenal - then great -but what happens when/if the relationship ends -another rebranding? I kinda doubt that the announcement will address the SNAFUs that occured - but hopefully someone from the FO will let us know what happened. Now - where is our new jerseys availble for purchase? Maybe that was the holdup all along - they wanted to make sure they actually had some availble for purchase when they announced the change? Nah, too logical? jeff
I agree. Real is Spanish. Chivas sounds like a farm club. I can tolerate FC Dallas. I hate the thought of the Rapids being named after an English team. Where's the tradition in that? Will we get to borrow Henry, doubt it. I've been a fan for a long time (since the beginning really) and I've wanted improvements in the coverage and interest in the Rapids and think that change is good but I am really bothered by a name change.... I don't think it's a step that will really improve anything. the STADIUM, however, will and is awesome so maybe I can live with some some euro wannabe name but I hope hope hope that we'll stick with the original.... I think a lot of the original fans will agree.
Actually it was also announced that all MLS games would be televised this year. Let it go, changes for the better, seems to be coming
http://sport.independent.co.uk/football/premiership/article2251275.ece Sounds like things are getting interesting.
I'm fully behind this if the international partnership is significant. I want something more than the "partnership" between FSL and Real Madrid. Even without that though, I prefer claret and blue Arsenal Colorado to claret and blue Colorado Rapids. Of course, I prefer green/black/blue Colorado Rapids to claret and blue Arsenal Colorado.
I swear I hope you drop your season tickets to make room for someone who actually will be excited to be there AND so you can stop bitching........
dude, I know players have not since been exchanged, but with the just approved stadium deal: RSL and RM would have a youth academy in Salt Lake RM would come to opening game in new stadium RSL would build 12 soccer fields as part of this partnership RSL/MLS and RM future friendlies are to follow in SLC I dunno, but that is a good partership for a team that is barely 3 years old.
Great Find, DCU!!! This answers most of our questions from the last week of fustration. Sounds exciting to me.
Can anyone confirm this... ...because that would be interesting if it was MLS that held this up. Although I admit much of the rest of the article appears to be written by someone who is just making things up!!
That wasn't what I was asking confirmation for... That color is NOT the official color of Arsenal. It was only used last year!!