I think the "traditional" uniforms (with no place for a shirt sponsor) would be unlikely. I said in 2010 that we would all be slightly silly to think that even if they had not folded in 1993, they would not have had uniform evolution by 2010. (Hell, they did, by the 1992 final against Colorado, there were no yellow stripes to be found.) But unless a uni change has been in the works for a while, you would think they would be hard-pressed to have samples ready by now. Usually those things happen later in the offseason. Think Edwards would sell to someone else? He would leave without winning a championship, which is a stated goal. Sternberg? That makes no sense, either. Affiliating with someone doesn't seem press-conference worthy. (Won't be Orlando, obviously.) Wowdies doesn't seem press conference worthy. How secure is Campbell's job? (As we have seen, no one's job is really secure.) Expanding Al Lang would seem to be overly optimistic. They don't fill the place as it is. A new yard on that site or in the parking lot at Tropicana Field would not have flown under the radar like this. If you are making a fresh start in a fresh league, you might want to freshen some stuff up. Maybe it's new coach, new logo. I don't know. Guess we'll find out.
With "Historic Announcement" as the headline and held at a Hotel it has to be big. I can see only a few things worthy. 1. MLS aspirations (USL then to MLS) 2. Ownership change - BE makes his money and moves on. 3. Combination of both. BE brings in other investors to be able to afford MLS (fees). Players/coaches are not historic (unless its a big name) and we are not moving to Tampa. Stadium expansion we would have heard about. Sponsor's come and go. New Restaurant at the stadium...I know far fetched...but maybe? New Kits would be announced as such. All that cost him money and BE is all about making money. Who the hell knows what its going to be...but it should be good!
MLS would be great, but that necessarily portends a stadium solution. The Rays are the big stadium aspirant in the market at the moment, though they are years away from closure on that. If they announce a Sacramento situation, where certain things will be executed if they are awarded a franchise, terrific.
After some thought, I am putting my money down on the typical 'We have MLS in our sights announcement'. It's the only thing that really makes sense. He lays out his vision for a new stadium on the AL Lang site, complete with pretty pictures and possibly a scale model if we're lucky, he introduces a big money partner(s), and formally announces a MLS bid. It has become the tried and true sales tactic in minor league soccer. My dark horse bet is he is going to build a new Bayfront Center and start playing indoor soccer and hosting the circus again
Is that really "historic," though? "We are going to try to do something, if they let us?" I mean, that may be it, but it seems overblown. You don't need to say two weeks out that you're going to announce it.
Don Garber was in town recently, with Tod Leiweke, at an event sponsored by Vinik's Lightning, which Bill Edwards attended. Maybe they all worked something out that day and he already promised us a team, lol.
Someone tries to connect the dots on MLS maybe being the "historic" announcement. http://supportyourlocalfootballclub...sacramentos-soccer-future-could-soon.html?m=1
http://saintpetersblog.com/bill-edwards-seeks-control-fort-lauderdale-strikers-team-defaults-loan/ Bill Edwards seeking control of Fort Lauderdale Strikers after team defaults on loan
Interesting, but here's the thing (or a couple of things): 1 - Edwards has money. He doesn't have MLS Money. He'd have to have someone who DOES have MLS money come in to be the primary investor. 2 - There's still no place to play. An MLS team would have to play on the Hillsborough side. And unless someone pulls a rabbit out of a hat in the next ten days, they're no closer to a stadium on the Hillsborough side than when Nestor and company got NIMBYd back in 2010. If the announcement is he's going to buy the distressed asset that is the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, okay, but...why? Yes, they're in separate leagues (for now), but that doesn't seem to make any sense. You'd want your owner (who has, let us be fair, devoted many, many resources to making this club more successful than in the past) to not split his or her attention between multiple clubs, especially one with which your fan base has had a rivalry with and animus toward, wouldn't you? If he recognizes an opportunity to purchase a distressed asset and flip it in a year, okay, fine. But if you're the Strikers' fan base (such as it is), you can't imagine that's much more of an improvement, even if it does keep them from going under for now.
So I looked into this and apparently you need to make a thread in the Forum Requests section and get enough support in the replies. I created one at the link below. Anyone who posts here or even lurks, please take the time to show support for this move! http://forums.bigsoccer.com/threads/please-move-tampa-bay-rowdies-forum-from-nasl-to-usl.2037179/
I agree, this is not the announcement. What benefit is this for the Rowdies? None except BE is rolling the dice again. Now, will BE buy an NASL team at a bargain price, put a couple of million into the rehab, then hope to have an asset worth many more millions than his initial investment. Sound familiar. Hell yeah he would buy it. That's what he does and if I was a Striker liker I would love it. He's proven his ability with the Rowdies. Even if he flips it it's better than folding.
Again, why would the NASL approve this? I can see him trying to get summary judgment and the team awarded to him, but I can't see the NASL green lighting an owner who took his team to a rival league as an owner in their league. At the very least, I would love to read the press release.
Though unlikely, desperation to keep the league afloat with another team would be a motivating factor for NASL approval. It just business. Now with the Cosmos news that they may be on shaky ground and NASL in general on shaky ground who's to say he doesn't take control of the assets and move them to USL at some point like the Rowdies. Does he have to go to NASL?
He could. But "just business" only goes so far. You would have someone with a stake in and knowledge of your league also having a stake in and knowledge about a competing league. "Hey, everyone, welcome to Coke's annual meeting, I have asked Fred from Pepsi to sit in. Now, what is our strategy for 2017?" Could you see that happening? Now, if the NASL actually goes under, and you can buy the assets (again, what assets are we talking about here?), okay. How many players are on multi-year contracts? You want the lease with the cricket stadium? Sponsorship deals? The brand itself does not have a whole lot of value. If Edwards wants a team on the other side of Florida, he could just let the Strikers expire and get his own. What I am guessing he really wants is the money back he loaned them. The way to do that without the courts is to get someone who will meet the Brazilians' price and give them enough to pay Edwards back.
Though the Brazilians scoured the Strikers name in the community their is some inherent potential value for the low price he would invest. At least more than starting a new team from scratch. He must have seen some value there since he tried to buy it in August for a mil. but was denied? But it is possible if all he wants is his money back which may or may not be part of the future sale and force the team with a lawsuit. I perceive BE to be a little more savvy than just getting/wanting his money back though without getting something in return. Maybe I'm giving him to much credit for his business sense but he could have been positioning all along. Unfortunately it appears that NASL is loosing ground and USL is rumored to be D2. Who is going to pay (rumored 10-15 mil) for a D3 team who, with no attendance and at the moment, is in a tenuous league. Sounds like a fire sale to me which is music to BE's ears. The situation is maddening since I really wanted NASL to flourish.
Well, I would think he'd want to be made whole first and foremost. But a second soccer team is like an eighth television. What am I going to do with this thing? As for the brand, it's easy to say the current ownership tanked it, but, please. Come on. It's not like they were a hugely successful retro brand. There is a reason two other Striker organizations went belly up.
I agree, not hugely successful but successful and in that a profit can be made if purchased on the cheap. I'd rather see them live than die again. On the field I love to hate them and the Cosmos. We'll see the outcome shortly.
Purchasing them is only part of the issue. You have ongoing operational costs. If he's going to flip it, yes. Assuming he can find someone who would rather buy from him than from the Brazilians. But this club - like most others - can't be turning a profit. So even if you get it for cheap with the intent of flipping it (good luck, especially once people figure out that is your intent), you still have to run it until you do, and that ain't cheap. And, again, why would the NASL approve him as an owner? Or a go-between? And why the HELL would you want to buy this thing anyway? If potential owners were all around, where are they now?
Kenn is right. The legal action is to recoup his loan if the club (big if) is sold to a third party. His hail mary is trying to get what is left of the NASL to cover the Strikers legal obligation by asserting an association with Traffic. The Strikers, like most American soccer teams with no physical assets, aren't worth much at all. There isn't anything to 'flip'. This isn't England where a third division team owns it's own yard and can sell a handful of players.
.@RailHawksFC big news seeping out. Here's their apparent new name - North Carolina FC - logo, with announcement of MLS intentions. pic.twitter.com/mQ5u4RMka0— Neil Morris (@ByNeilMorris) December 2, 2016 Note the date. Same as the Rowdies "historic announcement"
From "Populous" stadium architecture blog...these people know a little something on designing soccer stadia. Hmmm... https://t.co/Ymj9vejVT5— Support Al Lang (@SupportAlLang) December 3, 2016
Local media is getting in on this, so it's gotta be good. Major news coming tonight from @TampaBayRowdies, concerning future of the franchise. @WFLA will be there.— Dan Lucas (@WFLADan) December 6, 2016
Yeah, and Rowdies are saying they love people to wear their "green and gold", so unless they are doing some sort of weird Mutiny/Rowdies hybrid I think we can put that to rest. Methinks it is a stadium proposal and MLS aspiration event....but who knows. It is the "Biggest announcement in team history"...