I thought the same thing, but I think theres a big difference in an MLS team in the Triangle and a MLS team in Charlotte. The Carolina Panthers knew they could pull from South Carolina because they were so close to the NC/SC boarder. I don't think NCFC has any chance of pulling from SC because of how far away they are. A Charlotte MLS team can easily pull from SC because of location. The Independence have been planning on MLS since day one. It really surprised me when the Railhawks rebranded to NCFC and made the claim they wanted MLS! I hope NCFC comes to the USL, this should start a huge rivalry between NCFC and the Independence and hopefully help grow the Charlotte support and light a fire under the owners butts to get things moving quicker!
Malik has been hinting at MLS since his takeover last year, maybe a year after Independence came into existence.
Generally I agree, but it isn't set in stone. A big reason why the NFL is hesitant to go over 32 is because they are heavily reliant on national TV contracts. Those contracts aren't going to get bigger by adding more teams. So if they add a team all they are doing is cutting into another owner's profits. MLS wants to that money, but currently are more reliant on their local market. When that is the case adding more teams isn't necessarily going to cut into another teams profits all that much. If that doesn't happen there is less reason to not expand into a city that could support and MLS team. If it wasn't for such a reliant on national TV contracts I have little doubt the NBA would have added an expansion team in Seattle by now. If MLS is never able to get on the gravy train that is national TV contracts, and they have to continue to rely on local support then I could easily see them going past 32 teams. If I had to guess I would say only the top 40 markets are really capable of supporting an MLS team, with some exceptions on both sides of that mark. So if I had to put a cap on the amount of teams it would be 40ish. If they are able to get on the gravy train, I think the cap will be 30ish. No hard science here, just my opinion based on my observations.
More teams = more games. Two additional expansion teams adds 16 games of inventory to the overall season, and someone's going to pay to televise them. NFL TV contracts have never failed to get bigger. The current ones run until 2021. Each time the contracts have been renewed (1987, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2006 and 2014, recently), they've been for more money overall. The NBA's current TV contract was a huge game-changer. It dumped so much money into the ecosystem, the owners tried to keep it from hitting the salary cap all at once. (They couldn't.) Also, Seattle hasn't exactly been able to get an arena solution. That's been a factor in why there's no NBA team there.
They will be used as leverage to get the taxpayers of Columbus to build a better stadium. And the taxpayers of Commerce City. And when one of those communities responds, nah, we're good, then they'll get an MLS team the old fashioned way. They'll steal it.
The rumblings about the next stadium in Columbus will be the test case for how MLS plays the long-term Stadium Game. What was Crew Stadium will be 18 years old in May, and while it was not designed or engineered in the same way the more recent round of yards was, it will be interesting to see what happens when all the purpose-built facilities start to become old enough to drink.
That would show that the game has really gotten popular in this country..."give me a new SSS or I'll move to Louisville"!
Some pretty witty banter between North Carolina FC and Norwich City FC over #NCFC. North Carolina FC challenge Norwich City to match over Twitter hashtag https://t.co/lIa9aLiBqx #ncfc pic.twitter.com/9ri3LnCBWu— The Pink Un (@pinkun) December 7, 2016 Here it is! This is for our fans from across the pond #NCFC #AreYouIn pic.twitter.com/CkfhyfROyt— North Carolina FC 🏆 (@NorthCarolinaFC) December 14, 2016 .@NorthCarolinaFC 👀 First the hashtag, now the kit. This next? 🤔#ncfc pic.twitter.com/IkPURqxBHD— Norwich City FC (@NorwichCityFC) December 14, 2016
http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle...price-tag-doesnt-deter-triangles-bid-for.html "Malik declined to identify the other two sites. Asked specifically around downtown Raleigh, he said, "Well, I think it is an option. Of the options we have, downtown is a little harder to coordinate all the various constituents that have to be on board." Sounds like he's already angling for staying in Cary or elsewhere in suburbia. Not good. Hasn't Garber explicitly said that he wants downtown stadiums?
It's actually a fairly obvious assessment by Malik. Assembling land in downtown Raleigh is infinitely more difficult than building in the parking lot in Cary. Rumor is his preference is in proximity to the warehouse district. To me this means either two locations: 1) combining Red Hat Amphitheater with gravel lot to its south, 2) replace low-income housing at Heritage Park. So obviously each of those options require some coordination but each would be highly preferred to Cary. That's my interpretation of his quote.
http://www.northcarolinafc.com/news...n-premier-development-league-starting-in-2017 Cary, NC (February 10, 2017)- The North Carolina Football Club and the Premier Development League announced today that North Carolina FC’s Under 23 team will be joining the PDL starting this season, bolstering a South Atlantic Division that now houses seven teams based in the Carolinas. All home games will be played at WakeMed Soccer Park.
Well we know that the 3rd location option is North Hills. Given that Johnson and Malik had both suggested there would be stadium news/renderings or something of that nature in February, I assume that's bad news for a downtown (maybe even North hills) stadium. I think being forced to stay in Cary as part of the MLS bid would certainly eliminate it from MLS consideration.
North Carolina FCVerified account@NorthCarolinaFC 2h2 hours ago UP NEXT: @Chas_Battery Saturday, March 4 2:00 PM WakeMed Soccer Park FREE
North Carolina FCVerified account@NorthCarolinaFC 46m46 minutes ago Individual tickets are on sale now AND our Atlas deal is still going on! Better hurry and head to http://bit.ly/2kWBsGG
North Carolina FCVerified account @NorthCarolinaFC 7m7 minutes ago All of our games will be available on television, radio or digital platforms in 2017! Details http://nasl.io/20ijFdQw
http://www.northcarolinafc.com/news/2017/03/22/north-carolina-fc-edged-by-atlas-fc-2-1 North Carolina FC Edged by Atlas FC 2-1 Mar 22, 2017
2017 LH USOC FT FC Cincinnati 1 - 0 Louisville City FC FT Jacksonville Armada FC 0 - 1 Charleston Battery AET Rochester Rhinos 2 - 1 GPS Omens FT Miami FC 2 - 0 Tampa Bay Rowdies FT North Carolina FC 4 - 1 Charlotte Independence FT Reading United A.C. 0 - 3 Harrisburg City Islanders FT Chicago FC United 0 - 1 Christos FC
Sorry about the lose against Houston. That was a tough pill to swallow and even I was upset about it. Freaking pissed. The chances of the shot getting through are so low. Anyways good luck. Just wanted to say this.
http://www.nasl.com/news/2017/07/27...igns-professional-deal-with-north-carolina-fc Former Academy Player D.J. Taylor Returns To Sign With North Carolina FC The local product recently featured in the friendly against Swansea Jul 27, 2017
sounds like they might make the jump over to USL: https://soccernsweettea.com/joining...icial-move-for-north-carolina-fc-235a552255ac