Does yankee stadium? Would Ford field? I understand those were just article titles. That is why I said such. It was just to point out it has been thought by many MLS wanted sss for all of the latest round of expansion.
[QUOTE="T.M. Anthony, post: 36125721, member: 172234] They'll take a non-SSS as a long term home for a team if they think it's viable, by which I mean not an MLS 1.0 looking mess where a team only uses half the lower bowl of a 50k+ stadium to seat a sprinkled in crowd. If they think a team can fill the stadium and said team is also making revenue there, they'll take it. And that's where I have questions about Detroit. If they had the major fan support to make MLS think it could be the next Atlanta/Settle I think it would be a shoo-in, [/QUOTE] Perhaps Detroit is in the mix because of a possibility of having a stadium situation like Montreal? The Impact can play games at Olympic Stadium, so scheduling early season games or playoff games could be held there to avoid snowy or icy conditions. If Detroit were to propose building a 20-25,000 seat SSS for most games in warm weather months with early season and playoff possibilities at Ford Field, that could make their bid very attractive to the league. As far as I remember, there were many doubts about Atlanta getting an MLS team as related to attendance. The fans drawn to watch soccer for Atlanta's pre-MLS teams didn't really point to the astounding figures AUFC actually did draw at Grant Field and MBS.
LAFC will play its first exhibition game against... Sacramento https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2017/11/30/lafc-play-sacramento-republic-fc-preseason-friendly The newest team against the next team? Do we read that as hope, an educated guess or inside knowledge that Sacramento is in?
Too many people think that MLS has dictated that teams MUST play in SSS because of something that came about 10 to 15 years ago. The owners in MLS at that time all played in stadiums that were owned by other people so they were getting only part of the game day income. Well, all but one. NE played in a facility that Kraft owned so he got all the revenue streams. When Crew Stadium and the Home Depot Center opened they realized that they could lose a whole lot less money if the controlled the revenue streams (ok, they likely realized that much earlier since they aren't stupid, but this showed them concrete numbers). So began the idea that every team needed to play in a soccer specific stadium. Yes, it helped the game day experience but it really was more about being able to not pay money to people that aren't league members to use the stadium. With ownership groups now being comprised of NFL owners that own stadiums in the location their team is the idea has morphed to what it really has been all along. Stadiums that the league controls the revenue on. They are still going to want stadiums that are built in such a way that the atmosphere isn't lost when there is only 20k in a 65k+ stadium, but requiring a SSS? Not anymore. Yankee Stadium still works because the Yankees are part owners. Ford Field would work because it is owned by individuals in the ownership group. Nissan Stadium wouldn't work in Nashville because it isn't owned by someone in the ownership group. Same thing for Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati.
SRFC has played plenty of preseason friendlies against MLS teams. Sometimes a preseason game is just a preseason game.
Does anyone know why they are even doing this Final Four rigmarole? Is there some benefit to doing this? I feel like it discourages the other applicants that aren't in the Final Four from pursuing or improving their plans. If two teams were simply selected, then all the remaining applicants would feel like they still have a shot at being one of the two selected next time from among the remaining eight or so applicants. As it stands now, it seems like the assumption going forward is that the Final Four will likely be the next four.
While I disagree, there is a well established school of philosophy arguing that all we are is dust in the wind.
Having a domed stadium for early games (with no issues with rent) along with an SSS would be a good idea. But the reality is that this isn't their current plan; their current plan is Ford Field or bust. That's what they've got to sell to the MLS powers that be on the 6th. And with that in mind the pivotal question for that bid is "Hey Detroit, are you Atlanta?" They NEED to be in order to convince MLS they'll work. And Atlanta had a wider area to draw fans from (all the south pretty much) and a better liked owner (I mentioned this before but the lower division Detroit City fans seem pretty hostile to this team's ownership) This team basically has to start from scratch with regards to support.
4 total teams will be announced eventually. MLS is announcing the top 4 bids right now, basically setting the bar for the other cities. Round out your final 4, even if two of the four really aren't MLS ready today. You are pretty much telling the other 8 cities where they stand and telling them that they at least need to match the two "losers" this round if they want to have any chance.
I think there will be other conflicts with the Yankees during what I believe will be NYCFC's decades-long residency in Yankee Stadium. So, yes, I used the word periodically advisedly.
Look at DC United's history with getting a stadium in the District of Columbia. Look at how many fits and starts there were over 20 years. Look at how our ownership had to build a relationship with the local government and sponsors over decades to secure the green light to pay to build their own stadium on a tiny parcel of land that barely fits 20,000 fans. (I'm not knocking Buzzard Pount. I actually think it will be a good facility to watch pro soccer and will serve as an excellent home stadium.) As a New Yorker, you are well aware that stadium land use politics are equally difficult in New York as in D.C. Enjoy getting bounced out of Yankee Stadium at random for 20 years. I hope I'm wrong but I fear I'm right. It's the exact objection to a second NY team that the rest of us raised in 2013.