American expansion possibilities

Discussion in 'NWSL Expansion' started by WPS_Movement, Dec 28, 2012.

  1. WoSoFan

    WoSoFan Member

    Dec 23, 2017
    #1026 WoSoFan, Jan 28, 2018
    Last edited: Jan 28, 2018
    So what made you come up with Minnesota United wanting a team? Also remember, they will most likely focus on trying to add more teams on the West Coast, which would have me believe San Jose would be the choice over Nashville and even over Minnesota for that matter.

    I think there is a better chance that the Reign would relocate rather then a buy out by the Sounders. Anyway where would the Reign play should that happen?

    I could see the Red Bulls ending up with Sky Blue eventually.

    There is going to have to be some major changes for the Spirit and Chicago if they plan on having a lasting future in the NWSL.
     
  2. SiberianThunderT

    Sep 21, 2008
    DC
    Club:
    Saint Louis Athletica
    Nat'l Team:
    Spain
    I agree than MNU is a complete red herring. They reportedly put one tiny WoSo clause in their stadium deal to try and make the deal sweeter and haven't mentioned it since. Heck, I tried Googling the exact nature of their stadium deal a the other day and found nothing. They're not coming in the NWSL any time soon.

    That said, I disagree that NWSL will put an emphasis on the West Coast or any particular region at all. It sound like they've already got their first CA team pretty nicely lined-up and I think they'll be happy with that. They're more interested in sustainability and making good investments than anything else, and they should be. If San Jose happens to be the next MLS team ready to take the NWSL plunge, great, but I don't see NWSL forcing San Jose in first if someone else is more ready.

    I also disagree that the Red Stars and Chicago need a major business model shift to stay in the league. I already detailed most of my thoughts on the Red Stars in the main forum. For the Spirit, they're going to have access to Audi Field within the year, and I'm 95% certain that they can probably draw 8-10k any time they play in Audi (as long as it's no more than 33% of home games or so), so I don't see any big issues with their viability moving forward either. Considering how nice their current venue is, I don't see them moving full-time to Audi unless they're actually moved there via purchase by DCU.

    Seattle's stadium issue is a big problem, but otherwise their business model seems to be working fairly well. Unless the stadium issue really is a deal-killer, I don't see them leaving the Seattle area, if only because the league's flagship teams wants to have that Seattle neighbor. The only relocation I could possible see as acceptable is heading just across the border to Vancouver - which I personally would hate becuase IMO Vancouver has a MASSIVE black eye when it comes to WoSo.

    Sky Blue is the only big question mark for their business model and attendance. Talks of sales to NYRB and NYCFC have happened before but Hofs shot them down... That was, what, four or five years ago by this point, though? With Murphy now as NJ governor and the changing WoSo landscape, I could potentially see some talks happening again... No current sign of those starting soon, though.
     
  3. WoSoFan

    WoSoFan Member

    Dec 23, 2017
    #1028 WoSoFan, Jan 29, 2018
    Last edited: Jan 29, 2018
    Well we agree to disagree. I think if San Jose is ready to go, they will get it. There is an imbalance right now in the amount of travel time the teams out West are subject, too, and a choice like that would help to reduce some of it.
     
  4. toad455

    toad455 Member+

    Nov 28, 2005
    Ideally I'd love for the league to keep all 9 of it's current teams and expand to 12 by 2020. LAFC seems like a lock. Does Barcelona team up with them or add their own team in San Diego or the Bay Area? How soon for Nashville?
     
  5. AndyMead

    AndyMead Homo Sapien

    Nov 2, 1999
    Seat 12A
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    I don't think you go far enough.

    The NWSL isn't in any position to put an emphasis on anything other than vetting potential expansion groups - regardless of where they come from.

    I can put all the emphasis on my buying a Maserati - that's not going to make it happen.

    It took MLS 20 years and billions of dollars of infrastucture to get to the point where there are more potential new teams than the league is willing to take on.
     
  6. WoSoFan

    WoSoFan Member

    Dec 23, 2017
    From what l understand it is a Barca/LAFC Partnership. I am not sure they really want to do something like that on their own, but why not let them partner up with another team if they want too.
     
  7. SiberianThunderT

    Sep 21, 2008
    DC
    Club:
    Saint Louis Athletica
    Nat'l Team:
    Spain
    Grant Wahl said LAFC and FCB are working together already.
    Nashville is unlikely - aside from one forum where they had some USWNTer comment on how good the city is, I haven't heard a peep out of them showing any interest in NWSL.
     
  8. WoSoFan

    WoSoFan Member

    Dec 23, 2017
    I don’t think Nashville Is probably going to want to jump into something else right now until they get a lot further along on the MLS side of things.
     
  9. SiberianThunderT

    Sep 21, 2008
    DC
    Club:
    Saint Louis Athletica
    Nat'l Team:
    Spain
    Well, massive typo aside, you certainly can't say MP doesn't *try* to leak things even when the league itself is so tight-lipped.... All but confirming we'll get at least two expansion announcements over the course of 2018:
    960576289626251264 is not a valid tweet id


    = = = = =

    I will add one thing to the conversation - or rather, somewhat walk back one thing. I'm still highly skeptical of Minnesota United actually being interested in NWSL at all - I view the rumored stadium statement rider as a red herring - but there are some other things that still suggest someone in MN might be making move, maybe even MUFC even though I'm skeptical of them.

    I rate all three of these "incidents" individually as Very Low Impact as to whether they hint of expansion or not - but we do have three instead of just one:
    1. It was rumored that another MN-based group was in talks of buying FCKC from Baer. This I'm fairly certain was NOT MUFC since any report that mentioned the mystery MN group was not afraid to outright name SKC as being in (attempted) discussions.
    2. MUFC retweeted the Spirit a while ago when the Spirit announced Scurry as asst GK coach. Probably more of a fan nod than anything else, but still something.
    3. In the wake of this turbulent offseason, you've had both Duffy and Averbush give interviews to the expected sources - national sites like FourFourTwo and The Equalizer as well as the appropriate Boston-based The Bent Musket; then you had Averbush also give an interview to FiftyFiveOne, an obscure-by-WoSo-standards blog based out of... Minnesota. Little independent reporting sites probably don't mean much, but again, it's still something.

    = = = = =

    If it really is that MUFC is doing something behind-the-scenes, I think it follows (or maybe just establishes) a pattern of how MLS expansion teams are viewing NWSL expansion. ORL waited to expand into NWSL until they had a year of MLS under their belt, and part of the "rush" was probably to capitalize on the WWC victory. LAFC explicitly said they wanted some time in MLS before considering NWSL, and I bet it's working out to just one year instead of two or three because the FCB partnership materialized. If MUFC is planning on joining NWSL, it will be at least two years of MLS before they take the NWSL plunge.
     
  10. BostonRed

    BostonRed Member+

    Oct 9, 2011
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
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  11. SiberianThunderT

    Sep 21, 2008
    DC
    Club:
    Saint Louis Athletica
    Nat'l Team:
    Spain
    True, but I assume any Tweet that's already lasted more than 24hrs is probably there to stay. X-D
     
  12. WoSoFan

    WoSoFan Member

    Dec 23, 2017
    It will be interesting to see if the league finally will be able to make their expansion announcements earlier then what we have become accustom, too.
     
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  13. SiberianThunderT

    Sep 21, 2008
    DC
    Club:
    Saint Louis Athletica
    Nat'l Team:
    Spain
    Orlando's was honestly fairly early, all things considered. Since new NWSL teams aren't (likely) going to be building new stadiums and new organizations from scratch, I think one full offseason is about what's needed. Something closer to a full year might be nice, but we certainly don't need two- and three-year-away announcements like MLS currently has. NWSL isn't that economically competitive yet to have enough people knocking at the door for a drawn-out process and lead-up time to be needed.

    But yeah, if something is announced before the playoffs, that would certainly be fun!
     
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  14. WoSoFan

    WoSoFan Member

    Dec 23, 2017
    I could see them adding two teams in 2019 especially if they plan on doing what they did for the 2015 WC, with a 10 home game schedule. Would simplify the scheduling with a home and away format for each team. Maybe, even add another team in 2020 so they don't have to have 3 teams involved in an expansion, that is if they are seriously thinking about quickly going to a 12 team league.
     
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  15. SiberianThunderT

    Sep 21, 2008
    DC
    Club:
    Saint Louis Athletica
    Nat'l Team:
    Spain
    http://cornerofthegalaxy.com/2018/0...nd-jamieson-nwsl-in-la-and-season-ticket-dip/
    Gonna be interesting to see the Galaxy trying to be the #2 team in LA for once....
     
  16. toad455

    toad455 Member+

    Nov 28, 2005
    I think it's clear there will be a team in LA soon. 2019? 2020 the latest. I think we get to 10 teams for 2019 and on to 12 teams for 2020.
     
  17. WoSoFan

    WoSoFan Member

    Dec 23, 2017
    I think they are going for the whole enchilada in 2019, a 12 team league. At first I thought that might be too much in one year for expansion, but thinking about it, it might be the best thing to do. First, if they still had the 10 teams they probably would have added two expansion teams with the WC happening. That would require 18 players taken in the expansion draft from 9 teams. With a draft for three expansion teams, you would need 27 players. So knowing that, and the fact that they allowed the league to hold onto the 23 Boston players through the dispersal draft, means they will actually require less additional players for a three team expansion. Do the math 27 to 23 means that there is only 4 additional players needed to make it work.

    While it would be a bold move on the part of the NWSL, it would create a media bonanza in so many ways. Just the excitement it will create in three new markets, will benefit the league. Plus it will call for more players entering the league, and especially if they expand the league rosters permanently to 23. we could be looking at as many as 69 players altogether for 2019.

    Of course, this is all based on the premise that there are 3 MLS clubs that actually would be ready to go. Let's face it they have the resources and infrastructure to pull it off. Utah has set the bar high in getting ready to start a season, and doing it all in a two month period. Now, if they can get big numbers in attendance, that will probably seal the deal for a 3 team expansion.
     
  18. SiberianThunderT

    Sep 21, 2008
    DC
    Club:
    Saint Louis Athletica
    Nat'l Team:
    Spain
    More evidence that the Barca/LAFC partnership is a done deal:
     
  19. toad455

    toad455 Member+

    Nov 28, 2005
    Curious how soon they'll announce the LA expansion team? Mid-season? Then hopefully Vancouver by the end of the season.
     
  20. WoSoFan

    WoSoFan Member

    Dec 23, 2017
    I think an early announcement by the league that Barca/LAFC will be the next expansion team will really get things going. Just that happening could get other MLS club owners thinking maybe the time to do it is now. Besides I think when they expand to 12 teams, we may not see further expansion for another couple of years, I think with the dispersal draft they have laid the foundation for a 3 team expansion. Also, with all this expansion activity, we might even see some of the existing independent owners getting bought out.
     
  21. SiberianThunderT

    Sep 21, 2008
    DC
    Club:
    Saint Louis Athletica
    Nat'l Team:
    Spain
    Well, considering they've said they generally want to expand in pairs to avoid uneven schedules, then yeah I think trying to do that two years in a row is out of the question. However, if you take "another couple of years" to mean two, then that's totally doable. Two expansion teams every other year averages to one new team per year, and that's essentially what MLS has done for the past 14 years.

    I would be surprised if we saw a three-team expansion AND buyouts happen in quick succession... Four or five new owners probably won't happen in anything less than three years, especially if we are still lacking a commissioner. What I personally *can* see happening is:
    2019 - expansion of LAFC/Barca, plus Seattle relocation to Vancouver (Seattle will get kicked out of Memorial next year and as of right now doesn't seem to have a backup option) - 10 teams total
    202? - Sky Blue gets sold to NYRB or NYCFC and moves closer in to NYC.
    2021 - two more expansion teams - 12 teams total.
     
  22. WoSoFan

    WoSoFan Member

    Dec 23, 2017
    I found this on the Memorial Stadium issue. It looks like they have changed their mind and plan to revitalize Memorial Stadium. Here is a comment by Seattle Major Tim Burgess:
    "The city is committing to consider a financial partnership for Memorial Stadium’s revitalization and we will proactively help identify other potential partners. We will establish technical teams to review capacity issues and to prepare designs for the new Memorial Stadium."
    No mention, however, of what the stadium capacity might be, or whether it will be designed so the Reign can play there, or even how long it will be. Right now it is all still in the discussion stages.
     
  23. cpthomas

    cpthomas BigSoccer Supporter

    Portland Thorns
    United States
    Jan 10, 2008
    Portland, Oregon
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    A problem with Memorial is its joint use for high school football. I believe that, over the long term, any field jointly used for football is not a good solution. Some sort of arrangement with the Sounders, even if only for field use, is what looks like a good solution.

    Moving the Reign to Vancouver, on the other hand, should get a strong "No" no matter what. Traditional west coast rivalries say there's a need for teams in LA, SF Bay Area, Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver. To not have a Seattle team between Portland and Vancouver simply won't do.
     
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  24. SiberianThunderT

    Sep 21, 2008
    DC
    Club:
    Saint Louis Athletica
    Nat'l Team:
    Spain
    Hmm.... don't look now, but two separate SoCal journalists posted essentially the same GIF and comments since yesterday afternoon...


    I guess connected people in the area were expecting an announcement yesterday? The MLSSoccer.com editor seems to think the lack of an announcement yesterday means that, whatever was going to be said, now won't be said until late summer...

    Whoever is coming on board, they must be very close to final.
     
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  25. toad455

    toad455 Member+

    Nov 28, 2005
    Any early expansion announcement is a bonus. Hoping LA gets announced shortly.
     
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