The MLS Stadium Thread

Discussion in 'MLS: News & Analysis' started by fairfax4dc, May 20, 2016.

  1. FoxBoro 143

    FoxBoro 143 Member+

    Jan 18, 2004
    MA
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Oh the humanity. Forcing a team to replace their dump of a stadium which had become irrelevant in its market is so unfair because......Garber's pockets or something.
     
  2. JasonMa

    JasonMa Member+

    Mar 20, 2000
    Arvada, CO
    Club:
    Colorado Rapids
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    [​IMG]
     
  3. the cup

    the cup Member

    Jul 10, 2002
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Chicago wants to be the next Atlanta too.
     
  4. FoxBoro 143

    FoxBoro 143 Member+

    Jan 18, 2004
    MA
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Well they were already the old/current Columbus, so at least they are setting their sights higher.
     
  5. NashSC

    NashSC Member+

    Nashville SC
    United States
    Jan 3, 2018
    The thoughts that moving to Soldier field is going to suddenly make them start packing in 40-60k is hysterical to me. I have seen a few post comments to that nature. Someone in another thread (or it may have been reddit) suggested they would sell out Solider field some next year.
    I'm not saying the move won't be beneficial, but lets set our sites on 15-20k first. If the Fire average anywhere near 20k next year I will be completely blown away and overjoyed.
     
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  6. Paul Berry

    Paul Berry Member+

    Notts County and NYCFC
    United States
    Apr 18, 2015
    Nr Kingston NY
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I think NYCFC keeps matchday revenue.

    Soldier Field is owned by the city is it not?

    What is the capacity of the lower tier?
     
  7. Minnman

    Minnman Member+

    Feb 11, 2000
    Columbus, OH, USA
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    And scheduling priority

    And control of the matchday experience

    But perhaps more important than anything, it's really that quality and commitment of ownership.

    Kraft controls revenue at Gillette Stadium. Presumably, HSG controlled revenue at Arrowhead when the KC Wiz played there.
     
  8. ThreeApples

    ThreeApples Member+

    Jul 28, 1999
    Smurf Village
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Soldier Field is a port in a storm to get out of a bad situation. Whether it leads to success is to be seen, but it's its own thing, not really comparable to what's going on with other MLS teams.
     
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  9. Yoshou

    Yoshou Fan of the CCL Champ

    May 12, 2009
    Seattle
    Club:
    Seattle Sounders
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    that isn’t what he said. The Fire had little to no control over the non-Fire revenue at Bridgeview and were trapped in that situation for a fairly large number of years. A situation that wasn’t good for Bridgeview or the Fire, mind you, and had a tendency to generate negative press for both the team and the league..

    Couple that with a prevailing argument that the location of their stadium in Bridgeview was hindering the attendance of the young, urban demographic that MLS seems to be enamored with lately and you can see why a move out if Bridgeview to the more urban location and easily accessible Soldier field would be viewed as a net positive of for the Fire. Even more so when you consider that SF is supposed to be a short term solution.
     
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  10. AndyMead

    AndyMead Homo Sapien

    Nov 2, 1999
    Seat 12A
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Actually, yes.

    That is exactly why the Fire moved out of Bridgeview.

    Given your posting history I would assume you're being sarcastic, but the Fire aren't looking at 2020, they're looking at the future, and being stuck in Bridgeview is a terrible situation for them that's not likely to get better. And given the restrictive covenants in the contract they and the league had with the Town of Bridgeview any attempt at negotiating a deal for a new stadium would have them negotiating with pretty much no leverage, all the while making the buyout of the Bridgeview contract all that much harder.

    The move to Soldier Field might actually be worse financially in the short term, but it's almost a necessary condition to get the Fire out from under the Bridgeview contract so that they can start working on a new stadium deal unencumbered.
     
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  11. AndyMead

    AndyMead Homo Sapien

    Nov 2, 1999
    Seat 12A
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    This. Much more succinct than my post. Thanks!
     
  12. stanger

    stanger BigSoccer Supporter

    Nov 29, 2008
    Columbus
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Yeah, I was being sarcastic.

    I have seen the double standards from the beginning and have a hard time giving the league, and Garber specifically, any credit for anything.

    The explanations make sense from a revenue control standpoint, but I still see some markets getting crazy requirements imposed on them while others are allowed to skip the process altogether if they have what Garber considers to be desirable ownership situations or other mitigating factors.

    The business of the game we love is underhanded, dirty and proven dishonest on all levels in all locations. I don't think MLS and their decisions are as above-board as most people posting here seem to think.
     
  13. AndyMead

    AndyMead Homo Sapien

    Nov 2, 1999
    Seat 12A
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    It's almost as if the league, it's sponsors, and it's broadcast partners see some markets as being more valuable than others.

    Crazy, I know.

    It's almost like some parents favoring one child over the others while preaching fairness and equality. Who would do such a thing?

    /s
     
  14. TrueCrew

    TrueCrew Member+

    Dec 22, 2003
    Columbus, OH
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Stadium wise, despite the Miami/Nashville hiccups, this was a good year for the league.

    Minny's new digs are awesome. Even if they lost some attendance #s to make the move (like Orlando did and Cincy will). But Portland's expansion offsets it.

    Cincy's new digs are spectacular & started. PSV managed to get things started without a hitch in Austin. Sacramento is ready to roll & STL looks good.

    Issues in Miami & Nashville, but at least they have places to play, with Miami's a new SSS for the USL side.

    Just as important, two of the attendance laggers got a big boost. New ownership + DT stadium for Columbus. New ownership + getting out of Bridgeview for Chicago. Huge wins for the league (and hometown fans) in both instances.

    I do not think there are any real urgent stadia issues at the moment. Yes, NYC's situation needs improving. But it not dire. NE owns the revenue stream. Chicago, Miami, and Nashville have temporary homes. And though Colorado & Dallas could improve, $15-$16k is not awful.

    Columbus & Chicago were both problenatic in terms of ownership and attendance. One causing the other. With older SSS in a poor location not helping.
     
  15. TrueCrew

    TrueCrew Member+

    Dec 22, 2003
    Columbus, OH
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Well, when you run a professional sports league, fair competition is suppossedly a bedrock. But MLS has not run that way. With the expansion requirements just the latest example.

    Changing the rules for some teams (LAG). Favoring some locales in player acquisition. Refusing to get players for certain clubs (Columbus) but not others.

    The expansion rules for different markets varying is understandable. But when it is built on years of undermining fair competition on the field, the league does not get the benefit of the doubt. Nor should they.
     
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  16. NashSC

    NashSC Member+

    Nashville SC
    United States
    Jan 3, 2018
    Did you mean to put dollar signs here? If so please explain.
     
  17. blacktide

    blacktide Member

    Feb 25, 1999
    Spanos is a tool and will say whatever he has to say. The Chargers may ultimately stay in LA, but they are a total failure in the fan department. San Diego won't support the team in LA and the team is maybe just in the top 10 most popular teams in LA (Dodgers, Lakers, Rams, Angels, Kings, Clippers, Ducks, USC, UCLA, Chivas, and maybe LAFC and/or the Galaxy). Reports are that the team is struggling to sell PSLs in the new stadium and, like at Stub Hub, the crowds will most likely be for the opposing teams.

    I don't know that Spanos cares, since he gets the valuation bump of being in a bigger market and the TV money and ticket sales dollars from opposing fans are green, which is all he cares about. He is asking a new question in this day and age where TV dollars matter above all else, "Can a team be successful if it doesn't have fans?" The answer for Dean's pocketbook might be yes.
     
  18. Yoshou

    Yoshou Fan of the CCL Champ

    May 12, 2009
    Seattle
    Club:
    Seattle Sounders
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    #3443 Yoshou, Nov 12, 2019
    Last edited: Nov 12, 2019
    Your statement is patently false from a global perspective and even from a US perspective, it is on shaky grounds. The NFL okayed a move from a perfectly fine stadium in San Diego to a freaking Soccer stadium in an LA suburb just because they viewed the LA market as being superior to the SD market, the NBA has a number of roster rules that benefit large market teams over small market teams, and don't even get me started on how the MLB's roster rules favor large markets over small markets. I don't know enough about the NHL's roster rules, but I'm sure there's a reason why the US teams dominate the Canadian teams.
     
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  19. don gagliardi

    don gagliardi Member+

    San Jose Earthquakes
    Feb 28, 2004
    san jose
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Remember, the subject we're discussing here is discrimination. The fact that other people do it doesn't make it right, even from a "global perspective." Sports leagues need to have fair and even-handed competition, with each of their teams and fan bases treated equitably. "Don't Cross the Line."
     
  20. SierraSpartan

    SierraSpartan Member+

    Jan 25, 2007
    Placer County, CA
    Club:
    Sacramento Republic FC
    (Above offer void if it involves getting Landycakes into the LA Market)
     
  21. Yoshou

    Yoshou Fan of the CCL Champ

    May 12, 2009
    Seattle
    Club:
    Seattle Sounders
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    *blinkblinkblink* Wow... Way to completely blow the situation out of proportion and take it into complete absurdity. Congrats.
     
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  22. AndyMead

    AndyMead Homo Sapien

    Nov 2, 1999
    Seat 12A
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Well, at least in Toronto's case, it has to do with having maxed out revenue streams and ability to expand capacity with a continuing insatiable demand for the product combined with ownership that prioritizes profits over success as the investment necessary to win would likely reduce profitability due to the fact that they can't sell any more tickets, TV revenues likely wouldn't increase, and they sell all the merchandise they produce. In short, the fans are victims of their team's popularity, and the risk/reward from the ownership level to improving the product doesn't make financial sense.

    There was a period where the exchange rate was hurting the Canadian teams pretty bad, but I'm not sure that's true right now.
     
  23. AndyMead

    AndyMead Homo Sapien

    Nov 2, 1999
    Seat 12A
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    #3448 AndyMead, Nov 12, 2019
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 12, 2019
    Oh god. This isn't "sports" - it's business. You're confused.
     
  24. don gagliardi

    don gagliardi Member+

    San Jose Earthquakes
    Feb 28, 2004
    san jose
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    No. You simply don't understand a concept of broad application.
     
  25. Yoshou

    Yoshou Fan of the CCL Champ

    May 12, 2009
    Seattle
    Club:
    Seattle Sounders
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I think that's a fair statement, but surely there's a reason why it has been 26 years since a Canadian club won the Stanley Cup and since 1989 (the last time 2 Canadian teams faced each other in the finals) there have only been 6 Canadian clubs in the final. Toronto's owners might be greedy bastards that aren't interested in winning, but surely not all owners of Canadian teams are..
     

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