Welcome to BigSoccer. Not many new accounts these days. One size fits all solutions are generally a bad idea. There aren't any good "10k" stadiums in the NYC area that would be appropriate for an NWSL team. Red Bull Arena is really hard to match for both the fans, the participants, and even the viewing audience. You are correct that huge swathes of empty seats can be problematic, but then so is the sight of rows of outhouses in the gravel parking lot clearly visible on a broadcast of the game, and asking professional players to bus offsite for a shower after the game.
If Sky Blue can consistently average between 5-10,000 fans per game, one option is to limit seating to the lower bowl. I could not find a specific seat breakdown between the upper and lower bowls, but I imagine it's about half the total stadium capacity of 25,000. Either this, or restrict seating to one side of the stadium, the one visible to television cameras. I tend to like option #1, as it creates a better atmosphere for the fans actually attending. Between the upgraded facilities, being closer to NYC, public transit access, and new league rules allowing the signing of higher profile players, hopefully Sky Blue can reverse the years-long damage done to their image and attract top talent again. It's not good for the league to be dominated by the same four playoff teams, we need teams like Washington, Houston and Sky Blue to make progress in the standings.
Right. If there was a decent 10k venue available anywhere in the NYC area, Cosmos would've moved there long ago.
It's funny because there might actually be a decent stadium being built now. Queensboro FC just joined USL and apparently they are going to be playing at a new 7500 seat stadium on the campus of York College. The funny part is that that stadium might have been perfect for right now, but maybe when it opens in 2021 it might actually be too small if Sky Blue are able to grow in Red Bull Arena.
Hopefully it is too small. Right now they average about 8k attendance when going to Red Bull. Lets see if they can sustain or progress further.
I still find it doubtful that any college stadium is being built for modern professional first division fan and player expectations. Even the brand new Soccer and Lacrosse Stadium at UNC wouldn't be what I would expect for a fully professional club with regards to player facilities, throw in parking, seating, concessions, and merchandising expectations, and I would have to see it to believe it.
There will be question marks as to whether both Chicago, with the loss of Sam Kerr, and Seattle, with having to replace Vlakto, will be able to repeat. So maybe we can see a couple of new teams in the play-offs in 2020.
permanently moving to Red Bull arena next year. Amazing what can happen with a GM that actually cares Keep up the great work Alyse LaHue
Maybe my calculations are off, but following the latest announcements from Washington and Sky Blue, it appears to me that nearly two-thirds of NWSL games in 2020 (76 of 120) will be played in MLS stadiums or former MLS stadiums (Bridgeview). And that's assuming that Sacramento joins for 2020, in which case no NWSL games would be played in an MLS stadium there in 2020. If the lineup of teams remains the same as this year, then the percentage in MLS stadiums rises above two-thirds.
There was so much talk about OL coming in, and now that its actually happening, it sure is quiet around here. I, for one, did not expect this to be how OL came into the NWSL, but OL is an amazing organization with deep pockets. So, I think the investment is good for the NWSL, but I'm a bit sad to see another "independent" go down (but in a much better way than, say, the Boston Breakers). However, I'm happy to see that the Predmores will still be involved. I still have a lot of questions though on how overseas ownership will play out, but for that, we'll have to wait and see. Also for those wondering about more details, there's a bit more on the Reign's website.
This is just plain dumb. You don't maintain a relationship by tweeting that way. You communicate directly and privately. Riley is a good coach, but he's too enamored of himself.
Does appear as if everything will be known by the end of the week. It does seem like the owners are being kept out of the loop right now.
Actually the owners are the ones in negotiation since they represent the league; the article directly says it's their initial offer that USSF rejected. Kept out of the loop are coaches and other staff, it sounds like. Arnim in particular yesterday sent out a not-so-cryptic tweet saying "reporters should get multiple sources" - which to me sounds like he knew something the Murray got wrong about what's going on.
This being the long, cold, hard winter while the NWSL is on break, I decided to look up the NWSL players who have appeared in the most matches since the inception of the league, 7 seasons ago. The max number of games (not counting playoffs) a player in which a player could appear is 156. Here's the list: Nairn.............. 150 matches Barnes .......... 149 Zerboni.......... 147 Mathias......... 142 McDonald......135 Barnhardt...... 135 Long...............133 Reynolds........129 Sinclair...........128 K. Mewis........124
Are there players who could only join the league 4-6 seasons ago that have higher appearance percentages?
Old-timers in MLS used to refer to the "Ralston Line" (itself derived from MLB's Mendoza Line). Steve Ralston was good enough to start for any team, but not good enough to miss notable minutes getting called up for the USMNT for qualifiers, Gold Cups, World Cups, or anything else that would keep him off the MLS field. McCall Zerboni fits that bill perfectly, and until France 2019, Jessica McDonald would as well. (The Mendoza Line was something else. Mario Mendoza is a place-holder for the point at which your hitting is so poor that you can't be a starter. His 9 year batting average was .215. Typically anyone batting under .200 is often referred to as being below the Mendoza Line).
I havent calculated percentage of appearances, but the 2 players who havent played in the NWSL all 7 seasons, but have appeared in most matches are (unless I err): Brooks....... 123 matches Yanez......... 123
Player matches portion seasons last played Brittany Taylor 106 96% 5 2017 Keelin Winters 83 97% 4 2016 Leigh Ann Robinson Brown65 98% 3 2015 Katy Freels 65 98% 3 2015 Kim Little 63 98% 3 2016 Kendall Fletcher 62 97% 3 2016 Gunny Jonsdottir 48 100% 2 2019 Nikki Marshall 46 100% 2 2014 Andi Sullivan 46 96% 2 2019 Bethany Balcer 24 100% 1 2019 Sam Staab 24 100% 1 2019 Nikki Krzysik 23 96% 1 2014 Vicky Losada 23 96% 1 2014 Paige Monaghan 23 96% 1 2019 Kia McNeill 21 95% 1 2013 My calculations for possible matches are by full season, so doesn't include players who joined or left mid-season (although that is on my list to do). The most notable member of that club is the amazing Jen Buczkowski who played every possible match from league inception to retirement for financial reasons 5 games into the 2016 season -- 76 consecutive matches.
Yes, those are the top two. Ohai is the player with the most games in league history to never play in a playoff game. There are 24 players with more than 90 games but less than 7 seasons. (games played, seasons, player) 123 6 Amber Brooks 123 6 Beverly Goebel Yáñez 117 6 Emily Menges 115 6 Vanessa DiBernardo 114 6 Kealia Ohai 110 5 Sofia Huerta 108 6 Abby Erceg 108 6 Estelle Johnson 106 5 Brittany Taylor 106 5 Danielle Colaprico 106 5 Sarah Killion 104 6 Becca Moros 102 5 Arin Gilliland Wright 102 6 Kristen Edmonds 99 5 Jaelene Hinkle 99 6 Meghan Klingenberg 99 5 Lynn Williams 98 5 Megan Oyster 97 5 Abby Dahlkemper 97 6 Julie King 94 6 Julie Johnston Ertz 93 5 Desiree Scott 92 6 Taylor Lytle 91 6 Samantha Johnson
NWSL President Amanda Duffy to step down after one year in the position (three years overall in league administration) to join Orlando Pride front office. She informed NWSL board of directors today.— Steven Goff (@SoccerInsider) January 7, 2020
I mean... we knew USSF wanted them to keep working on finding a commissioner, and scuttlebutt was it wouldn't be her... But damn that's still a somewhat weird (and definitely oddly timed) move.