The fact that the pace of expansion has been drastically slowing down makes you nervous? The NASL went from 12 to 24 teams in 2 years. Anyone that showed up with a cashiers check could get an NASL franchise. There has been nothing remotely comparable with MLS. The last two teams granted have spent over a year having every piece of their business plan examined and vetted.
MLS is certainly much more careful than NASL, as I noted. But even with careful vetting there's reason to be a little nervous. Example - NASCAR 2007 was the next big thing, with crowds of 100,000+ on a regular basis; NASCAR now has crowds half that size. NASCAR agressively expanded into California and other places outside their base, and then discovered that the new fans weren't committed enough to hang on through the Great Recession. MLS has been more planful in it's expansion, but I'm hoping the new owners aren't expecting that Seattle and Atlanta represent the future level of support for their clubs.
It’s a different time and league. While to this day I still believe the old NASL players (at least when you compare eras) were better, MLS cubs today own, operate and control their own stadiums and are somewhat profitable. What owners aren’t making off the league games, they are making a return from other events held at their grounds. The old league wasn’t anywhere near what today’s MLS is doing. The only threat of a team relocating is Columbus and that is only the second in 23 years of the league. From 1974-1983, I think there were something like 10 club relocations. This doesn’t even include the clubs who came and went. Atlanta back then couldn’t draw 7000 fans and Houston had a 5,900 attendance average. There is simply no comparison.
Well stated. It's not really about comparing NASL and MLS as much as MLS keeping it's head during the good times. Maybe my worry stems from supporting a club that's about to bet it's future on Wayne Rooney.
Soooooo Sacramento and......... Phoenix?? Maybe Tampa bay? San Antonio becomes palpable when Columbus stays and Austin screws the pooch? Detroit decides....... not An nfl stadium Is the way to go? Charlotte isn’t ready for this party, nor is Indy. Raleigh might be. Vegas always has the “ out of left field” threat. I know stuff changes but Phoenix is a clear and present danger to Sac next
So now that Cincy is in, I'm assuming that if Columbus stays put, the Detroit bid is toast.I'm pulling for a "Hell is Real" derby.
I agree, but it wont stop MLS from using them as a patsy for other teams, see here Notice the not so subtle namedrop of San Antonio. Once Austin is scuttled, theyre back in the game. Of the other names mentioned, San Diego is something they wish for and are not gonna get local government backing Vegas is always a threat because you could literally trip over an impromptu ownership group there. And now with the success of the Golden Knights, their citiy council will be more open to playing ball than they were before i think. Sacramento is, well, Sacramento now. No mention of Phoenix at all. Most importantly, no timelines. I think they learned that lesson. If you are ready, you are ready.
more post cincy comments https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/soccer/fc-cincinnati/2018/05/29/garber-q/652714002/ "No specific details on the teams or even the timing of the next round. What I will say is we started with 12 and now we’re down to a handful of markets where we still have ongoing discussions. Very productive discussions with Sacramento, as well as in Detroit where we’re working with that ownership group on possible modifications of Ford Field that could, perhaps, make that city more MLS ready than it is today. There’s a lot of engagement going on in San Diego. Recent news out of Las Vegas, who has a thriving USL team and their mayor reached out to us very recently. San Antonio remains on our list and we have great respect for what the NBA ownership team has done there. So there remains a lot of interest in MLS and we’ll continue to get back to work and figure out what the next steps are." Vegas looks like its back in the game, folks. If the mayor is reaching out, that's good news. I still don't know of any good news in San Diego whatsoever, but the continuous name-dropping shows how bad MLS wants them to get their act together. And I think the San Antonio name drop is A) Either a thinly veiled threat at the Austin situation and/or B) Don resigned to the fact that Austin is probably not going to happen and will get to work on his Plan B for texas team number 3.
Yep. Not really sure why some keep insisting that we have a shot. No way we revert back to a SSS and ZERO chance we get shot down this round, (like we did) and then get a spot in the next round with the EXACT same bid. It's crazy that a market this size will be the only one without a team in a growing league.
I think a lot of people around here are a wee bit to hung up on geographic distribution of teams without really understanding geography, or the fact that - at this point - it's a pretty negligible concern.
Re: another one of the 12 applicants, Rowdies owner Bill Edwards put out a congratulatory statement after the Cincinnati and it included a bunch of optimistic language about the clubs future and USLs future. No mention of MLS: their bid, the league...anything. So one could read between the lines there that the Rowdies are pretty content with the status quo. Personally I find nothing wrong with that. They've got a pretty cool setup on the waterfront in St Pete. The player on the team all seem very happy to be there. The fans who are regularly engaged with the club are all very pleased with their product. I think that I a case of a club that is probably better off as they are currently constructed (even if the Miami project ends in failure).
Club Statement on FC Cincinnati’s MLS Announcement CARY, N.C. (May 29, 2018) – “The North Carolina Football Club would like to congratulate FC Cincinnati and the entire City of Cincinnati for being awarded a Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise. Today’s announcement by Major League Soccer does not impact North Carolina Football Club’s effort to bring an MLS franchise to the Triangle. While the club was not among the initial two markets to be awarded, MLS has indicated that North Carolina Football Club continues to be in consideration for one of the two remaining expansion spots which will be announced at a later date. North Carolina FC remains committed to pursuing an MLS franchise and is continuing to work diligently to secure a stadium in downtown Raleigh. Momentum for the project continues to build and we look forward to continued dialogue with the community and with MLS as we demonstrate why the Triangle should be home to a franchise.”
pretty fun time last night, 5-10 k showed up on fountain square and the invite only event at rhinegeist. the videos mls made for the invite were pretty sick. got chills when david villa (one of my all time favorite players going back to his Valencia days) welcomed us to MLS on the video. team will play in nippert for the first couple of seasons and it seems as if MLS was actually okay with nippert if the west end stadium had fallen through. #MLS2CINCY(You'll want to stay 'til the end) https://t.co/paeHiGO0kr— Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 29, 2018 Watch the story of our incredible rise to @MLS. #MLS2CINCY pic.twitter.com/7AtT86TxJo— FC Cincinnati (@fccincinnati) May 29, 2018
Hmm, and I apparently missed this a couple of weeks ago: http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/article210847274.html There's been no buzz in the area about the downtown stadium. I certainly don't see anything developing by the end of the year, but I don't know what's going on behind the scenes. Honestly, I think NCFC is similar to Sacramento, but further behind. Sac is larger and has the stadium ready to be built, but both are looking for more investment. I think Malik being a pro representative on the USSF board does help, but I think his assessment about the stadium is correct. If NCFC can get a stadium deal done, they'll get in (the inference being that the other concerns will take care of themselves). I agree with that based on what I know of the other concerns and the area and some of the players who are not publicly connected with the team. However, I don't have any real confidence that a stadium deal is going to get done in downtown Raleigh.
[QUOTE="OWN(yewu) I still don't know of any good news in San Diego whatsoever, but the continuous name-dropping shows how bad MLS wants them to get their act together. [/QUOTE] San Diego is still alive and kicking. Soccer City's plan is on the ballot in November and they have an official kick off party for the new campaign on June 6th. So I expect to see a new round of Footie Mcfootface with Landon Donovan ads on social media and local TV.
awwww man, id love to see both Cali teams get in just to drink up the oceans of haterade that would be flowing if it happened. how good do you guys feel about the vote?
36 team league, split into east/west. West: (13)Current: LA Galaxy, Los Angeles FC, Seattle Sounders, Portland Timbers, Vancouver Whitecaps, San Jose Earthquakes, Colorado Rapids, Real Salt Lake, FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo, Sporting Kansas City, Minnesota United, Chicago Fire Expansion: 14. Sacramento Republic 15. Phoenix 16. San Antonio/Austin 17. Saint Louis 18. Las Vegas Contenders: Tulsa, Omaha, loser of San Antonio/Austin, Albuquerque, San Diego, Oakland/San Francisco, Oklahoma City, New Orleans, Milwaukee East: (13)Current: Atlanta United, Orlando City, Columbus Crew, New England Revolution, Toronto FC, New York City FC, New York Red Bulls, Montreal Impact, Philadelphia Union, DC United, FC Cincinnati, Nashville, Miami Expansion: 14. Detroit 15. Charlotte/Raleigh 16. Indianapolis 17. Tampa Bay 18. Birmingham* (may pick a Western contender and push Chicago Fire back to East) Contenders: Pittsburgh, Rochester, Baltimore, Hartford, Jacksonville, loser of Charlotte/Raleigh, Buffalo, Cleveland, Virginia Beach
Mixed, when the plan was first floated it polled pretty well, had a majority of the city council, and the mayor in support. Since then though some powerful opponents including rival developers, some unions, and San Diego State have all lined up against the plan. State has a rival plan on the ballot as well that would include a smallish stadium (possibly able to host a MLS team) although it is not nearly as fleshed out as the Soccer City. If the election were today I would say SoccerCity loses to SDSU but the SoccerCity group has been much better organized since the start so maybe they can turn some people by November. To make a long response short I have no **** clue.
Interesting theory. Add sac city in the west to go with nashville and Miami entrances in 2020 and you have a perfect 3 conference league? But how would playoffs work? https://reddit.app.link/PBmL4UEonN
Let us fire up the wayback machine to the long ago time of 2000 and see how MLS handled having three conferences back then? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_Major_League_Soccer_season#MLS_Cup_Playoffs
The thread started in N&A, rightfully got moved to Expansion. The way the posting is going, I'm not sure it shouldn't move again to "You Be The Don".
Well....some of us are younger than others.... so their answer was to render the conference meaningless come playoffs?