There will be 16 to 20 teams in total. Below are the 14 known locations. I have been told the remaining 2-6 US teams and locations will be formally announced on or shortly after the June 18th meeting by the Media. United States of America: Stockton Wenatchee Ft. Collins Southern Colorado Dallas Cincinnati Canada: Calgary Edmonton Saskatoon Winnepeg. Mexico: Pachuca Morelia Oaxaca Mexico City
Oh crap! You can bet all of the conspiracy nuts will be all over this. A true North American League? This is right in line with the one currency & the highway from Canada to Mexico conspiracies. Ron Paul was right!
I don't see Winnipeg having a team next year... possibly a team in Red Deer or somewhere in B.C. though
And why do you feel there is a problem with this? As long as they can draw at least 2,500 in this league then they are a viable source of entertainment for the area. I can't tell you how many posts I see on this board stating that this is just a nich sport; yet in the same breath demand that the teams be placed in extremely large metropolitan areas know for housing teams in the NFL, MLB, NHL and NBA. You build a league from the bottom up people - get areas that aren't known for hosting pro sports but are willing to support one.
Stockton is not considered a large city, but they were one of the top draws in the MISL and had the best US newspaper coverage in the league. The Harrisburg Heat and Wichita Wings are other examples of relatively successful teams in small markets.
Unless they have a new owner, their last one has no interest in footing the bill for a team... which is why the rest of the teams floated them last year and they played exclusively on the road. Last I heard they were almost a certain no-go... but that was a couple months ago now, and I don't consider myself all that in the loop, so things could certainly change. I sure hope they aren't expecting the CMISL teams drawing 2,500 a game... other than exhibition games in Prince George no one drew even half that announced, much less actual.
If you can enough customers to pay a decent amount for tickets and get a few sponsors to pony up a few dollars then you might have something. Look at Yakima in the CBA. A top draw but there but is there not a line forming to buy that team now is there? If it was easy running a pro sports team any idiot could do it and the ABA would be successful. It is not easy and indorr soccer will be a tough sell. This new league better have owners willing to lose lots of dough before they hit pay dirt.
I am a brand new member of Big Soccer forums, and I was a loooong time fan of the San Diego Sockers. I had no idea there were online indoor soccer forums. This is great! MISL, PASL, and AISL!! What more could anyone ask for...including all of the rumors, rivalry, etc. This past season I caught all of the MISL action on FSC, and I kept up with the PASL and AISL on the Web. These forums are GREAT! I'm glad I found them. I'll be a regular...Thanks!
New York, the biggest market, folded twice midseason. If Wenatchee gets a 10-20 year run (like the Heat and Wings, respectively) I don't think anyone will look dimly upon that.
SECRETS AND LIES! SECRETS AND LIES!! SECRETS AND LIES!!! SHAME ....I just felt that I am entitled to make a completely unwarranted and stupid post at least once on BS.
Travel is going to be a issue IMO in the US division. Are they going to play any out of conference/country games? I mean Wenatchee is far closer to the Canadian teams in terms of distance. Dallas is in a border state (admittedly a big one) and Cincinnati is way off on its own. In fact, I'm wondering if any of the US cities have direct flights between them. Cincinnati and Dallas must but the others?
They may not be around now but they made a good run - better than most of the leagues that have come and gone.
No. Neither the CMISL or Liga Mexicana are Merging. They are partnering for a true North American Championship. To my knowledge they will not play out of conference/country regular season games. They may play exhibitions, host an Open Cup or All-Star type game though: http://www.arenaleague.com/home/251428.html
They will play a few interleague regular season games between Canadian and American teams. Mexico probably will be separate during the regular season...
Here are a couple of questions. If the MISL were to happen to fold before next season, do you think any of the teams, (such as the Baltimore Blast, Monterrey La Raza, Detroit Ignition, etc.) would also join the Pro PASL, following the Cougars. In addition, is there any chance the Rockford Rampage of the AISL will join the Pro PASL? I'm a newbie to these forums, so I apologize if you've already covered these topics, but I'm playing "catch up". Thanks!
The only scheduled flights to Wenatchee are four daily Horizon air flights from Seattle. IIRC from looking into a trip to Fort Collins (my wife is a CSU alumni), only one airline flies to the Loveland - Ft. Collins airport, I know that one flight originated in Spokane. Stockton probably uses Oakland as it's airport as only Allegiant flies to stockton and it looks like they only maintain a Vegas run. Not sure about the others, but obviously Dallas to Cincinnati is probable.
The latest population estimate for the Wenatchee MSA is 107,170. Drawing 2,500 per game would be 2.3% of the entire local population. This is equivalent to Baltimore (MSA 8.1 million) drawing 186,300 fans per game, or Milwaukee (MSA 1.5 million) drawing 34,500. Not even Stockton (MSA 670,990) is a good comparison: their equivalent draw would be 15,432. If Wenatchee can make it work, great. But obviously, there are reasons for skepticism.