Agreed. Without significant investment.. .commensurate with the other ambitious USL teams......I dont think there would be any point in attempting to launch a new team because it wouldn't make much more of a splash then the recent NPSL teams, in my opinion. They really should just wait to debut the hypothetical team until they can debut in a brand new stadium.
I agree completely. This has to be a 5,000+ seat facility that is soccer specific. We have to do this right to have a chance for it to work. I do think a 5-7,000 seat facility in/near downtown (including adaptive re-use of CSU's Krenzler) could be used for not only USL team, but also CSU (if Krenzler), some high schools AND for outdoor concerts. A great replacement for Tower City Amphitheater which has been now gone for years.
Nautica is still in frequent use and I believe has a similar capacity. The Mall was used for InCuya this year (and, unfortunately, didn’t draw as well as they hoped). I also think that a downtown soccer stadium has potential as a multi-use facility, but I’m not sure the need is there for another concert venue as much as we might suppose. I’m hopeful that the investment will be enough to make it really special though.
I would say look to Pittsburgh and see how they got that deal done. I know that stadium is used for multiple teams and other activities outside of the hounds. To me that is the perfect example of what you could have, although it would be nice for Cleveland need a bigger facility that that.
Whatever happened to the April 2016 posting by Clevelandmo that he heard from a reliable source that a 10,000 seat downtown stadium is in the works.
FOCUS would definitely be 100% on soccer. Yes, Nautica is great, but both were used at one point successfully and could be again. Multi-purpose helps, but there is no doubt this should be built for soccer and that is where the main focus should be- and I truly believe while 10,000 sounds great, a well built facility capping out around 7,000 is where the focus should be, possibly with the ability to expand by 1,500-3,000 or so if demand warrants.
No arguments here, although I just had the realization that a multi-use facility (which it most likely would be) basically nullifies any chance of the playing surface being natural grass. And this makes me very sad.
I think I agree with you about 7000 capacity. Looking at a lot of the other cities and their respective teams that are of a similar profile to Cleveland.....I think an average attendance of 5000-7000 is probably realistic.....maybe 10 or 11 within a year or two if it's a huge success. I could see maybe doing like a 3 sided stadium like San Jose's Avaya but half the size. Have the open side facing downtown so it's not a dead view. Maybe do like a beer garden right there. Then eventually.....if its decided it makes sense to expand....they could fill the open side in and bring capacity up to like 10-12k maybe. A stadium...especially along the river facing downtown would be excellent.
With the announcement of Cleveland getting to host a USA game in the gold cup next summer, what better way to get your name out there if you’re a new USL team or current Cleveland SC.
If today’s big rumor around a certain MLS team proves to be true, possible ramifications for USL Cleveland?
I wouldn't think so. If anything I can see a Cleveland team being a good place for the Crew to loan players that's close by. I wouldn't think the Crews presence would effect anything going on with a USL team that much.
If I were Haslam, I’d for sure be looking at USL1 in Cleveland. I’d also start looking at possible friendlies or whatnot in Cleveland. Have to continue garnering support for the Crew. They’ve lost a lot through the last few years. Now is time to reconcile.
Not sure if you mean USL League One (D3) but the bid Force Sports is working on should be for USL Championship (D2) D3 makes sense for Crew development purposes (MLS teams are increasingly lowering their B-teams down to D3) but our Cleveland team will exist to be an ambitious independent team I would think and that suits the Championship best.
I would think USL would immediately declare Cleveland as newest team before MLS moves the Impact to Browns Stadium.
I really don't care what League. But, I'm not ready to hang any hat on "ambitious" when there hasn't been pro soccer in Cleveland for numerous years and the City Stars got minimal support and they were league champs. I'd go for sustainable.
The Stars drew fine at the then USL 2 level, moving up and out to godforsaken Bedford killed them. That wasn’t ambition, it was stupidity. Especially considering their lack of resources and the state of USL at the time. Sustainability absolutely should be the focus. And the best chance for sustainability now is a serious ownership group willing to make an investment at the Championship level.
"Drew fine" is rather vague. I was at games. The "fine" is rather generous. An average attendance of 1400-1600 is not "fine."
Hey that would be a fine number, because Swope Park Rangers are in the top USL League and they draw 500.
For a barely marketed third division soccer team in the United States playing 10 years ago? Yeah, they drew just fine. For example, in 2008, the Riverhounds drew an average of 1,178 fans, or nearly 500 less fans per game than the Stars. One team still around, one team ain’t. It’s about management and investment, not the market.
We all know how accurate soccer attendance numbers are. I'm sure the USL Final helped raise the average attendance up by quite a bit. Swope Park are in the only USL league right now. They really had no other choice in where to play. I know exactly what it's about. I was able to go to games and I lived over 2.5 hours away. There's no more people in soccer in Cleveland now, than there was 10 years ago. People just need to quit making excuses and start supporting the clubs.
Breaking news: man on internet denounces factual evidemce with anecdotes and baseless assumptions, then yells at clouds that we should be grateful for whatever we are given. The “people should just support their local club” no matter what line is the most tired and ridiculous argument possible. We should just spend our money (and emotional investment) on third-rate, mismanaged, opportunistic crap? No thank you, sir.
So, I'm the one who's brought factual evidence, yet I'm giving baseless assumptions? 1400 is not a "fine" attendance. Cleveland City Stars were a good team with no support. There was no third-rate, mismanaged, or crap. Martin Rennie was the manager, and look at him since the City Stars days. Guess what is happening? Anecdotal and baseless assumptions that Cleveland can and will support USL Championship when they've shown minimal in the past. Hmmmm.
I brought the facts, you dullard, as in actual numbers. You brought conjecture and an unsupported assumption that there are “no more people in soccer in Cleveland” than there were 10 years ago. Don’t even get started with youth participation numbers, you know it’s a straw man. In 2008, the City Stars were successful on the field and drawing just as well or better than any other team in their division. Next thing you know the management made the ridiculous decision to jump a level and move their asses to a high school more than 15 miles outside of downtown Cleveland, with the absurd belief that they could draw more than 4,000 a game. Within a year the team was dead. If you don’t recognize that as gross mismanagement, then I am even more happy that we aren’t in business together. And you actually think I’m supposed to be impressed by Martin f$&@ing Rennie? Gimme a break, Chief.