Indeed, and improbably. The Cosmos found a new owner, which took the league to eight, and USSF provisionally sanctioned the league as Division 2 for 2017. USL also received a provisional Division 2 sanction, so the situation is a bit odd. But at least as of now, it looks like Indy will be playing in a smaller but still going NASL.
I just got a call from the club about renewing my season tickets. I had to tell them, with regret, that I will not be renewing for 2017. I wound up only being able to go to about half the games last year, and it simply isn't worth it for me. I do plan to go to multiple individual games, though--and I'll miss my seats in section 13.
I got a call yesterday too. I didn't recognize the number so I let it go to voicemail. It wasn't a player this year.
I'll always miss the NASL's salary structure if we do go MLS, but if we can make it to MLS that'd be awesome.
I'm surprised that this is being done before the stadium situation is sorted. The Mike is grossly inadequate for MLS. If the proposal is to be a serious one, I have to think that it would include playing at Lucas Oil until a SSS could be built. On the other hand, it's pretty clear that, with the number of cities interested in MLS expansion growing and the number of potential available spots dwindling, the window on MLS is closing. So perhaps it's best to act now.
The stadium wouldn't need to be ready until 2020 so it isn't as if it would need to be built by next year. They just needed to get their bid submitted today, not everything had to be final. They just have to have the stadium plan finalized by the time MLS makes a decision on where to expand to.
This is the main reason I think the team is submitting a bid. You need to get in on the ground floor on this plus it gives the team some leverage in getting a stadium. The MLS to Indy hype will get more people behind the team with regards to a stadium, well at least more then before.
I understand that this is a deadline day. Do you know when MLS expects to make a decision on the four expansion cities? Because, as you suggest, the stadium doesn't need to be built yet, but the plan had better well be firmly in place by the time the decision is made. Otherwise, there's no hope.
I'm not sure exactly, I think the first two are this year sometime. The second two I don't think they have said when they are going to make that decision.
http://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2016/12/15/mls-announces-expansion-process-and-timeline MLS says they are going to evaluate the proposals in the first half of 2017 and then announce decisions. They did not say exactly when but late summer at the soonest and probably in the fall for the first two. The next two will probably be a little while after that. My guess is that the Eleven are talking to the city and state and saying "now or never" on a stadium plan. It sure looks like a long-shot at the moment but you never know. Things can change quickly. If the Eleven didn't put in the proposal now then it will be a long time before they can use the possibility of a MLS expansion slot again.
With that timeframe, I'm pessimistic, unless the team has been doing one heck of a lot behind the scenes to get its ducks in a row.
That is just for the first two slots. They haven't said when they will be deciding on the second two slots. I also don't think this is a last minute type of thing. The team had met with MLS as far back as 2013, and has been working on an MLS sized stadium since at least 2014. Just unlike other clubs they haven't been yelling #Indy2MLS the whole time. Also remember they did get approval by half of Indiana's legislature for their stadium plan, and the other half approved a different stadium plan. There was also that guy who got approval to build a stadium out by the airport last year, until his questionable past was revealed. So I don't think it is a long shot to get a stadium approved, especially if it includes going MLS.
Investors in the MLS bid identified. There's money here, but not silly money, and no one from the city's existing top-level professional sports organizations.
Also, I believe the original stadium proposal was valued at about $80 million right? The stadium they're trying to build now is over $100 million.
I think it was $85 million, but it was definitely in that ballpark. That was two years ago. Building a stadium never gets cheaper (and if the intent is now to move to MLS, not simply to build a stadium for NASL, it's going to need at least some modest upgrades).
A lengthy article on Indy's MLS bid from SI.com (part of a series of articles on all the expansion bids). Reading it, I find myself pessimistic. A stadium wouldn't guarantee Indy's entry into MLS, but without a stadium there's no hope. And I don't think the stadium plan has become any more realistic than it was two years ago. The idea is still to fund the building of the stadium through taxes generated by the stadium itself. Plenty of people questioned the economics of the proposal when it was made in 2015, and while entry into MLS would help (presumably it would allow for both higher ticket prices and increased attendance, thus yielding higher tax revenues), the proposed cost of the stadium has also risen significantly. Buried in the article is the detail that the club plans to contribute $10 million to the construction of a $120 million stadium. In the current political environment, I just don't think that's going to fly.