Shame that nickname "Scorpions" is no longer used. Hope it can be reinstated when team moves up to MLS. http://www.sbnation.com/lookit/2016/5/5/11599412/soccer-scorpion-kick-gremio-u14-thomas-luciano
same reason they'll go to St Louis. When it comes to markets like these, bygones are bygones. realistically, even with Sacramento, St Louis, Detroit, and a Miami that somehow gets their crap together, at worst is ahead of anything else that we know of in like, San Diego, Cincy, Indy, Carolina, Austin etc. even assuming worst-case. San Antonio is a cozy 28 for me in the next round of 4.
And also the bid wasn't good, probably for either party. From the city's perspective, they were going to give the bulk of the Alamodome naming rights to the MLS team, when the MLS team probably wouldn't have been the one generating the demand (really, that would have come from the big events like Final Fours and such). From the team's perspective, it would have involved going into a cavernous artificial-turf dome and trying to retrofit it. At least Atlanta is built with that in mind, and BC place was almost completely rebuilt.
With everything that SS and E has been doing for SAFC. How realistic is it that SA gets the team to MLS?
I like to hope they have a shot at 28.......hope hope hope. They would be awesome for the league IMO. Sacramento, Detroit, St Louis seem pretty tidy. The dogfight is between San Antonio, San Diego, Cincy, and apparently now Nashville? that's where this gets fun. Maybe even two of those cities if Miami proceeds to drag butt
Fellas, MLS ain't going to stop expanding any time soon. They'll go to 32, no question. San Antonio will be one of those, if they want to be.
There aren't many markets significantly bigger than San Antonio which lack an MLS team. The league would prefer Detroit to just about anything else out there. It's a city every 30+ team league should be in. Phoenix is a step down in size, but is still probably an every-sport market, if the heat can be managed. Cleveland is another step down in size. San Diego. That's it for statistical areas of over 3M. Only four significantly larger areas. Saint Louis and Sacramento are not a lot larger and are generally recognized as prime candidates for spots 25-28 right alongside Detroit. San Antonio is growing faster than any of the other 30 largest areas except Houston. It has a very large Hispanic population, and skews younger than most cities. It would be the closest MLS team for several other urban areas, like Austin and the RGV. It's the second largest area with only one top sports franchise (behind strong MLS candidate Sacramento). The ownership has the money, and has been repeatedly recognized as the best ownership in American sports, has a reputation for being low maintenance, and is on great terms with municipal leadership and the general public. Yep. Sounds like a long shot. ETA: And owns an upgradeable stadium in a great location.
Well I bet Detroit, Sacramento, St. Louis are before San Antonio. It might be 2025 at the earliest but we will see many of us didn't expect Sacramento to show up out of the blue.
We've got significantly more in favor for us than the bold and underlined cities/markets ... and have a few things that the other one doesn't ...
As a San Antonian, I not only want this, but I feel we have everything it takes to have a successful MLS team. I would put our bid against any other city, BUT the only reason I posed the question was because our most powerful city official Nelson Wolff went on a local radio show saying he was unsure if the Spurs would be able to pay the expansion fee and a local sports writer putting an article saying the same thing. The MLS in SA people were giving him hell on Twitter, but just wanted to know how true it really rang.
Is it Detroit still bankrupt? If they are then that's one advantage that San Antonio has. Also, St. Louis might make sense because the Rams left and it will be like the Seattle situation where the Sonics left and the Sounders joined the MLS almost at the same time.
An existing team that is doing the bidding (unlike Detroit), a SSS already built/expansion ready (unlike both), an ownership group respected across the entirety of American sports (unlike both), a decade long effort (unlike Detroit) ... etc 1 - Nelson Wolff is a baseball guy through and through, and the current "battle" is between the new downtown baseball stadium plan (for a minor league team) and an MLS stadium expansion (for a major league team). He's 100% biased and has specific interests. 2 - Roy Bragg is nothing but a click bait gas bag. His entire premise was torn to shreds and all of his inflated opinions were popped. It didn't go well for him when he was asked rational questions and was shown how poorly he arrived at his assertions.
Didn't mean it to be, honestly. It's a statement about SS&E and their reputation in the sporting industry.
san antonio gambling on 27, 28 is a helllllllll of a gamble, theyve de facto punted on this round. Nashville , cincinnati are going to be chomping at the bit next round (assuming Sac and Detroit are in this one)
Detroit will be hard pressed to get in this round. Their property swap plan is complex. They literally have to build a jail before they can break ground on the stadium
I'm really hoping SA is in the mix, given that I live like 35 miles from the stadium. But I'm not hopeful by all these 'we are working in the background' comments. I personally still think Cincinnati is a stretch given Columbus' struggles. But the rise of Nashville to being seen as a legit option really makes me think San Antonio is in trouble. I mean there are a lot of people in Detroit. And if Phoenix had any real money behind building an air-conditioned stadium, I think they would shoot to the top too. There are just too many people to walk away from. Sacramento That gives smaller metros like SA and Nashville a real headache.
No they don't, why do you say that? They would be building on an abandoned, half finished jail site, not an existing jail.
Because they'll need to tear down the juvenile detention facility to the south of the unfinished jail site to give them an adequate footprint. And that is after they go through the process of purchasing the city property and finalizing all the land transfer and construction agreements with the county (that alone will probably take the rest of the year)