In my opinion they should move to Coney Island permanently until they can build something somewhere else. The fact that it is accessible to many in the city will help with attendance dramatically. It can't possibly cost more then staying in Hofstra.
Spend a little less on players like Sena and Raul, and they probably could afford the increase in price which might make it easier for them to afford players like Sena and Raul.
But these are the Cosmos that we are talking about, why can't they do both?If they can drop 400 mil on a new stadium they can surely afford the extra money it may cost to play at MCU.
Btw, as I've been saying for months.Expect NASL to announce Chicago expansion in Dec/Jan. They're looking to play within city limits. #sting— Guillermo Rivera (@FireConf) October 26, 2015
What are the options within city limits? Wish we heard more news about markets that do not already have MLS teams.
I've heard to look for something regarding Oklahoma City very soon. But...I've heard this before, and then nothing ever happened. This one came to me personally, however, from very high up.
Agreed, the NASL needs to focus on more viable markets. I don't think Chicago is one of them, Detroit and Hartford yes but not Chicago.
TBF...they are/were trying to do both. They are seeing that the players aren't coming and/or the ones they have aren't drawing, so what's the point? It's stadium or nothng right now. Tough nut...always has been.
Key word....they are "looking". As has been stated and shown before when this first came up.....few choices. Very few. As for team announcement? Well, at this point who knows? My cynical side says that NASL hasn't been in the news often lately, Fire have just ended a dismal season, so many fans might be frustarted....let's stir it up!
So to round up the recent NASL expansion rumors: San Francisco: group of Brazilian and Silicon Valley investors teaming to bring this team. Wants to play in the city and build a downtown stadium eventually. Mentioned by multiple sources. Presented at Sept BOG meeting. Detroit: Non-DCFC group presented at BOG meeting. Celtic FC may be interested in Detroit for a NASL team. Oklahoma City: A group presented at the BOG meeting. Thought to be Rayo Vallecano of La Liga who acquired rights to OKCFC NASL franchise. Chicago Sting: expected to be announced by January. Kartik claims the ownership group is impressive with more sporting credentials than the Fire ownership had when they started. Los Angeles: Mentioned by blueballs69 on here as a group that was looking at NASL with some level of involvement with Carlos Slim. May use LA Aztecs name and target Mexican demographic. Orange County: Mentioned alongside LA and SF by blueballs69, prior to SF being more widely reported as a group that presented at the BOG meeting. Celtic FC team: possibly in Boston (first choice per PanicFC), Detroit (as mentioned above) or Hartford (whose other recent bid flamed out do to a shady investor). The next few months could be a major turning point for NASL.
Are folks agreed that this is a comprehensive list of the current NASL expansion rumors? I can only speak to the SF rumors. I want to check because I really want to make a note of this and check back in -- I don't know -- February or March to see if any of these rumors actually pan out.
It might take a year or two for one or two of these rumors to come to something; which is Ok. What I really want to see are owners willing to spend like the Cosmos do, and yes that means losing money now to put down roots that sustain, which is what the Cosmos are trying to do at Hofstra now to get to that stadium ... someday. I know there are markets like Indy & J'ville that can be successful in the NASL; but I would like to see a fair amount of money going to SF, Chicago, & LA and going all in. It takes owners prepared to invest long term to grow a product. I honestly hope for the best for likes of PR, Ft. L, Car. & Edm. but I kind of see them as comparable to the Toronto Lynx when an investment the likes of Toronto FC is required. To be successful in NASL going forward you can't average 4k/game; you have to have revenue streams that won't materialize without a sizable investment in payroll on & off the field. Look at that list and ask "who's going to go into this in big way and have realistic chance to succeed?"
Oh, I'll check back then too. I just want to put a marker down. Seems like rumors come and then they go and are forgotten. Even if it takes a good long while, I'd like to check back and see if today's rumors ever amount to anything.
I think that's fair. However you should also expect every rumor won't come to pass. I sort of rank ordered them based on the solidness of sources. The ones towards the top had multiple sources and were at the BOG which is an advanced step in the process. The Celtic one at the bottom started in a British tabloid (but was backed up by two Hartford sources between PanicFC here and CTprosoccer on Reddit). I wouldn't be surprised if only 3 of the above come to pass and I wouldn't think anything wrong with that. So say if San Francisco, Chicago and Detroit happening, and LA, OC and Celtic fizzling out. I would expect we will see LA rumors again in some form or another as well as new cities pop up like Baltimore, San Diego, Cleveland, Milwaukee, etc. That's sort of how these expansion rumors work. 100% don't make it all the way through the process.
lots of Irish in Chicago also, buy I would not want a Celtic Chicago. Now a BarcelonaUSA, I would take that.
The Fire have pissed off lots of fans/former fans. So it could work, but as someone posted above, there is no place to play with in the city limits.
Ive heard from someone high up that they were approved at the Sept 29 BOG meeting. Team WILL be in OKC. Will STILL be OKCFC (not Rayo USA...) WIll start play in Spring. Now....heard the "big announcement coming soon" meme so much that I will believe it when i see it. I am actually meeting with one of the owners next week to talk about all this. I will report back what I can/am allowed to. With all the missteps and subterfuge from the energy towards them int he last two years they are a little gunshy about making announcements until all ducks are in a row. Can't say that I blame them, but it has left me looking stupid more than once. This post is not an "I TOLD YOU ALL SO!" This is just information that I am passing along. Whether it comes to fruition this time, or not, we'll see.
If NASL truly wants D1 I think they need to at least consider places like LA and Chicago. I have to think there is definitely room for a Chicago team in the city limits or on the other side of town at least... I wouldn't expect them to pull MLS numbers, but 5K+ for sure. I would think the same thing applies to the Boston market... part of me wonders how a Philly team would go over if they were to be placed in something like the proposed new Temple stadium... I would think that could be another 5K+ average team for sure... not the gaudy numbers NASL would prefer, but decent enough and expanding the footprint of the league into another large market.
If they want to be D1 they need to first focus on under-served markets. Build a strong base, then look to go head-to-head against MLS.
I agree they should hit on underserved markets as well... the issue there is that most "undeserved markets" that are left at this point are for the most part "minor league" sized markets. Plus with rapidly expanding USL there are less and less targets for NASL to go after. as far as moving into MLS territory I wouldn't go very deep outside of top markets anyway... ------------------Tier 1 Strong Consideration------------------ NY (check) LA Chicago ------------------Tier 2 Secondary Consideration------------------ Philly Dallas Bay Area (should move to strong consideration if a good deal can get done in San Fran) Boston I'd cut it off there in terms of media markets served by MLS, next in line would be DC that doesn't make any sense, and after DC is Atlanta which NASL needs to figure out anyway. I will also say Dallas is questionable too, but something might work closer to the city rather than Frisco. (although I think any "success" would be humble)