All twelve expansion candidates represented at board meeting. MLS is still on track to announce next two teams by end of year. Expansion committee meets in Sept./Oct. with final vote at BOG in December. In other words, nothing much has changed.
Basically, one other market needs to get their stadium finalized by November. Cincy or Phoenix maybe??? Cincy reporter even asked about choosing the next candidates, in relation to having everything complete by end of year. Don said "we only need two" He also threw out a "atta boy" to Nagle for putting a shovel in the dirt.
In other expansion news, Mecklenburg County (Charlotte) is on the cusp of pulling out of their part in the joint city/county MLS stadium deal.
Well, I don't mean to dismiss any birdies, but why the dog-and-pony show of announcing two teams in December if we're already #25? Does having four franchises up for grabs really give more leverage over candidates cities than three? Do they somehow "owe" Beckham a timetable to begin play, before announcing #25, to spare him the risk of bad PR over the debate on who begins play first? Maybe there's a good reason to go through this if we're #25, but I don't see it. If you're the front-runner in such a long race, you're likely to get caught. I liked it better when I wasn't paying attention to expansion "news." Going back to that now.
I feel, understand and agree with exactly where you are coming from. I'm in an even worse spot- getting just enough tidbits and crumbs of information to drive me freaking batty. What I've been told- nothing was going to be decided until Miami was finalized one way or the other. Becks had a long rope to sink or swim, I don't know why- my impression; a combination of contractual requirements and deadlines Becks was just meeting, and the fact that MLS actually really wants to be in that market. Regarding the dog-and-pony show? I don't know concisely, but believe (based on previous gathered info) MLS set up a process, and plan to follow it. Also, it keeps the candidate cities in the process, and sets the stage for expansion beyond 28. (My opinion; you start poaching cities out of the process, other cities might say "screw it, you already know who you want" and drop out.)
BREAKING (again): Puckett's motion PASSES 5-3. Scarborough votes YES. County will deed Memorial Stadium to City. No county MLS $ @wsoctv— Joe Bruno (@JoeBrunoWSOC9) August 3, 2017 Charlotte is out
I hate that they keep delaying their announcement for expansion. We were supposed to know which cities had been chosen by now. Then they said sometime in the fall. Now it's late December. I feel that they're waiting on some of the cities that they really want to pull through on stadium deals.
I think they're giving the new entrants a chance to rise or fall. And so far they're all falling, while we're still standing.
There waiting on Miami. If those fools had gotten their act together years ago we'd already be announced, maybe even playing in 2019 or 2018.
Miami will be great for the league. So will Sacramento. No need for jostling, you will all be welcomed!
I'm not sure all 13 clubs made it, but the majority were there. I worked a social event that they attended. It was a very nicely appointed event at the Art Institute. I was hoping they would've gone with a Hunger Games theme.
A lot of stadium things will require public approval. Most places have standard November and spring balloting cycles. December makes sense for anyone trying to get a ballot measure passed the first Tuesday after the first of November.
Latest SacBee take on the situation. Doesn't seem to be any "insider" info in it, though. www.sacbee.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/ailene-voisin/article165372867.html
Not sure about the double quotes there. Beckham was promised a team. The league made the promise, and it intends to keep that promise, even if that means delaying one or two markets that are ready. At the end of the day, we cannot fault MLS for giving Beckham so much runway to get his shit together. Miami is a tough hoe for anyone, and the league gave him our promise. If he succeeds, then it will be good for ALL OF US.
Decent piece on MLS expansion from NY Times, including Garber's recent trip to Nashville. Sacramento gets a nod with Cincy for being among the most prepared. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/08/...nsion-nashville-cincinnati.html?smid=tw-share
What makes you think they will be the ones to get in? I personally think MLS is still after the "big markets" aka Detroit, San Diego etc.
New piece on ESPN FC today asking the same question a lot of us are: Despite being ready will Sacramento be passed again? http://www.espnfc.us/major-league-s...but-will-it-be-passed-over-again-in-expansion
The ESPN "news/journalism" side is steadily being marginalized in the pursuit of controversy - which draws ratings and clicks and hopefully revenue. All those massive rights fees ESPN locked itself into over the last few years are mostly being passed onto cable subscribers. Cord cutting is beginning to have a big impact on the company. Research takes time and money, and bland and boring recitation of facts doesn't move the needle. Hot Takes are the currency of the realm right now. Which wouldn't be so bad if it was confined to just sports journalism.
"Now, with a new expansion process the league set up last year, every candidate is on even footing." Nope. Not all bids are equal. "MLS already has two teams in California -- and a third in LAFC joining in 2018" Uggggggghh...... "and although the Republic already have a rivalry with the San Jose Earthquakes (and rivalries help boost TV ratings), expanding to Sacramento doesn't grow the league's national footprint." For the last time, it's the 20th largest market in the country, it DOES fill a hole in the map, though not strictly as other places when you look literally just at geography. These things have been addressed over and over, so frustrating to see these talking points in this article.