Not saying you're wrong, but that doesn't really make any sense to me. You're spending a whole lot more money when for the next season, you are probably not going to see any revenue increase. Oh well - it must be nice to have deep pockets!
I think they call it "planning ahead". They want to hit the ground running entering MLS. They saw the disaster the Quakes "toe in the water" approach was in entering the league. Spending a little bit more money now is wise imo.
I mean with the MLS Cup names for “Uncle Phil” and the MVP named for Baby Judas do we really want our team to do well anyway?
Yeah but didn't you hear? Now that AEG doesn't own the league anymore, they no longer have any pull with the league!
Sac is already way ahead of where the Quakes were from 2008-1014. At least they will have their stadium in place in time for their first season.
Yes, AD 1014 was a rough year our beloved Quakes. Danish player Sweyn Forkbeard was fan favorite, though. A premonition of Swedes to come.
Going back further, Quakes had Ove Flindt & Henning Monk Jensen! Last I heard they were starting a new club in Solvang!!
Tonight we approved a modest $27 million infrastructure package that clinched our deal to bring @MLS to @TheCityofSac. The @SacRepublicFC team, the privately financed $300 million stadium and the development of @thesacrailyards will bring seasons of joy, excitement and jobs. pic.twitter.com/uV0Qmb4mEE— @mayor_Steinberg (@Mayor_Steinberg) November 12, 2019
Does this mean that Sacramento Republic FC is now close to breaking ground on their new stadium? "Railyards Stadium Awarded 2024 Men's College Cup and 2025 Women's College Cup" (SacRepublicFC.com - Wednesday, 10/14/20) GO SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES!!! -G
Did you bother to read the article? "Planning for the 20,000+ seat, soccer-specific stadium is in its final stages, with groundbreaking to come in next few months. "
If I am still around when this stadium gets built (my health is not exactly the best these days), I might have to become a Republic fan if only because it will be so much easier, from my home in Clovis, to attend games there. A ride on Amtrak, from the Fresno station (where parking is free) will deposit me almost at the stadium gate.
Sac is looking like geniuses for joining in 2023. By then covid-19 will be 'handled', their stadium will be 100% complete, and they'll have plenty of time to build a roster and staff. So they can have what's necessary for a successful entrance into the league. My only question is how ambitious do they plan to be? Will they have a big academy and training facility? Will they have a big scouting and analytics team? Will they take full advantage of the MLS roster rules (especially the section on designated players)? Sac is a smaller market than San Jose but we painfully know that smaller markets can produce better teams. Portland, Seattle, Kansas to name a few*. If Sac does produce a better team, will the Quakes feel a more urgent need to respond due to the closer proximity? *I'm using 'potential' MLS market - not the actual MLS market based on this https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/nba-market-size-nfl-mlb-nhl-nielsen-ratings/ My theory is that the Quakes could have a larger more rabid fan base (and take advantage of a bigger market) if we were a more successful team or better at marketing or whatever it takes to engage the fans.
The San Jose MSA population is about 1.8mm. The current estimate for the Sacramento MSA is about 2.3mm, similar to that of Kansas City (I'm not sure where SportsMediaWatch gets its numbers as they are not in line with what I find online, for example https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacramento_metropolitan_area. Sure, you can throw the Oakland and San Francisco MSA into the SJ mix, but realistically -- traffic being what it is, and public transit ditto, we're not getting a lot of fans coming from those areas.) I'm not sure it makes sense to think solely in terms of larger and smaller markets anyway. The Bay Area has issues that many other areas don't have; in addition to traffic/transit, the range of other distractions. If the only other pro sport is basketball, that's actually a pretty good fit for soccer -- during most of soccer season, there isn't a lot of competition for the sports fan.
Sacramento will say all the right things, hype everything and promote big and bright things and suck ass the first year similar to Cincinnati. Austin will be the same. They will not come out and epicenter the MLS like Atlanta.
It’s a good point that it’s not right to consider the entire Bay Area as the Quakes market. It’s no doubt that the warriors, giants, and 49ers attract fans from the entire Bay Area and probably more. However those are much bigger leagues with much bigger marketing and everything else. It might be that MLS is too small to overcome the challenges of the Bay Area. However as MLS grows in popularity I expect the Quakes should be able to overcome those challenges. None the less If Sacramento does put out a better product than the Quakes it will be very tough for me to listen to the justification that Sacramento is a bigger market. It’s true, but I just can’t help but feel we should be bigger. Ok, that’s my problem [emoji30]
Because sac has until 2023 before they enter the market I do expect better from them. But, yes , not fair to judge them on the first year. I’ll give them 3 years.