Well, given that that's next year, I'm going to put that solidly in the "we'll see" column. I mean, their oldest club is moving out of their SSS and into a "borrowed college football stadium". That said, their proposal is really more about the clubs having control over the stadium's revenues rather than its design purpose.
Charleston is the oldest Championship club, are they moving? Current/planned USLC soccer specific stadiums Charleston Battery Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC Orange County SC Sacramento Republic FC OKC Energy FC Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC Charlotte Independence Saint Louis FC Portland Timbers 2 Real Monarchs Bethlehem Steel FC Swope Park Rangers Rio Grande Valley FC Toros North Carolina FC Atlanta United 2 Birmingham Legion FC Austin Bold FC Hartford Athletic Loudoun United FC Phoenix Rising FC New York Red Bulls II San Antonio FC Tampa Bay Rowdies Tacoma Defiance (committed to sss) New Mexico United (committed to sss) Permanently playing in minor league baseball stadiums (USL seasons inc 2019) Tulsa Roughnecks FC (5) Reno 1868 FC (3) Fresno FC (2) Memphis 901 FC (1) El Paso Locomotive FC (1) The rest: LA Galaxy II play at Dignity Health but usually in the track and field stadium Ottawa Fury FC leaving for CPL Nashville SC future unclear Indy Eleven have pinned their stadium mast to MLS
Now that I'm on an actual computer with an actual keyboard, I can provide more depth my comment here. I am not making any predictions one way or the other whether or not USL-C clubs will or won't move to new stadiums. It's really easy to say "we're planning to build this stadium we rendered", it's much harder to follow through on that in a location in the city that anyone is going to come out to see your minor league soccer team play. That said, let's get into the specifics of your comment: https://www.postandcourier.com/spor...EkLFmlRUZK_UMX1mFyNWSoMNsmCPGj1KYrf0bYSaPZ6m4 They sold their stadium to a developer and are hoping to move into the Citadel's football stadium. ^ Not a SSS: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taft_Stadium ^ This is actually the one I'm most skeptical about, regarding just using the team to bring paid events to an otherwise idle racetrack. ^ Not technically a SSS: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dillon_Stadium Although its renovations may make it more soccer-specific (e.g. Al Lang, Cashman). Like OKC, the city owns it, so not sure what revenue arrangements the Athletic have. I am not saying that these won't get built, but I also reserve the word "committed" for when ground is broken on them. I think Tacoma is more likely, if only because the Reign also play there and, as I understand it, the city is willing to work the owners on land. FWIW, I can't find anything committal about NM United. There is a thing about the city funding a study for a 10K seat SSS for the Albuquerque Sol FC (League Two) to try to make a bid for the Championship, but then recoiled in horror at the price. ^ they're "looking": https://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/marek-warszawski/article229078449.html El Paso is "on the record" for their desire to build a SSS "somewhere downtown". That said, they put $3.5 million into converting the MiLB stadium they own, so what would be the payoff? ^ I certainly would not bet the mortgage on this one. Basically, I think it's really easy for teams to say that they are interested in building a SSS. It's like Jake Edwards saying that USL is considering the possibility of pro/rel. The reality and (more importantly) economics are another matter entirely. The Fresno article lays this down really well, I think. The issues are kind of three-fold: either you're trying to find a suitable location downtown where as much land as you'd need for a stadium is extremely expensive (and generally hard to come by contiguously) and any developer could find much more profitable uses for; near downtown, but then you're in a similar situation because you have to purchase even more land to include parking; or outside the city - which has its own problems (but much cheaper).
At least MLS is replacing it with another one. There are no solid plans yet for Charleston. Who is the L1 one?
The bottom 3 in League 2 keep getting identical results. Realistically Notts need 4 points from our last 2 games with Macclesfield and Yeovil getting no more than a draw and a loss. There's a permanent knot in my stomach at the moment and the taste of vomit at the back of my throat every time I think about football. The idea of the oldest professional league club in the world dropping out of the Football League is unconscionable. The great God of parity has struck again. The 2017 MLS Cup finalists had terrible starts last season with TFC "the greatest MLS team ever", circa 11/17, finishing as the third worst team in the east. This season the two 2018 MLS Cup finalists are in the draft pick selection zone © M.
Meanwhile, Villa, who seemed completely out of the promotion picture in February, have won 10 in a row to secure a promotion playoff spot. They were, of course, in the playoff last year as well, but definitely there was "something to play for" in the Championship, mid-table.
Wait...wait.............wait!!! We're continually told that playoff places don't matter, and aren't something to be played for. We're consistently told that the MLS regular season doesn't matter............. Now, suddenly, because there are playoffs in the Football League, they matter??? *this is sarcasm btw
I was listening to the English match day feed on Sirius XM over the weekend and one commentator said he thinks Wolverhampton looks like they're on vacation already ever since getting knocked out of the FA Cup. Interesting that some people can still perceive a lack of motivation and/or late season doldrums even in an open league where no one is playing for draft picks.
More like stupidity, btw. Half of each division of the Football League don't qualify for the promotion playoffs. And, of course, teams control their own destiny and can get promoted other than by the playoffs.
Good point. They do indeed. Wolves last few games are more likely a hangover from blowing a gilt-edged chance to get to their first FA Cup final in half a century.
If we're gonna take every off day match of clubs as proof of draft picking play mentality in open leagues, I wonder how you're going to "explain" an off day of contenders for a CL/EL spot.
No, but teams as far back or farther back points wise have the shot to earn exactly what the champion earns. That's the hit on playoffs here. It's all meaningless because clubs "so far off the top" get a chance to win so what's the point? it doesn't matter! But here we are with Derby sitting 21pts behind Norwich but with the ability to claim the exact same thing should they win the prom playoff. Soooo really it doesn't matter that Norwich won the league/finished top because 21pts down the ladder you can do the same thing this year! Better yet, in league 1 Doncaster at 22pts behind Luton can "earn" the exact same thing as Luton! But hey, at least in league 2 it's under 20 pts between Lincoln and Exeter right now .... it's 19pts. Playoff teams in MLS the last 6 seasons have been no greater than 21pts off the conf lead and as close as 6pts. Nope, try again. It was about how they looked as though they didn't care and weren't truly putting the effort out there VS say how Brighton was reported after their loss yesterday VS Spurs. Yeah they were "off" but the constant comments were about how the "effort, attempt" was clearly visible but they just couldn't put it together. Two entirely different things. One (Wolves) looks just like the accusation about "playing for draft picks" while the other (Brighton) is what you're referring too.
I think most off days by teams can be explained as more of a regression or progression to the mean rather than having nothing to play for. Athletes at high levels go out to compete regardless, that's part of why they made it. It's more fun as pundits to claim it is about some deep psychological issue related to the importance of the game. Doing that as fans at least gives us the sense that we must be doing something important when we watch a game.
You mean like Arsenal losing to Wolves yesterday, the Wolves that was apparently already on their vacation according to one poster here?
You really don't think teams perform differently when the pressure's off? I mean, how else do you explain Torquay suddenly losing two games once their promotion was confirmed and, in reverse, a crap Fulham team suddenly winning two games once their relegation was confirmed?
Actually it was according to a guy on English radio. I don't watch Wolves so I couldn't tell you what they look like, I just thought it was interesting a professional commentator described a Premier League team in such terms. But yeah, I see they got a nice win yesterday, so obviously they were not on vacation and the hyperbole was unwarranted. Similarly, I've seen countless teams in closed leagues nabbing impressive wins late in the season after going through phases where their form and motivation was questioned.
I just did an analysis of potential expansion teams and I'm starting to like the idea of capping the number of single-entity shareholders at 30 or 32 and allowing for a number of "guest" teams to play on a pro/rel basis, This is after all the direction several Latin-American leagues are going in, virtually guaranteeing their big teams a D1 spot using convoluted pro/rel rules, while a handful of teams compete for the right to play with the big boys on a annual pro/rel basis.
I'm actually not opposed to models like this, but it seems like it would be extremely hard to actually implement: not sure how you'd have independent teams playing against the monolithic single entity. Wouldn't their team expenses be unfairly much higher?