Dunno. Is it too much to ask you to stop being a martyr and posting pictures of Muppets? I mean, I get Rule 34, but BigSoccer isn't Reddit.
MODS: Can we delete all posts from pages 2 and 3? One more thing: I have EVERY RIGHT to be able to post on a thread I started without being personally insulted, belittled, taunted, and ridiculed. Every. Right.
Myself and every other poster has EVERY RIGHT to be able to post on a thread on a public forum. Every. Right.
MODS: Can we delete all posts from pages 2 and 3 and have this poster barred from posting on this thread, since he clearly has nothing to contribute other than ridicule and vitriol?
Can we have someone step in? Buehler? Buehler? It'd be nice to have a discussion on a thread I created without being ridiculed. http://forums.bigsoccer.com/threads/mod-notice-stricter-rules-on-personal-attacks.1994886/
Fair enough. Can you please clean up this thread? You don't have to like me or even respect me... just make allowances for a real discussion for people who don't share the same views.
Good. Then the post on Page 1 that uses the word "Phucking," along with a large picture of three laughing apes, should be deleted as well.
Why? There's actual debate in it, unlike most of yours in this thread ... the one you started. So RE-STARTING (you going to actually do that this time ?) What's wrong with having a simultaneous club/stadium build if it can be done (like ATL)? Especially given that building a stadium can even more deeply root you in your community than any amount of simply existing can (like in KC)? Don himself (in the just released interview with GW on SI) flat out stated that the stadiums have allowed for the very community rooting you're talking about .. care to respond to that rather than just give it the 'ol "typical drivel blah blah" you give when someone brings up a point?
You wrote this: Your league's business model prioritizes cradle-to-grave security for its cherished building projects, rather than seeking out situations where a club could play in an appropriately sized college football stadium with favorable lease terms, saving tens of millions that IMHO could be better spent on far more important soccer-related things. That seems pretty general to me. "Seeking out situations" is plural. So I'm not sure why you're surprised I took this as a general strategy rather than specific to Chattanooga.
This thread does need to be chopped a tad. I would like to focus on wealthy Americans who like pro outdoor soccer, using their money to build SSS and lower tier outdoor men's soccer in smaller markets. It appears we have covered the bases on Chatt and pro/rel but I do want to discuss what happened in Tulsa. For example they had the Roughnecks in our old NASL, which I saw live in the Astrodome in 1980 versus my old HurricanE for example. Then in the late 90's there was the USL Tulsa team that played my Houston Hurricanes FC of the USL but then the USL suits axed our South Central Division there in 2000 and like RufNex said Tulsa went (is still going without) with no outdoor men's team from 2000 till now. Which if anyone knows anything about outdoor soccer in the Plains States, Tulsa is a tremendous soccer town! Like there is something in the water there. Memphis is like that as well. There are these small towns in our nation that somehow from decades past, usually with the old NASL and 70's/80's youth soccer boom, outdoor soccer really took hold at the grassroots level. But again a big money man or woman owner is key to building a stadium to get a team or funding a team that will bleed money (which lower tier outdoor soccer does in the U.S.) for season after season to hopefully get a stadium built with local city officials looking to rejuvenate one side of town. Or look to refurbish an old stadium for multisport use at youth, college and USL/NASL levels.
Yes, "seeking out situations" is plural. Notice I didn't say "only seeking out situations." DC United has had 20 years as part of the community... trying to find funding for a soccer stadium is fine there. I remember Anacostia and Global Development Partners with Mr. Kissler and Mr. Lauterbach... and the record $25 million dollar offer to purchase the team from AEG. But Houston Dynamo played at UH's Robertson Stadium for years. I mentioned Finley Stadium in Chattanooga as an example of a college football stadium that could work rather well as an MLS venue. And I lamented the ultimatum MLS gave Tulsa to build them a new stadium before they could get a team... when the local college football stadium in Tulsa now has as many corporate suites as Frisco, TX and a reduced capacity of under 30k. http://businessofcollegesports.com/2011/10/10/facilities-tour-university-of-tulsa/ Fast forward to 2015... Cincinnatti may try to use their college football stadium in a future MLS bid. Louisville had a successful first year, but it's a tall order to build a soccer stadium for a team that's been around for only one season... if a reasonable situation happens for them to use U of L's college football stadium, why not? Find reasonable options first, then after building a club and establishing yourselves in the community, go for it... and maybe waiting a little longer allows the stadium that finally gets built to be a better deal for everyone involved.
I understand the focus on using a great deal of money, time, and effort to build a SSS. But a quick look at attendance makes you wonder about the risks and priorities... the bottom three and six of the bottom seven markets in attendance play in their own soccer specific stadiums. http://soccerstadiumdigest.com/mls-attendance-2015/ The old Roughnecks had the lowest budget/payroll in the old NASL, yet won half their games. As you know, the Tulsa story is both colorful and compelling, sad that too few people are aware of it. Wichita, as a longtime member of the MISL, also has a compelling story to tell. This is where I take exception to some fans in larger markets who insist MLS should go straight down a list of metro area populations for expansion slots. Chattanooga has really built something special over the last 6 years.... IMO, sad that far too many are dismissive and seem to think their success holds little significance in the grand scheme of things. Ask fans and players from that USL Tulsa team, and most I've talked with seem to contend it was more a "cover band" than a pro team. I believe that's why 51% of fans in a name-the-team contest selected a name other than "Roughnecks" for the new USL club that started up this season. I'd be interested in hearing your views on how talent in the current USL compares to the old 1990's USL South Central... the new version of USL D-3 is certainly better marketed-- almost embarrasingly so... and they like to act like the 1990's version never existed... http://www.kjrh.com/news/local-news...us-grounds-crew-spends-hours-converting-field I'll be a season ticket holder for the NPSL Tulsa Athletics for as long as they're around... proud to see them take the old ballpark which hosted the Tulsa Roughnecks NASL team for their last season in 1985. IMO, kinda frustrating to see the baseball club and some guys from OKC announce a new USL club only a few short months after a 2013 season in which we averaged well over 3k per game... hopefully there'll be enough room for both teams after the smoke clears.