Guys, would it be more obvious that if the COSMOS want to become the 20th franchise in MLS, an announcement would be made already by now or during this summer. It's all about the timing and the construction of the stadium.
The summer is not over. I would be looking at the fact that Citifield is being tested as a viable alternative to play while a stadium is built. Looks like Juve is going to be playing Club American at Citifield too. http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/artic...b-américa-citi-field-world-football-challenge There is simply NO WAY, they can build their own stadium and be playing in it by 2013...but I don't think that will stop an announcement, considering they have finally found a temp stadium solution.
Napoli, how do you justify these dates???? Why do you think the announcement will be made on the 26th or 27th of July???
July 27 is the MLS All-Star Game, hosted by New York's MLS team. Considering how much MLS brass love crapping on the Red Bulls, it's not completely out of the question. I don't think they'll have everything in place by then to make an announcement, but if the Mets commit to having a MLS team at Citi Field, then it could happen.
All things around here have been sounding off that it's going to be CitiField as temp stadium and the ASG as the announcement date. It's perfect karma to start a rivarly!
Ive Heard All Star Game as far back as Feb I also heard maybe MLS CUp Either way - IF THIS happens - by years end I think there will be an announcement. Lets just keep em crossed though. Nothing is official yet -
I don't think there are any pending or planned announcements for an expansions side in the works at all ..... chatting with Garber he was very clear that no (from any city) 'bid' is anywhere close to being final or complete and he went far enough as to say that if somebody got their shit together before NYC2 they would join MLS before NYC2.
The Mets are looking to build in the area. Appeasing the local soccr gods will get then an in with the community and govt. The willets point fight isnt going to be an easy one and thats where they want to be. Stay tuned its going to get better and better.
It makes sense to have a stadium in Flushing, particularly where the chop shops are. But when the Jets were playing at Shea, the Mets as primary tenant forced them on the road to begin the season for most of their time there. And Shea was built as a multi use park. Citifield is a baseball specific park. Sure, they can host some one offs but it is not ideal and it does damage MLB's visual product, as it did when the Nats and DC United shared RFK. Since MLB is the big power in the equation what they say goes. I also don't think the theory about the Mets doing this for monetary reasons is a valid one. Having a full time summer tenant completely negates the reason why Citifield was built to begin with.
Is the speculation on Citi and 2013 coming from anyone but fellow NYC expansion supporters, be they fans or bloggers? Like, who exactly do we "keep hearing" about Citi from? I'm nervous, I don't wanna get my hopes up on just baseless rumor.
Times have changed. Baseball is dying and soccer is rising. Surely the Wilpons are aware of this and are willing to compromise for now to get in on the ground floor. Say what you will but this is what's going to happen.
So does this mean that (if the Cosmos materialize in Citi Field), we will be stuck with a lot of midweek games? Or should we hope for a well-planned weekend schedule when the Mets are away? So far, the two Citi Field soccer games are/will be on Tuesdays. They are statistically less attended than Thursday-Sunday games. I would hope for a perfect first season, not a handicapped one.
What is the turnover time (and cost) of converting the baseball diamond to a soccer pitch, and then back again? It has to be a couple of days, and a lot of overtime. I could see them doing the switching only if they have 2 or more MLS games back to back, on a long Mets road trip. They would be lucky if they could squeeze as many as 12 of the 18 home games that way. The other 6 could be played you know where. The fans might go for that since the majority of games would be at Citi, and this would only be temp while an SSS is being built.
1. It's not MLB's decision how citifield gets used, it's the MEts' decision. 2. When they proposed building Citifield, the Mets had money. They lost a lot unexpectedly after it was built. If you don't see how the world changed and how the Mets specific situation changed over that period, I don't know what to tell you.
When you are going to make money, you will bring the best and fastest grounds people in the area to make sure that the field is the way it should be for the event you are going to put on. It's really not that difficult.
Not sure how long it takes, but Fenway hosted a one-off game last year. Sure that was a special event and probably had much higher ticket prices and revenue than the Cosmos will, but I don't think they need multiple games in order to pull it off. Either way, I am sure the Cosmos will be prepared to have a much higher operating cost while in Citi Field. What are the odds of this even happening? I don't know, but I would love it. Finally a true New York club that hopefully won't suck forever and people in NYC will actually know they exist!
I can understand that leading to more one offs and concerts during road trips and maybe a winter classic (I assume the Islanders would be the home team). But another full time summer tenant? I just can't see them going for that. Honestly, Hofstra or Ichan is probably your best option as they are both open, available and historic to the brand.