If you meant OK by on field performance then that is reasonable. However the team has no owner and had the lowest average attendance in the league. Now, there are various reasons for that, bad stadium location, absolutely zero media coverage and during the cup run last year I was very hard pressed to find one article. However, if and when Zygi gets his stadium built, there is no doubt in my mind the Twin Cities will get a MLS team, so its not really a stretch at all.
We agree -- OK on field = potential for potential following... Stadium getting built = that's the stretch...but we can hope!
Proposed Henderson arena keeps clearing hurdles Alright, I'm starting to think Milam was using the MLS idea to get this arena built. They aren't even calling it a stadium complex anymore, just an arena. If this is truly the plan I have little faith that after he gets his arena built he'll go back and build the soccer facilities as promised. Which is a shame because according to people in the know he used Garber and others from the MLS to make the case to Henderson politicians. He had Garber call Henderson politicians in support of the project. I think to make himself seem more legitimate he had to show he had some support from a professional league and he had no connections with the NBA.
I have to agree with your assessment. If I was a Henderson politician or resident, I would press for the soccer stadium since MLS is the only major league that has expressed real interest. Neither the NBA nor the NHL have shown any firm interest in Vegas as far as I have heard. Did their key people meet with the politicians? They sure haven't expressed a public desire in the national media the way MLS has... Lord knows Vegas does not need another arena for general entertainment. Perhaps if the arena is all he goes forward with, perhaps he will be sued for fraud.
Well that's Vegas thrown onto the backburner. Really strange that he's only just mentioning that the arena will be built first and then the stadium built after. Especially considering as said before he's been using MLS to hype it up. It's all a bit suspicious. Especially as he's never stated that he has contacts with the NBA and that league seems less keen on expansion to LV than MLS. Although if he does manage to lure one of the teams he suggests he's talking to, it might nuke any chance of MLS in LV for a good few years. MLS alone could work there but competing against an NBA team aswell? bit more doubtful. I would laugh if he ended up with just an arena and no permenant tenant though. One thing Vegas does have is lots of entertainment venues, he'd be pretty screwed.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/201...son-arena-keeps-clearing-hurdles/allcomments/ I love any article about potential soccer stadiums planning to be built when the headline of it includes "Keeps Clearing Hurdles" . . . C'mon Vegas! All arguments about heat, market size, professional sports/gambling concerns, bad economy will fade quickly into the background once the shovels can go into the dirt, supporters clubs pop up and team name and colors start to take over! It may be a longshot now, but then this town was built on longshots. What about those naysayers years ago that said, "Casinos? In the middle of the Desert?? No one will EVER believe it will last and NO ONE will EVER travel there . . . "
Viva, your enthusiasm is great, but just read above what SoCalYid and others are saying. Milam is basically saying maybe, later he will build a soccer stadium, but he is focused on a indoor stadium for now (and maybe thats all). Doesn't look good for MLS in Vegas.
Good point . . . but the buildings & hotels went up based on their dollars! In any case, the fact that Las Vegas still gets the most mentions (outside of NYC2, or the latest city du jour) when talking about MLS expansion still speaks to the larger base that contend that a team could do well here. . . The economy is a definite damper for the time being, but it is on the rebound and if a full recovery does come then there is no reason Las Vegas won't jump towards the top of everyone's list as the right place to put a team. What needs to be happening more, beyond clarification of ownership groups and stadium prospects, is the groundswell of support from the soccer community at large IN Las Vegas, not just the fans who would like to visit there for road trips. What is needed are the youth soccer families, the companies who would entertain workers and/or clients, the hispanic and ethnic communities, and the young adult crowd that will ultimately make up the Supporters Groups that will be their most vocal fans. These are the signs that will show an outward extension of the prospects for a Soccer Club making their home in Las Vegas. San Antonio is doing wonders now down in Texas at the NASL level, Miami is drawing on the older roots of the Fusion that left 10 years ago, other cities are building the support like this and Las Vegas should be as well. Stadium talk and owner talk is great, but it's time to get the people talk going. More fans = closer to the goal of an MLS team in Las Vegas!
You guys keep forgeting there is a group trying to build a new stadium for the Runnig Rebels of UNLV. If they get the backing of the Regents that would be the home for the new Las Vegas franchise because the people who want to build on the campus want a MLS team
Yeah but it won't be soccer specific like the Milam scheme apparently was going to be. I said a few pages back the location of Milam's project isn't ideal IMO. It was his last option, the first plan was slated to be on the south side of the strip. Even though it's harder to get to because it's the strip, I think it's better for locals. In theory a stadium on campus would be the best of all the plans but the stadium isn't the best for soccer, it's being designed for American football, fans too far from the field. The pitch likely won't be natural grass and as a football purist I think all football should be played on grass. I agree that's another option but I'm not too excited about that one as it stands right now.
The guys who are trying to build the stadium on UNLV want a multipurpose stadium.They have repetatly stated they want a MLS team. So the facility is not just for Crash Helmet Rugby.
The guys who are trying to build the stadium on UNLV want a multipurpose stadium.They have repetatly stated they want a MLS team. So the facility is not just for Crash Helmet Rugby.
Well that's encouraging. Just published, I found this interesting. Milam sets 2012 groundbreaking goal The only "franchises" that make sense are Basketball, Hockey and Soccer (provided those facilities are still going forward). Also it sounds like he wants the Arena but he's not too bothered about whether an NBA team comes immediately. Still that sounds to like a bargaining chip he's using. So maybe if he is having talks it's with the MLS, or NASL, who knows.
Yes but Millam is the only one that has claimed he wants to own a MLS team (according to the Henderson city ppl). If UNLV gets a stadium built, who then is going to pay for the franchise? Certainly not the school or the gov't.
Alright, I'm updating myself with some of the material submitted by Milam, Las Vegas National Sports Center (LVNSC, LLC), I'll call it LVNSC from now on. Basically a couple weeks ago the City of Henderson submitted amendments to the initial agreement in October which give the city protection if the scheme isn't successful, after the BLM sale. Buy back options for the land, rights of first refusal, they sectioned off 33% of the project to separate it from the bulk of the main scheme. So even if the Arena and MLS stadium is successful but the remaining 3rd doesn't get completed the city can buy back the land. This is called the "Eastern Parcel Option". That is the initial summary from LVNSC submitted to the Henderson City Council, what I'm being lead to believe while the Arena like previously reported is still given priority, the city are still viewing this as a two stadium project at least. The Arena which will be used for NBA (potentially) and concerts will be first, and that's technically now called the "Initial Venue". The stadium which specifically states is being designed for MLS use is now referred to as the "Second Venue". The relevant information for the second venue. The master plan states that the stadium is.... Fixed Capacity - 25,000 ( around 20k-22k for MLS and 25k for Rodeo events) 25 Suites - 16 persons and 15 suites 12 persons 3,500 Club Seats And most importantly and Operable ETFE Roof As an aside the Rodeo inclusion is smart by Milam. That's one of the biggest events in Las Vegas, big revenue for the City of Las Vegas, including that was shrewd because I'm sure Henderson wants a piece of that revenue. On 05/14/2012 LVNSC is required to put a million dollars in escrow approaching the BLM sale. The bids are going to be accepted starting 6/4/2012. At the moment I haven't heard of any competing bidders but who knows what will happen. The bidder is required to deposit 20% of the fair market value of the land, which is valued at $10.5m, so around $2m. If the bidder is accepted he has until 12/14/2012 to close. Now the city in it's amendment has set a date of 3/4/2013 as the deadline for all the financial requirements for the build of the "Initial Venue". Which could happen much sooner but that's the deadline before the project becomes invalid. Also the City of Henderson has set a deadline of 10/17/2013 as the deadline for construction commencing, it also could happen sooner. Now this same financial process is required for the "second venue", short of the land purchase obviously. The date for the financial requirement closure is being earmarked for 3/4/2016. Three years after the financial closure of the first phase. So we'll know for sure by that date. Still while that's the deadline it doesn't mean that a club couldn't relocate in the meantime or that the schedule wouldn't be pushed up, that's just the deadline that the agreement is valid. Given Milam's comments I just posted that maybe the franchises negotiating aren't NBA franchises, scratch that, according to the man himself he's negotiating with 2 NBA franchises and planning to add another. He's also had discussions with the league, which I imagine are the biggest hurdle in getting an NBA franchise to Vegas. He also says that additional events commitments/tenants could be announced as soon as in the next couple months. I'm not sure what those would be, but something that would need an Arena presumably. He seems pretty confident that nobody will outbid him, he says simply "Whoever bids, we'll outbid them, period". He revealed who his main partner in all of this is Guoshen Tu Chairman of CCST. A once public now private Chinese company. He says he's been involved in all the negotiations. According to Milam he expects construction to begin as soon as October 12th this year which is ahead of the required time line of the COH. Also the City of Henderson's time line for construction commencement is his around his projected completion date for the first phase. So obviously both sides are working on different timescales. A little upsetting that none of the councilors asked Milam the questions we all wanted to know about the "second phase". In general though it doesn't seem like gives the impression that he will abandon that second phase. If the first phase is an indicator, that time line could possibly be accelerated as well. We'll see, he says despite the time line given by the City he'll actually submit all relevant construction documents by July this year, which is way ahead of schedule. If that's the case the longest process may be the review from the councilors. It could be possible while obviously he had to reset after failing in Las Vegas, most of the legwork on design etc has already been done, who knows, I'm not architect. So I'm more optimistic then I was a couple days ago, still there are tons of questions that still need to be answered. I think I might send a email, maybe a signed letter of "MLS in Las Vegas supporters", which can list some questions to submit to the councilors and Milam about the "Second Venue" and specifics. I have LVNSC's address now (actually it's not too far away from where I used to live). Also I can email specific councilors, I might send if from my buddy's address who's a Henderson resident. Pictures of the scheme Aerial View of the proposed location - 01 Aerial View of the proposed location - 02 The basic outline of the scheme #1 is the MLS stadium #2 is the arena. This picture shows the segmented 3rd of the land made by the City. Which includes the 14 academy soccer pitches which I'd like to see get developed. So hopefully that isn't lost.
Since he ruled out the NBA, that leaves only minor league (NBADL) basketball. For some reason, I don't see this major arena being constructed for a minor league team in Vegas. The city and Milam have major league aspirations. I'm sure they are looking at the NHL. But if the NBA is not the other league they are looking at, I wonder if it could be the National Lacrosse League. Vegas has a strong and growing lax community and the fast-paced, entertainment centered (they play music during the game, not just breaks) league could be a great fit. The NLL has fewer home dates than either the NHL or NBA, which makes them easier to schedule around. One of the indoor soccer leagues could be in play as well.
I disregard that post, It was before I watched his public statement He is talking to the NBA but he says regardless of whether they get a franchise the arena will be going up. They have "other" revenue streams they can guarantee which would make it feasible. Basically they want the NBA but aren't reliant on them.
I wonder if Las Vegas will be a viable market, long-term. The primary issue for the future of Las Vegas and much of the Southwest is going to be access to fresh water. Nevada, Arizona, and Southern California are already sucking the Colorado River dry. What with all the overdevelopment in that region, I question how long growth, or even maintaining the status quo, will be sustainable. A few decades?
I like that you brought that up, as its something few people would consider in evaluating future MLS cities. That is probably the biggest issue facing the southwest looking forward.
Actually I'm not sure if the water bit has been metnioned. The pipeline is the hot-topic in Las Vegas. It's going to happen, I don't think the appeals really have a hope ultimately. There's a reason why most of the population lives in 3 cities, the majority in Las Vegas, because that's were the revenue is driven. So any in-state appeals are pretty useless and I'm not sure why the LDS church is involved. On the other hand Utah probably will appeal based on the theory that the pipeline adjacent to Snake Valley will reduce their water levels. The water issue is serious but it's one of those problems that will get fixed eventually. We aren't going to run out of water and the city will keep growing. I tend to favor the scheme which combines a water pipeline reserve and a desalination from Mexico. Nevada, California, Arizona and Mexico are all funding a feasibility study on a desalination plant in Mexico. Actually we probably wouldn't pipe much if any water to Nevada. What likely would happen is that we pay our portion to build and operate said plant and we trade our water rights for increase water rights on the Colorado river. The pipeline now (though I think the levels should be adjusted down), Mexican desalinization next, and further down the road Nevada owned desalination plants in California or Mexico piped to the city. Each side typically doesn't want to accept that the solution is somewhere in the middle. Problem with an independent Desal plant and pipeline is obviously the costs I saw an estimate that said it would be around $8.5 billion, while the pipeline is well under half the costs $3.5 billion. That's only compounded with the power needs which have been estimated at $400m per/yr. Still to me the long term solution is desalination. For Nevada, California, Arizona and even Mexico this is an issue of importance similar to the big infrastructure projects of the last decade like Hoover Dam