And for quite awhile the Baseball Cardinals & the Cubs were NL East, while the Braves & Reds were NL West. Now its Braves East, Cards, Cubs & Reds in the Central. (Cin & ATL are almost identical longitude)
Yeah, the Cards were still in the NFC East for many years after moving to Arizona until the league restructured in 2002.
As I was saying... https://www.nashvillesc.com/post/2020/01/30/joint-statement-nashville-sc-and-major-league-soccer
Mind if I ask here for a quick recap / rundown on what's driving the delays from the mayor? I was unaware there was any trouble with the progress until I read an article citing the same joint statement shown in the link you provided. I then looked for backstory and detail in a couple local news stories but I still don't really understand the issue . . . does he want less tax money allocated to the deal, does he have another use for the site, is he aligned with some opponents of the plan, etc etc? Thanks in advance for any insight.
Well he claims there are cost overruns, which let's face it always happens in these sorts of things. And I can certainly appreciate not wanting taxpayer money being used, particularly given the current financial mess the city is in. But apparently the club has offered additional funding and still he delays. He was against the Fairgrounds stadium all along and now he has the ability to screw it up. The real reason? Who knows. Is he one of those who long to keep the property the same as it always was? Is he trying to make a deal with NASCAR to get them to race at that tiny little track? Is it all just a power play? Is he just an old prick? Could be any or all of the above.
I was skeptical of Nashville from the start. At some point I expect the stereotypical South to manifest, even though Atlanta surprised. Reports of slow season ticket sales. Now a mayor that seems more concerned with.......NASCAR. How could this be a surprise to anyone? That stereotype of SEC football and NASCSR good 'ol boys who are soccer-indifferent at best and soccer-derisive at worst just might prove true.
I must say I am pleasantly surprised that NSC has sold 30K+ for the opener. Sure, a lot of that is a result of the excitement of something new and they won't draw that every match, but it is a good start.
Its a good baseline. hopefully they put out a good product to encourage them to continue to come back.
From NSC to it's supporters : BUILD THE STADIUM Help us keep Major League Soccer in Nashville Well. We put it all on the table to bring Major League Soccer to Nashville. Metro agreed to build a new soccer stadium. Commitments were made. A great Community Benefits Agreement was signed with affordable housing and childcare. When Mayor John Cooper said city dollars were tight … we said okay. Because, during his campaign, Mayor Cooper said: “I’m trying to be very clear about this to everybody. We voted for soccer and now soccer has to be a success, … At this point, we have to make what’s there work out. That is going to require a lot of creativity.” So, we got creative: We offered to be responsible for the total cost of the stadium. We will cover all stadium costs. ALL OF IT. We offered to pay an additional $19 Million to Metro for infrastructure in the immediate vicinity of the stadium. We offered to give back $35-million Metro promised to pay in the original deal. We are providing more than fair value for the 10 acres at the fairgrounds, including affordable housing and child care -- $26 Million worth. (We note that during the campaign, the Mayor made affordable housing a centerpiece issue.) We told the Mayor we are willing to modify designs for the 10-acre site to accommodate future racing possibilities. And, if built, this property will generate more than $1.5 million a year in property taxes versus zero dollars today. On the basis of the city’s commitment, the team has hired over 150 people and millions have been already spent on a completed design. All of that is shrouded in uncertainty and delay. We even outlined all of this in a letter to the Mayor. You can read that letter here. He responded…you can read that too. And then we responded back. Read that here. Now, MAYOR COOPER WON'T MOVE FORWARD. So, it’s time. Sign the petition at www.buildthestadium.com Call 615-862-6000 and tell Mayor Cooper it’s time #buildthestadium. Or, send the Mayor an email, asking him to Build Our Stadium. Email him here: john.cooper@nashville.gov And, send the Mayor a tweet…we’ll suggest this: Hey @JohnCooper4Nash, it’s time to #buildthestadium. Learn more @BuildTheStadium. You’ll hear more from us. Stay tuned. www.buildthestadium.com
Until proven otherwise, I see this mess as not just local politics. I see it more generally as culture. I was surprised by Atlanta, surprised at 20,000+ Charlotte ST reservations but still skeptical, and very skeptical of Nashville from the beginning. Soccer won't work everywhere in the US of A. Not every city is Portland. I still expect the traditional South to manifest somewhere at sometime. SEC football and NASCAR. And the mayor seems more concerned with, wait for it........NASCAR. MLS probably made a mistake here.
As much as it would suck for the fans in Nashville I don't think I could be mad at MLS for pulling the plug on the team. Everything seemed good to go until their new mayor took over. Let him take the L on losing a new major league sports franchise if that's important to him. There are cities that would love to have a team and the ST aren't even selling well. Plus we get rid of one of the worst crests in major league sports.
god what a trashy situation. I hope this gets resolved, but it just goes to show youre not done until you kick the first ball.
Don't hold back, tell us what you really feel. LOL. Eh I hate it but I do kind of agree with you. This is set up to fail now. As one fellow badge lover to another, I'm assuming from your comment you also suffer from "badge lust" as my dear friend @pookspur calls it, as I do. I also kind of agree. I'm not a big fan of our badge either.
Unfortunately, I want nothing but success for MLS Nashville but the mayor halting this stadium process after it's been going for a while has put a bad taste in my mouth. Putting more emphasis on upgrading a Nascar track that hasn't held a race since 2011 with no commitment from Nascar that they would come back over a stadium deal already in motion for an expansion team the city already has is foolish. As for the crest, I was so disappointed when they reveled it. The USL one is fantastic looking. A crest or logo for a sports team is so important. It can make or break a teams fandom IMO. Nashville's crest is unique but it's not attractive. Chicago went from one of the best in the league to one of the worst. While, I think, the Crew went from one of the worst to one of the best. They went from one I would be embarrassed to even put a sticker on my car to one were I wouldn't mind having it on a t-shirt even though I'm not even a fan of the team. From playing Fifa I wanted to take a League 2 team and win the Premier League with them. I picked Plymouth Argyle solely based on their crest and I have become a bigger fan of them than Chelsea who I've been a fan of for way longer. So much so that when I get stationed back in the states I'm planning a trip to Home Park to see them. P.S. Juventus' rebrand is also shit.
Well, I signed the petition and sent an email to that mayor through this site https://buildthestadium.com/
*Me too! **Me too!! I did that with Rotherham and Luton Town!! I feel like we are twins that were separated at birth...
I love Rotherham's crest! One of the most recognizable crests in lower English football to me. They were in League One at the time though so I went with Plymouth.
I created a thread(s) on here a long time ago about badges and crests. I'm not sure where it is now though. Have you seen, or posted, in that? LOL: Found them: https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/story-behind-your-badge-crest.959465/ https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/prem-badge-thread.606243/ https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/badges.2016894/ I like the Plymouth badge as well. On that note let me stray further off topic. The new Adidas MLS kit template is absolute shit, IMHO. I've never been too crazy about the monopoly deal that they, Adidas, have with the MLS anyway.
I don't think I've seen these threads but I opened them up in new tabs to go through. I agree about the kits this season. I just looked them up and it's just random stuff they threw on for the sake of having something on there. The last few season weren't that bad. Even Sporting KC, who I think is always spot on with kits, is off this year. I've always been torn about Adidas doing all the teams. On one hand it's nice to be able to walk into an Adidas store and know I can find most kits there. I think some teams like a Cincy wouldn't be able to get a big name kit maker and it might be harder to find in stores. Plus some of these smaller kit makers templates are just as shit. At least Adidas makes quality clothes even if it's more expensive. On the other hand teams would/could have more say in their identity if they weren't all handled by the same place.
Yea, and Oompa Loompa says "I’m so glad we’ve reached a better deal for Nashville," Mayor Cooper said. "I’m grateful to Nashville Soccer Holdings and John Ingram for understanding our city’s financial realities and agreeing to pay up to $54 million in additional costs." What I don't like is that Oompa Loompa Cooper comes out of this looking politically better even though he violated the agreement with the city council, and after he said the Nashville FC stadium deal was "finished business". Lying Oompa Loompa held Ingram by the you know what. Yes, he saved an additional $54 million for the city/tax payers but he reneged on an approved agreement, and the Nashville FC ownership has $54 million less to spend on other things, like development Academy, marketing or whatever. I don't like lying Oompa Loompa coming out of this looking better and in a stronger political position.