Sacramento MLS Expansion Superthread

Nothing to say, I just wanted to post the 1,000th reply to this thread (the original post doesn't count).

 

Minnesota legislature won't give Minn United their coveted...

tax breaks

I doubt this really changes the expansion equation, though. Just another example of why we're a better candidate expansion city aside from the fabled "league footprint."

 

OTOH, this would paint a more precarious situation that faces the McGuire group if they indeed are depending on sales and property tax cuts and facing a 6/30 deadline ....

https://sports.vice.com/en_us/artic...stadium-in-minneapolis/?utm_vicesportstwitter

I still expect them to work it out or swallow their pride and settle for a lot of revenue instead of a whole lot of revenue.

 

I'm pretty confident that most of what's going on in MN is posturing (probably prodded on by Wilf behind the scenes).

But they'll get something done, one way or another.

 

Nope ...

 

I'm not sure they want Miami that much. Seems more like they're trying to drop Miami while saving face and avoiding a breach of contract lawsuit.

 

^^^this, so this. They are playing the role here because that contract is air tight. Theres not much to worry about boys, I promise, Miami is more of a mess than you can possibly imagine. These people have absolutely no plan. Its starting to make Chivas USA look like a sports masterpiece. Minnesota, I think the infrastructure thing is political posturing, theyre not going to turn down a 100 percent private funded stadium that can revitalize a blighted downtown area. They could......but i dont think theyre that dumb. Miami is the one thats going to tank here, not Minnesota.

I think deep down, Garber finds Miami completely revolting tbh as an expansion prospect, but because Beckham got that deal, MLS is stuck to ride it into the ground to avoid a messy lawsuit.

 

So, what if the Chargers cut and run to LA? That leaves SD with just the Padres for Beckham to comepete with. If he were smart, he could do a lot worse for a plan B.

SD metro area may be 1/2 the size of Miami, but without NFL, NBA nor NHL to contend for the sports dollar. Plus, its a hotbed of soccer talent, right, with a short hop over to Tinsel Town in your private Lear jet. You'd have to think SD would be amenable to replacing NFL with the lower cost MLS.

 

San Diego would certainly be a great alternative if im looking from his point of view, no question. For that area I slightly worry about "street cred" of TJ soaking up potential MLS fans. TJ doesn't pull the Mexican americans down there, they grab everyone to upper class suburbia's soccer community. They've got a good hardcore following down there, and it could be hard for an MLS team to peel away that fanbase. That and while the local gov't isn't as cutthroat as Miami, they are still notoriously stingy. That said, San Diego at least has a chance of success. Miami has none whatsoever.

 

I just posted a bunch of Garber Q&A quotes on MLSN&A.

http://forums.bigsoccer.com/threads/friday-april-24-2015.2019362/page-2#post-32136048

Among them, these:

 

.@MLS @thesoccerdon commissioner Garber: "Our owners will get together soon to discuss future expansion. I believe we will have a plan to..

— Bob Moffitt (@BobMoffitt) April 24, 2015

cont: @MLS @thesoccerdon commissioner Garber: "... we will have a plan to share publicly within a year. @SacRepublicFC has done a great job.

— Bob Moffitt (@BobMoffitt) April 24, 2015

.@MLS @thesoccerdon commish Garber: ".. We cannot move forward with any new expansion teams until we've finalized our future expansion plan.

— Bob Moffitt (@BobMoffitt) April 24, 2015

 

Sacramento will get MLS team someday, commissioner says
-- Sacramento Bee, Marcos Breton

 

MLS says cities expressing interest included Austin, Texas; Sacramento, California; St. Louis; and San Antonio; and to a lesser extent El Paso, Texas; Indianapolis; and Las Vegas.

interesting, on that list the only one that is conceivably in the race for potential 25/26 at this juncture with Sacramento is San Antonio Id say. Austin wont be able to find a location downtown and city council will shoot it down because their freeway system is the biggest cluster ive ever seen. Vegas and Indy just had stadium proposals shot down. El Paso is just lulz, St Louis football stadium is up in the air. San Antonio already has a reasonable stadium location that pulls fans. If somehow Miami pulls off a miracle, id say Sac-San Antonio 25-26, but most likely Miami-San Antonio 25-26

 

I am hoping the writing is on the wall that the "expansion discussions" will be how to get Miami in there while Sacramento leap frogs since they are ready sooner. Just need to have the logistics in some sort of plan, I can tell already Garber's tone regarding things have changed. They still need Miami and having the false urgency only helps in leverage for getting a stadium done there. But getting Sac in the league will come, probably in at 24 while Miami has to wait a year or two, which they will/ahould need anyway considering where they are at. The league is now seeing this and I'm hoping that is where this is all pointing.

 

Kevin Johnson was on the Tonightly Show. It's filmed in NYC. Can anyone think of a reason why KJ would be in NYC other than to talk to Garber?

 

Would he have gone there just to go on the show?

 

I doubt it. It was an "Earth Day" themed episode. He was on the panel with Larry Wilmore, a gay comic, and a lesbian comic. They did talk about the water shortage in Cali.

 

There does seem to be a few Sacramento folks in New York right now. That Marcos Breton piece I linked above is datelined New York.

 

Debut of the ESPN 30 for 30 film about the battle to save the Kings, "Down in the Valley."

 

Yep...it debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival. Even George Maloof attended, which I thought was odd.

 

George Maloof was there?! I don't know how he can show his face, he was pretty much the villain of the entire drama

 

Via the Miami New Times and FoS, here's the most recent vaportecture for a Miami footy stadium, right next door to Marlins Stadium.

No, really - right next door...



As the FoS dude said, the Miami folks need to get themselves some better 3-D rendering artists.

"The site plan is done in a way to show that Marlins Stadium need not overwhelm the MLS park," Suarez tells New Times of his vision for the complex. "In fact, the two stadia look like two wings of a bird, and the retractable roof as the torso connecting the two."

Ummm...okay...

 

Wow, such an amateurish representation of a several hundred million dollar undertaking. Is anyone down there taking this opportunity seriously?

 

They should have just gone full-Minecraft.