Wild stab, is that MLS had picked Sacramento, told Detroit and Cincinnati about their decision, and were in the process of, or had already completed the process of, signing documents when Whitman found out that her only input in running the team was in the form of dollar bills and she pulled out. If that is the case, it will probably take MLS lawyers time to unwind the Sacramento agreement. Throw in the holidays and the assorted vacations therein, they just went with "We'll figure it out in the New Year".
I'm sure if/when Garber announces Cincinnati all will be forgiven and he'll assume fanboy position. Even if that announcement is for the 27/28 spots.
Im starting to think that was the case too, that sacramento was locked in, but didn't know how much of a human disaster they were dealing with in Nagle, and I think a lot of what you say that everything was ready to go holds water. It makes a lot of sense given that's how this played out. And how much will they unwind the agreement? that is the question. Is the commish so furious with Nagbe that if Cincinnati goes nose to the grindstone and gets their stadium and 20 mil gap ironed out, do they just throw it in to Cincy? its possible id say, IF the Cincinnati lawyers and city are keen on making a quick deal at Sacramentos expense If Sacramento goes through, theyre going to have the same kind of love and compassion that Newcastle has for Ashley methinks.
FC Cincinnati lawyers working overtime to finalize agreement/contract with Major League Soccer. Only when it is done will league say whether the team gets into MLS. That won’t be until next year at the earliest.@WCPO— Tom Mckee WCPO (@TMckeeWCPO) December 21, 2017 Only your home market matters, that's what you all said. A 2 million person city is a 2 million person city is a 2 million person city. Mls has lots of em
"Neither Steinberg nor Nagle would specify the amount of the funding gap, but indicated it is significant. The process of finding a major investor may take several months, the mayor said." ohhhh, really, significant you say? several months your say? way to have this all lined up man.....
SHOTS FIRED! The guy is not just in possession of questionable (at best) facts, but he is unstable and peevish.
I'm not entirely sure why you think it will piss us off if/when Cincinnati gets an expansion team.. The only problem most of us have with Cincinnati is you and, for people that aren't moderators, you're an easy fix. All indications are that Cincinnati would be a positive addition to the league.
Starting to wonder if Columbus isn't part of the issue with Cincinnati. Assuming that the Crew want paid for territory if Cincinnati joins the league, and Cincinnati doesn't want to pay if the Crew are in Austin. Quite a contingency clause to craft there. Especially if the public funds have some contingency on the Crew staying. Of course, this is all conjecture from someone well outside the loop.
West: 1. Seattle Sounders 2. Portland Timbers 3. Vancouver Whitecaps 4. LA Galaxy 5. Los Angeles FC 6. Real Salt Lake 7. Colorado Rapids 8. Sporting Kansas City 9. FC Dallas 10. Houston Dynamo 11. Minnesota United 12. San Jose Earthquakes —— 13. Sacramento 14. Austin (bumped up due to noise created from Crew relocating; however new bid) —— 15. San Antonio 16. Saint Louis —— 17. Phoenix 18. San Diego 19. Las Vegas 20. Oklahoma City Alternatives: Albuquerque, El Paso, Tulsa, Omaha, Calgary, Edmonton, San Francisco East 1. Atlanta United 2. Nashville 3. Orlando City SC 4. Columbus Crew 5. Chicago Fire 6. Toronto FC 7. Philadelphia Union 8. New York City FC 9. New York Red Bulls 10. New England Revolution 11. DC United 12. Montreal Impact ——- 13. Miami 14. Detroit ——- 15. Carolinas (Charlotte or Raleigh) 16. Indianapolis —- 17. Cincinnati (knocked down as Crew stay in Columbus) 18. Tampa Bay 19. Rochester 20. Milwaukee Alternatives: Cleveland, Jacksonville, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Ottawa, Louisville, Birmingham, New Orleans, Virginia Beach, Charleston, Richmond, Buffalo
Can someone explain the Cincy stadium issue or perceived issue to me again like I’m 5? They have no other issues.
Their current stadium location is three blocks outside of Cincinnati’s downtown core instead of a maximum of two blocks.
Sarcasm noted. If I’m The MLS expansion committee, why don’t I like their stadium? If Cincinnati doesn’t have an actual answer to this question then they’re not getting a team because if their stadium situation was fine they’d have a team already. Do I not like their stadium if I’m Don Garber because I am leveraging them against Columbus or because their stadium isn’t set?
Oh god more Major League billionaires with a world class dome. And a huge latent sleeping giant soccer market. Unbelievable that they would even be considered.
What's so latent about Detroit area soccer fans? They've host two 100,000+ friendly soccer matches, four 80,000+ Word Cup soccer matches, multiple successful Ford Field games featuring the USMNT and USWNT, and nearly 40,000 for a friendly between PSG-Roma on a baseball field. I think they have as much proven fan clout as the other expansion hopefuls.
Now I can't talk for these coastal people you speak of, but there is no way in Hell that MLS is putting teams in two middling cities 1 hr 30 mins apart (Cincinnati, Columbus). Now, I think Columbus is moving, which is why Cincinnati still has a shot...but that decision is not coming until the Columbus situation is finalized (either publicly or privately).
That looks like it's Ford Field or nothing. Reports that a SSS is still possible seems to be just a fantasy.
Well, frankly, MLS needs to drive the Neilson ratings needle by placing more teams in the Midwest sooner or later. Since St. Louis has dropped out of the running, Indianapolis is taking a pass and Detroit can't come up with a soccer specific stadium plan, Cincinnati is the only viable Midwestern city standing. And, as has been mentioned, Cincinnati media casts a rather wide net over Southwestern Ohio, Southeastern Indiana and North Central Kentucky. I think that Columbus is gone to Texas and what we have left is merely the sound & fury -- Precourts "opt-out" clause in his purchase clause w/ MLS makes it pretty clear that Garber and the existing owner/investors are totally onboard with swapping Columbus for Austin. Even so, Columbus could make a credible case for coming back as an expansion team in the future if flailing expansion candidate cities Detroit, Indianapolis & St. Louis don't get their acts together or potential expansion candidate cities such as Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Chicago 2 or Milwaukee don't put together credible bid. The major negative with Columbus, in my opinion, is that its media market area is pretty much limited to Central Ohio because Cincinnati-Dayton and Cleveland-Akron are completely separate markets. Withi Central Ohio, the Crew and the Blue Jackets play second fiddle to THE Ohio State University. Even so, Columbus had drawn very well in the past (when they were winning) and was a terrific venue for USA-Mexico World Cup Qualifiers.