Woah. Good scoop. Not sure how seriously to take this but definitely intriguing. I’m not very familiar with this plot of land but plan on taking a little jog by there next week when the weather improves. Will share some pics if anything is of interest
There isn’t anything of interest, honestly. It’s mostly old industrial sites behind the central post office.
Yes, basically directly south of Progressive, but separated by Carnegie, Ontario and the interchange overpass.
Wow I just saw this. Looks like a viable spot. A little isolated from downtown and the other vibrant neighborhoods but also plenty of vacant or underused land in proximity so that could bode well for the future if development spreads that way. Whether Abrams would be involved in a bigger master development (like the Haslams in Columbus)or not..i could see something of a mixed use district gradually building up around it with the stadium being an anchor of sorts. It also looks to be an easy bike ride from Tremont or Ohio City. I'm cautiously optimistic about it. Still not sold on the Force name though. It has historical cache though and if the logo/crest/badge isnt tacky and befitting of a minor league baseball team and actually looks dignified for a team playing the worlds game in 2020-onward, I think I'll buy in easily.
Well, nothing new on the USL front, but our current team is playing in the NPSL national semifinal after winning the Midwest title on Sunday. Watch party on Saturday at Platform. Playing on the road in Miami.
The USA is leading Argentina 4-0 at halftime of the Minifootball World Cup. Israel Sesay and Slavisa Ubipairipovic have two fo the goals link to watch: https://www.twitch.tv/elevensportsnext
Does anyone have any updates on Cleveland Force USL team and/or stadium news. I know the Abrams brothers were working on the team and stadium but there has been absolutely no news since April. Hopefully Abrams reads this and replies.
I asked a couple months ago. Greg said it's been a slow process trying to make a stadium happen, but everything is indeed still in the works. So not really any new news.
I see a new team coming to Queensboro in NYC and a possible team in Buffalo NY, yet all we ever hear from Cleveland and Detroit and Chicago are crickets????
No doubt. But there are plenty of cities and investors, in smaller markets with arguably less soccer history and interest, getting it done. In typical Cleveland fashion, we are like a decent Honda stuck up on cinder blocks.
I wouldn't know for sure but I would guess the solution for a stadium is the biggest hurdle. Greg said to me, "I wish things would be moving quicker, but in the world of stadium building, things take a long time." I didnt prod anything further. But that sounds to me like they're intentions are indeed to building their own stadium from scratch (not be a tenant elsewhere)....and we did hear rumors a while back about a possible stadium site straight south of Progressive Field on the other side of 90. If these guys are serious about coming into the USL Championship strong, in a market that is just as suitable for an MLS team if there weren't already 2 in Ohio....they need a serious venue right out the gate. There isnt any good options that I can see in Cleveland. Capacity-wise the only logical places are high school football stadiums, and USL has kinda grown past that being an acceptable venue. Most teams, if they don't have their own SSS, play in a nicer minor league baseball stadium...often owned by the soccer teams owners who also own the baseball team. Cleveland mostly has big professional venues, or high school/ small college fields...not much in between. Indy Eleven plays at the Colts stadium but thats less than ideal as it's absolutely cavernous being only like 15% filled. And I dont even know that Force could play at First Energy as they're competition for soccer fandom (dollars) for the Crew (Browns owners) so I dont know if they would be cool with that...unless they had some kind of partnership. Its easy to see why they havent bothered to announce much of anything if a future stadium isnt a sure thing yet. No reason to hype people up too much for something you cant even begin to put a timeline on. And honestly I'd rather not be fed a bunch of hype just to get let down. I'd rather they take their time and get everything right.
Rumor has it...Crew are going to be starting up a USL entity. The talks are it'll be in Columbus, but I just wonder if they'd take it to Cleveland?
I'm not sure there would be much point for the Crew organization to actually set up their own USL team in Cleveland. They would have all the business expenses that come with running and operating a team (stadium, food, merch, marketing/advertising, etc) that wouldnt be necessary if they just play as Columbus Crew 2 at Mapfre Stadium or wherever. You also have the accessibility of having the USL team practice with the senior team as well as academy often if everyone's all in metro Columbus. The only way I see the Crew in Cleveland is if they do a partnership with the existing Force group. Force Sports builds a stadium and uses their branding and handles all gameday and business operations...while the Crew controls the soccer operations, supplying and paying the roster and coaching staff....kinda like the deals some teams like Houston has with RGV Toros in USL. I think USL will hope for a more ambitious, independent team like potential regional rivals, Pittsburgh, Indy, and Louisville though. Also, MLS teams are increasingly putting their reserve teams in USL League 1 and I dont see USL wanting a League 1 team in the Cleveland market.
Could they work out a deal where the Force could use First Energy Stadium (lower deck) in exchange for taking on any Crew players who need Championship playing time?
As I've noted elsewhere, USL has been showing a high interest in minor league baseball stadiums. Looks like the Lake County Captains or Lake Erie Crushers will be getting a call! More seriously... None of this is truly indicative of what is actually taking place though. USL does not want their teams to play in existing MLS markets -- look what's happened with nearly all 2/B teams. Tacoma has moved. Portland has moved. Orlando B has moved. If USL can, they will force it. They want to have a much better product than what has been taking place with some of these 2/B teams. The independents are trying to force that. The whole "accessibility" thing is not entirely accurate either. Most USL players won't be making moves to the first team. If anything is possible, it's MLS trying to grab a market and spread their merchandising elsewhere.
Found this by a poster in another forum. Don't know if it means anything. https://www.golocalprov.com/busines...rs-says-they-are-going-to-baltimore-cleveland