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Also of note in the Garber interview... That would seem to move them near the front of the class for an expansion team. Does it also seem that Garber seems to be backing off the expansion promise a little?
Re: Re: 6/6/03: Spies Like Us Probably due to the new stadium and that people are looking at ratings, attendance, etc., and not just "Will the league be around tomorrow?".
We also are close to announcing an investor taking over one of our existing teams, and that would be the first transfer of ownership since Phil Anschutz took over New York in 2001. So we are feeling pretty encouraged with the new investor interest in our league. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- don garber in interview with grahame jones I will be a little disappointed if this means that HSG never officially took over the Burn and this will be it. However, as the last sentence says 'new', then I will be optimistic.
Just a guess, but Hunt's three teams would be out, and you'd think Kraft wouldn't turn loose of the Revs. So it has to be an AEG team, and I'm thinking it won't be the Rapids, the Fire, or the Galaxy. That leaves the Metros, United and the Quakes, and of those, I'd think San Jose would be the most likely candidate. But that's just a guess.
"We also are close to announcing an investor taking over one of our existing teams, and that would be the first transfer of ownership since Phil Anschutz took over New York in 2001. So we are feeling pretty encouraged with the new investor interest in our league." Note the position of the word "new" ... the way I read it, Garber is spinning Hunt's investment into Dallas as if it had something to do with new investors.
Note the words "transfer of ownership since Phil Anschutz took over New York in 2001". Sounds more like a transfer from one ownership group to another (like Kluge et al to AEG) than Hunt taking over an I/O-less Dallas team.
Who's left to take over--just the Quakes, right? As for expansion, it clearly reads: 1. Cleveland 2. OKC/Tulsa 3. Houston Not a word comes out of Garber's mouth by accident. He wouldn't have mentioned them the way he did if they weren't the front-runners. As for rivalries, Cleveland/Columbus and OKC/Dallas would be much stronger than LA/LA--Clips/Lakers was never anything special.
... because Anschutz took over the Quakes more recently than he took over New York. This makes sense. Still, I'm not optimistic that anyone would want to invest in an MLS franchise in San Jose.
Neither am I. But even if they're not necessarily the most attractive of AEG's six (I would think selling someone on New York, especially if the stadium looks like it will actually happen, would be easier), I would think they could be had for a song. Or a short medley.
AEG is working on stadium issues in Chicago, DC and Jersey, so those are probably out. And the Rapids are his hometown, so I doubt he'd get out of that one. And I don't think he'd transfer ownership of LA right after building them a stadium. Which leaves San Jose.
My Turn: Stadium puts kick in long-suffering soccer fan’s life - Daily Breeze I think this this was actually published yesterday.
Got to love this little I-told-you-so from Garber Q : There are constant rumors that the Women's United Soccer Assn. [WUSA] is in financial difficulty. If true, is the women's league or the women's game something MLS would want to take under its umbrella? A. Early on, MLS was very aggressive in trying to convince the investors in WUSA to work closely with us and perhaps do it in a merged fashion. They opted to go alone and believed they would be more successful that way and that it was more fitting with what their strategy was at that time. At this point, I don't think there's an opportunity for a merger of the leagues or any combination of assets, if you will. That being said, we believe that what's good for soccer is good for MLS and we're certainly hopeful that they are successful.
Mike, what's the general sentiment on soccer in the OKC area? I don't know how you would exactly take a pulse to identify that, but is there any sort of "buzz" in the community about the possibility of an MLS franchise? You'll have to forgive me, I haven't followed this as closely as perhaps I should have. Anyway, there is a strong chance I will be in OKC next week, or maybe sooner. I'll have to drive by and take a look.