Now that the Scorpions have a corporate sponsor (Toyota) and plans for a very nice stadium, isn't it a matter of time before Hitch makes the pitch to move up to MLS? Just like the Cascadia Cup, Texas could have The "Texas Shootout" involving three teams... and just think how nice a road trip to San Antonio would be as opposed to going to that hellhole they call Houston, Texas. The renderings make it clear that the stadium could easily be upgraded to MLS capacity levels, and I think they have a 3-stage plan to get to that point. I give them 3 years before they get approval. Now all that's left is selling out Scorpion Stadium and bringing in even wealthier ownership partners. https://www.bigsoccer.com/community/threads/tuesday-august-28-2012.1973792/#post-26355833
How much is Toyota paying and how much is Advocare paying? Seriously, why don't people asking that question more often? If Toyota's paying $1.50 and Advocare's paying $5 million, I can tell you which one is a better sponsor.
I'm not going to say that that picture is meaningless, but the Silverbacks also had neat renderings of their stadium in later "phases."
I've been to the complex. It is a mini Frisco soccer complex sort of place. They have a ton of youth fields surrounding the site. I believe that each youth field has some sort of corporate sponsorship / and sign. The existing stadium in across the street from the youth fields, but the new stadium will be in the same parking area. There is also some sort of amusement/water park connected. The locals all say that the existing stadium is packed and rocking on game nights. I get more worried about a team relocation ala Dynamo when the park is completed.
Seeing that MLS is supposedly putting up around $300M to build a stadium for the "next" NY franchise and Orlando is making a strong push for entry in the league, SA is probably at best the leagues 3rd choice right now, and probably lower due to this being their 1st year. BTW, their ability to pack the stadium is a first year thing right now. Let's see them do it over an extended period of time, especially after the newness wears off.
Let's see how San Antonio keeps up over the next few seasons. The stadium is going to be beautiful, but it doesn't mean they're getting into the MLS. I think in the MLS expansion forum they have something about San Antonio, and someone mentioned FCD moving there. I nearly bit his head off... Talk about making NO ONE happy!
If you will recall, HSG sent Hitch to San Antonio while he was our GM. We speculated about just such a relocation thing way back when. Interesting that he transitioned into the new SA position shortly afterwards. Is Hitch still on our payroll?
I'm not going to lose sleep over it. Even though Dallas underachieves at the gate compared to the majority of the league, they have improved dramatically this year and are finally building some staying power when it comes to a fan base. The Beer Garden has been a huge step forward. Don't think MLS was looking the other way when FC Dallas Stadium was standing room only vs. the Galaxy. That shows the potential we have here. Trust me, MLS noticed. With Dallas being the 8th-largest city in America, Garber knows there must be a team here.
I don't think he's a stealth GM. I think he was fired and saw the potential in a different type of model (non-profit) in San Antonio with less pressure on him to create huge attendance. I once had a meeting with Hitch about services I could offer FCD while he was the Dallas GM. It stunned me to see how little control he had over spending even the tiniest dollars without permission. I thought to myself, "this is the guy that helped the Galaxy pack 27,000 fans into HDC over and over again at ridiculously high ticket prices and yet he can't cross the street in Frisco without Clark's permission?" The dollars are wound up so tight at FCD/HSG Front Office that they squeak.
Plus, I didn't see anywhere in the article where they are going to be on the jerseys. This is a stadium sponsorship and though they will have the Toyota name, it looks like it's being paid for locally by SA-area dealers.