Metro has been bleeding enormous amounts of red ink since their inception. The league cannot exist forever with this environment so the logical conclusion is if Metro can't secure a stadium deal in the next 2 years contract or relocate the team. It needs to be done to ensure the survival of the league. Which I'm sorry to say is more important than the team I've supported for the last 9 years. I would hate more than anything to see Metro disappear but if the league disappears Metro is a moot point. The Meadowlands is never going to be a viable option because Metro will never get a deal where they control 100% of the revenue. Without this control Metro will remain a tenant. And tenants do not earn. Bruce
Relax. Metro ain't folding. They may move somwhere within NJ or NY, and they may even change names, but they are not folding. MLS would rather lose $10 million a year on Metro rather than NOT have a MLS team in the NYC area. The Metros will eventually get a stadium deal done, it's just that evil forces are at work.
Why is a two year deadline even relevant? Why invest this much money and time only to give up now, when you have a good fan base and decent attendance and places interested in hosting your stadium? Why give up when you have surprisingly good local TV numbers? The sky has not fallen. The league still wants the Metros. Yes, something needs to be done to reverse or reduce the annual cash flow losses. That's why the team staff has spent so much energy on the stadium project, which, by the way, is not dead.
There's gotta be a place where the Metros can play besides the Swamp. Are there any big high school stadiums around in North Jersey? You know, just until the Harrison project is completed. The Fusion did an awesome job with this. I know of a semi-pro basketball team that couldn't play in a particular arena, so they moved to a high school gym. They added some of those "fold down" chairs, for lack of a better term, and did an okay job with it overall. They have a small fan base and it was perfect for them. High school stadiums should hold about 10k +/- plus right? Make the field a bit longer, add some bleachers to each end, you're set. If the Fire could play in that crappy field, why can't the Metros play in a small hooked up stadium?
I still think we should place the Metrostars in flushing meadow park theres a lot of land with all these old torn up soccer fields, i say redo that whole place with new fields for the young kids to play in, and then a nice 25,000 seat metrostars stadium we already have willets point stop so people could walk from the station , i say lets push the government there to support this, because last time i was there, i noticed that place needs some major renovation. theres that old polluted pond right in the middle, take that out put the stadium there! and we could try to work a schedule where we don't have that many games the same day the mets have games. and NJ fans could take a bus to Point authority in times square then take train 7, or drive, should be all good, if not then MLS should definitely put in an Expansion team there in the future.
I still think we should place the Metrostars in flushing meadow park theres a lot of land with all these old torn up soccer fields, i say redo that whole place with new fields for the young kids to play in, and then a nice 25,000 seat metrostars stadium we already have willets point stop so people could walk from the station , i say lets push the government there to support this, because last time i was there, i noticed that place needs some major renovation. theres that old polluted pond right in the middle, take that out put the stadium there! and we could try to work a schedule where we don't have that many games the same day the mets have games. and NJ fans could take a bus to Point authority in times square then take train 7, or drive, should be all good, if not then MLS should definitely put in an Expansion team there in the future.
i'lll settle for a 15k seat college stadium until we get our own place.A packed 15 thou seat intimate ground could give us a true home field advantage. Anyone know how long metro's lease agrement is with the NJSEA btw? Its seriously time to get the fook out. As a side note, when Metro first got into the league, how many fans did they expect to average in order to turn a profit at giants stadium? 50k a game? If their plan was to build the sport from the ground up, then why the foook where they thinking giants stadium???
A two year deadline is just an arbitrary number but something needs to be done soon. Metro currently only has one stadium option, the Harrison site. A meadowlands soccer stadium will not help and in the long run probably hurt the team and the league. Metro will not get a sweet deal to locate there because without the Harrison option we have no leverage and without leverage you can't negotiate. If Metro can get the same type of deal the Giants have regarding parking, concession and Advertising revenue, and I don't see that happening, then and only then will the swamp be a viable location. If AEG really thinks Metro is a good investment they are going to have to pony up the bucks to get the deal done since as the temp governor says the HCIA will not float the bonds. Things could change but with the lack of movement and NJ's highest ranking politician publicly saying the deal is dead does not bode well. Bruce
Yeah, the Swamp will only be a good place if NJSEA actually respects them as the only team and the owners of the stadium. Seriously, why do they have to have their hands in everything? Do they own the Meadowlands? Any hoo, if they get all the rights to the stadium, they shouldn't have a problem in the Swamp. Is it hard to get there? Yes, but when you have quality soccer on the field, there shouldn't be an issue filling the stadium. People from PA drive 1.5 hours to watch them, why shouldn't people who live just 10 miles away flock to the games?
You're right on. This is a great spot for an MLS club whether it be the Metrostars or an expansion team or both. What we need is someone to buy this franchise. I think I found him. Russell Simmons! We have a team for people of mexican heritage, "Chivas". Why not a team for that celebrates african heritage? Stretch that a bit, how about a team celebrating the hip-hop generation? They can bring in a few SI's from africa and the carribean or France. And have some Africna Americans in the front office. Im not trying to sound racist at all, I'm a white dude and I'm not particularly fond of rap or hip hop, but kids are. Des Armstrong is out there and needs a job. I'm serious and I'd like to hear some responses. phat farm, official leisure clothing supplier to major league soccer I'd like to see a connecticut team playing at rentschler too to tie in the northeast corridor, they would still be within the NYC media market, right?
a front office with an IQ of a chimp can make a MLS team successful anyware around a 15 mile radius of manhattan.
Rather the Metros have remained static for the last two seasons, which was an improvement off the season before that. This team has not been worse off since 2002. Not much better, but hardly cause to consider doomsday scenarios.
Bradley deserves a lot of credit for our rise to mediocrity. After all, that is lot better than being at the bottom of the dung heap. Btw, do Metros have a following in Yokohama? Do they show Metro games there?
Wonderful thing about parity is that mediocrity is not far off from greatness, while greatness itself is not diminished in the least (re: DC). The Metro following in Yokohama consists of the students in my classroom, including whoever watches the television in the lobby when I have the 5-5 draw with SJ on.
I hope your not running around Japan teaching this kind of crap. Mediocrity is NOT far off from greatness. The mediocre can succeed in MLS because all clubs are more of less mediocre. Put this kind of mediocrity in a tough league and see how long it succeeds.