You can always get a waver for that. It's been done in other states. The most recent example I can think of is when Soldier Field was being renovated / giant spaceship put on top. They played down at Univ. of IL and got a waiver to sell beer there. And in a state / city that is hurting for revenue, I think there is probably a way around this.
I think I remember reading that Detroit has prior approval for a USL PRO team in 2015. The only issue, as I understand it, is whether Detroit would begin with say a $2m stadium or instead, an $8m stadium, and that's why they are taking as long as they have, they want to make the best start they can. Moreover, I think it was originally talked about that they were hoping to start with a 5k to 8k seat stadium. So we aren't talking about building a Comerica Park or a Ford Field. They probably would just need to get construction started by about November to get it done in time. So it could be another couple months before it is announced.
There are, in fact, 21 on-campus college stadiums that will begin or have been selling beer during college football games. It seems to be only a matter of time before the idea that you can't play in a college stadium, at least, without selling beer, is a thing of the past. Also, we're coming up on the first anniversary of when Detroit was "about to get" a USL Pro team. And it would be unlikely to play in 2015 if it weren't announced already or very soon, given how much lead time USL Pro has been giving most of its other franchises lately. (Except, obviously, in special cases like LAGII or Arizona.) (Lastly, I always love the "I think I remember reading" thing, because people never quite seem to be able to tell you where they read it or prove it, and if they do try, they get it wrong.)
I'm thinking that this probably isn't going to happen next year. But this is the USL , so who knows they could announce the franchise early next year.
Given how long they've BEEN giving teams as lead time (except for LAGII, obviously, which had more infrastructure than your typical DIII team), that would seem unlikely. Not impossible, but unlikely. Outside of LAGII and the last-minute Arizona replacement, most USL Pro expansion teams recently have had an average of about 392 days from announcement to first game.
I agree that it's unlikely. I guess the only other difference with them is that they already have an org. in place. Not one big enough to support a USL Pro team. But at least they aren't starting from scratch. Ideally they would have announced awhile ago. I think we're on the same page that it's very doubtful that they would have a team next year.
Oh, you mean if the Bucks move up. Yeah, I could see that being announced as late as the AGM or maybe as late as December. I thought you meant a start-from-scratch team. That would be unlikely for 2015 at this stage. But we have been hearing about the Bucks and will-they-won't they for a while now. Either do or do not.
The Bucks have been flirting with the idea for awhile now but the soccer infrastructure in Detroit isn't the greatest. Not saying that there isn't fans but the Bucks drew an average of 581 fans in 2010. (Latest year posted by Wikipedia.) While Detroit City FC drew 3,389 on June 11th. In 2012 DCFC had an average attendance of 1295 according to the boysinrouge blog. Not sure a USL side would be prudent without a joint venture with the guys from DCFC. I just hope that whenever Detroit does take the jump to D-3 its done carefully. I'd rather have a team here for the long haul than a total failure.
As for the idea of the Bucks moving up a tier, Duggan said that isn't going to happen. He said the Bucks are and always will be the Bucks, and his USL Pro (USL) team will be something different. I think that was in a Detroit News or Free Press article from last year. What I think is very exciting now, is that USL is trying to gain tier two status. So, this could be a tier two team, not tier three, when all is said and done. I find it discouraging though, that the development of the Detroit USL team keeps missing deadlines. Remember Duggan's world cup deadline? We were hoping to have something announced then. However, that went by uneventfully, and then it was December when we next heard that the plans for the new stadium would probably be ready by February. Now we are heading into March, yet nothing has been announced. I thought that the plans were just awaiting approval by the city. You would think, with Duggan's brother being the mayor, that it, at least, would not be something that got pushed aside. So, I wonder what the problem is.
Duggan apparently went to the World Cup to find additional investors. Sounds like that hasn't worked out so well. I wonder why anyone would be nervous to invest in Detroit Michigan?
Perhaps, Duggan is one of those people with expectations too high, then, since he keeps quoting dates that are too soon. But seriously, there is no indication that it didn't work out, as far as investors.The last update was that they were just waiting on the city to approve the location and then they would show the renderings for the new stadium. The proposal would put a minor league team in the tenth largest market in the nation, 12th largest in North America, and in an area where youth soccer participation is already higher than it is in many MLS cities, on average, despite not having a professional team. Not to mention that area holds the attendance record for a single soccer game. If someone can't see a reason to invest in that, they're pretty dumb.
I appreciate the positive energy for Detroit, lord knows they need it. But seriously, with all the problems in Detroit, its no rocket science to think a large investment in getting people's disposable income in Detroit might be a bad idea. Not saying its the correct idea, but its just begging to be made. BTW here's a great idea for a logo...
I was thinking that since there is a trend to name teams in the style of famous existing teams elsewhere, for example Real Salt Lake/Real Madrid, maybe they could do a take on some of the British teams. Some of them use "Athletic," like Wigan Athletic, and a number of teams in the Scottish Premiere League us "Athletic" too. Also, a lot of European teams use antiquated names, like Albion and Hibernian. So I was thinking Mishigamaa Athletic, as opposed to Michigan Athletic, or Great Lakes Athletic.
If soccer teams and leagues were as old here as they are in Europe, Mishigamaa Athletic wouldn't be a bad name. Then again, with the amount of hipsters now dwelling in Detroit, you might be able to pull that name off, depending on the breed off hipster
The leagues and teams in Europe don't go back anywhere near to the time when Albion and Hibernian were the proper names. Those are Roman era and pre-Roman era titles. The span of time between Mishigamaa and Michigan is shorter than the span between Albion and England or Hibernian and Irish, by about a couple thousand years. Is that what certain types of hipsters do, go around using ancient titles? I'm fairly certain they don't. Although I would say that knowing history is pretty hip, because it keeps you from sounding like an absolute jackass.
They certainly have proven that they can be successful at the NPSL level and appear to be well-run. There seems to be a really vocal portion of their fan base that appears to treat them as an indie band and don't want to see them "sell out" by moving up/over to one of the other leagues.
I wonder how this compares to the sales stats of the Michigan Bucks coming off their championship winning season ?
A championship in the NFL helps season ticket sales the next season, certainly, as the majority of NFL seats are sold in season tickets. But winning the PDL and then sitting back and waiting for the phone to ring would not be prudent. It doesn't work that way.
Few things to note as I check in, and quoting this poster as he brings up a lot of good points. I talked to some friends in sports marketing who work within the big 4 (NBA, NHL, MLB, NFL) and there are rumblings of Duggan receiving interest and even smaller contributions/ backing from existing ownership groups to have a stronger bid as a true Tier2 team with all intentions of growing into a MLS club. In truth it could be for the best that they've throttled down and are now taking their time to do this right. Stadium being built to accommodate the now and the future, and do so in the appropriate portions of downtown are critical. Saw in another thread the discussion on DCFC - they're doing it the right way, even if their fans can be rather hipster in their desire to keep it an indie scene. They have an official jersey sponsor for the first time this year (TBA April 14) and as others have said, sold out season tickets even before getting the US Open Cup draw. Don't know exactly what will come of that team but I know there is enough support to field two teams in this area. Oh and lastly - people need to also understand that Detroit (city proper) is surrounded by very affluent communities who are more and more open to coming down to the city for events on a regular basis, combined with an upswell of younger generations moving back downtown. That plus the youth soccer participation would mean filling the stadium would likely not be an issue.