Ridge Mahoney at Soccer America reports this: http://www.socceramerica.com/article.asp?Art_ID=562136033 Highlights: -Deal is "done in principle," but contingent on a suitable stadium. -Remarks made about Anschutz (AEG) -Azcarrga (Televisa) partnership. -Club America (or Televisa) did not want to pay the expansion fee, but rather buy an existing team. Thoughts: -Would AEG or MLS really allow a team to play in a baseball stadium (one that has AstroTurf installed, no less)? -Could AEG be holding back from a possible official sale announcement in order to give any possible local San Jose investors a chance to add a couple zero's to the check they should be writing? What are your thoughts about this, simply as a fan of soccer in America?
Two thoughts: 1) The Astrodome is the absolute worst venue in all of professional sports for any sport. If MLS looks sparce in an outdoor football stadium, it is going to look like three people are in the Astrodome. But, on the other hand it should give Detroit new hope of eventually landing a team since they could just play in the Silverdome. It's not being used either and it hosted the World Cup well. Though it would take quite a pretty penny to bring in the same field turf they did in 1994. Does FIFA have rules for indoor stadium use? Is this even kosher? 2) I feel really bad for San Jose. They're starting to get their act together attendance-wise again and now the team is being yanked away. I understand that it's a financial thing and the Earthquakes don't have their act together in a lot of other ways, but I think MLS is shooting themselves in the foot in the San Francisco/Oakland market with this move. I would hope a group gets together to get MLS to bring another team to the bay area.
I hope the deal fails. AEG should keep the team in San Jose. It would be wrong to take the Quakes from the San Jose fan's. Look at last weekends match against L.A.,they had a pretty good crowd. Spartan Stadium is 100 times better than the Astro Dome. I'm all for Houston getting a team,just not an existing team from another city. And I would absolutely hate if they bought the Quakes and named them something stupid like "Club America Houston" and changed their colors to yellow and blue.
As am I. I'm not really thrilled about another Mexican club spin-off though. I love the idea of Chivas being here, but I think enough is enough. Is there ANY chance that Televisa would not make them a Club Ameríca franchise? I think getting Televisa into MLS can only do great things for the league, but it'd be great if they just completely rebranded the franchise into something new.
I'm ALL-against expansion for at least a few more years in ANY form (I've been holding out posting on this topic or starting a thread for a long time). Let's face it our league doesn't draw enough fans in the current state that it's in to support adding more than a few teams on a whim. PERIOD. I really want the MLS to succeed as whole and be around another 10 years from now and of course hell of a lot longer. Chivas and RSL are fine we don't need anymore (right now) - it'll just kill the MLS as a whole in the financial sense. Anyone remember how many teams folded in the good ol' NASL when it was an 'outdoor' league? History will repeat itself if we're not careful. *cough* Mutiny... Fusion... Sorry just going on and on - partially 'cuz I've had a little too much JD on the rocks tonight. Oh and I'd like to have a single table sometime in the future - not this EAST - WEST crap that gets shuffled when we add/subtract a team....
Referee: Kevin Terry Referee's Assistants: Paul Scott; Jorge De la Bandera 4th Official: Marcel Yonan Time of Game: 90:00 Weather: Cloudy -and- 75 degrees Attendance: 8,202 Does the last figure suggest anything to you? Be careful of what you wish for. If nothing else, football will fail in this country mainly owing to the immaturity of some of its 'supposed' followers.
That's unfortunate. I hope that this new team doesn't hang any MLS Cup banners in its stadium, and that if a new franchise ever gets put in San Jose, they should resume the Earthquakes colors, crest, and records. There's too much tradition in American soccer with that name to just let it die like that. This is a sad day for MLS.
I'm not sure how I feel about the San Jose possible relocation, but I'm compelled to applaud Segroves' contribution to the lexicon. I am so using untruthitude from now on.
Yes and yes. Mexico played a FIFA World Cup qualifier in the AlamoDome last year. One of the WC 2002 venues was an indoor stadium. FIFA has ruled that fieldturf is an acceptable playing surface.
On the other side of the coin, however, how is MLS ever going to get tradition if one of the teams that's rich in its short history gets uprooted? On another board I started a poll on the "2nd Best Team In MLS History" and while the Fire is in 1st, San Jose is only one vote behind tied with the Galaxy. That, I think, is what angers me about this the most. I would give two craps if Kansas City were moved or even contracted but San Jose actually means something to the league - as much as a team can mean after 10 years. It is one of the original 10. It's like moving the Blackhawks somewhere else in hockey.
I do feel sorry for SJ or any city that loses a team. I have been through that and it's not fun, (Sting,power etc) but while tradition is important one other thing is more important,profit. Especially long term profit which ensures stability.
Boston Braves (To Milwaukee, then Atlanta) Brooklyn Dodgers (To LA) St. Louis Browns (To Baltimore) New York Giants (To SF) Philadelphia Athletics (To KC, then Oakland) Washington Senators (well, the original AL team became the Twins. Then the expansion team that replaced them eventually moved to Texas and became the Rangers) And that's just off the top of my head. Teams move all the time.
Jeez, I forgot. The Pontiac Silverdome was used for 4 games in the '94 World Cup. They used trays of real grass.
I feel for quakes fans in this and the San Jose area in general. What doesn't make sense is why Club America has NEVER looked at KC. Does anyone know why that can enlighten me? It cannot be a talent issue alone as KC has as quality a team (w/ fewer injuries currently) as San Jose. Did Murstein scare them off? Anyone with any info please share because the CA love affair with SJ is cloudy on some levels. Also, random, but have seen some older posts and random musings about people in the south east wanting a team. Any thoughts or rumblings about Charlotte, Raleigh, Atlanta, Birmingham, Tennessee, another go in Florida, etc. (I should probably take this over to the expansion board...but it just popped into my mind) MOVE KC Leave the Quakes to Silicon Valley
I mention that in my original response to this post. And it was a special kind of grass that Michigan State (yay, my alma mater) created for the World Cup. It's really expensive. But I thought all sorts of hoops had to be jumped through with FIFA just to have this indoor venue once.
That doesn't make it right or any more palatable. I guess this is very similar to the baseball moves you mention because a new ownership group is swooping in and moving a team because they can. It's everything that's bad about most American sports coming to soccer. America is great in that they're really trying to come in and help MLS but at the same time, I just wish MLS had stuck to their guns a little more and made them buy an expansion license. Unlike in baseball, where there are 30 teams, there are 6 expansion slots left in MLS (if they choose to follow the request of FIFA and be a maximum 18 team league or even more if they don't).
You say this as if "MLS" is some kind of independent entity not wholly controlled by its owners....which is clearly not true. If "MLS" didnt' want this to happen then it woudn't be (assuming it actually is). The reason why CA is not getting an expansion team is because the two biggest team owners in MLS, the same people that control pretty much every action the league takes, are actively seeking buyers for their clubs.
Don't forget the Seattle Pilots, which became the Milwaukee Brewers I believe. And after we're done playing musical MLB chairs, let's go to a New Orleans Jazz NBA game, or a Chicago (or St Louis) Cardinals NFL game, or a Winnepeg Jets/Quebec Nordiques NHL game. Teams move. It's not the end of the world, but it sucks for their fans.