No Philly for WWC '03... http://soccernet.espn.go.com/headlinenews?id=269432&cc=5901 Portland hosting a semifinal? PORTLAND?? Paul
Re: No Philly for WWC '03... I'd rate Portland as better than San Jose frankly. PGE Park will be absolutely crazy for this stuff. And I still think that Wellington Mara won't budge, pushing games to Philly. I really do.
i think it the giants coach who is the key... whatever he decides will drive everthing... if ny falls flat, then we are the 2nd best option.. portland getting this seems to make their mls expansion bid look secure
No Philly for WWC '03... First I thought that Portland was less likely than Philly to get a MLS team in the near future. But anyway, if the Giants and the Sports Authority can't agree then Lincoln should the stadium.
I went to the New York Giants website, and all the discussion there was very anti-soccer. NFL coaches are notorious control freaks, wanting everything their way. The final decision might be in the hands of upper management of the Giants. Still whenever they put grass down on the MEadowlands it's been a pitiful playing surface. Plus it's a narrow pitch. USA does better on a wider field. That's one of the reasons San Jose was NOT selected...too narrow... USA in the semis wants a WIDE field.
Guess which athletic wear company is based in the area? OK, Adidas America is another one. But guess who's the bigger one?
adu main supplier... hint: bill bowerman... in the good ole days, those waffle trainers were a huge breakthrough... $20 a pair... boston...rfk...ny... the ole boy network...
From the latest SA Women's Soccer Insider: "If Giants Stadium cannot be used, U.S. Soccer is expected to turn to the new Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, home to the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles. Eagles officials previously signaled interest in staging World Cup matches. If that occurs, Gillette Field would likely host the opening ceremonies and first U.S. match." First time in my life I'm glad the Giants are a bunch of whining dopes. It must be snowing in hell.
As I stated before in the "WWC Thread #472" thread...the only good thing about adidas is that they now have Salomon AG...makes of THE BEST skate skiing boot (and bindings) on the market...the Pilot... *drools* ----- I went to the All-Star banquet in Portland last year and at the beginning they were thanking the people that helped "bring" the game to Portland. It sounded like Nike really had a big influence in this. Nike HQ hosted a luncheon, practice, and autograph session. Heck we even got these kick ass Nike WUSA All-Star Game fleece pullovers...although mine is like a damn mumu on me .
From today's San Jose Mercury News via Philly Inquirer: http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/6067341.htm
Bull-fscking-bleep. The stadium complex has handled multiple crowds before, with the Eagles, Phillies and Spectrum events on the same day. That's a transparent, sorry-assed excuse IMO and a convenient 'out' for US Soccer to just stick another game out on the west coast, if the Giants won't budge. Jeebus, just save everybody east of the Rockies the trouble and stick the whole tournament out on the west coast, why dont'cha? You bend over backwards to give them the semis and the final, the latter at a venue which houses 65,000+ *FEWER* seats than the Rose Bowl, just and only because it's a shiny new playpen in suburban LA. If the U.S. doesn't play at the Linc, you won't get anywhere near 65-68,000 or so. You'll be lucky to get half that, if not fewer. You'll have 60,000 at the Vet that day, sure, but it's nothing the city can't handle. It's old hat for us. Paul
Paul, I agree with you but I think the point has relatively little to do with traffic control and a lot more to do with potential crossover between the fan bases. A lot of the people who will go to the Phillies game would probably also go to to the World Cup game. Having said, that, I hope someone above us notices the fact that the Saturday game is at 1:05 p.m. and the Sunday game is at 1:35 p.m. IF (and yes this is a huge IF, I know) we are talking about a potential US game on the weekend, one coud have a 5:00/7:30 or 5:30/8:00 p.m. doubleheader at LFF after the Phillies games are over, which would make everybody happy, I should think.
The Phillies final game is already sold out, so I don't know how much of a issue that factor is in the big picture. Even if that wasn't the case, I wouldn't be too worried about both events drawing big. The Vet's last game (unless the Phils make the play-offs...ha!) would be a bigger draw locally, but the WWC match would draw from much further away, balancing things out. All I know is I already have my parking spot and I will tailgate like a madman that day, if the area gets the WWC.
There may be more to this than meets the eye. Portland were quoted as saying that they put up a bid not to make money, but to win the spot. PGE may be underutilized and the WWC's a great stage to showcase the country what they have. With such a tight timeframe, the USSF won't be left holding the bag for WWC. They'll get some concessions from FIFA, & will be negotiating for the best stadium terms. OTOH, the Linc already has the Eagles as a tenant. I suppose there may be little economic incentive for them to make a winning bid. At best, they may bid at break-even point, but not at a loss.
Well, I almost missed my scoop. A friend had imed me with the venues but I didn't get to it until nearly 1:00 because I went out for lunch.
The US Soccer Federation says we have it too, just to be sure now that it's five hours since the announcement: http://www.ussoccer.com/news/fullstory.sps?iNewsid=37310