I really can't see an MLS team playing at LFF as long as the Tulane contract lasts. Unless you only want home games on Tuesday nights after mid-August.
Damn dyslexia. Yeah, I meant Temple. My form of dyslexia means I often substitute after after the first consonant sound of a proper name. I worked the last four years with a guy named Wayne. About 50% of the time I called him Wade. I generally catch stuff like that when I re-read my posts, but this one got away. But the point stands. With both college and pro football going on in the fall an MLS team would have third choice of dates - and we've seen how well that works out at Giants Stadium.
But we've always known this. And although it will display the Temple students on the board, the football program is in all likelihood going to be out of business by the 2007 round of expansion as it still has yet to be invited back to the Big East past next year. They say they'll go independent but I don't think it'll last long, and there have already been rumors floated (don't remember where but the Inquirer probably had it at the peak of the lease problems) that the school can't fund a I-AA program.
As an excuse to bump up this thread, I wanted to point out that Major League Lacrosse is bringing a team to Philadelphia. They'll be playing at Villanova. So...at this point it seems we are represented in the following sports leagues: MLB NFL NBA NHL AFL NLL MLL MISL WTT WUSA (when extant) We also have a team in the AHL. In other words, every "tier one" sports league in the U.S. except the WNBA...and, um, MLS. A pity.
It looks like we will have ManU-Celtic and AC Milan-Chelsea at the Linc this summer. I'm sure the ManU game will sell out. What about the other? I wonder if the success of these matches can be used to push the MLS/Philly cause in any way? As a MLS fan, I don't like what ChampionsWorld is about in promoting these matches, but until MLS gives me an alternative product for me and my kids to watch (and I don't consider driving 2+ hours to DC or NJ an alternative), I will definitely attend these games.
Article on the great success of the Soul: http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/sports/8296575.htm Meanwhile, do the Kixx even break 4,000 attendance? Not looking good.
Still...last I checked, we don't have a suitable place to house an MLS franchise. The Linc won't work (we've already talked about that), unless we can squeeze a 5th stadium into South Philly (which would be ideal). The stadium would have to be in the suburbs somewhere (which I'm not a big fan of). I actually see more potential in getting a team in Detroit, than Philly. Detroit has more than a few potential stadium sites. Here's a question: If Philly did talk some rich guy into being an investor...and they put the team in the Linc for a couple of years while a stadium in the suburbs was being built...would it be worth it to have 2 horrible years of Metros-like scheduling where playoff games and Open Cup games would probably have to be played in Jersey somewhere (or hell, maybe at the Metros' stadium??), or at some local high school, or at Temple's new soccer "stadium". Would it be worth it? Do you think that Philly has enough of a soccer fanatic population where they would be able to accept that? I'm starting to think that it would be worth it...as long as that potential stadium isn't WAY out in the middle of no where. Granted, I haven't lived in Philly long enough to know the suburbs real well....anyone know of which suburbs would be ideal? Which ones are easily accessable by public transit, or not that far away, etc.
Ive always wondered why Metro-DC never play an exhibition match in Philly. Seems like a good way to promote MLS and you know that people from Metro and DC will be at the game so there will be a pretty good attendance.
That would be a GOOD idea....probably why they haven't done it. Is there a grass roots organization set up in Philly (similar to what Detroit has) which is trying to get an MLS team (www.mlsdetroit.com) or are we all just sitting around waiting for an investor to show up?
Yeah, that's at Phillysoccer.com. I suspect that Open Cup games could be played at Mercer County Community College. When Franklin Field goes to AstroPlay next year that could also be a viable, if not always aesthetically pleasing, option. I actually think it's FIFA-width because of the running track. Heck, I'd love to see a MLS team play there in the first place, except we don't have grass. FF is very accessible by public transit (SEPTA 30th Street Station, plus University City on the R1, R2, and R3, plus the 33rd Street trolley stop and 34th Street El stop), but not so much by car (I-76 is nearby but there's very little parking). And yeah, Metro and DC should definitely play an exhibition game here. There are lots of fans of both teams at the colleges in the area and I'm sure we'd turn out in force.
Explain to me the problems with Franklin Field as a temporary home? (1) No grass (2) limited car parking (3) field standards (width, etc.) What else? If that's it, I think it would be rather viable. How many does FF seat? It would be a great LOCATION... (this conversation has likely already taken place in this thread, but I missed that episode, and am too lazy to read back 100 pages)
The Kixx used to break 10,000 with some regularity. And averaged over 8,000. [broken record]But, like the '75 Atoms and '79-'80 Fever before them, they completely forgot what lured those crowds in the first place, and managed to chase them away.[/broken record] A properly managed team would lead MLS in attendance. But that's an academic point, innit? No I/O + no field = no team.
Because if Jeff Lurie owned the team he wouldn't pay any rent fees to have the team play at Lincoln Financial Field. I don't know how much Penn charged Temple to have half their football games here but I highly doubt Lurie will get the benefit of Big Five brotherhood when forking the dough over. And the grass is a big thing, in my opinion. I don't know what the markings are going to look like but I'm sure they will be permanent and we don't need another Dragon Stadium-like surface in the league. If it's going to happen, let's do it right.
1-3 would about cover it, although #2 is less of an issue if you're only looking at crowds in the 15,000 range...it was a much bigger issue when the Eagles played there, with the larger crowds. All I know is that the Philadelphia Fury played a playoff game there in 1979, and the atmosphere was outstanding...much better than anything ever offered by the Vet.
What I mean by the grass, is that it's fixable. I'm sure if you twisted some Penn people's arms, (or kissed their asses) then you could get grass put in, or at least, the Naperville stuff (which isn't great, but it's enough to pass inspection)
No way in hell do we have the money for it. If the MLS I/O wanted to pay a majority of the costs for its installation and upkeep, that might be different. But remember that we play football, field hockey, and lacrosse on that field-- as do many Philadelphia high schools-- and that it's open to the public whenever there isn't an event going on. So it's gonna cost a ton of money to even make the surface look decent most of the time.
Franklin Field is used about 15 hours a day between varsity, club and intramural sports. A grass field would be dust in a week.
Just bought tickets to the games at the Linc. Not many good seats available for the ManU game, but a ton are left for the Monday night ACMilan - Chelseas match.
Cataldi was making noise today about the slow sales for AC Milan-Chelsea. On another note...did anyone else notice that Comcast is carrying a bunch of DC United games this season? If they're going to be in our television market, maybe they should play a Cup tie here or something. It would kind of be a reduced version of the "TBS Effect"--remember how people across the country became Braves fans, because they could be seen on TV every night? (And, of course, they had a winning team). Maybe DC will get a large Philadelphia fan base as a result of the increased access. If so, they should build on it by playing a game here. Who knows...if DC gets a baseball team and the team gets squeezed out of DC, Phil can bring them here. ;-)
What exactly did WIP say about the Chelsea/Milan match? I mean, they just went on sale this week and I just checked ticketmaster and all of the $125, $85, $80, and $75 tickets are sold out. There are only a few tickets remaining in the lower level. I'm pretty certain it will sell out. It's sort of weird the way the media are covering(or not covering) these 2 matches. I was driving to work on Tuesday and 1060 had a story on the ManU/Celtic match and how excited all of the fans were that these clubs are playing in Philly. Yet, there was not one mention of the Milan/Chelsea match. Which goes to show how ignorant the American media is about soccer. They should know that Chelsea are currently a much better side than ManU. And Milan are currently the European Champions and look a good bet to repeat the feat again in May. As for the DC United on Comcast, I remember a few years back CN8 were showing DC games almost every week. I think it was '99. But there is no chance that fans will become DC supporters in the Philly area. Philly is gonna get thier own franchise soon and all the DC fans currently in Philly will switch alligience immediately. Especially since Freddy will be gone by then.
Are all the regular tickets on sale now? Or just the presale still. I got my tix to both matches on the MC presale. And you better support DC United!! I just wish we got the Flyers down here on Comcast. Thx, Jay!
From your lips to God's ears, pal. But, unless you know something we don't, I don't think anything is going to happen "soon." Still, I hope you're right.
You are invited to join PhillySoccer.com at a viewing party for the United States-Mexico game on April 28 at Tir Na Nog, 1600 Arch Street. Kickoff time is 8:30 p.m., and there is no English-language TV broadcast, so this is your best chance to see the game with friends and hopefully get some minds together about how best to influence the process of getting an MLS franchise in Philadelphia.