Sacramento MLS Expansion Superthread

Discussion in 'Sacramento Republic FC' started by 30King, Nov 28, 2013.

  1. SierraSpartan

    SierraSpartan Member+

    Jan 25, 2007
    Placer County, CA
    Club:
    Sacramento Republic FC
    I'm still trying to figure out why MLS thinks it needs two teams in the LAX market when Galactofilth are struggling at the gate this year and Chivas doesn't draw flies.

    Does MLS really think that there are so many rabid soccer fans in Metro New York that the Pink Cows won't have their attendance figures drop once NYCFC starts play next year?

    Now, I think I know what MLS is doing - they are chasing the ratings dollar, and more teams in major metros means more TV bucks. Understandable, if disappointing. Better in my mind, however, to have single teams in markets that demonstrate an actual following then putting speculative teams in already failed markets (*cough*Miami*cough*) or multiple teams in areas that are comfortably supporting one (but only one) team so far.
     
    Robdog repped this.
  2. QuietType

    QuietType Member+

    Jun 6, 2009
    Sacramento, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Personally LA should have two strong teams, with a strong derby rivalry. The problem is Chivas USA was a stupid idea from the get go and a huge failure. I think a team that markets itself as the "blue collar" or "working class" alternative to the star-studded golden boys Galaxy should be the goal. Having the stadium out in Carson doesn't help.

    With NYC, the Energy Drinks are in New Jersey, a good trip from NYC proper. NYC needs a team. Then you have the fact that the team is basically a corporate advertisement, who knows how many potential fans that turns away from the get go. I wouldn't support a team named after an energy drink. My wife lugged out loud and asked if I was serious when she first found out about NYRB. People underestimate the impact. Like Chivas, it's a legacy from when the league was desperate for money and owners. Their time has passed. Time to rebrand and move on.
     
  3. mangerson

    mangerson Member+

    Sacramento Republic, San Jose Earthquakes
    Jan 8, 2008
    Sacramento, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Can't wait for this to become a reality. If I had made my usual 190 mile roundtrip to the 'Quakes debacle last night, I would have been PO'd.
     
  4. cflsteve

    cflsteve Member

    Jul 21, 2013
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    You really nailed it with the LA situation and of course that was the thought when two LA clubs were entered into the league. With the Chivas debacle and the huge current rival with LA and San Jose could a second LA club realistically succeed and become that Rivalry at this time.
    A rebranding and a new stadium for sure is needed. The idea of building such a stadium near the LA Coliseum seems to be the right kind of location.

    Would it be better for the present to move the Chivas franchise out of LA for now to a city metro who does not get the 4th expansion slot. With solid ownership backing like in MINN where both the Vikings and the Twins ownership have show interest in backing. Or moving it up the coast to SAC where the soccer interest is there and the Kings ownership looking to back it. Has Bonney field have the potential for expanding capacity.
    San Antone has the fan support and the stadium ready for two phases of expanded capacity

    Come back to the LA 2nd club idea down the road in the future with a solid ownership group, stadium plan, and marketing all in place and done properly
     
    QuietType repped this.
  5. cflsteve

    cflsteve Member

    Jul 21, 2013
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    I would say that taking a very dead Chivas Brand in LA, with no stadium, league owned and no prospective buyer or stadium not even in sight. Selling what is basically a dormate franchise and keeping it on the west coast.
    Sacramento is nicely located between the Bay Area and the soccer crazy Portland that is at the bottom tip of the great Northwest soccer frenzie through Seattle and ending across the Border in Vancouver Canada.
    Could not have predicted the blow up of support for the Republic. It is the state capital and is quietly the 27th largest Metro populated area in the US. The MLS will have just over 20 franchises and SAC has just the NBA Kings playing in the opposite season.
    Similar to Portland the MLS club will be the main summer sport focus.

    For the TV market six clubs in the West coast time zone would/could offer a nice TV audience to have matches started in prime time on the West coast filling a most likely 11:00 PM east time slot that would be wide open for programing.
    For a mainly once a week sport having the coast adding another city population able to not have a friday night game starting at 5 or 6 PM for the fans on the coast who will be watching or trying to get to a game.
    Same for a Sunday in the summer giving everyone the day and come home at night and relax and watch a match that could start at 7-8 pm west time zone.
    For the West coast Monday night football starts during rush hour traffic either to watch the game or try to get to it if its home.
    The combo of soccer being popular in CAL and the Northwest could make a Sunday and/or Monday night soccer prime time start for the coast could have its niche.
    Problem with the current schedule of national broadcast MLS matches are that they are on at the same time that several other matches are on in their local markets.
    National matches will work best if they are the only match on at that time
     
  6. sugit

    sugit Member

    Feb 5, 2010
    Sacramento
  7. 30King

    30King Member+

    Jul 22, 2013
    Rocklin, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Yeah, Vivek Ranadive really doesn't have any connections in the soccer community. Pals with Gulati, leading the NBA into the techno/social media age, global sports vision. No reason MLS would want him on board
     
  8. henryo

    henryo Member+

    Jun 26, 2007
    Goal 2016 still on track? :)
     
  9. mangerson

    mangerson Member+

    Sacramento Republic, San Jose Earthquakes
    Jan 8, 2008
    Sacramento, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Here's the latest from Warren in his address to the Sacramento Press Club:

    http://www.modbee.com/2014/08/22/3499029/sacramento-republic-owner-its.html

    To summarize:

    "...he's afraid the city's bid for a Major League Soccer franchise is a now-or-never proposition...MLS is likely to add two more teams, for a total of 24, but no more.

    "It's now, frankly, in my perspective, or never," Smith said. Sacramento is considered a strong contender for one of the two spots, but Smith said the competition is getting more fierce."

    Of course, 24 may be the max for the current round of expansion, or period. The statement is too vague. The article also references Miami's struggles, Minnesota as a continued contender, and Las Vegas and San Diego as upstarts.

    He's "very confident" that a partnership will be struck with the Kings, and that a private stadium financing plan will be presented to MLS when they tour stadium sites in Sept. Those two factors are likely to be HUGE.
     
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  10. Knave

    Knave Member+

    May 25, 1999
    Has Richards Boulevard been mentioned before? It's in the link above, but I don't remember seeing it discussed previously.

    It strikes me as a very bad idea. I'm over in that area maybe once or twice a year, so maybe I don't have a good sense of the place. But my impression is far from favorable.
     
    Robdog repped this.
  11. QuietType

    QuietType Member+

    Jun 6, 2009
    Sacramento, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    He's positioning to gain support and urgency, and he's right to do so - but MLS isn't stopping at 24. Warren knows this, but he also knows spots 25+ likely won't come until 2020 or beyond. Quite frankly, he can't run this club this way (losing money each year, I'd imagine) for 5-10 more years with this imaginary carrot of uncertainty hanging in front. The time for Sacramento is now, because it not only will cost him and the club much more money down the road, but there will also be many more competitors trying to get a spot in MLS in the coming decade+.

    Smart of him to frame it that way.
     
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  12. cflsteve

    cflsteve Member

    Jul 21, 2013
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    With SAC being on the West coast and In Cali could be of a plus with the condition of the Chivas franchise in LA.
    MLS is still in the frame of mind that two LA clubs can work. Right now however even the MLS realizes that a stadium for the second MLS club in LA is needed. At this point there is nothing that is happening in the near or far future.
    The Rebublic, Kings, and the city of SAC already have wheels moving very quickly.
    At this point having the Chivas franchise move to SAC would make sense.
    With the addition of a new LA franchise being one of those expansion slots for the 2020 and beyond
     
    henryo repped this.
  13. Knave

    Knave Member+

    May 25, 1999
    Another article: Warren Smith: Landing Major League Soccer would be good for business

    The Crystal Ice and Cold Storage plant is on R Street, between 16th and 18th. Just west of Safeway.

    Hadn't heard that site mentioned previously either.
     
  14. QuietType

    QuietType Member+

    Jun 6, 2009
    Sacramento, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    It was mentioned a couple of weeks ago by Ryan Lillis at the Sacramento Bee. He said he didn't think that was a realistic/feasible location. IMO, too many NIMBYs and surrounding neighbors to be realistic, aside from the tight squeeze. Oh, and transportation to/from games is going to be a CF.
     
  15. 30King

    30King Member+

    Jul 22, 2013
    Rocklin, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Richards Blvd is center of the River District. IMO, not a bad location. Not my favorite, but with a lot of upside. Its undergoing redevelopment, and will basically be an extension of the Railyards. Right now, land is probably cheap, infrastructure is already in place, and light rail runs through the center.

    Think of AT&T Park location before the revitalization
     
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  16. 30King

    30King Member+

    Jul 22, 2013
    Rocklin, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
  17. Knave

    Knave Member+

    May 25, 1999
    I'm certainly going on what it is right now, which ain't too great. But if you're right, then it seems to me that site is a gamble on future growth patterns -- or maybe a stimulus for that. Perhaps not as a bad a choice as I thought on first look.
     
  18. 30King

    30King Member+

    Jul 22, 2013
    Rocklin, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Agree. If we don't get in with #23 or 24, it will likely be 2024 before more expansion occurs. Obviously, things could change over a decade, but that's a lot of uncertainty.
     
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  19. henryo

    henryo Member+

    Jun 26, 2007
    #94 henryo, Aug 22, 2014
    Last edited: Aug 22, 2014
    Perhaps announcements on these expected during the 2014 SotL address at the latest, to be in time for 2016 expansion? ;)

    Or gun for entry in 2017, as with the case of Atlanta?
     
  20. mangerson

    mangerson Member+

    Sacramento Republic, San Jose Earthquakes
    Jan 8, 2008
    Sacramento, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Vikings ownership has reached an agreement to have a prospective MLS team play in the new, downtown, multi-purpose stadium. They'll pay the stadium authority $340K per game. It's certainly not a SSS but is in the downtown core.

    http://www.startribune.com/sports/vikings/272321191.html

    The group that owns Minnesota United has yet to come up with a stadium plan. United plays in the northern suburbs and, although their attendance has grown steadily since 2010, they still avg less than 6k a game.
     
  21. 916CHELSEA

    916CHELSEA New Member

    Jul 5, 2014
    Club:
    Chelsea FC
    Sounds unrealistic.

    The last two home games I have been to (WBA and Wilmington) the place has not been full and thats an 8,000 seater venue. What happens when the team perform poorly, they will struggle at the gate just like the Kings did after the Adelman era ended.
     
  22. 916CHELSEA

    916CHELSEA New Member

    Jul 5, 2014
    Club:
    Chelsea FC
    Also, I'm fine with watching USL, third tier soccer. Sure, it might not be as high a standard as the MLS but I don't have to re-mortgage my house to afford tickets and supporting a lower tier team is a more intimate match going fan experience. In a smaller venue you are closer to the action and the players and staff are more accessible.
     
  23. cflsteve

    cflsteve Member

    Jul 21, 2013
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    For any of the cities that currently have an NASL or USLPro franchise currently will likely to have a USLPro minor league affiliate playing nearby.
    Whether the current club and brand stays in place or a new one is created. There will be that lower cost smaller venue minor league team for fans to support.
    As well as having the main MLS club.
    Whether it be a Vikings owned and/or partnered United club.
    Or a Kings owned Republic moving to the MLS.
    The minor league stadium in a minor league location could continue to be the home of a USLPro club
     
  24. 30King

    30King Member+

    Jul 22, 2013
    Rocklin, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Your recollection of the Kings situation is way different than mine. Their attendance only began to suffer when the Maloofs openly tried to move the team.

    Plus your game sampling of the Republic is pretty limited. The West Brom game was one of five in a week. The other night was Wednesday on the first week of school. And it was still a sellout.
     
  25. 916CHELSEA

    916CHELSEA New Member

    Jul 5, 2014
    Club:
    Chelsea FC
    The Kings were dead last in league attendance in 2009, a year or so before the Maloofs tried to sell/relocate.

    Sacramentans are a pretty fickle bunch.
     

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