I'm tired of arguing about it. MLS in Seattle is a very good thing. I just hope everything works out logistically. Good luck to Seattle and grats to the fans that have supported them for so long. We may not see eye to eye on all the details, but Seattle is a perfect city for an MLS team.
As long as there is plans for a SSS, great news. The Pacific NW could use an MLS franchise. If they plan on simply using Qwest indefinately, then I'm quite disappointed.
I have the feeling there are going to be some seriously disappointed (or pissed off ) fans in either Philly or St. Louis pretty soon. Congrats to Seattle....that would be a great road trip for anybody--the area up there is beautiful.
I agree one of them is gonna be pissed off but probably only for a year. I reckon 2009 - Seattle & St Louis 2010 - Philly & ????
This certainly will take off some sting from Garber's "You have to have an SSS built or advanced plans for one before getting a franchise". At least in San Jose there is some discussion with the city and a potential stadium site near the airport. In Seattle: nothing. Maybe they managed to keep SSS plans in Seattle hush hush, but if you need any kind of help from the local government, this news would have gotten out. As far as QWest field being a feasible long-term venue...don't get me started on that ridiculous idea.
Agreed. Considering Garber's been pushing Kraft to get a SSS for the Revs, I can't see Qwest being a long term solution for Seattle.
Congratulations to to Seattle. Great to see the league have a presence in the Northwest. Its a beautiful city and has a very good history with the sport. I know this annoys Sounders fans but I will be very dissappointed if the final stadium solution there is Qwest. That would be a major mistake by MLS.
I like those picks, I would hope to see Portland fill the gap. Portland has a strong fan base and a built rivalry with Seattle . . . and of course a strong supporters section. Beyond that, maybe Vancouver and Montreal would probably be high on "my" list, but only after St. Louis, Philadelphia and Portland. I'd like to see a team in the southeatern US, but I'm just not reading a whole lot about that area outside the typical "expansion list", certainly nothing like we've read about the 3 cities listed above.
I could be wrong, but suspending operations in 2008 doesn't really make much sense to me. It would give the team a chance to build support and develop a roster throughout the 2008 season. To avoid salary issues in 2008 in USL they could sign players to contracts that are back-loaded with salary incentives that begin after the 2008 season. Doesn't look like there is any official word on a stadium plan. I guess we can probably expect an official announcement at MLS cup.
Given the likelyhood of local governments in the Seattle being willing to help being pretty low, there's a good chance there isn't a publicly funded plan in the works.
Damn It!! Just when we were getting away from the corny team names, MLS brings back "Earthquakes" and "Sounders". I really hope they're not called Sounders. Emerald City is so class. I thought we were goin in the right direction with FC Dallas and Toronto FC. Guess not. Good to see Seattle get a team though. I am a little surprised. I thought Philly and St. Louis were next. On the topic of a stadium, it would have to be a retractable roof style dome right? Kind of like the Cleveland plans?
It is slightly more than a discussion. The city has three different groups of people working on the stadium proposal at this time. It has been characterized by the guy in charge as "going gangbusters", and "no glitches so far".
Now I will have two teams to root for: RSL and Seattle. I hope the Seattle jersey looks good...oh, as said elsewhere, the road tripping will be awesome. Seattle is an amazing city!
Guess we'll agree to disagree, as I think slapping an "FC" on everything is as corny as corny can get.