Interesting concept. I would assume this saves on a lot of operational costs. They might also be able to provide housing for the players at a cheaper rate. I'm curious how they transport the players to games though. I assume they are chartering a plane?
Three years of more events for HCS/LDC staff and possibly more being hired since I'm sure they don't want to work with MLS so there's only one stadium in operation at a time. I think someone (you?) even mentioned the long-term goal was to do exactly that. Have both stadiums in operation at the same time. Other than staffing concerns, there's no reason why it can't happen.
I suppose both teams would travel on the same charter. It's like a traveling circus with virtually no connection to the "home" cities other than the stadiums they play in. Bizarre.
Isn't this pretty much the case with all pro sports, and increasingly all big time college sports? Soccer probably has the biggest tie to the team's city of all the pro sports teams because of the youth academies, but the vast majority of pro players in all sports have little to no connection to the city they play in. Oftentimes the player didn't even chose to play in the city they play in. They at least live in the city while they play for the team, but it's almost always just a temporary thing.
"Just a kid from Akron" is certainly the rarity in US pro sports. How many NHL players go to that Canadian lake during the summer? I'd say that college sports have been such an example for longer than we might think, given how players have been transferring for decades. Look at the way John Cooper recruited from all over the country. Those guys certainly could have transferred out if they wanted, although they would have had to sit out a year. Someone I know played basketball for a MAC school and ended up transferring to a D-II school in order to avoid sitting out. Had he transferred to another MAC school, I believe the rule was to sit out two years. Also: Thread title changed.
OK. I don't personally give a rat's ass about this, but if there are people who want to see it, and it fills a need/want, great. I'm all for it.
For consistency so it's all in one place. https://www.dispatch.com/story/spor...-as-new-ufl-team-for-2026-season/86554299007/
I'm watching the press conference and it's... strange, to say the least. Ross Bjork and some OSU cheerleaders are there. Mike Repole is talking now is talking about how it's a feeder league for the NFL. He talked about how football is the most popular sport with the giant stadiums and many more people wanting to get in. He mentioned how OSU football is the national champion "and this year, right? I'm just looking ahead" then he mentioned how the seats at HCS were Michigan colors. https://www.youtube.com/live/yjXh0ZuFHyM?si=7gVKz0WnAo9kYoey All said by Mike Repole: "How many stadiums do you think existed like this in 1999?" "Columbus at Michigan opening night when they get their stadium built." "Cardale is gonna be the starting quarterback. He doesn't know it yet" talking aboth Cardale Jones. "We're gonna be downtown and the Crew is gonna be here." Josh Glessing talked about MLS Cup 2020 being held at HCS with no mention of 2001 or 2015.
I'm not sure whether to respect this "go bigger than King Kong or go home" level of delusion or be afraid of it.
There's nothing wrong with dreaming big, but yeah, the first step is to have a second season. What he doesn't understand is that Columbus has a loooooong history with minor-league teams and a lot of them failed. The Clippers work because they're affiliated with MLB and they're the highest level in Columbus. The Chill worked because there were lots of crazy promotions to help make the game fun. The appropriately-sized arena also helped. The Xoggz/Xiggz *might* have stuck around for longer if the Crew didn't happen. But we also have the RollerHawks (designed to be one year), the Landsharks who were replaced by a different Landsharks team and eventually left, at least two indoor football teams, the Ohio Glory, the Columbus Magic, numerous other minor-league baseball teams, the Quest (the WNBA essentially killed the ABL), the Invaders who were famous for going 5-35, one or two women's football teams who played in Grove City, the Seals, Checkers and Owls and probably many more Then we were supposed to get another minor-league football team, but that league never happened... and even if it did, it would have been easy to see that league failing. Ya gotta respect the ambition, but it seems certain people might want to know their place. Think small, then grow the league.
I said the Invaders. Their owner said something about "People are watching the Crew. Why are they not watching us?" It possibly couldn't have had anything to do with the fact they sucked, but continually traded away their best players.