Dude. Watch it. You're talking about my mother-in-law, now. Her ribs are fine. As are those of every woman in that family. And they live in Oak Hill. That's nice digs. And the grub is superior at the East Avenue Cafe. I wouldn't wait in line with Brownies at the Modern Diner, though. Wes' in Olneyville? Come on. Been there many times. Portland, Maine, huh? I gotta call Stephen King. Later.
Here is what I was talking about It's from a blogger who attended "an evening with Merritt Paulsen". "There are a number of different funding options, and Merritt has been approached by more potential partners than he can conceivably include". Some of the details mentioned in these two articles make it seem that talks are farther along than previously thought. I know "in talks with MLS" get the second biggest chuckles around here after pro/rel threads do http://www.oregonlive.com/editorials/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/editorial/1209774331256180.xml&coll=7 http://www.oregonlive.com/soccer/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/sports/1209525940199200.xml&coll=7 Paulsen will present an MLS plan next month which is further along than Vancouver and Montreal. Garber compared Montreal's stadium to a Texas high school stadium, and Saputo is saying that the expansion fee is negotiable, where Paulsen has said "I have the $40 Million expansion fee". I really think Portland is only behind St. Louis in the pecking order at this point. Perhaps MLS feels pressure to add the best US markets before the Canadian ones? Would it be smart for MLS to take the biggest (NY2, Miami) markets before the medium sized markets like Portland? A bigger market would be more able to pay the higher expansion fees five years from now. Just a thought. Garber has been big upping supporters groups lately, which is a strength of Portland's bid. Portland is a right out of the box TFC type situation waiting to happen right now! I think that is what MLS sees in Portland. Ok, enough about Portland. See ya in the Portland thread next month. Peace
Baracuda, serious props for finding that and posting it. It is something I recognize reading before, although I never would have been able to find it myself. I was under the impression that Paulson will only pay for the $40 million expansion fee (presumably with the assistance of these other investors?), and the other $100 million for the PGE Park renovations and the new stadium would have to come from the city. This is why I was saying I think he needs to take on additional investors to help pay for some of that $100 million. It is conceivable that his current investors are helping to defray some of that $100 million, but that blog entry isn't clear on that either way. The $40 million and $100 million are the dollar amounts I've been using to compare Portland to the bids in Vancouver and Montreal. It might be an unfair way to compare things, but I see those numbers and think "not rich enough" compared to Vancouver and Montreal. The way the St. Louis bid has played out, with a stadium already approved but the ownership being declared cash-poor, is one impetus for setting me on that course of thinking. I'm also thinking about the costs of ownership once Paulson is in the league. I too anxiously await the June announcement. I expect, and hope, Paulson's bid will be better than what I am imagining. Thanks again for the links. - Paul
OK, last thing about Portland I think it's 95/100 million TOTAL, which includes the $40 million expansion fee. btw, Paulsen's dad is the US Secretary of the Treasury and signs our currency He'll just print up whatever he needs Peace
Sounders beat Whitecaps 2-0 tonight in Vancouver before a near-sellout crowd of 5,146. Hopefully the longest rivalry in North American soccer history -- which ran from 1974 until 1983, and began again in 1994 -- can continue in MLS come 2011. From SounderCentral: http://goalseattle1.proboards101.com/index.cgi?board=sounders&action=display&thread=1879 http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/sports/story.html?id=c5827aaf-15af-451a-b4e5-70bcfeea6ee1 - Paul
Portland and Vancouver get announced in June? It would create a big buzz in the Northwest and Seattle would have company. Bring both in in the same year, 2011. The Northwest derby is on baby! Cascadia Cup in the MLS oh that would be sweet!.
Instead of hookers and coke, they give him Steve Nash. Okay, maybe there were hookers and coke, too, but that blog post is for friends only. - Paul
Vancouver Whitecaps win away to the Timbers tonight 1-0 behind a goal from Bolivian newcomer Vicente Arze. Arze also looked good last night against Seattle. - Paul
They have some pretty classless fans up North. I have never had to dodge rocks being thrown over a fence from the parking lot down in Portland before.... It's all good though. They were more likely to hit one of their own fans than one of us, and we came home with 3 points.
I know who it was, and their security knows as well. I don't feel it is my job to rat them out to the FO when their own security didn't feel the urge to take care of it... I would think that their own fans who were also put in danger would think about doing something about it. Well, on second thought they might be too busy complaining our our foul language to worry about the actions of their own fans. I have been to both PDX and Vancouver for matches in the past few years, and from my experiences the supporters in Portland are far classier. You have to understand how hard that is to say, but from my experiences it is true.
Jeez man, sorry to hear that. Are we talking about kids doing this, or drunks? Please do report it to the Caps FO. These are by no means the type of fans that I or any other legitimate Vancouver supporter wants in our midst. Good game for you lot, BTW. You schooled us good.
Seattle Supporter. Thats too bad about some idiot(s) chucking rocks your way. Johnnie is right you should email the FO of the Whitecaps. Don't let a couple of dorks ruin the whole image of Whitecaps fans though. I mean, the Seattle Sounders had their womans coach Teddy _____? rough up a young fan live on FSC last year. It doesn't reflect on the whole team just one or two half-wits.
Your own people should be taking care of this. The "limited edition" security saw the guys as well as anyone. Shouldn't it be there job to contact the FO about them? What about your own fans that were at risk from these guys? Shouldn't they be equally concerned about this? Unless we meet you in the playoffs/final this year, or some pre-season USL/MLS tourney in the future, I don't seem myself coming to Vancouver for a soccer match until you guys are in MLS. I would like to add that other than this incident we had a great time.
http://www.nationalpost.com/sports/story.html?id=590155 Steve Nash may be the wildcard in the race to bring another Major League Soccer franchise to Canada. Martin Nash, Steve's brother, has confirmed that the Phoenix Suns star is ready to become actively involved in getting an MLS team in Vancouver, the city where he grew up.
A slight tangent, but still relevant, if the Whitecaps manage to win the NCC this year - from the recent draw for the CONCACAF Champions' League group stages:
July 24th? Steve Nash hopes to have MLS to Vancouver news by the All Star match in Toronto... “I’ve been a fan of the team since I was six,” Nash said of the Whitecaps. “I haven’t invested money yet, more like human capital. It’s a spectacular city. We’re really optimistic and we’re hoping to have some good news at the M.L.S. All-Star game in Toronto.” http://goal.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/23/henry-to-join-ultimate-pickup-game/
That would be amazing. I just hope that they get something done about the waterfront stadium. BC place will really great when it opens but after a few years a SSS should be hopefully ready. Vancouver in 2010!!!!
wow very interesting, I'm hoping another canadian team gets in before StL. Nash would be a good name in the league. Good luck guys.
Expansion to Vancouver, what? http://goal.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/23/henry-to-join-ultimate-pickup-game/ Buried at the bottom: Anyone else heard anything that corroborates this?