Indianpolis-its a decent sized with plans to make a new outdoor stadium for the Colts and soccer is as big here as it is anywhere else in the US
To be honest, I never really considered Indy viable because if it's middle america rural routes. Indy just doesn't come to mind as being "soccer rich", but IU has produced some of the greatest soccer tallent in the land and both Indy pro teams have had several consecutine yrs of sell out crowds. You could be on to something. Oklahoma wouldn't work for sure but Indy might create a true midwest rivalry. I say roll in the fake grass and play a friendly in the RCA dome to see how the game sells.
Western New York. Base the team in Rochester, also encompassing Syracuse, Buffalo and the Southern Tier. Approximately a 3.5 million population base. Besides, the Rhinos have consistently outdrawn MLS teams despite playing a 12,000 seat baseball stadium.
Re: Re: Wich city should get a MLS team? It is not astroturf, it is fieldturf. The players thought it was great to play on. I thought it was great to watch a game on. Not as good as grass, though, but totally passable for an MLS game. The stadium was open the weekend prior to the Sounders game with three days of free open houses where fans could walk anywhere in the stadium: on the field, in the lockerroom, in the press box, etc. .... For Free. And the stadium has been open for free tours after every Mariner home game (The Mriners stadium is next door to the new stadium). In addition, the Seahawks had a scrimmage in the stadium the weekend after the Sounders game, and they are about to play their first pre-season game this coming weekend, 2 weeks after the Sounders game. Don't you think football fans would either have 1) went to the free open houses, 2) went to the free tours after a Mariner home game, 3) waited one extra week to watch the scrimmage, or 4) wait 2 extra weeks to watch a pre-season NFL game ... instead of forking over money to watch soccer, if they didn't want to watch soccer in the first place? That 25,000 number is huge, and people who don't live in Seattle are grasping for rationalizations to explain it. The season average for the Sounders is just over 2,000 per game, but if you experienced the stadium the Sounders currently play in, with a narrow concrete (astroturf) grid-ironed field, you would understand. It was once over 10,000 per game in the mid-90's in that same crappy stadium. The large crowd for the US-Honduras B-teams friendly is also a feather in Seattle's cap. Thanks for acknowledging that. - Paul
As long as you are nominating southwestern cities, why not Truth or Consequences, since it is apropos how MLS runs its business ...
"what they get about 10 or 11,000 a game? aren't those the kind of numbers that get bashed in the attendance threads" 10.000 passionate fans mean a hell of a lot more than 80.000 families on a nice day out.
1. Rochester 2. Raleigh/Durham 3. Charlotte (already has a 20K stadium, needs small renovation) For all those that keep mentioning Seattle. DOnt forget that the Mariners draw the most fans in baseball (40,000K+ a game) and that a MLS team there would be competing with that.
Well Milwaukee is going to get one most likely. And they should. But I heard they at least want 2 teams so any of those would be good choices. I agree that we should go to a relegation system. A-League teams have proven they can play with the big boys. Such as Milwaukee vs. Chicago in Open Cup!! Ahem Ahem! No bias whatsoever in my decision.
If the Seattle team played in the new soccer stadium, they would be right across the street from the Mariners baseball stadium. The nearness of the two stadiums would create a great marketing synergy. It also wouldn't be too difficult to schedule Saturday night home games when the Mariners are playing away and to play away when the Mariners are at home. And if they both play the same weekend, then the Sounders could play in the day while the Mariners play at night, or vice versa. - Paul
I think having playoffs is a sort of like relegation and probably the best we'll ever get. Portland should have a team shortly after Seattle gets one. Rivalrys are good!
PORTLAND…what a bunch of whining trolls. They can’t win so they whine to the MLS about Seattle…… Just practicing.. in case it comes about. I like your idea, I like the rivalry…
I would be willing to drive eight hours to watch at least one game a season if MLS moved to either Portland or Seattle. However, I would have to vote for Seattle because I could then also catch a Mariners or Seahawk game depending on the time of year! I have been in favor of a team in Rochester for years. The best system, IMHO, would be a relegation and promotion system. We could even use the Mexican system as a model to help protect current MLS teams by having the promotion/relegation decision consider results of several years (although I would be against that). A promotion only system would be nice until the league reached at least 20 teams with 2 new teams per season! Milwaukee seems a good choice too, but they would probably be one of the teams quickly promoted.
Gainesville, FL Me and the guys upstairs like soccer. Some drunk guys over the weekend yelled "Goooalll!". I think we can all agree we deserve a team. I'm sure I can force some people to go to games as long as there's lots of beer. Cheese wouldn't hurt either. Garber, you listening?
I say give it to Boston they seem to have a lot of soccer fans there,Philadelphia would be my second choice.
Boston already has a team, Deceptacon, but the US is deprived battery chucking passion & a real home field avantage by not having a team in Philthydelphia. I watched Toluca v Atlas @ Robertson stadium in Houston (U of H cougars) the other day. I almost went to school there to play ball & I wasn't that good. The cougars will be lucky to see any crowd that big for their football games this year. Houstonians are funny, they give marginal support for at best for a winner. They're only pumped about the dissatros and the texans because they got new pads. Remember, they didn't sell out Rockets playoff games when the won the championship and they let the Oilers move to Tennessee. Shameful. But after seeing that crowd, I think there just might be enough latinos and asians in Houston to support an MLS franchise. I'd like to see the US play a non hispanic friendly there to see how what kind of draw we could expect. A team in San Diego will draw less than the Fusion or Mutiny on their worst day.
Seattle/Portland would be a fantastic NorthWest rivalry Toronto/Rochester would be a fantastichigh-speed-ferry rivalry Metrostars/Rochester could be a great NY rivalry Metrostars/Philadelphia could be a super Amtrak Acella rivalry