About time.
- Major League Soccer purchases Chivas USAMore via the link.
Does LA really need two MLS teams?
I'm digging the idea of a re-branding of the club and a move to San Diego.
I've got a question about MLS. I've read in places that the league owns all the teams, but also that some of the expansion teams (like Toronto FC) were formed with outside owners? Anyone know what the real structure is like?
He [Kroenke] is not a candidate to purchase the team, those days are over, Garber said, referring to the days when multiple MLS franchises were owned by the same families or organizations. We are not interested in any other owner owning multiple teams. Stans been a great owner of the Colorado Rapids. Im not familiar with what his plans are on the stadium site, we havent spoken about that. But all those rumors that I heard about him buying the land so he could launch a second MLS team are unfounded.
Maybe so, but unless they get their own stadium, the Chivas the team is destined to fail.Why do people always say this? We're really going to make judgments on LA's ability to support soccer based on Chivas USA?
There are 20 million people in the LA metropolitan area...
Not saying San Diego couldn't also have a team, but LA split in FIVE pieces is roughly the same size market as San Diego.
It's not really the friendly that's the disaster with Ukraine right now...
Maybe so, but unless they get their own stadium, the Chivas the team is destined to fail.
It's move elsewhere to a different city or rebrand and get your own stadium somewhere else in LA.
In the coming months, the league will resell the club to a new ownership group that will be committed to building a new stadium and keeping the team in Los Angeles. The league has had initial discussions with a number of very qualified potential owners and intends to finalize an agreement with a new group sometime this year.
The club will play as Chivas USA during the 2014 MLS season and will be rebranded with a new team name and logo in connection with the sale to a new owner.
Its time to turn to a new chapter here, Garber said. That new chapter will start with us finding a new ownership group were pretty good at that. And developing with a stadium plan were pretty good at that, too.
...
As for finding a new home for the Goats, the league will lead discussions on the stadium front, and hopefully be in a position to hand them over to a new ownership group when one is found.
The preferred site remains the current location of the LA Sports Arena in downtown Los Angeles near the campus of the University of Southern California, Garber said.
Chivas USA are staying in Los Angeles. Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber was emphatic about that on Thursday following the announcement that the league has purchased the club from Jorge Vergara and Angelica Fuentes.
But the interest from other major markets in the United States remains robust, and on a conference call with media, Garber gave a few updates on the leagues plans to add another three teams by 2020.
In addition to Miami, Garber also spoke of a number of potential expansion possibilities, including Atlanta, Minneapolis, Sacramento, San Diego and San Antonio.
As David Beckham and his partners work to finalize a stadium plan in Miami, the league remains bullish on Atlanta, Garber said. MLS is making progress with a group led by Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank, which has a plan in place to replace the Georgia Dome with a $1.2 billion new retractable-roof stadium for the NFL franchise that would also be configured for Major League Soccer.
Meanwhile, Garber gave more details on a market he has referenced previously: the Twin Cities, where apparently the league has had talks with a potential ownership group.
That opportunity is one that we're excited about as we believe we need more teams in the Midwest, the Commissioner said. I think if Minneapolis as a market that can continue to show the support that they've had for the NASL club [Minnesota United FC] and if they continuing to make progress on a number of different stadium opportunities, there's a real opportunity there.
Beyond that, Garber name-dropped three other markets where there have been discussions with various groups, among them:
Sacramento There are some activities going on in Northern California, Garber offered, after earlier referencing the upcoming debut of Sacramento Republic FC of the USL PRO.
San Diego There have been some discussions, according to the Commissioner.
San Antonio Garber was in Texas second-largest city last month to meet with the mayor as well as the owner of the NASLs San Antonio Scorpions. Although the Commissioner didnt limit the opportunities just to River City, saying, There are lots and lots of opportunities weve looked at in Texas.
With the additions of New York City FC and Orlando City SC, MLS will be at 21 teams in 2015 and plans to expand to 24 by 2020.
I think the league is poised for more teams in time, Garber said Thursday, but we're going to be careful about ensuring that we get them into the league at the right time and when the league can handle it from a player perspective and from a resource perspective.
----- Alright, so I've created a classic league for Neogaf on MLS Fantasy -----
After you've made your team, find where it says Join/Create League on your home page
Select 'Join Private League'
Copy and paste the following code:and you're in! This is a classic league so points get added up every round til the end of the season. The grand prize is bragging rights lolCode:8937-1554
MLS Fantasy is not complicated at all. Just pick a bunch of players and build a team.
Players receive points for their performances every round. You also get a free transfer each week to make changes to your team (carries over if you don't use it).
Fairly simple and it should make following the league a little more interesting.
United States coach Juergen Klinsmann believes his side will turf out Germany or Portugal in the first round of the World Cup in Brazil in June.
"Our team has matured a lot over the last couple of years and we are going to give them a big, big fight," he told reporters at a FIFA pre-World Cup workshop on Wednesday.
"We are expecting to go to the knockout stage, that means Germany, Portugal and Ghana will have to fight it out for the other spot (from Group G).
"We've come through a tough qualifying process where we proved our capability. We have a lot of good players," said the former Germany coach who led his home country to third spot at the 2006 finals.
Klinsmann shrugged off the extensive travel his squad would have to undertake in Brazil but said he was worried the fans would not be able to watch all of their matches.
"I think that for a team to travel long distances at the World Cup is not that difficult because you are well taken care of with charter flights and road escorts," he added.
"It might be more difficult for the fans to go from one place to the other.
"We are going to have the biggest fan group ever from the U.S. going to Brazil. We have amazing fans so hopefully they are going to be all right."
I wonder where else he is looking at kn Texas. Interesting.....
Once they get a new owner, they're going to both rebrand and get their own stadium in LA, as it says in the initial article:
More:
I wonder where else he is looking at kn Texas. Interesting.....
It's bugging me that Messi doesn't have a white bullet point thing in front of his name...
Well Austin is really the only other metropolitan area that's big enough, so I'm guessing Austin? Maybe just he means that there are multiple ownership groups interested, not "lots and lots" of cities...
Well Austin is really the only other metropolitan area that's big enough after San Antonio, so I'm guessing Austin? Maybe just he means that there are multiple ownership groups interested, not "lots and lots" of cities...
Man, 2015 is going to be a crazy year for MLS:
NYCFC
Orlando City SC
Rebranded CUSA
New TV deal and CBA
San Jose's new stadium
Exciting times.
Some pretty saucy & must-tweet footy scuttle: Hearing 16-year-old American hotshot Erik Palmer-Brown indeed soon to be signed by JUVENTUS
Even though she lives in Portland now, I'd never stand a chance. But still. GAT DAMN.
http://swimsuit.si.com/swimsuit/models/alex-morgan/photos/1
Even though she lives in Portland now, I'd never stand a chance. But still. GAT DAMN.
http://swimsuit.si.com/swimsuit/models/alex-morgan/photos/1
I know. They're engaged now too. =(Servando is one lucky man...
It's an ugly shirt. They should stick with the retro crest:WTF, why go back to that crest? Terrible. I've been a big fan of our designs in recent years but that's just awful. At best, it looks like it'd be worthy of being a training shirt.
Damn, EPB would play at SKC for a few years after he graduated high school but Juventus!
What an awesome opportunity for the guy and it shows that the SKC academy is doing something right in identifying talent if the Italians see something special in him. Now to get more academy players to sign with the first team.
Agreed. It's just so much better and simpler.
It's an ugly shirt. They should stick with the retro crest:
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Very true.I think it's far more in line with other countries' designs as well. A crest should be something that looks classic -- it's meant to signify history. The retro design is perfect and is exactly, at least in my opinion, what you'd want from a crest for an American national team.
I love it too.I love this one so much. Even wearing it right now.
NoRéN;101759666 said:Someone print this out in poster form. Hold up behind Howard's goal when opposition attempts to shoot.
In Portugal's case, hold up picture of Ronaldo when Ronaldo tries to shoot.
Well, our current crest does look like something from 1990, which was the start of the modern US era.I think it's far more in line with other countries' designs as well. A crest should be something that looks classic -- it's meant to signify history. The retro design is perfect and is exactly, at least in my opinion, what you'd want from a crest for an American national team.
I like it!Jersey SAVED.
I'll probably still buy the new jersey
Hope that's not it because it just looks like a plain golf shirt.