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American Soccer |OT| Life, liberty and the pursuit of the beautiful game

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xbhaskarx

Member
MLS expansion update: Atlanta closes in, Minneapolis a ‘frontrunner,’ realignment, more

The MLS of the early 2020s, the robust 24-team circuit that’s supposed to be one of the best leagues on the planet, came into slightly sharper focus on Tuesday as Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank confirmed that an expansion agreement is in “the very final stages.”

Blank, the Home Depot co-founder, has been knocking on MLS’ door for around eight years. His unnamed team likely will take the field inside a new retractable-roof stadium in 2017. Speaking to WCNN radio, Blank claimed MLS is a “tremendous fit” for the city and that there’s “an event planned for hopefully the middle of April in downtown Atlanta that’ll be very unique and special … with all the appropriate celebrities here.”

The target date, as reported this weekend by Philly.com and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and confirmed by SI.com, is April 16. MLS expects to have a deal signed by then that will increase the number of teams to 22, not including the franchise that David Beckham will be awarded if and when he finalizes a stadium deal in Miami. Blank is expected to pay an expansion fee somewhere in between the $70 million charged to Orlando City and the $100 million spent by Manchester City and the New York Yankees on New York City FC. Both Orlando and NYCFC will begin play next year.

Blank told WCNN that the MLS board of governors already has approved the use of the $1 billion facility planned for a site just south of the Georgia Dome. The new stadium will be built with soccer in mind, with a wide field (albeit artificial turf) and a draping system that will create a second, temporary roof over the lower deck.
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In 2020, MLS could look like this:

EASTERN: Atlanta, Chicago Fire, Columbus Crew, D.C. United, Miami, Montreal Impact, New England Revolution, New York City FC, New York Red Bulls, Orlando City, Philadelphia Union, Toronto FC.

WESTERN: Colorado Rapids, FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo, L.A. Galaxy, Los Angeles (formerly Chivas USA), Minneapolis (or San Antonio, Sacramento, etc.), Portland Timbers, Real Salt Lake, San Jose Earthquakes, Seattle Sounders, Sporting Kansas City, Vancouver Whitecaps.

The league hopes to have a 2015 format established by this August’s All-Star Game in Portland.

By then, Atlanta almost surely will be a done deal. There will be skeptics, either because of the empty seats at Braves playoff games and the departure of the Thrashers or because of a more deep-seated doubt that the southeast will support pro soccer. But Blank didn’t own those teams and if Sporting has proven anything, it’s that a well-run club with the right stadium can succeed just about anywhere. Nobody was calling K.C. a soccer town five years ago. Now it calls itself the “Soccer Capital of America.”

MLS believes that Blank and his downtown arena fit the bill. The league has vetted its new partner carefully — a must in the post-Jorge Vergara era — and has determined that he’s in it for the right reasons. Blank, 71, is a soccer dad who claimed Tuesday that the sport is “huge in the state of Georgia” and that “an urban, downtown soccer stadium is going to be a tremendous hit in Atlanta.” It will sit at the heart of the country’s ninth most populous metro area, which has a younger and “much more diverse population” likely to embrace the world’s game.

MLS also has a long-standing relationship with Falcons executive VP and chief marketing and revenue officer Jim Smith, who was the GM of the Columbus Crew in 2000-2004. He’s been with the Falcons since then and has played a key role in helping Blank arrange his expansion bid.

Blank on Tuesday also addressed the branding of his future MLS franchise.

“Like everything else, we’ll listen to the fans. We’ll do some polling and get some good input,” he said. A WCNN host mentioned that the name Atlanta Phoenix has been gaining traction on Twitter (the mythical bird is the centerpiece of the city flag) and Blank replied, “I’ve heard that too.”
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X

xbhaskarx

Member
Cornballer said:
- New ESPN World Cup promo featuring AO
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Meet the U.S. soccer fans who are dropping everything for the World Cup

nice photo:
usoutlaws.jpg
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C

CobbFC09

Member
Dartastic said:
...I thought they were streaming last year on YouTube also? Better streaming production standards are good though. Hooray.
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A lot of teams were. The one team I know that didn't was the Boston Breakers who used Livestream and charged $4.99 for each home game.
 
T

toxk_02

Black Republican
Dartastic said:
I found a picture of one of the banners that Seattle hung at the Portland match! Really classy. :/

http://i.imgur.com/sT63aDJ.jpg[/img]

...that being said....... *cough cough*

Apparently it's not so shit after all, as Buzzfeed ranked Providence Park as one of the best 21 soccer stadiums you should visit before you die.
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It's not about the stadium, it's about the ticket prices. Portland had the highest away ticket prices until SJ doubled their prices this year, but they charge others in the same section a different price. Supposedly (and I honestly don't know the full details) the agreement between MLS teams is away supporters are supposed to get the same group pricing as home fans. The Sounders FO charges $25 to away groups, same as home groups.

https://twitter.com/Southsiders/status/453994676828516352

https://twitter.com/CursedFrogurt37/status/453986599139696640/photo/1
https://twitter.com/shiro_oni/status/453990767413841920/photo/1

BkziaBbCYAArA92.jpg


ECS tickets:

BkzmMpdCUAA4-9x.jpg
 
D

Dartastic

Member
Akim said:
are you implying an article on buzzfeed actually means something? lmao
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Edited for clarity. :p

That being said, our stadium is far from shit. Their TIFOs were horrible, and it's just kinda funny that less than a week after that game someone (even if it's on Buzzfeed) says it's one of the stadiums you have to visit.
toxk_02 said:
It's not about the stadium, it's about the ticket prices. Portland had the highest away ticket prices until SJ doubled their prices this year, but they charge others in the same section a different price. Supposedly (and I honestly don't know the full details) the agreement between MLS teams is away supporters are supposed to get the same group pricing as home fans. The Sounders FO charges $25 to away groups, same as home groups.

https://twitter.com/Southsiders/status/453994676828516352

https://twitter.com/CursedFrogurt37/status/453986599139696640/photo/1
https://twitter.com/shiro_oni/status/453990767413841920/photo/1

BkziaBbCYAArA92.jpg


ECS tickets:

BkzmMpdCUAA4-9x.jpg
Click to expand...

That's the thing. Sounders fans DID get the same price as home fans. I was in the Army, and since I'm not a STH I paid $45 to sit there for that game. I paid the same amount to sit in my supporters section as Sounders fans did. It's a fact. You can go to the ticketing website, and see what the prices are. It's not rocket science.
 
D

Dartastic

Member
toxk_02 said:
Like I said, I don't know if it's a public policy but my understanding is it's based on the group pricing, not single match / single ticket prices.

http://www.timbers.com/sites/portland/files/2014TimbersGroupMap.pdf

This says group pricing in section 222 is $20-$30 (which is in line with the photo of the $27 ticket), and group pricing for TA is $27.50.
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I don't know how the group pricing works, but I do know that Cascadia matches cost more. $27.50 + fees is for a normal match, and it's $37.50 + fees for a Cascadia (premier) match. That equals $35 or $45, respectively. Additionally, that area isn't entirely reserved like that for an opposing team's supporters section because we don't normally HAVE that many people come out to support their opposing team's club. The price was also advertised far in advance, and I find it kinda insulting that they think that they can come into our stadium and expect to pay lower prices to sit in their supporters section than the local fans just because they're visiting.

...there's a huge ass discussion of it here. http://www.reddit.com/r/MLS/comments/22mvwy/members_of_ecs_being_charged_45_for_27_tickets_to/
 
X

xbhaskarx

Member
MLS viewers on NBCSN up 94 percent through Week 5

The Portland-Seattle thriller averaged 277,000 viewers on NBCSN, pushing the season average for MLS on NBCSN to 223,000 through Week 5, up 94 percent from last year's average for five games.

The Seattle-Sporting KC game (330,000 viewers) on opening day and Portland-Seattle match have both drawn more fans than any MLS game did on NBCSN in 2013.

MLS on NBCSN: First Five Games (2014)
330,000 Seattle-Sporting KC (March 8)
171,000 Seattle-Toronto FC (March 15)
180,000 Real Salt Lake-LA Galaxy (March 22)
157,000 D.C. United-Chicago (March 29)
277,000 Portland-Seattle (April 5)
Average: 223,000.
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O

Osorio

Member
The Culture Vulture said:
Still Seattle always does well and with the Toronto acquisitions this season storylines were in abundance. Maybe people aren't hip to the new Toronto FC yet?
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It's understandable if people are skeptical about a TFC team's big resurgence. We've heard that plenty of times before. It is looking good so far but it's only been 4 games.
 
A

Askani

Member
Ike Opara is out for the season. Injury resulting from the SKC / Colorado game where he got fouled in the box got called for a penalty.

He's our 2nd string center back behind Collin and Besler. Collin, deservedly or not, WILL draw calls and Besler will be out with USMNT duties. So we're going to be thin for awhile.

Unless.... #freeEPB
 
C

Cornballer

Member
MLS salaries were released today:
Brian Straus said:
Salaries! Bradley $6.5M in guaranteed comp, Defoe $6.18M, Dempsey $6.7M, Donovan $4.58M, Keane $4.5M, Gilberto $1.2M, Edu $650K, EJ $613K.

OmarG $1.25M in guaranteed comp, JulioCesar $202K, DiVaio $2.6M, Henry $4.35M.
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Full list here.
 
C

Cornballer

Member
Machine said:
Question for you soccer fans. As a Michigan football season ticket holder, I can purchase tickets to the Manchester United v Real Madrid game here in Ann Arbor. Problem is, the ticket prices are absurdly high (over $200 for the best stadium seats). Is there any possibility of making a profit by scalping them or should I just forget about it and move on?
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Grant Wahl said:
Real Madrid-Man United at the Big House in Ann Arbor already sold out within a day of ticket release.
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Did you end up getting any?
 
Z

ZZMitch

Member
I like looking at these wage figures. Its interesting to know that some of these players who actually get playing time make less than my mom makes (but none of them make less than me lol).
 
A

ActStriker

Member
Osorio said:
If the Oakland Raiders/A's still do it, City and the Yankees can too.

The grass will certainly be more fucked up however.
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But the Raiders play with a part of the baseball diamond in the field of play. That, and their seasons only overlap for about a month or 2

Granted, I don't know how/which way they orient a soccer pitch in Yankee Stadium.
 
O

Osorio

Member
ActStriker said:
But the Raiders play with a part of the baseball diamond in the field of play. That, and their seasons only overlap for about a month or 2

Granted, I don't know how/which way they orient a soccer pitch in Yankee Stadium.
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AycVwOwCUAATB75.jpg


I wonder how it's going to look like for 17+ home games
 
M

Meier

Member
I'll say this, I wasn't terribly impressed with it during the Chelsea friendlies last summer. They did as good a job as they could, but it was pretty clear that things were iffy on the infield areas. We'll see how it pans out I guess.
 
O

Osorio

Member
I wish them all the best. If they do really well it'll force RB to either get their asses into shape advertising-wise or sell the team.

METRO
 
J

Judderman

drawer by drawer
Osorio said:
I wish them all the best. If they do really well it'll force RB to either get their asses into shape advertising-wise or sell the team.

METRO
Click to expand...

Yeah, I just hope their presence lights a fire under RB's asses. It's astounding how little they market the team. If they aren't going to put any effort into it they can just go away. Sell the team, maintain the arena and kit sponsorship, but just go away.
 
O

Osorio

Member
Judderman said:
Yeah, I just hope their presence lights a fire under RB's asses. It's astounding how little they market the team. If they aren't going to put any effort into it they can just go away. Sell the team, maintain the arena and kit sponsorship, but just go away.
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I saw TWO posters yesterday in Williamsburg

That's more than I see anywhere else.
 
X

xbhaskarx

Member
Peterson: 'We've moved into the growth phase'

Like MLS and USL PRO, the NASL is in expansion mode. It's added teams in 2012 (San Antonio) and 2013 (New York Cosmos), and two new teams -- Indy Eleven and the Ottawa Fury -- will begin play this Saturday. The NASL has plans, not without lots of hiccups, to expand from 10 to 13 teams in 2015, and the goal is to reach 18 teams. The time frame? Two or three years, Commissioner Bill Peterson suspects.

"We continue to explore a variety of cities across North America," Peterson said. "There is a robust group of people interested in owning a club. There is a priority and a focus on teams in the Midwest and West, but that doesn't mean we've excluded candidates in the East as well as in Canada. We have had conversations in all those areas."

"People are understanding what we are doing," he added, "and understanding our model better." He said it was hard to handicap expansion, but said he was confident the league would expand to 18 teams, and while he would not give an exact time frame, he said he suspected it would happen in the next two or three years.
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