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2014 MLS Thread

gsterp said:
DC United wins! First league win since August, we comin!!!
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What a miserable match that was. DC probably could have won by 4 or 5. Neal should have been thrown out for his first tackle though and if not, his 2nd one was another yellow card worth challenge.

New England have an estimated $500,000K in cap space available and 3 roster spots. Wouldn't want to use those too quickly though. I hate this Front Office.
 
siff said:
Move Chivas USA to Charlotte. Arthur Blank will have the ATL team, so give the CTL one to Lowes. Voila! The Home Improvement Cup.
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Charlotte doesn't have an existing fan base, an interested ownership group or any grassroots effort to bring a team. But apart from that, yeah, they're near the top of the list.
 
HuskyDeac said:
Charlotte doesn't have an existing fan base, an interested ownership group or any grassroots effort to bring a team. But apart from that, yeah, they're near the top of the list.
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I mean, I really don't know how to answer this. To begin - what do you define as "existing fan base?" Soccer fans? Fans of a D2 or D3 team? Please, enlighten me.

Charlotte actually does have an interested ownership group - the lacrosse guy, can't remember his name, who just bought the Charlotte USL rights and already owns the Charlotte MLL team. The game is hugely popular here and TBH would be far more successful than an ATL team - do they meet your "existing fan base" criteria, Husky. I mean, you know fucking everything, so...
 
siff said:
I mean, I really don't know how to answer this. To begin - what do you define as "existing fan base?" Soccer fans? Fans of a D2 or D3 team? Please, enlighten me.

Charlotte actually does have an interested ownership group - the lacrosse guy, can't remember his name, who just bought the Charlotte USL rights and already owns the Charlotte MLL team. The game is hugely popular here and TBH would be far more successful than an ATL team - do they meet your "existing fan base" criteria, Husky. I mean, you know fucking everything, so...
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Whoa, settle down. I just meant there's no existing NASL/USL support, which is what MLS harps on as important to expansion areas (Orlando, San Antonio, Minn/St. Paul). Railhawks draw well for NASL, but their fan base isn't in Charlotte. Charlotte's USL side draws less than a thousand. I'm with you on NC being a hotbed for soccer, but MLS has said they want existing support in downtown/urban areas. I've heard rumors of the lacrosse guy before, but I've seen nothing concrete other than them saying that's their goal. There doesn't appear to be any organized supporter's group calling for a team in Charlotte from anything I've read either. Charlotte just isn't a big enough media market that MLS is going to insist on a team going there.

And that's all I fucking know. :umkc:
 
Charlotte's USL side was a Christian organization parading as a semi-pro soccer club.

Personally, I believe that the choice of ATL as the next MLS franchise shows that it has nothing to do with fan support, NASL/USL support, etc... What it comes down to, entirely, is a rich owner who wants a soccer team.

As for media markets - MLS has put teams in smaller markets (Portland, SKC, Columbus, SLC) than Charlotte.
 
siff said:
Charlotte's USL side was a Christian organization parading as a semi-pro soccer club.

Personally, I believe that the choice of ATL as the next MLS franchise shows that it has nothing to do with fan support, NASL/USL support, etc... What it comes down to, entirely, is a rich owner who wants a soccer team.

As for media markets - MLS has put teams in smaller markets (Portland, SKC, Columbus, SLC) than Charlotte.
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I'm not a fan of the Atlanta choice, mostly because I don't like NFL owners buying MLS teams. It hasn't worked so well in New England. That said, they have a strong fan base with the Silverbacks and MLS definitely needs bigger TV contracts to continue to grow the league. I don't know much about Atlanta, so I can't speak for logistics, but having public transportation to a downtown SSS would put the team is a good place to be successful I think.

SKC and Columbus got in early because of Lamar Hunt and his money saving the league. Portland already had a hugely successful team in place. Salt Lake City, I have no idea. Even though it's been successful, it still seems like an odd choice back then.

MLS now needs bigger and bigger profits to continue bringing in higher and higher salaries. Only way they can do it rapidly is through tv money. A successful Atlanta brings more money than all but a few markets. I don't like it, but I see their goal.
 
Id put in Raleigh-Durham before I put it in Charlotte. Charlotte is a terrible midweek sports town. Too many people live 30+ mins away out in the burbs.
 
BillBrasky said:
Id put in Raleigh-Durham before I put it in Charlotte. Charlotte is a terrible midweek sports town. Too many people live 30+ mins away out in the burbs.
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I really should have said "North Carolina" instead of Charlotte. You do know, right, that the Triangle is chock full of suburbanites though, right?
 
Don't worry guys, Gate City FC plans to be in MLS within 20 years
 
siff said:
I mean, I really don't know how to answer this. To begin - what do you define as "existing fan base?" Soccer fans? Fans of a D2 or D3 team? Please, enlighten me.

Charlotte actually does have an interested ownership group - the lacrosse guy, can't remember his name, who just bought the Charlotte USL rights and already owns the Charlotte MLL team. The game is hugely popular here and TBH would be far more successful than an ATL team - do they meet your "existing fan base" criteria, Husky. I mean, you know fucking everything, so...
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So how many USL or NASL games have you been to supporting Charlotte/Carolina soccer? The Silverbacks actually do draw (no idea what will come of them or their stadium), so you can't honestly say that Atlanta doesn't have a fan base established. We'll see what happens when Queen City gets up and running next year.

And of course there are other reasons that Atlanta has been heavily targeted. All the tv contracts are up in the next year, and having Miami and Atlanta in their back pockets for negotiations is only going to help demand a bigger number in rights fees.

You also can't compare the expansion landscape of today to that of ten years ago when RSL came about. Back then it was completely based around who could provide a check. Now they can be far pickier about who they let in the door.
 
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