(08-20-2019 12:05 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(08-20-2019 12:00 PM)lew240z Wrote:  It’s official. Saint Louis has a team. Name TBD.

Hopefully it won't be anything like "FC St. Louis" or "Real St. Louis" or "St. Louis United", etc., etc.

I'm just looking forward to a fan group named "Arch Support."

(08-20-2019 01:10 PM)AllTideUp Wrote:  

(08-20-2019 12:05 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(08-20-2019 12:00 PM)lew240z Wrote:  It’s official. Saint Louis has a team. Name TBD.

Hopefully it won't be anything like "FC St. Louis" or "Real St. Louis" or "St. Louis United", etc., etc.

I'm just looking forward to a fan group named "Arch Support."

(Tries to avoid shoe puns)

Sacramento expected to be announced as 29th Major League Soccer team Monday

Quote:Major League Soccer is expected to announce on Monday that it is awarding an expansion team to a Sacramento investor group, making the California capital city the 29th franchise in the fast-growing league, sources with direct knowledge of the deal told The Sacramento Bee on Tuesday.

League officials declined comment Tuesday. The league in past franchise additions has typically refrained from commenting until MLS Commissioner Don Garber announces the expansion with local officials during a public ceremony in the new city.

Sources said league officials will hold a press conference in downtown Monday followed by a fan event in the afternoon, celebrating the franchise award.

(10-15-2019 09:30 PM)Wedge Wrote:  Sacramento expected to be announced as 29th Major League Soccer team Monday

Quote:Major League Soccer is expected to announce on Monday that it is awarding an expansion team to a Sacramento investor group, making the California capital city the 29th franchise in the fast-growing league, sources with direct knowledge of the deal told The Sacramento Bee on Tuesday.

League officials declined comment Tuesday. The league in past franchise additions has typically refrained from commenting until MLS Commissioner Don Garber announces the expansion with local officials during a public ceremony in the new city.

Sources said league officials will hold a press conference in downtown Monday followed by a fan event in the afternoon, celebrating the franchise award.

So this coming Monday?

Are they going to announce #30 as well?

(10-17-2019 06:52 PM)PirateTreasureNC Wrote:  So this coming Monday?

Are they going to announce #30 as well?

The Monday event in Sacramento is basically a party for Republic supporters. MLS wouldn't make other announcements at an event like that.

An announcement for #30 seems like it would be a ways away, because MLS is already adding 5 expansion franchises in the next three seasons. Looks like Charlotte and Raleigh have bids with a lot of money behind them. I'd guess next up is either one of those two or Phoenix, but it seems like the most important factor by far is having ownership with money on the table.

Also, it's a good bet they'll expand MLS even farther as long as more groups line up with enough money.

https://www.espn.com/soccer/major-league...don-garber

Quote:MLS commissioner Don Garber said Friday that the league's next expansion announcement is very likely to come in "the next number of months" and that Charlotte, North Carolina, has moved to the front of the line in terms of candidates.

Quote:Garber added that Las Vegas and Phoenix are also among the top contenders, although they are playing catch-up.

"It's fair to say that Charlotte has done a lot of work, to move their bid really to the front of line," Garber said. "It starts with David Tepper, the owner of the [Carolina] Panthers. He's a very passionate guy about sport, he's very passionate about Charlotte."

And when Don Garber says "passionate", you know that what he's really talking about is this:

did anyone else notice that all the viable candidates have NFL teams

(04-18-2019 09:00 PM)Jjoey52 Wrote:  Fold please.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

No!!! MLS is actually doing pretty good, and some expansion might be warranted.

(12-02-2019 06:52 PM)Transic_nyc Wrote:  

It will be interesting to see how Tepper's bid works.... and how any of this factors into the Panther's stadium and training facility he's rumored to be in the market to upgrade.

Quote:Speculation intensified Thursday about an anticipated announcement from Major League Soccer that Charlotte will land an expansion team, but Commissioner Don Garber stopped just short of saying the deal is done.

After leading a regularly scheduled board of governors meeting in New York, Garber spoke about the bid for a team here by Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper. The final step for Charlotte will be guaranteeing soccer-specific improvements at the Panthers’ NFL stadium uptown — a contingency that not-so-subtly signals the need for city government to kick in $100 million to help pay for renovations as well as an MLS headquarters for Tepper’s team.

Marc Ganis, an industry consultant known for forging relationships with NFL owners and executives, said Thursday that reports by CBJ and others of an announcement in Charlotte on Dec. 17 make sense.

“The MLS has done a masterful job of timing announcements to advance both the league and the new expansion teams,” he said. “An announcement before the holidays would fit this pattern of effective and strategic expansion introductions.”

Tepper is expected to pay a record entry fee of $300 million to $325 million and invest more than $400 million overall in startup costs.

https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/ne...emain.html

What does Tepper get for paying much more for his MLS expansion team than other recent new owners have paid?

He gets to jump the line in front of Sacramento and St. Louis, and start the Charlotte team in MLS a year earlier.

Quote:If Charlotte is indeed awarded a team, Garber indicated that they would begin play in 2021. MLS will add new teams in Miami and Nashville in 2020, in Austin in 2021 and in Sacramento and St. Louis in 2022. The eventual expansion fee for the Charlotte team is expected to be at least $300 million, with one report on Thursday putting that number as high as $325 million.

https://theathletic.com/1437666/2019/12/...s-meeting/

The $200 million dollar privately financed stadium in Saint Louis is now $460 million, and the ownership group is looking for state tax breaks.

(12-07-2019 06:50 PM)lew240z Wrote:  The $200 million dollar privately financed stadium in Saint Louis is now $460 million, and the ownership group is looking for state tax breaks.

I like the fact that they're trying to grow soccer in the USA, albeit in a flawed way. But MLS as a business is a Ponzi scheme.

(12-07-2019 07:06 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(12-07-2019 06:50 PM)lew240z Wrote:  The $200 million dollar privately financed stadium in Saint Louis is now $460 million, and the ownership group is looking for state tax breaks.

I like the fact that they're trying to grow soccer in the USA, albeit in a flawed way. But MLS as a business is a Ponzi scheme.

I just think this expansion is predicated on selling billionaires that MLS in 20 years will replace the NFL as America’s most popular sport. Getting in on the ground floor of a burgeoning market is always enticing to folks with loads of money.

Unfortunately, I don’t ever see the talent level Of MLS approaching Anything like EPL or La Liga.

(12-07-2019 08:00 PM)vandiver49 Wrote:  

(12-07-2019 07:06 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(12-07-2019 06:50 PM)lew240z Wrote:  The $200 million dollar privately financed stadium in Saint Louis is now $460 million, and the ownership group is looking for state tax breaks.

I like the fact that they're trying to grow soccer in the USA, albeit in a flawed way. But MLS as a business is a Ponzi scheme.

I just think this expansion is predicated on selling billionaires that MLS in 20 years will replace the NFL as America’s most popular sport. Getting in on the ground floor of a burgeoning market is always enticing to folks with loads of money.

Unfortunately, I don’t ever see the talent level Of MLS approaching Anything like EPL or La Liga.

It can't. The lid on MLS salaries means that they can't attract overall talent that's even in the top 10 leagues in the world. They would have to increase spending significantly just to catch up with Liga MX in Mexico or the Superliga in Argentina.

And while they should be spending on the level of those two leagues, there isn't anywhere near enough revenue in MLS to be able to spend on the level of the best European leagues.

(12-07-2019 09:26 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(12-07-2019 08:00 PM)vandiver49 Wrote:  

(12-07-2019 07:06 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(12-07-2019 06:50 PM)lew240z Wrote:  The $200 million dollar privately financed stadium in Saint Louis is now $460 million, and the ownership group is looking for state tax breaks.

I like the fact that they're trying to grow soccer in the USA, albeit in a flawed way. But MLS as a business is a Ponzi scheme.

I just think this expansion is predicated on selling billionaires that MLS in 20 years will replace the NFL as America’s most popular sport. Getting in on the ground floor of a burgeoning market is always enticing to folks with loads of money.

Unfortunately, I don’t ever see the talent level Of MLS approaching Anything like EPL or La Liga.

It can't. The lid on MLS salaries means that they can't attract overall talent that's even in the top 10 leagues in the world. They would have to increase spending significantly just to catch up with Liga MX in Mexico or the Superliga in Argentina.

And while they should be spending on the level of those two leagues, there isn't anywhere near enough revenue in MLS to be able to spend on the level of the best European leagues.

With 30 teams and many of the new owners billionaires, the spending cap can’t remain in place for even another 5 years can it?

A two-conference league won’t last much longer