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re: And the next MLS club will be...
Posted on 2/19/13 at 5:09 pm to joey barton
Posted on 2/19/13 at 5:09 pm to joey barton
NOLA needs a team
1
Posted on 2/19/13 at 5:28 pm to fightingtigers98
- Too close to Houston.
- City could barely support a minor league team.
- Other Southern cities would be better options (Orlando, Nashville, Charlotte, Atlanta).
- City could barely support a minor league team.
- Other Southern cities would be better options (Orlando, Nashville, Charlotte, Atlanta).
Posted on 2/19/13 at 8:43 pm to WarSlamEagle
- New Orleans is further from Houston than Dallas (who has a team) or San Antonio (who is pushing for a team), so I don't really see the relevance of that particular point. Also, team proximity is not a problem for the league in the Northeast or the Northwest - it's actually considered a benefit there - so I don't see why it would be inherently different in the Midsouth.
- When you say the city "could barely support a minor league team" are you referring to the Gamblers/Storm? There were many teams in many cities around the country that folded in the mid to late 90s. Some of those cities now have MLS teams. The sporting environment for soccer in general, and MLS in particular, has changed now (countdown clock 4 life). If you're referring to the Shockers/Jesters, they've drawn ~1000 per game for multiple years without any pretensions of being anything more than a D4 club, which is not bad for a (former) PDL club that barely advertised in the city. That's much better attendance than most of the D4 teams around the country, including in the populous Northeast. The city certainly "could" support a team, and more people might actually do so if they knew that it existed.
- This is certainly true in some measures, but each of those markets has their issues as well (Atlanta being particularly known for having shitty fans, Florida in general being known for not supporting their professional teams). With New Orleans, it's the same argument we hear in terms of the NFL and the NBA. With the right ownership group and community buy-in, it has been shown that New Orleans, Louisiana, and the Gulf Coast region can support professional teams. Could New Orleans support three professional teams? Possibly not, but if people in this region buy in and believe that a team is "their" team then they probably could.
It's not happening, unfortunately, but if Benson wanted to have year-round sporting events to get full utilization out of his CBD properties and if the league would allow a team to play in a domed stadium, I'm of the opinion that New Orleans could and would support an MLS team.
- When you say the city "could barely support a minor league team" are you referring to the Gamblers/Storm? There were many teams in many cities around the country that folded in the mid to late 90s. Some of those cities now have MLS teams. The sporting environment for soccer in general, and MLS in particular, has changed now (countdown clock 4 life). If you're referring to the Shockers/Jesters, they've drawn ~1000 per game for multiple years without any pretensions of being anything more than a D4 club, which is not bad for a (former) PDL club that barely advertised in the city. That's much better attendance than most of the D4 teams around the country, including in the populous Northeast. The city certainly "could" support a team, and more people might actually do so if they knew that it existed.
- This is certainly true in some measures, but each of those markets has their issues as well (Atlanta being particularly known for having shitty fans, Florida in general being known for not supporting their professional teams). With New Orleans, it's the same argument we hear in terms of the NFL and the NBA. With the right ownership group and community buy-in, it has been shown that New Orleans, Louisiana, and the Gulf Coast region can support professional teams. Could New Orleans support three professional teams? Possibly not, but if people in this region buy in and believe that a team is "their" team then they probably could.
It's not happening, unfortunately, but if Benson wanted to have year-round sporting events to get full utilization out of his CBD properties and if the league would allow a team to play in a domed stadium, I'm of the opinion that New Orleans could and would support an MLS team.
Posted on 2/19/13 at 9:37 pm to CrazyTigerFan
New Orleans will never have an MLS team. The future teams will be:
1) New York City - MLS is going to have the next club in New York City...not Belmont or any other suburb. Now, it would be great IMO if the Cosmos could eventually build their stadium out on Long Island and the New York area had three MLS clubs that were supported. I think the club that is going to have its brand new stadium in Corona Park will be a huge success.
2) Florida - be it Tampa, Miami, or Orlando, there is going to be another club (maybe two) in Florida. Orlando has the strongest and most determined ownership group right now. Garber likes them. And while we go on about how Florida professional sports fans suck (and they do), Europeans and Latin American players love Florida. They like to visit there, they like to play there, and some even like to live there. MLS really wants a club in Miami but ownership and fan support are really lacking.
3) Midwest - either St. Louis, Minneapolis, or Detroit. St. Louis is the desired choice due to the location right between KC and Chicago, fitting perfectly with MLS' stated goal of building regional rivalries. Moreover, the St. Louis area has some of the largest investment and participation in youth soccer in the US. However, ownership possibilities are virtually nil so the search for the next midwest club has moved to Minneapolis and Detroit.
4) Southern California - specifically San Diego.
There are other potential locations that I think could be serious contenders but have yet to come up in anything I hear and read about MLS. Places like Austin, San Antonio, Atlanta, Raleigh, Indianapolis. Two other interesting facts: Garber has stated that he wants to add clubs in places that foreign players will want to live and play. Foreign players aren't excited about the idea of living in Phoenix, San Antonio, or North Carolina; they want to live in New York, South Florida, Southern California. Moreover, Garber has stated there is no interest in adding more Canadian clubs.
1) New York City - MLS is going to have the next club in New York City...not Belmont or any other suburb. Now, it would be great IMO if the Cosmos could eventually build their stadium out on Long Island and the New York area had three MLS clubs that were supported. I think the club that is going to have its brand new stadium in Corona Park will be a huge success.
2) Florida - be it Tampa, Miami, or Orlando, there is going to be another club (maybe two) in Florida. Orlando has the strongest and most determined ownership group right now. Garber likes them. And while we go on about how Florida professional sports fans suck (and they do), Europeans and Latin American players love Florida. They like to visit there, they like to play there, and some even like to live there. MLS really wants a club in Miami but ownership and fan support are really lacking.
3) Midwest - either St. Louis, Minneapolis, or Detroit. St. Louis is the desired choice due to the location right between KC and Chicago, fitting perfectly with MLS' stated goal of building regional rivalries. Moreover, the St. Louis area has some of the largest investment and participation in youth soccer in the US. However, ownership possibilities are virtually nil so the search for the next midwest club has moved to Minneapolis and Detroit.
4) Southern California - specifically San Diego.
There are other potential locations that I think could be serious contenders but have yet to come up in anything I hear and read about MLS. Places like Austin, San Antonio, Atlanta, Raleigh, Indianapolis. Two other interesting facts: Garber has stated that he wants to add clubs in places that foreign players will want to live and play. Foreign players aren't excited about the idea of living in Phoenix, San Antonio, or North Carolina; they want to live in New York, South Florida, Southern California. Moreover, Garber has stated there is no interest in adding more Canadian clubs.
This post was edited on 2/19/13 at 9:39 pm
Posted on 2/19/13 at 10:10 pm to GABlueDog
I don't think the "sexiness" of potential expansion cities really concerns Garber too much. More than anything he's looking to exploit cities with emerging untapped sports markets. Portland, Montreal, Vancouver, Seattle are all good examples of this. Seattle had just lost the Sonics when the Sounders were promoted to MLS. Portland and Vancouver only had one other major league pro franchise prior to their teams; Montreal had none.
New York is getting a second team. Florida will get a team, despite it being an atrocious sports state. The last team, assuming expansion will stop at 22, will be in either San Antonio (new stadium, best NASL attendance, emerging Hispanic market), Las Vegas (sexy locale, no pro sports teams), or other NASL cities/locations like Atlanta, Virginia or Minneapolis.
Chivas USA, barring some miraculous upswell in attendance, will likely move to San Diego despite its Guadalajara president claiming it will remain in LA.
New York is getting a second team. Florida will get a team, despite it being an atrocious sports state. The last team, assuming expansion will stop at 22, will be in either San Antonio (new stadium, best NASL attendance, emerging Hispanic market), Las Vegas (sexy locale, no pro sports teams), or other NASL cities/locations like Atlanta, Virginia or Minneapolis.
Chivas USA, barring some miraculous upswell in attendance, will likely move to San Diego despite its Guadalajara president claiming it will remain in LA.
This post was edited on 2/19/13 at 10:11 pm
Posted on 2/19/13 at 10:41 pm to CrazyTigerFan
To your point, I would also add that NOLA has a pretty good level of involvement in youth soccer. The Catholic League is probably the best district in the state as well.
Also, from my understanding, the Hispanic population in NOLA has grown rapidly there post-Katrina. Certainly seemed that way this past Mardi Gras just driving around in peripheral areas like Kenner.
I'm not arguing that it's likely or anything. But I wouldn't write off the concept of it entirely.
And WSE... Atlanta?
Also, from my understanding, the Hispanic population in NOLA has grown rapidly there post-Katrina. Certainly seemed that way this past Mardi Gras just driving around in peripheral areas like Kenner.
I'm not arguing that it's likely or anything. But I wouldn't write off the concept of it entirely.
And WSE... Atlanta?
Posted on 2/19/13 at 10:57 pm to thenry712
quote:
I don't think the "sexiness" of potential expansion cities really concerns Garber too much. More than anything he's looking to exploit cities with emerging untapped sports markets. Portland, Montreal, Vancouver, Seattle are all good examples of this.
This is the opposite of what he has stated numerous times. Garber has said he wants clubs in locations that are attractive to foreign players, have large media markets, and fit in nicely with regional rivalries. Ownership and a new stadium are musts. He has stated that he wants to tap into the Hispanic market but has given no indication about desiring to tap into new sports markets. The Sonics wouldn't even directly compete for fans as they play in the winter and Seattle of course already has the Seahawks and the Mariners.
Montreal, Vancouver, and Seattle are world class cities that are desirable locations. Portland is a bit of an exception; they got their club primarily due to fervent fan support and rock solid ownership in Paulsen.
Posted on 2/19/13 at 10:57 pm to acgeaux129
There's a reason I put them last. Fans ain't loyal.
Youth soccer is ridiculous in the Atlanta area, so much more than New Orleans (due to the population difference). Stick a team in the burbs like Colorado and Chicago.
Youth soccer is ridiculous in the Atlanta area, so much more than New Orleans (due to the population difference). Stick a team in the burbs like Colorado and Chicago.
Posted on 2/19/13 at 11:08 pm to WarSlamEagle
quote:
Youth soccer is ridiculous in the Atlanta area
Living here, I can say that this is true.
Also, the Atlanta metro area has 5.5 million people...significantly more than the entire state of Louisiana.
Moreover, there is also a very sizable Hispanic population.
Posted on 2/19/13 at 11:33 pm to GABlueDog
quote:
Stick a team in the burbs like Colorado and Chicago.
Colorado has one of the worst attendances in the league.
Chicago would have much higher attendance if the Fire didn't play in Bridgeview.
Garber might. say that he wants "sexy" cities to attract players. He needs untapped TV markets, and fans in the seats. FC Dallas, Chivas USA, New England, Chicago are big market teams that fail to draw any interest in their teams, despite being in massive hotbeds for youth Soccer.
Honestly, there's not too much difference in notoriety between San Antonio and San Diego to an international player. Every rumored big name MLS signee, without fail, mentions that he wants to play in New York or LA. Seattle has the best support in the league, but that's not swaying Kaka to sign for the Sounders over the Galaxy. Miami is really the only other city foreign players would recognize, if they had a team.
This post was edited on 2/19/13 at 11:35 pm
Posted on 2/19/13 at 11:42 pm to thenry712
quote:
Seattle has the best support in the league, but that's not swaying Kaka to sign for the Sounders over the Galaxy.
True. That's why your DPs are Mauro Rosales, Christian Tiffert and, as of today, Shalrie Joseph.
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