Jack152
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Posts posted by Jack152
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2 hours ago, ah59396 said:
I love watching soccer. I don’t love watching the MLS. Big difference.
Yeah, that's the thing with MLS. If it's in your town, you love it and follow it. If it's not, you don't pay any attention to it.
I don't think Charlotte gets MLB or MLS any time soon. With the Panthers' stadium issue looming on the horizon, there won't be any pubic money for anything else. Not for a while, anyway.
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To hell with it. Bring indoor soccer back to Bojangles' Coliseum and call it good.
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11 minutes ago, JBS said:
When I moved here, the men's basketball team was nationally ranked and in the NCAA tournament.
UNCC used to be a fixture in the NCAA tournament. They always got bounced in the first round, but they were there. It's been 13 years since they've been there.
I don't believe that football is that much of a factor. This past season aside, they've done a decent job building a program from scratch. But the basketball program is in shambles.
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1 hour ago, JBS said:
No chance Panthers move. None.
I agree. But that won't stop the city govt. from bending over for whoever the new owners are.
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6 hours ago, Scribe said:
I know the Smith family is rich and all, but they are not THAT rich...
Bruton Smith is worth $1 billion, how much of it is liquid. https://www.forbes.com/profile/o-bruton-smith/
Not sure about Marcus... but still, I don't think they would be able to pull it off.
At this point, it probably doesn't matter if Marcus drops his bid or not.. With the looming uncertainty about Panthers ownership, there's no way the city spends a dime on a soccer stadium.
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Looks like Nashville is getting a team. There goes a Southeastern slot.
And with the Panthers up for sale, maybe Marcus Smith sets his eyes on that prize and drops his bid completely.
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21 hours ago, CLT2014 said:
Nashville's stadium plan has incredible momentum. MLS analysts seem to think Sacramento and Nashville will get the next two expansion slots, with the decision largely being made and an announcement a mere formality in December.
That will be the final nail in the coffin for Charlotte and Raleigh.
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56 minutes ago, tarhoosier said:
This question from a soccer illiterate. Are there enough players to make expansion appropriate? That is always an issue in other major league sports when dilution of talent affects the overall product, not just the new teams and their struggle.
Business-wise this may be supported but can it be justified on a competition basis?
1. There is no shortage of soccer players on this planet.
2. The current level of play isn't very high for MLS, anyway. Relatively speaking.
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It’s reboot or bust for MLS4CLT.
Charlotte City Council’s Economic Development Committee voted today to reject Mecklenburg County’s proposal to deed American Legion Memorial Stadium and Grady Cole Center to the city for construction of a Major League Soccer stadium. County Commissioners voted 5-3 last month to deed the property to Charlotte and fund $49 million to the 2008 park bond referendum. EDC Chairman James Mitchell motioned to reject the county’s offer—which the committee approved. An official vote will take place at the Sept. 11 council meeting, and the EDC will meet again on Sept. 14 for what Mitchell coined “MLS 2.0.”
“We’re going to review all the sites again,” he said. “We’re going to start over from scratch. Look at other public-private partnerships. What has worked for other cities? What has worked for us? More importantly, we are going to look at locations, and make sure that we have a checklist for what we think could make us successful.”
Mitchell specified his disdain for the county’s move as it relinquished any fiscal responsibility while placing the entire financial demand on Charlotte and MLS4CLT, the group leading a bid for an expansion franchise.
“I made the motion to reject the county giving us Grady Cole and Memorial Stadium specifically for MLS,” Mitchell said. “We did not need it with these strings attached. What was a big factor was, because of the county motion, they were not giving us any other financial support. The $43.75 million [originally proposed by the county for construction] would be removed and the loan that they would provide for [MLS4CLT CEO] Marcus Smith. We are no longer interested in Memorial Stadium for MLS soccer. What we are going to do is do a reboot. It’s MLS all over again. The city can really drive this. We’re known to be the economic developers.”
A key concern for Charlotte when the league announced its expansion plans in December and the Jan. 31 bid deadline was the lack of time for public discourse.
“We’re in the driver’s seat now,” Mitchell said. “We’re going to have public engagement. We’ll make sure that we have the right private-public partnership. More importantly, we’re going to make sure that we have the right economic stimulus in a section of our community that needs a catalyst like this. To have people think that there was still some hope for MLS soccer at Memorial Stadium, we wanted to bring that to a head today. This will be on the city council agenda for Sept. 11 for the full council to support the EDC recommendation of declining the offer.”
A key component in the MLS bid process stems from the proposed soccer-specific stadium location. MLS has specified that the stadium must be in close proximity to the urban core. During his visit to Charlotte on July 18, league President and Deputy Commissioner Mark Abbott specified four components for a successful bid: ownership, stadium plan, support for soccer and how the market can help increase league popularity.
“What we want more than anything are our expansion teams to be successful, and the factors that we’ve laid out are factors to be successful,” Abbott said. “You wouldn’t want a team if you didn’t have those factors.”
Abbott toured the county-owned Memorial Stadium site, and praised its proximity to Uptown.
“We’re not at a point of ranking markets,” Abbott said. “We evaluate each market by its own merits. I saw a lot of positives in Charlotte.”
Said Smith in July: “Adding a MLS franchise and a stadium to our community would be a positive impact on our quality of life.”
Based on MLS stipulations, Mitchell emphasized sites such as Eastland Mall are not viable for a stadium. However, Smith did note at last month’s EDC meeting the site could be repurposed as the club’s training facility.
“MLS has tied our hands,” Mitchell said. “It has to be an urban location. I like any activity on the West Trade Street/Beatties Ford Road corridor. With our Gold Lynx Line going [from Elizabeth Avenue to Beatties Ford Road], it could provide synergy near Bank of America Stadium. Just call that what I call the ‘sports district,’ with the Carolina Panthers, the Charlotte Knights and if we could find some space for MLS soccer. We’re handicapped a bit by MLS to stay in an urban location, but I’d like to see all the potential locations. We don’t know all the other locations that were looked at prior [to Memorial Stadium]. We heard there were a total of 12, but we would like to get an update about all of the locations which were up for consideration.”
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18 minutes ago, Merthecat said:
Not that these mean much, but here is an updated power ranking list from SoccerNation: https://www.soccernation.com/updated-mls-expansion-quest-power-rankings/
Charlotte is listed at a dismal 11th.
I've seen a bunch of these, and Charlotte is usually listed somewhere near the bottom. It's a direct reflection on the dysfunction between Smith and the local government.
Shame, because Charlotte is the exact demographic MLS wants: young, growing, and increasingly urban.
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On 8/1/2017 at 9:47 AM, kermit said:
I do hope that once the Smith's bid is euthanized that McPhilliamy can finally get some traction on a minor league renovation of memorial stadium for the Indy. Seems to me like solid grassroots support for the minor league option is the only way forward.
McPhilliamay's business plan was minor league first, then MLS. Under the last renovation plan, he would pitch in $8 million, and the county would put up $16 million to cover the rest of the costs.
If MLS is off the table, you have to wonder about McPhilliamy's willingness to throw $8 million at minor league soccer, with no major league payoff in sight. And if the county won't pony up $30 million for a major league stadium, why would they fork over $16 million (or more) for a minor league one?
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1 hour ago, Merthecat said:
It would be great for either city, and if one were awarded a team over the other, both cities should be grateful that MLS even came to NC in the first place.
But that won't happen. MLS works best as a live, local experience. Raleigh fans won't flock to their tv's to watch a Charlotte MLS team. And vice versa.
For soccer fans in general, MLS is only relevant if it's in your town.
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That rendering looks like it was done in 10 minutes.
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14 hours ago, cltbwimob said:
Charlotte should start gearing itself up for any potential future MLB expansion/relocation which I suspect will be in the next 5-10 years. Who knows perhaps we could get the Rays.
I suspect that MLB's mention of Charlotte as an expansion candidate might've been the final nail in the coffin for any MLS money that was on the table.
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35 minutes ago, Green_man said:
I'm kinda impressed that cities are finally standing up to these billionaires asking for public money!
Yeah, this whole thing is turning into a war of attrition. Must be quite an eye opener for MLS. I think they're realizing that there are a finite number of cities willing to bend over for them.
In the end, it won't matter how passionate the potential owners are about soccer, or how soccer crazy a town is. The 4 cities that can put together a stadium plan will get a team.
As an aside, Atlanta United games are aired on Fox Sports in both Carolinas. At some point, MLS might decide that NC doesn't even need a team.
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15 hours ago, KJHburg said:
I would say our chances of getting a MLS team are going down by the minute. County commissioners just cancelled any meetings with the league officials. My guess they would rather be in Charlotte than Raleigh but I now believe one team will go there. I think they like the fact there is a billionaire owner here but in a city council mayoral election year there is no political will to make it happen.
I don't think Raleigh fits the template for what MLS is looking for in an expansion city. Charlotte is a better fit, but you are correct about the lack of political will. It seems like the city and county are looking for a way to blow this up, while making it appear like they put forth a good faith effort.
It wouldn't surprise me if Nashville sneaks in and grabs the last "southeastern" spot.
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3 hours ago, deaconator said:
At this point, you may end up with a team that has no fans, or at least no educated, passionate fans.
Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkI find it hard to believe that "educated, passionate" Charlotte Independence fans would snub a local MLS franchise, out of some allegiance to a team that has only existed for 2 years.
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29 minutes ago, Merthecat said:
So, just curious, in the event that MLS comes to Raleigh and not Charlotte, how would you Charlotteans feel? Angry? Pleased? Indifferent? I'd like to know.
I will feel disappointed, because it will slam the door on MLS here, and might cost us our USL team, as well.
As far as North Carolina FC goes, I will be as indifferent to them as I am the Hurricanes. Will probably stick to watching the Premier League on Saturday morning.
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6 hours ago, cltbwimob said:
Maybe for soccer Independence could move up to NASL and serve as a "D-League" club for a hypothetical Raleigh team.
NASL is probably going out of business, so that won't be an option. Besides, the Independence owners' main goal has always been MLS. USL was considered a stepping stone to get there. If Raleigh gets the team, there's a good chance that Charlotte Independence shuts down for good. Especially considering their current stadium situation (or lack thereof).
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52 minutes ago, cjd5050 said:
Never would be considered a 'soccer' fan but if they create a fan culture similar to what's in Portland and mimicking Europe...I'll gladly get involved by becoming a fan and going to games.
I'd love to have an MLS team here, but I'll pass on the "mimicking Europe" part. We can be soccer fans without being posers. Which is what those Portland fans are. Enthusiastic posers, but posers nonetheless.
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21 hours ago, SentioVenia said:
Yeah, what the heck is this website?!
It's the official site for ESPN 730 in Charlotte.
Yes, we actually have two sports radio stations here, believe it or not.
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If Raleigh lands a team, Charlotte won't be getting one.
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http://www.empireofsoccer.com/report-carolina-railhawks-to-rebrand-announce-bid-for-mls-56054/
Looks like Raleigh is announcing their MLS bid tomorrow - as North Carolina FC.
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12 hours ago, nonillogical said:
Question, do they own this building unlike the last one?
From what I've heard, no. It's a lease.
Sports in Charlotte
in Charlotte Coffee House
Posted
I guess we have an Arena Football League team. I had no idea.
Carolina Energy
Now bring back indoor soccer.