Charlotte Lands MLS Team

[Drew]

Background: Charlotte Cancels Bid/Project For MLS Team

 

[Drew]

 

[Drew]

 

[UCFBfan]

Team number 30. Ridiculous....they want to get to 32??? Name me any other league in the world that is remotely close to that. I looked at English leagues and even leagues below the Prem, Championship-League 2, have 24 teams. Those leagues at least have relegation and promotion so the amount of teams is viable because at the end of the year, the Top 8 are all fighting to move up.

Pro/Rel will never happen in MLS but they must have reached the over saturation point. There's no way this league can support this many teams with quality players. I'll be honest, I haven't watched a MLS game in awhile. However, I watched a few this summer and the product was no better than when I watched a few years back. Watering down the talent pool makes it worse.

 

[Waquoit]

It's a Ponzi scheme.

 

[ZooCougar]

Another boring plastic team in an antiseptic city. No I don’t want fries with that.

 

[Excalibur]

Another boring plastic team in an antiseptic city. No I don’t want fries with that.

I don't get all the love for Charlotte. It's exactly as you say -- antiseptic. There are lots of great cities in the South. Charlotte isn't one of them.

 

[Butch]

Charlotte got a team instead of Raleigh because it is more accessible for people in South Carolina. Larger overall market.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

Charlotte got a team instead of Raleigh because it is more accessible for people in South Carolina. Larger overall market.

Beyond Charlotte’s larger metro population than Raleigh-Durham and similar fast growth, MLS was likely enticed by a larger # of Fortune 500 and 1000 companies and the NFL Panthers’ massively affluent owner. ‘tis what it is, the MLS way

 

[meyers7]

Gotta go with Charlotte Charlatans, right?

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

Gotta go with Charlotte Charlatans, right?

Nah, more likely an MLS-approved FC, United, AC, City, etc, or something else with limited opportunity for snowflakes of any age to view as remotely un-PC. In 2020 USA, safe to guess Charlotte Arsenal or Carolina Gunners may not fly.

 

[ZooCougar]

Charlotte City United FC

 

[LIuconn]

We’re overdue for another ‘Real’

Looking forward to them revealing the clip art logo that harkens back to the roots of this city and community of transplants

 

[Butch]

Charlotte City United FC

Club Deportivo Inter Real Charlotte Sporting Town City Forest United Palace Rangers Wanderers Athletic FC SC.

(Takes a bow.)

 

[kingdobbs]

Nah, more likely an MLS-approved FC, United, AC, City, etc, or something else with limited opportunity for snowflakes of any age to view as remotely un-PC. In 2020 USA, safe to guess Charlotte Arsenal or Carolina Gunners may not fly.

If “not offending the snowflakes” was the actual reason, which it isn’t, it’s infinitely preferable to the real reason, which is “we want to pretend we are European soccer”.

 

[ZooCougar]

If “not offending the snowflakes” was the actual reason, which it isn’t, it’s infinitely preferable to the real reason, which is “we want to pretend we are European soccer”.

that would be a good start.

 

[Mr. Conehead]

My own thoughts...

MLS commish on Charlotte team: No deal yet

Major League Soccer will try to reach an agreement for its 30th team to be Charlotte, North Carolina, which could start play as soon as 2021.

www.espn.com

1) MLS is a business and the league's #1 revenue source seems to be expansion fees at this time. The league and its owners have become addicted to this revenue and it's going to eventually bite the league in the arse. It's already impacting USMNT as half the team's strategy seems to be to use USMNT players to market MSL teams, i.e. have nearly every MLS team represented on the National team. I have no issue with new owners wanting it; but, make them work for it like new owners do in Europe - buy a top tier team (without relocating) or buy a lower team and then invest in the team to push them into the top tier via Promotion. Problem is, MLS and the owner's ego can't handle the fact that if they don't continue to invest in their teams, they could get kicked-out via Regulation.

2) The success of Atlanta and Seattle playing in NFL stadiums is the exception not the standard. Charlotte is the 23rd largest metro area (including part of SC) in the country with 2.57 million people whereas Atlanta is 9th with 5.50 million and Seattle is 15th with 3.94 Million. Seattle has always had a strong soccer fan base and finding suitable land at a reasonable price in with public transit access that area is difficult, so putting them in Century Link Field was a pragmatic decision. Atlanta does not have the land challenges, a smaller fan base. Instead, it has an owner in Athrur Blank who bought the NFL Falcons in 2002, failed to buy the MLB Braves in 2007 and began pushing Fulton County in 2010 (Jerry Jone's AT&T Stadium opening a year before in 2009 was not a concidence) to replace the Georgia Dome, which was ancient having been built just 18 years earlier in 1992, with a new, tax-payer subsidized stadium, which resulted in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium opening in 2017. His push into MLS felt like a way to 'sell' the Mercedes-Benz concept the Fulton County in that the venue would be used more (and to increase his own revenue). Atlanta FC and Mercedes-Benz have been a wild success, which si great; but, will the team continue to draw if their performance falters over the course of a few seasons. Just look at what has happened with the New England Revolution. Teppler, who bough the Panthers in in 2018, appears to want to be Charlotte's version of Arthur Blank. He wants tax payers to subsidize a new or renovated Bank of America stadium, which was opened in 1996, for his investment. But, he is dealing with a smaller market, a smaller fan base, and a county government (Mecklenburg) that is historically less open to using public money to build private stadiums (see the history of the Charlotte Hornets/Bobcats). Thus, he sees an MLS team and that $300 Million investment as a way to get what he wants.

3) I actually like Charlotte as I have spent some time there for work and a job interview, which didn't work out. From a business viewpoint, its growing rapidly and is home to some major corporations (Bank of America, Honeywell, Lowe's, Sun Trust Bank, etc.), which means potential corporate sponsorships and suite sales, has a good airport, and while is suffers from suburban spread (and a lack of good pizza choices) while people are just beginning to live in downtown (they call it uptown), it's a 90 minute drive to the mountains (Ashville) and 3 to 4 hours to the beaches (Wilmington, Myrtle Beach and Charleston). Raleigh/Durham has the soccer history and a plan or a soccer-only stadium downtown; but, it's only the 36th largest metro area with 1.94 million people (just ahead of Nashville ironically), it has no signficant public transit network, and while many corpaotions are in the area, very few are headquartered there. Plus, its a college sports town - just ask the Carolina Whalers.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

If “not offending the snowflakes” was the actual reason, which it isn’t, it’s infinitely preferable to the real reason, which is “we want to pretend we are European soccer”.

Clearly, MLS’ let’s pretend we are kind of sort of like a quality European leagues applies. Concurrently, even most reasonable Yanks and Canadians readily acknowledge non-PC team names, mascots, advertising, etc are verboten in 2019/20.

Safe to say Carolina Bible-toters or Confederates, and Charlotte Cherokees, Catawba, or some other descendants of early arriving Asian immigrants are out. Hornets, Panthers both taken; Copperheads, Cougars ... available!

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

Charlotte 30th, and purportedly MLS’ final franchise, says Garber. Until, # 31’s announced ...

Fuentes AP: Charlotte será el equipo número 30 en la MLS

CHARLOTTE, Carolina del Norte, EE.UU. (AP) — Charlotte será sede de un nuevo equipo de expansión de la MLS, la liga profesional de fútbol de Estados Unidos, informaron a The Associated Press dos...

apnews.com

 

[LIuconn]

Haha exactly. Price of team 31 (and beyond) starting at 500m

 

[ZooCougar]

This is less about franchise fees and more about getting the maximum amount of markets in place before the next TV negotiations. The current deal is up in 2022. I think MLS had 20 teams when last deal went into effect.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

This is less about franchise fees and more about getting the maximum amount of markets in place before the next TV negotiations. The current deal is up in 2022. I think MLS had 20 teams when last deal went into effect.

Oh sure, media negotiations and franchise fees each play a role in expansion franchise # 21 or so through the latest favorite. Charlotte Royal SC, United Carolina AC, Sporting NC SC or whatever in their initial NFL stadium before the owner hits up NC or SC tax dollars for a SSS.

 

[Mr. Conehead]

Oh sure, media negotiations and franchise fees each play a role in expansion franchise # 21 or so through the latest favorite. Charlotte Royal SC, United Carolina AC, Sporting NC SC or whatever in their initial NFL stadium before the owner hits up NC or SC tax dollars for a SSS.

Tepper is getting $110 Million in tax breaks from Charlotte/Mecklenburg County to make 'improvements' to Bank of America Stadium (built in 1994) to get it ready to host a MLS team. This compares to $20 Million that Minnesota taxpayers paid for their franchise and $15 Million in tax breaks for St. Louis.

$110 Million is a of of money to build new locker rooms and a new mid-pitch entrance tunnel in the stadium for those lockers, which are the two 'renovations' that Tepper has mentioned. Some of the money may go into building a practice facility and academy (unlike Raleigh, Charlotte does not have a facility and local acadmey network already in place) for this new MLS franchise on city-owned land east of downtown, though Tepper seems to be angling for more money from Charlotte/Mecklenburg to do so based on his recent statement - "I have another practice facility that’s being built just somewhere else where we have s***load of land. Wait, let me not say that word. Where we have a lot of land. We can do it down there. But if we can do this partnership which is not operationally cheaper for me to do as you guys can imagine, we’ll do it." Some of the money may also go to building a new 'entertainment' district to the west of Bank of America stadium that Teper wants to develop once the NFL Panthers move to a new practice facility just over the border in Fort Mill, South Carolina (see above). Rumor has it that Charlotte is looking at the same plot of land for a baseball stadium should MLB expand in the next decade as its next to both Bank Of America and their new train station.

Even if Tepper gets his way, it is expected that within the next decade he will be going back to the taxpayers for even more money as he wants a Mercedes Benz type stadium for himself in Charlotte, which was highlighted by this statement - "That other city, there’s another city down the road, to the west," Tepper said. "Charlotte is hot. OK, we’re the hot city. Screw that other city, OK? We’re going to have one hell of a rivalry."

 

[LIuconn]

MLS as seen by Europe.

Olivier Giroud:

"Didier Deschamps warned me. We briefly spoke about MLS, and no, that was not an option for me if I wanted to be at the Euros

 

[Kgun7]

MLS as seen by Europe.

Olivier Giroud:

"Didier Deschamps warned me. We briefly spoke about MLS, and no, that was not an option for me if I wanted to be at the Euros

Serious question:

Stay glued to the bench at Chelsea (until recently), or start and play regularly in the MLS?? Which would prepare him better to make the French Euros squad this summer??