OT: Chances of Hartford getting MLS team?

[DarthGrumpy]

Rochester blew their chance. They took too long. They could have been the Green Bay Packers of MLS. But Rochester seems to be finding new ways to reinvent it's economy. This article is from two years ago.

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/mone...12-01-14/cnbc-kodak-small-business/52518528/1

If Rochester can't get a team, I don't see Hartford getting one soon. There's NYC FC starting next year, too. There goes a huge chunk of Fairfield County. Large markets is the name of the game in upper-tier spectator sports. Thus, the rise of football at UConn, UCF, USF, UTSA, ODU, etc.

NYC FC does not have a stadium yet, though. The plan is for them to play temporarily at Yankee (they are owned by the Yankees and Man City). The plans for a soccer only stadium near Citi Field fell through. Not sure what the new plan is if there is a plan. The can't look west as the Red Bulls are parked across the river in Harrison. As a FYI, NYC FC's Director of operations in Claudio Renya and the Chief Business Officer is Tim Pernetti, the former AD of Rutgers.

Any work on the NE Revs or DC United getting a soccer only stadium yet? I know MLS is pushing or it; but, both have been dragging along.

 

[ZooCougar]

I'm sure they will. They always are. My point was that the continuing interest is never there

You're right. And civilization will never survive Y2K either.

 

[upstater]

Rochester does well from what I have heard and they have a really nice stadium. Rochester overall has some really nice minor league facilities (baseball, hockey and soccer); but, many are worried how long it will last due to Kodak, Xerox and others leaving town and taking the money with them.

The Rhinos used to play on the baseball field, but they never bothered taking away the mound for games. That was fun stuff.

When the WNY Flash women's team started playing in the national women's soccer club, the local owner from Buffalo decided to build a nice stadium and invite the Rhinos to play there as well. The Flash have Abby Wambach on the team, and used to have the Brazilian Marta. The owner is the sausage king of WNY and his daughter used to play on the national team. The Flash training facility is in Buffalo.

 

[RedSoloCup]

The owner is the sausage king of WNY

Abe Froman?

 

[J187Money]

Awesome how deep the BC hatred is. A guy who isn't a BC fan picks a name with BC in it and gets attacked like he is satan.

If his name was UC Puckett he would have a platoon of defenders.

But now that we decided we hate him we need to keep up appearances.

(Even though he is generally spot on IMO with regards to the subject at hand)

 

[Waquoit]

Awesome how deep the BC hatred is. A guy who isn't a BC fan picks a name with BC in it and gets attacked like he is satan.

If his name was UC Puckett he would have a platoon of defenders.

Because they guy is such a troll, the BC connection was logically assumed. Either way, he would have been on ignore by now.

 

[Dooley]

Awesome how deep the BC hatred is. A guy who isn't a BC fan picks a name with BC in it and gets attacked like he is satan.

If his name was UC Puckett he would have a platoon of defenders.

But now that we decided we hate him we need to keep up appearances.

(Even though he is generally spot on IMO with regards to the subject at hand)

I don't care what his/her affiliation is, he/she is on ignore over what he/she replied to Zoo. Zoo asked a question, this troll answered with "do you still beat your wife?". Our board has had its fair share of fans from other conferences come over here and contribute with no problems. But I've grown exceptionally tired of these okielite types that come over here just to be a d0uche. The key is to identify them early. This particular d0uche made it easy to identify him/her with his/her response to Zoo so on ignore they went. Judging by the amount of comments directed at this troll after I put him/her on ignore, my guess is that the troll is still making similar d0uche comments.

 

[CodyJ.]

Is Hartford getting a MLS team a possibility? We already have a great stadium for them. The fan support is there as indicated in the ratings for the World Cup (Hartford is one of the highest ranked cities). Does Bob Kraft really have so much pull that the MLS won’t allow another team in his “territory”? If so, what are the chances of the Revolution moving? I have no idea how they do attendance-wise compared to other MLS teams.

US versus Ghana was the most watched game in ESPN history. The areas that had the most televisions tuned in wereWashington DC, New York and then Connecticut. #3 in the nation.

 

[ZooCougar]

Awesome how deep the BC hatred is. A guy who isn't a BC fan picks a name with BC in it and gets attacked like he is satan.

If his name was UC Puckett he would have a platoon of defenders.

But now that we decided we hate him we need to keep up appearances.

(Even though he is generally spot on IMO with regards to the subject at hand)

He's actually completely wrong. If you guys think MLS = the old NASL then you are hopelessly misinformed.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Hartford is getting NASL for Dillon Stadium, that's the first step toward the goal of MLS. The other big question looming over our chances is our long time buddy Robert Kraft, I believe he has final say on a team in Hartford. Our only saving grace would be if the Revs moved to a stadium in Revere or closer to Boston, which is what's been rumored. If that happens Kraft will forgo his territorial rights, opening up our chances.

I don't think it will happen, as most Revs fans come from the suburbs, and people like me won't go to Revere, which might as well be Mars, for anything. If they move it, it has to be to a more generally accessible, lower traffic, tailgate friendly location than is possible north or east of Boston. My guess is that they stay where they are. Patriot Place already has what they have in KC, and it is a draw for families.

 

[ZooCougar]

I don't think it will happen, as most Revs fans come from the suburbs, and people like me won't go to Revere, which might as well be Mars, for anything. If they move it, it has to be to a more generally accessible, lower traffic, tailgate friendly location than is possible north or east of Boston. My guess is that they stay where they are. Patriot Place already has what they have in KC, and it is a draw for families.

The best thing they could possibly do is build adjacent to Patriot Place and Gillette. It sounds like the next best thing is to do nothing.

 

[HuskyHawk]

The best thing they could possibly do is build adjacent to Patriot Place and Gillette. It sounds like the next best thing is to do nothing.

Yes. And for all the thoughts of tapping into the Hispanic community in Boston, the reality is that Boston is not really heavily Hispanic. The benefits of Foxboro are actually greater. Huge Brazilian population in Milford, big Portuguese population in and around Providence, big Cape Verdean and Hispanic population in Pawtucket, and then loads of suburban soccer-mom families all over.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Awesome how deep the BC hatred is. A guy who isn't a BC fan picks a name with BC in it and gets attacked like he is satan.

If his name was UC Puckett he would have a platoon of defenders.

But now that we decided we hate him we need to keep up appearances.

(Even though he is generally spot on IMO with regards to the subject at hand)

Well he is being a but I kinda agree with him too. We hear this every 4 years now with the World Cup. The Olympics garner ratings too but figure skating and track & field aren't exactly national sports around these parts.

It's still hype.

 

[upstater]

Abe Froman?

LOL, yes. Sort of, last name is Sahlen.

 

[upstater]

Awesome how deep the BC hatred is. A guy who isn't a BC fan picks a name with BC in it and gets attacked like he is satan.

If his name was UC Puckett he would have a platoon of defenders.

But now that we decided we hate him we need to keep up appearances.

(Even though he is generally spot on IMO with regards to the subject at hand)

I would not suggest someone go on the Alabama Tide site with the handle "Auburn Hair," or the UNC site with the handle "Duke of Durham," or the Pitt site with the handle "Mountain Boy" or the WV site with the handle "Brad Pitt" or the Syracuse site with the handle "4 Rings" or the Ohio State site with the handle "Calumet Wolverines" or the UCLA site with the handle "Trojan Magnum."

 

[bc puckett]

I agree that concussions are a concern in soccer. That is a documented fact. but, you provided no facts that soccer is useless in the US. If the TV ratings for the US/Ghana match were 6.2 and BC football's TV average ratings for football in 2013 was a 1.2m what\ does that make BC football? And yes, UConn's ratings were worse, 0.6; but that was still better that several P-5 teams (Cal, Iowa St, Kansas, Maryland, Rutgers, Utah, Virginia, Wake).

I neversaid soccer was "useless" in the United States. I simply pointed out that every 4 years we hear the same thing that soccer is "exploding" and is going to become the next huge sport. Sorry if I don't believe it.

Since hockey is my favorite sport let me use that as an analogy. Forgetting that after 1980 everyone became huge hockey fans and there were going to be rinks on every street corner, which obviously never happened as the interest faded quickly for the bandwagon types let's use the last two Winter Olympics as a comparable to the World Cup. You take the best players in the world playing for their country at the highest level and the sport looks great. The casual fan is drawn in and is interested for a least two weeks. TV ratings go through the roof especially for the U.S /Canada game in 2010. What happens next? The players go back to their own teams most to the NHL. Now even though the NHL is the best league in the world the quality of play drops, (the first post-Olympic break game this year was Carolina-Buffalo and was painful) and the casual fan who tunes in wonders what happen to the game he saw in the Olympics. Interest and ratings return to previous levels for the next 3 plus years. Now how are people watching the best teams/players perform in the World Cup going to react to the MLS which from what I've been told is the 5th or 6th best league in the world?


As for the ratings you're really trying to compare the ratings for a once every 4 year worldwide event to regular season college football? Seriously. Also why in the hell would I care about B.C.'s ratings for anything.

 

[bc puckett]

I would not suggest someone go on the Alabama Tide site with the handle "Auburn Hair," or the UNC site with the handle "Duke of Durham," or the Pitt site with the handle "Mountain Boy" or the WV site with the handle "Brad Pitt" or the Syracuse site with the handle "4 Rings" or the Ohio State site with the handle "Calumet Wolverines" or the UCLA site with the handle "Trojan Magnum."

I'm sorry my name offend you and the flock. It's simply the name of a character in a Dan Jenkins trilogy of very good football novels and one not so great movie which use TCU as a backdrop. So being a TCU fan it was an easy choice. To be honest I never gave the BC part a thought

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

I neversaid soccer was "useless" in the United States. I simply pointed out that every 4 years we hear the same thing that soccer is "exploding" and is going to become the next huge sport. Sorry if I don't believe it.

Since hockey is my favorite sport let me use that as an analogy. Forgetting that after 1980 everyone became huge hockey fans and there were going to be rinks on every street corner, which obviously never happened as the interest faded quickly for the bandwagon types let's use the last two Winter Olympics as a comparable to the World Cup. You take the best players in the world playing for their country at the highest level and the sport looks great. The casual fan is drawn in and is interested for a least two weeks. TV ratings go through the roof especially for the U.S /Canada game in 2010. What happens next? The players go back to their own teams most to the NHL. Now even though the NHL is the best league in the world the quality of play drops, (the first post-Olympic break game this year was Carolina-Buffalo and was painful) and the casual fan who tunes in wonders what happen to the game he saw in the Olympics. Interest and ratings return to previous levels for the next 3 plus years. Now how are people watching the best teams/players perform in the World Cup going to react to the MLS which from what I've been told is the 5th or 6th best league in the world?


As for the ratings you're really trying to compare the ratings for a once every 4 year worldwide event to regular season college football? Seriously. Also why in the hell would I care about B.C.'s ratings for anything.

Hate to say it but this is spot on.

 

[bc puckett]

I don't care what his/her affiliation is, he/she is on ignore over what he/she replied to Zoo. Zoo asked a question, this troll answered with "do you still beat your wife?". Our board has had its fair share of fans from other conferences come over here and contribute with no problems. But I've grown exceptionally tired of these okielite types that come over here just to be a d0uche. The key is to identify them early. This particular d0uche made it easy to identify him/her with his/her response to Zoo so on ignore they went. Judging by the amount of comments directed at this troll after I put him/her on ignore, my guess is that the troll is still making similar d0uche comments.

Is being "ignored by you supposed to be some kind of punishment ?

 

[upstater]

Hate to say it but this is spot on.

Sorry is increasing rapidly in popularity right now. The ratings for pro soccer leagues (not MLS) are higher. MLS teams are becoming more popular. Development is ramping up.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

I neversaid soccer was "useless" in the United States. I simply pointed out that every 4 years we hear the same thing that soccer is "exploding" and is going to become the next huge sport. Sorry if I don't believe it.

Since hockey is my favorite sport let me use that as an analogy. Forgetting that after 1980 everyone became huge hockey fans and there were going to be rinks on every street corner, which obviously never happened as the interest faded quickly for the bandwagon types let's use the last two Winter Olympics as a comparable to the World Cup. You take the best players in the world playing for their country at the highest level and the sport looks great. The casual fan is drawn in and is interested for a least two weeks. TV ratings go through the roof especially for the U.S /Canada game in 2010. What happens next? The players go back to their own teams most to the NHL. Now even though the NHL is the best league in the world the quality of play drops, (the first post-Olympic break game this year was Carolina-Buffalo and was painful) and the casual fan who tunes in wonders what happen to the game he saw in the Olympics. Interest and ratings return to previous levels for the next 3 plus years. Now how are people watching the best teams/players perform in the World Cup going to react to the MLS which from what I've been told is the 5th or 6th best league in the world?


As for the ratings you're really trying to compare the ratings for a once every 4 year worldwide event to regular season college football? Seriously. Also why in the hell would I care about B.C.'s ratings for anything.

In game average attendance for MLS in 2013 was 18,500, which is on par with both the NBA and NHL. So there is definitely sustained interest. The challenge has been TV viewership for MLS ,which has been horrendous, unlike viewership for the World Cup and several qualifiers (USA/Mexico had a 1.9 rating). The article linked below addresses that issue better than I can.

http://thebiglead.com/2013/11/12/mls-tv-ratings-are-lower-than-the-wnbas-can-the-league-do-anything-to-improve-them/

By the way, when is Kraft going to finally move forward with a soccer only stadium for the Revs? Boston is a very good soccer market and the Revs have a solid following; but, playing at the Razor both in terms of size and location are horrendous. Revere and Somervile have been begging for a soccer only stadium now for 3 or so years. MLS wants it. What’s Kraft’s problem?

 

[bc puckett]

In game average attendance for MLS in 2013 was 18,500, which is on par with both the NBA and NHL. So there is definitely sustained interest. The challenge has been TV viewership for MLS ,which has been horrendous, unlike viewership for the World Cup and several qualifiers (USA/Mexico had a 1.9 rating). The article linked below addresses that issue better than I can.

http://thebiglead.com/2013/11/12/mls-tv-ratings-are-lower-than-the-wnbas-can-the-league-do-anything-to-improve-them/

By the way, when is Kraft going to finally move forward with a soccer only stadium for the Revs? Boston is a very good soccer market and the Revs have a solid following; but, playing at the Razor both in terms of size and location are horrendous. Revere and Somervile have been begging for a soccer only stadium now for 3 or so years. MLS wants it. What’s Kraft’s problem?

Like anyone else I think he would like somebody else to pay for it or a least contribute and so far he's found no takers.

 

[ZooCougar]

Hate to say it but this is spot on.

It's really not.

Since 2002 there have been many soccer specific stadiums built for MLS and other Leagues in the US.

We get MLS, EPL and other league scores on the bottom of screens on every sports network.

10 years ago you might be hard pressed to find soccer on TV, they were on niche networks on Fox Soccer Channel, now it's on ESPN, NBC Sports, FOX, Time Warner Sports.

MLS outdraws MLB in 6-7 cities now, including Kansas City.

MLS just signed major new TV contract with two networks, forgot the $ value but it wasn't insignificant.

I hjave been to many MLS games. They are fun and affordable. I can take my girlfriend and her son to see Sporting KC for less than a hundred bucks and sit in a beautiful world class stadium that doesn't have a bad seat in the house.... that's if I can even get tickets. The place is always packed.

On Sunday, there will be 20,000 people in KC Power and Light district watching the game. It's huge here. Nobody even gives a crap about the Royals anymore!




That's just for starters. Sorry Jimmy, I like you, but you stick and ball curmudgeons are wrong on this.

 

[ZooCougar]

In game average attendance for MLS in 2013 was 18,500, which is on par with both the NBA and NHL. So there is definitely sustained interest. The challenge has been TV viewership for MLS ,which has been horrendous, unlike viewership for the World Cup and several qualifiers (USA/Mexico had a 1.9 rating). The article linked below addresses that issue better than I can.

http://thebiglead.com/2013/11/12/mls-tv-ratings-are-lower-than-the-wnbas-can-the-league-do-anything-to-improve-them/

By the way, when is Kraft going to finally move forward with a soccer only stadium for the Revs? Boston is a very good soccer market and the Revs have a solid following; but, playing at the Razor both in terms of size and location are horrendous. Revere and Somervile have been begging for a soccer only stadium now for 3 or so years. MLS wants it. What’s Kraft’s problem?

As MLS continues to improve and more players with name recognition come home, the league will have more juice. But MLS has a good problem that other leagues don't have, the in person experience is superior to watching at home. That's been the key to those big attendance figures.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

It's really not.

Since 2002 there have been many soccer specific stadiums built for MLS and other Leagues in the US.

We get MLS, EPL and other league scores on the bottom of screens on every sports network.

10 years ago you might be hard pressed to find soccer on TV, they were on niche networks on Fox Soccer Channel, now it's on ESPN, NBC Sports, FOX, Time Warner Sports.

MLS outdraws MLB in 6-7 cities now, including Kansas City.

MLS just signed major new TV contract with two networks, forgot the $ value but it wasn't insignificant.

I hjave been to many MLS games. They are fun and affordable. I can take my girlfriend and her son to see Sporting KC for less than a hundred bucks and sit in a beautiful world class stadium that doesn't have a bad seat in the house.... that's if I can even get tickets. The place is always packed.

On Sunday, there will be 20,000 people in KC Power and Light district watching the game. It's huge here. Nobody even gives a crap about the Royals anymore!




That's just for starters. Sorry Jimmy, I like you, but you stick and ball curmudgeons are wrong on this.

All good to disagree Zoo. Keep in mind that I'm not arguing that soccer isn't more popular than it was in the US 10 years ago.

Looking forward to 2018 when you tell me that soccer is the next big thing.