Expansion Rumors Megathread
- Thread starter MagnusPax
- Start date
Remember when Atlanta was going to open their nice and shiny toy vs. Orlando City for the first game at Mercedes Benz? Well that isn't happening anymore...
http://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-united-won-open-mercedes-benz-stadium/VbaGcZx5exSzDMPFBF4NpI/
http://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-united-won-open-mercedes-benz-stadium/VbaGcZx5exSzDMPFBF4NpI/
Wow, they can't even play the intervening games at Georgia Tech and are going to have to reschedule 2-3 games it seems.
When will these teams learn it's not a good idea to bait and switch on your fanbase in your inaugural season?
That really only applies when the other party has the power to stop you from doing what you want. These are just self-inflicted wounds that weaken trust, although the Atlanta one much less so.
Starting to wonder if they can even get this done in time for Falcons.
What Atlanta wanted to do was sell tickets. The fans did have the power to not buy tickets.
Some X% were swayed by the ability to attend Y number of games in Mercedes-Benz. They were a lot more likely to lose ticket sales than they are to be asked for refunds. And honestly, this one will blow over quickly once the stadium finally opens, especially considering they are fielding a winning team.
And this is all assuming they knew all along they wouldn't be able to make their announced open date. I highly doubt they knew with certainty. They didn't even build in a scheduling buffer in case the opening date got moved back, nor had a contingency plan.
I'm not sure that their fans are all that unhappy with Bobby Dodd to begin with. Plus, there is only one additional game in Bobby Dodd. The rest will be played in MB, just not on the original date.
There are a couple of international match weekends when those games could be rescheduled, which would avoid forcing fans to switch from a weekend game to a midweek game, as well as having LA and Minnesota have to endure long travel midweek.
All-in-all, it's hardly a big black eye as not much should really change.
There are a couple of international match weekends when those games could be rescheduled, which would avoid forcing fans to switch from a weekend game to a midweek game, as well as having LA and Minnesota have to endure long travel midweek.
All-in-all, it's hardly a big black eye as not much should really change.
Things look to be progressing for Miami...
http://www.espnfc.us/major-league-s...ami-investment-group-adds-todd-boehly-sources
http://www.espnfc.us/major-league-s...ami-investment-group-adds-todd-boehly-sources
That kind of sucks, I was warming up to a Tampa Bay - Orlando rivalry. If Miami really does save itself at the 11th hour, I wonder if they could play a temporary season or two in Hard Rock Stadium to get them in the league in 2019.
The one problem I see with Tampa, is how close it is to Orlando. They are only 1-1.5 hours apart and I feel as though quite a few people in the Tampa area have already become Orlando fans. I was just in Tampa last weekend and saw a fair share of their OCSC car magnets around.
It isn't a done deal for Beckham. The league owners, at least a small group of them, aren't thrilled about this new guy getting to ride the coat tails of a $25M expansion fee when current fees go for $150M+. There is talk of not allowing him to partake - no idea if there's teeth in that rumor. I would have no problem if they jacked up the expansion fee considerably under the notion that this new guy moved the bar and wasn't part of the deal when Beckham exercised his option. Short of that, fck'm.... I like TB more.
With the massive caveat that none of us have seen the contract, but I highly doubt it requires Beckham to be the sole owner of this franchise. How were they expecting this to play out, exactly? Post-2007 owners most certainly saw this contract thru their due diligence process and knew what they were getting into.
If the cost of the franchise is the $200 million fee plus $300 million other expenses for a total of $500 million, and Beckham puts up $175 million in the form of his discount plus $25 million cash, he should receive 40% of the shares. Most likely he can then do whatever he wants with that 40%, including sell some of it to his partners or third parties, subject to whatever restrictions MLS owners have in their shareholders agreement.
I suppose issues could arise if these other investors are demanding Beckham take less than the share he's entitled to under the math above, in which case they are getting free equity.
It doesn't require Becks to be the sole owner - he already has an investor group that includes Simon Cowell and others. I believe the sticking point the other owners have is that Becks' consortium was identified when he exercised his option. I'm no lawyer and I haven't seen the contract, nor do I have a horse in the race (other than my father-in-law lives in TB area and I could see away games when visiting)....
I just personally think that Becks has had more than enough time to get the ball rolling, and since he hasn't, his terms shouldn't be amended (if that's what the owners are objecting to). We should all be pulling for another team to get his spot because it means minimum $125M more to be deposited in the league's coffers that goes towards (among other things) players' acquisition costs and CAP.
Of course, it really all depends on the way the contract is structured.
I would root for another team to get his spot, but I also highly, highly doubt that abandoning Miami would be a clean break. It would be likely to cost millions in litigation or settlement with Beckham.
Beckham can write it all off as a business tax loss and life lesson.
Seriously though, MLS would have been a collective fool if there weren't benchmark milestones that had to be achieved by certain dates.
They may have been. Pre-Beckham MLS was practically a completely different universe.
Damn. Sometimes, I sort of wish I had taken a job in Atlanta and held out for this club. They really just seem to get it on a level we generationally aspire to. Maybe NYCFC 3.0 will be here. We're not close, for now.
http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/st...ck-most-successful-expansion-team-mls-history
http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/st...ck-most-successful-expansion-team-mls-history
Atlanta is focusing all their efforts on soccer. They brought in a soccer guy to run their team in Eales. Our first president, Tim Pernetti was the AD at Rutgers so we took a New Jersey sports guy rather than a soccer business guy. That was probably the first mistake. The second was Kreis leading the roster building effort.
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