Stadium Discussion
- Thread starter Gene
- Start date
I highly doubt Yankees give two shits about NYCFC. If it means buying out the Yankees share then CFG has to do it.
Or they gave us lip service with the “20 odd sites” and always only wanted to build in the Bronx for whatever reasons (belief that’s their fan base, co-branding with the Yankees, etc...). The club wouldn’t ever say anything untrue to us, would they?
Doesn't matter either way. Yankees only care about us in that we fill Yankee Stadium for another 17-20 dates a year. That's more money in their pockets. As for CFG, are we even #2 on their priority list after Man City?
People pointing out that USL to Willets Point means NYCFC are building in Bronx are looking through rose colored glasses. There's nothing positive to come out of this.
I would say this could be cleared up by Brad Sims, but I haven't seen anything from him outside of an interview on NYCFC's website. Where's the outreach to supporters? How about a state of the organization address?
You're crazy if you think NYCFC fans jump boat for a second division team en masse. QFC will be a nice affiliate, and I think CFG isn't sweating Queens, but is confident in the Bronx. It's simply the best place for the fanbase and the team. QFC is going to be filled with a bunch of Mikey Lopezes and will never be a competitor from a roster perspective, visibility perspective, financial perspective, etc. By the time the team is up and running, I'd bet we have announced our stadium. That still gives 2-3 years, if not more. This is still America, people just don't want to support non-top-flight leagues. We witness it every week when Premier League TV ratings crush MLS ratings.
Can most people distinguish between Mikey Lopez and Ben Sweat? There are no stars on NYCFC anymore. It used to be the average fan could name David Villa on our roster. If he plays for QFC look out. And if he brings a couple friends with him...
Yes, the Ben Sweat that got a National Team call-up months ago. Anyone who has paid attention and was interested in soccer already saw Villa play 5 years ago and probably his decline in form. All of Villa's friends are retiring or close to it. This is really the last thing I'd worry about. It's hard enough getting any sort of popular talent to come to the States, but to play in our second division without pro/rel?
Per your scenario, once NYCFC announces their stadium, in that 2-3 year time frame, it’s still another 3 years to build. If not announced this year, 5-6 years is a long time for the fan base to stick it out at Yankee stadium. Meanwhile, QFC will likely have a functioning venue for multiple seasons.
And who’s to say Villa would stock the team with Mikey Lopezes? I don’t believe the USL has a salary cap, and USL players and the league are also close to ratifying a CBA. Not saying Villa would pull an original Cosmos and spend crazy money in a pyramid fashion, but 15k attendance and NYC marketing opportunities would allow for some spending flexibility, and he’s be free to negotiate his own jersey deal - NYCFC probably averages down with the Adidas deal being shared evenly amongst the league.
I haven’t jumped yet, but I’m fascinated by the possibilities and admire that QFC appears to be making more progress on the city/stadium front than NYCFC has in 5+ years. I also have an aversion towards an ownership group that treats its club as a 2nd class citizen within their own org compared to an owner that would have one sole entity to focus on.
Drogba? I’m wondering with revenue and exposure increasing is it going move USL Championship into MLS 2.0 mode. It might start to make sense to sign older names to large contracts as MLS’ academies start to blossom and they are more interested in young player or grooming YDPs for high transfer fees later on. I think the days of older players coming to MLS as a retirement league are over. They need somewhere new in the US that will take them. Remember USL doesn’t have a salary cap to worry about.
It will be at least 10 years before any team is playing soccer at Willets point
If that’s the case then it’s all a moot point, but what do you base that on, or are you simply playing the “10 sounds like a nice round number” card?
I’d wager I have a little more experience in the realm and understanding the logistics, so if a decision is made to move forward, it won’t be 10 years.
There's a ton out there that clearly shows NYCFC has gone hard after Queens over the last two years.
I'm not going to insist on it being 10 years but remember that the location is still car repair places on uneven polluted ground with no existing infrastructure as far as I know. I could easily imagine it being at least two to three years before they can even start construction even if everything's settled tomorrow.
Note however that I'm not a civil engineer so I'm no expert in these things.
That's the key. This is supposedly just one proposal, so it needs to be evaluated amongst other proposals, chosen, litigated to hell and back, then hopefully given the greenlight. I know you are well aware of all these issues so I'm not telling you anything you dont know, but we must have different confidence levels in how long it will take to cut the ribbon. I just dont see this long stalled, highly public and controversial plot of land moving fast without mega scrutiny.
The stadium is tied to affordable housing- infrastructure and environmental cleanup will be pushed to get the housing done and the stadium benefits from that push - won’t be as fast for the other proposal. And sitting politicians will want to see it finished on their watch since it’s an anchor-type trophy for their political resume. 10 years is an outlier.
A Queens stadium in the hand is worth a Bronx stadium in the bush. Whatever else we know or can say about this process, we can be certain that it’s been extremely difficult with no guarantee—at all—of success. So it strikes me as pretty much high fantasy to say the team was probably “offered” a stadium at Willets Point and turned it down
The soon to be created USL team was mentioned as a possibility. The MLS team was mentioned as a frame of reference, not as a possibility.
