Discuss.
http://raleighphilosociety.blogspot.com/2010/07/head-of-us-club-soccer-wants-mls.html

7/13/2010 12:55:59 PM

Won't happen in the near future. But if it did, I'd hope they'd move the Railhawks up instead of creating a new franchise.

7/13/2010 12:59:27 PM

i wish this thread were in Chit Chat


thus, I have nothing to add

7/13/2010 1:01:10 PM

^thxu.

7/13/2010 1:09:57 PM

Middleschool League Soccer

7/13/2010 1:19:22 PM

won't happen

There are a number of better markets without teams - 2nd NY team, STL, Miami, Atlanta, San Diego, San Antonio, Detroit

7/13/2010 1:25:14 PM

i don't see it happening...but it'd be nice to have a stadium in those few blocks were lincoln/mcdonalds are now. I don't think I'd miss seeing Appetite for Destruction or ZoSo every month.

[Edited on July 13, 2010 at 1:25 PM. Reason : NC is big for youth soccer, I could see it working]

7/13/2010 1:25:24 PM

GO COURAGE!!!1

7/13/2010 1:27:13 PM

i have so much courage merchandise

including no less than four replica balls that are uninflated

and they're select numero 10s, so they'd be excellent for rec league play or pickup games

7/13/2010 1:29:39 PM

everywhere is big with youth soccer, it's just that all the kids decide to go to different sports after they get older

7/13/2010 1:30:56 PM

^^As do I. My sister worked for them.

7/13/2010 1:42:18 PM

Quote :

"There are a number of better markets without teams - 2nd NY team, STL, Miami, Atlanta, San Diego, San Antonio, Detroit"

NYC doesn't deserve a second team. They have trouble drawing fans for their team already. They played in the same stadium as 2 NFL football teams that draw large crowds and the only time they had big crowds was for the David Beckham game and when a European team came to town.

7/13/2010 1:53:29 PM

Why do you try to talk to me like I don't know anything about soccer?


I was in NY this weekend for a Red Bulls game and there were about 15k there... I'll be shocked if they don't sell out the majority of the rest of their games now that Henry's going there too.

Also, it took me over an hour to get there from Manhattan. Stop treating NYC the same as any other city. They need more than one team.

7/13/2010 1:57:15 PM

I went to a man utd vs juventus game in giant stadium and i think there were roughly 80 thousand people there, one of the biggest crowds they'd ever had. so people will watch if they have good soccer in nyc.

7/13/2010 2:02:54 PM

^^I'm not talking to you like you don't know soccer. I just think they need to spread the league out a little more. Someday when there are 30,000+ pissed off people because they can't get tickets to a Red Bulls game then they should add a second team maybe. Even after that I am sure there will probably still be other markets that could draw 15k if things were done correctly.

7/13/2010 2:21:24 PM

sorry but it's all about $$$

New York is a proven soccer market and is more than big enough for two teams... 15k is what they draw when they have one of the shittiest MLS franchises ever playing in a shitty stadium for soccer (Metro never averaged under 14k for a season, btw). Like Winger said, when the soccer's good enough, they can get up to 80k to watch games

ask hockey how their expansion strategy of finding untapped markets to spread their footprint out worked

7/13/2010 2:35:18 PM

well, kids from california and other places that are non-traditional hockey markets are starting to get drafted into juniors and the majors

so i'd say that part is going according to plan.

7/13/2010 3:14:53 PM

i dunno, columbus seems to be working out pretty good for the MLS, and i think san jose is as well if i'm not mistaken. and the WNBA seems to be doing well in connecticut. i don't think it's absolutely necessary to cater to larger markets first and foremost. i think raleigh could be a decent market for the MLS. if i still lived in raleigh, and they had an MLS team (or if they moved the railhawks up or something) i would probably go to the games. what else is there to do in the summer? i would probably go to the chicago fire games if they didn't play out in the suburbs, but i'm not crazy about the idea of the potential raleigh team being downtown. i'm not sure downtown could support something that isn't used every month of the year

[Edited on July 13, 2010 at 3:21 PM. Reason : ]

7/13/2010 3:19:13 PM

San Jose is the bottom in attendance in the league and the Crew is doing better recently but still struggles - http://www.mls-daily.com/2010/03/2010-mls-attendance.html - But I didn't mean to say they're worthless or that I think Raleigh would completely suck. I just think when there are proven big soccer markets like NY available, they're more attractive options (if there are investors)


you also have to think about market size when you're trying to pull in big name players - Henry was only coming to MLS to play for New York, just like Beckham was only going to come for LA or NY. This isn't like American sports where stars have no choice but to play in Oklahoma City or Kansas City. Like Philadelphia was trying to get Robert Pires and he said he'd rather play in a more beautiful city. If Philly has problems getting big players, how would Columbus have any chance

7/13/2010 3:38:12 PM

This would be a huge ploy in order to get the World Cup at the Wake Med Soccer Park in the near future.

7/13/2010 3:48:17 PM

^^that's probably true (about the players only wanting to play in certain cities) but since the MLS is still just a feeder league to europe, markets like raleigh (or columbus) would just be about showcasing up and coming talent anyways. but yeah, it all depends on investors, and sometimes it's probably easier to build a soccer specific stadium in a small city like raleigh than deal with the nyc planning department. honestly, if i were an investor in raleigh, i'd be looking to build a stadium near the rbc center/fairgrounds. hell, carter finley could possibly afford the same atmosphere of some of these new soccer stadiums popping up in the MLS.


it's crazy that such new teams like philly and seattle are doing so well. definitely a positive sign for the growth of the league



V i still think Chivas USA is the dumbest fucking name for a professional sports team

[Edited on July 13, 2010 at 4:05 PM. Reason : ]

7/13/2010 4:00:25 PM

even though it was a bitch for them to get their own stadium

Real Salt Lake has been a huge success, in spite of the dumbest fucking name in sports and small market

so I mean, there's always hope for smaller markets like Raleigh, I just can't see it happening unless MLS is at like 30 teams (which is a long way away)

7/13/2010 4:03:23 PM

Quote :

"^^that's probably true (about the players only wanting to play in certain cities) but since the MLS is still just a feeder league to europe, markets like raleigh (or columbus) would just be about showcasing up and coming talent anyways. but yeah, it all depends on investors, and sometimes it's probably easier to build a soccer specific stadium in a small city like raleigh than deal with the nyc planning department. honestly, if i were an investor in raleigh, i'd be looking to build a stadium near the rbc center/fairgrounds. hell, carter finley could possibly afford the same atmosphere of some of these new soccer stadiums popping up in the MLS."

Carter Finley isn't nearly wide enough for soccer.

7/13/2010 11:05:48 PM

Kasey Keller just got hurt on a retarded play, i dont even know why i'm watching the mls, maybe world cup withdraw

7/15/2010 9:32:22 PM

Quote :

"Real Salt Lake has been a huge success, in spite of the dumbest fucking name in sports and small market "

that really is the dumbest name in sports

7/15/2010 9:35:40 PM

There's also a Real Maryland in the USL 2 (league the Charlotte Eagles playin). As a matter of fact, they're in Charlotte Saturday night.

7/16/2010 1:12:06 AM

So are they representing the Morman king or something?

7/16/2010 2:59:46 AM

^^^Yeh MLS seems to think it makes them look good when they copy names of famous clubs from around the world (Real, Chivas). In the end it only makes the league look retarded.

7/16/2010 4:22:34 PM

But isn't Chivas owned by the Mexican Chivas team? That actually makes sense, unlike just lifting the word "Real" from Madrid.

7/17/2010 7:43:57 PM

Real Salt Lake has a formal cooperation agreement with Real Madrid.

Real Madrid pays for half of the RSL Academy, for instance.

7/17/2010 7:56:24 PM

^In the end...both names are still retarded.

7/18/2010 1:39:45 AM

It's not a stupid name. Any Spanish club with "Real" in their name has been the subject of patronage from the king at some point in time.

7/18/2010 12:55:16 PM

^This isn't Spain...This is America. Maybe they should start a new sports team over there and call them the Yankees.

7/18/2010 1:03:52 PM

And by that token, perhaps Real Salt Lake is stupid.

You said BOTH were stupid, which simply isn't true.

7/18/2010 1:18:08 PM

^Chivas USA is a shitty name too.

7/18/2010 1:22:02 PM

I, too, enjoy completely ignoring things after I get called on them.

7/18/2010 1:23:15 PM

^When I said borth are stupid I meant both MLS names.

7/18/2010 2:41:26 PM

real raleigh

i'd go to a lot of games if it were mls only

but railhawks, etc i can't get into

7/18/2010 2:43:32 PM

bad investment. raleigh and cary would be better for a football team than european sports like soccer or northern hockey.

7/18/2010 3:07:26 PM

Big day today.

7/19/2017 11:07:54 AM

7/19/2017 11:10:13 AM

7/19/2017 11:25:12 AM

Very excited but doesnt a downtown location bring lots of concerns about money needed for the build? Thats a teardown of existing buildings, purchasing of land from various stakeholders, and potential traffic infrastructure changes. Seems like fan support would need to be huge from day one to keep this thing afloat. Undeveloped land in Cary wouldve been a better option IMO.

7/19/2017 11:32:44 AM

Supposedly will go at Seaboard Station

http://www.wralsportsfan.com/north-carolina-fc-submits-formal-mls-bid/16828817/

7/19/2017 11:34:59 AM

Yes across the street.



[Edited on July 19, 2017 at 11:40 AM. Reason : Photo]

7/19/2017 11:39:34 AM

Cary wouldn't be an option unless the entire structure was beige and they took down all the signs.

7/19/2017 11:41:30 AM

The rendering had fireworks. Cary's out.

7/19/2017 11:46:01 AM

looks great. not a soccer fan, but I could see myself going to a few games at a place like that.

but where's the parking?

[Edited on July 19, 2017 at 12:17 PM. Reason : /]

7/19/2017 12:17:01 PM

Also worth noting that the land that Wake Med currently sits on is presumably going up in value with the Wegmans/IKEA/Mixed Use buildings going in adjacent on Cary Towne Blvd.

7/19/2017 12:26:42 PM

I'm thinking about going to the rally today. Anyone else going? Free beer from Lonerider. I do wish I had shorts though.

7/19/2017 1:14:27 PM