https://mailchi.mp/df02fbb2381a/ctqxixnd42-12189275
Single Game Tickets
Rowdies single game tickets are now on sale!
Our season kicks off in just a few weeks, so grab your tickets now!
From our home opener on Saturday, March 21st to our seven theme nights, fireworks, and more, you won't want to miss a second of Rowdies soccer in 2020!
BUY TICKETS
If you have any questions, email tickets@rowdiessoccer.com. Tickets through this presale are available online only. Tickets are subject to availability.
https://mpv.tickets.com/schedule/
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TampaBayRowdies/comments/f9ap4e/ralphs_mob_updated_statement_on_smoke_use_at_al/
Ralph’s Mob: Updated Statement on Smoke Use at Al Lang
Huh, I had no idea they were cold-burning smoke devices.
To me this sounds like the fire marshal has a stick up his ass and made a decision without fully understanding the equipment.
Now, even with a full understanding of the situation, he is going to stick to his initial judgment.
Moving forward I don't see the city going against the fire marshal and overruling his opinion. That would be a bad look for the City and the public safety departments. A fire marshal should be someone the public can trust to make rationale decisions and the City undermining him would lower the public's trust
I think the manner in which the chief handled the decision is really in question here. As FC, it's his duty to investigate and recommend safety protocols based on facts. He did no investigation and did not use facts to make his decision. I cannot claim corruption without proof, but....if it walks like a pelican and dances like a pelican....
At the very least it has the blatant appearance of attempting to monetize the fire service. Even though our use of smoke appears to lay outside his scope of responsibility.
the Fire Marshal has just been used as muscle for this whole thing and most likely has nothing to do with their personal opinion.
So who is pulling the strings, in your opinion?
A Fire Marshal need to protect tge public trust by acting in a responsible and rational manner according to the law. Even if he can make his own determinations that shouldn't exceed the scope of said laws. I.e. you can't simply make shit up.
The city needs to protect the public trust by holding his feet to the fire!!
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TampaBayRowdies/comments/f9lm03/st_pete_clearwater_events_tampa_bay_rowdies/
St Pete Clearwater Events: Tampa Bay Rowdies:
Found the video on YT uhhhh 257k??? Is that replaying somewhere in a store or something?
I'm pretty sure this the city advertising that there will be smoke.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3H-A2WHKxNQ&feature=youtu.be
SPC Events: Tampa Bay Rowdies
Visit St. Pete Clearwater
It just doesn’t get more St. Pete than experiencing a Tampa Bay Rowdies match! Amiright or amiright?! And right now our squad is currently undefeated! Even more reason to come out and cheer on our boys in yellow and green! Come On You Rowdies!
Get the lineup of games at RowdiesSoccer.com
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https://www.cltampa.com/arts-entertainment/film-tv/article/21118323/tampas-gasparilla-international-film-festival-releases-2020-lineup
Tampa's Gasparilla International Film Festival releases 2020 lineup
CL Tampa Bay's Gasparilla Arts Month guide.
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https://www.cltampa.com/arts-entertainment/film-tv/article/21118318/gasparilla-international-film-festival-is-the-tip-of-the-iceberg-in-tampa-bays-film-scene
Gasparilla International Film Festival is the tip of the iceberg in Tampa Bay's film scene
CL Tampa Bay's Gasparilla Arts Month guide.
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https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2020/02/25/inter-miamis-david-beckham-and-jorge-mas-reveal-latest-third-dp-search-agustin
Inter Miami's David Beckham and Jorge Mas reveal latest on third DP search, Agustin Almendra interest
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https://www.forbes.com/sites/ianquillen/2020/02/25/betting-odds-underestimate-chicago-fire-fc-and-inter-miami-according-to-fivethirtyeight/#4696636370ea
Betting Odds Underestimate David Beckham’s Inter Miami, According To FiveThirtyEight
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https://www.wfmz.com/news/pr_newswire/pr_newswire_sports/haig-club-clubman-lands-in-miami-as-official-whisky-of/article_1faf8b75-8773-5e5d-95df-dad22249e426.html
HAIG CLUB Clubman Lands In Miami As Official Whisky Of Inter Miami CF
Specialty HAIG CLUB Clubman cocktails available for 21+ purchase in stadium throughout 2020
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https://www.espn.com/soccer/major-league-soccer/story/4059652/mls-power-rankings-seattle-on-toplafc-no-2-inter-miami-has-a-long-way-to-go
MLS Power Rankings: Seattle on top, LAFC No. 2; Inter Miami has a long way to go
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https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2020/02/25/nashville-sc-talk-expectations-anticipation-ahead-long-awaited-mls-opener
Nashville SC talk expectations, anticipation ahead of long-awaited MLS opener
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https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/soccer-no-virtual-offside-line-in-mls-this-season-says-head-official-webb-2020-02-25
Soccer-No virtual offside line in MLS this season says head official Webb
Video Assistant Referee has its critics in Major League Soccer, not least Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but for the most part it has avoided the widespread fan antipathy that has roiled the English Premier League, German Bundesliga and elsewhere.
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https://the18.com/soccer-news/mls-var-updates-2020
MLS Won’t Use One Of The Worst Parts Of English Premier League’s VAR In 2020
THE FIRST LEAGUE TO FULLY INSTITUTE VAR IS KEEPING THINGS SIMPLE.
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https://mlsmultiplex.com/2020/02/25/mls-money-motivator-liga-mx-movement/
MLS: Money the motivator for Liga MX movement
More than in any previous offseason, MLS teams have signed players from Liga MX. Money is the primary motivation for the transfer, but it doesn’t always have to be.
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https://soccer.nbcsports.com/2020/02/25/major-league-soccer-jurgen-damm-liga-mx-free-transfer-atlanta-la-galaxy/
El Tri winger Jurgen Damm headed for MLS this summer
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https://sports.yahoo.com/david-beckham-inter-miami-finally-144300681.html
Beckham’s Inter Miami finally ready to arrive
This weekend Inter Miami CF will finally arrive in Major League Soccer.
Their much-anticipated MLS debut comes six years after David Beckham was awarded an expansion franchise in the Floridian city as his dream of owning a team is about to come true.
Good things come to those who wait, it seems.
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https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2020/02/25/david-beckham-luis-robles-being-named-inter-miami-captain-he-has-aura-about-him
David Beckham on Luis Robles being named Inter Miami captain: He has an aura about him
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https://miami.cbslocal.com/video/4461972-web-extra-david-beckham-talks-to-reporters-at-inter-miami-cf-practice/
WEB EXTRA: David Beckham Talks To Reporters at Inter Miami CF Practice
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https://www.legalgamblingandthelaw.com/news/cristiano-ronaldo-and-lionel-messi-could-end-careers-with-major-league-soccer/
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi Could End Careers With MLS
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https://www.businessinsider.com/cristiano-ronaldo-lionel-messi-ronaldo-finish-careers-mls-inter-miami-2020-2
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi could both finish their careers with David Beckham's Inter Miami, an MLS head coach said
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https://soccer.nbcsports.com/2020/02/25/david-beckham-inter-miami-finally-ready-to-arrive-mls/
Beckham’s Inter Miami finally ready to arrive
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https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2020/02/24/west-ham-reportedly-set-to-miss-out-on-20-year-old-talent-hell-j/
West Ham reportedly set to miss out on 20-year-old talent, he'll join Beckham's team
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https://www.ussoccer.com/stories/2020/02/lusitanos-to-pioneers-western-mass-enduring-passion
LUSITANOS TO PIONEERS: WESTERN MASS’ ENDURING PASSION
THE LUDLOW-BASED WESTERN MASS PIONEERS RETURN FOR THE 2020 OPEN CUP, CARRYING ON A TRADITION BEGUN A HUNDRED YEARS AGO BY THE OLD GREMIO LUSITANO CLUB.
Youngsters begin arriving for practice at Lusitano Stadium in late afternoon. It’s almost spring and the weather’s starting to warm – the days are getting longer. Later, the lights go on and the Western Mass Pioneers take the field to get ready for their 2020 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup opener against GPS Portland Phoenix on March 24.
A statue of Mozambique-born Eusebio da Silva Ferreira – the famed Black Pearl of Portuguese soccer fame who was known the world over as, simply, Eusebio – greets visitors at the stadium’s front gate. On the right is a barn-like concession area, also housing the Gremio Lusitano Wall of Fame with trophies reaching to the ceiling. Many check in with Western Mass general manager Greg Kolodziey, who played for the Lusitanos before the team became the Pioneers in 1998.
The Western Mass Pioneers in the 2014 Open Cup
Soccer players have been coming here since 1922, when members of Gremio Lusitano, a culture and recreation club, lined out a dirt field on Winsor Street, across from the clubhouse. The club team competed against the Thistles, a local Scottish squad, and opposition from other New England mill towns. Soon, Gremio Lusitano FC was developing players for the U.S. National Team, advancing deep in both the U.S. Amateur Cup and National Challenge Cup, as the U.S. Open Cup used to be known (they are four-time Quarterfinalists), and contending in the revamped American Soccer League.
In the 1940s and ‘50s, the stadium – then named Franklin Field, likely after its proximity to nearby Franklin Street – attracted capacity crowds for matches, including several against top European teams like Everton FC. A crowd of 4,500 watched on when Lusitano played to a 3-3 draw with Jönköping FC of Sweden in 1951. At the time, Ludlow’s population was listed at just more than 8,000.
By the ‘60s, the jute mills had closed and soccer’s popularity faded nationally. But Lusitano held its traditions tight. For a while, the field was retrofit for baseball, though soccer remained the club’s primary activity.
ISOLATION A GOOD THING FOR LUDLOW’S SOCCER
Ludlow has long been isolated, both culturally and geographically. The country’s soccer booms and busts have had little effect here. “Parents and grandparents grew up in that soccer world, so as you raise your kids, it’s toward soccer,” said Koloziey, who also coaches the local high school team. “We have a lot of hard-working coaches, kids start at a young age.”
Gremio Lusitano FC favored a style of play familiar to Portuguese people everywhere, heavy on skill and tactics. And the immigrants’ sporting prowess translated to interscholastic play, Ludlow High School winning 17 State soccer titles.
Night time training at Lusitano Stadium
“It was in the culture, the way we played and it goes back to our heritage,” club historian Joao Bernardo told usopencup.com. “Nundy Batista and those guys were some of the best athletes around. They played basketball, football – the two years they played football were the only two years Ludlow [High School] won in football. But the soccer team lost, so they said ‘you guys are not playing football no more’ – that’s not our game. And they brought the guys back. At the high school level, you see these great players dribbling the ball, passing the ball around. That’s why there’s all these championships.”
Lusitano Stadium is a center of activity in an area that feels like a slice of Portugal. From the early 1900s, several Massachusetts mill towns developed similar setups, the most successful in Fall River, symbolized by the 15,000-capacity Mark’s Stadium. The Portuguese clubs remain active but many playing fields have been abandoned.
After the American Soccer League (ASL) folded its New England division in the 1950s, Gremio Lusitano played in local competitions such as the Massachusetts & New Hampshire State Soccer Association, Connecticut Soccer League (CSL) and the Luso-American Soccer Association (LASA). The club played host to friendlies with Sporting Lisbon and other Portuguese clubs such as GD Chaves, SC Olhanense and CD Santa Clara, the visitors attracted by Lusitano Stadium, which the club insists is the only soccer-specific stadium in New England.
LITTLE SLICE OF PORTUGAL IN LUDLOW
The local soccer community is tight-knit. As parents and youngsters arrive, they ask about the Pioneers’ upcoming Open Cup match. A paint truck drives up and one of the workers starts juggling a ball on the way out – he played for the Lusitano team in the ‘70s. Tony Salvador, who played for the club as a teenager, tells of revamping the stadium with the help of volunteers and donated equipment from local contractors. He’s there to watch his teenage grandson, who is training with the Pioneers. David Socha, who became the first U.S. referee to work two FIFA World Cups (1982 and ‘86), calls to postpone a visit.
The clubhouse stays open late, and Pioneer coaches and players hang around the bar after practice. “If they like the club, they like what we do, I think they are going to give us 110 percent, not 100 percent,” Pioneers coach Federico Molinari said. “We have players I recruited when I started coaching in 2011. All of those players are still playing because they like the club and they start feeling things for the club. And when you start feeling things for the club you care a lot more inside the field and this is what I want. Their commitment is unbelievable and they do it for free.”
Portuguese players long formed the basis of the Lusitano team. “All the teams we had, there were only seven or eight, or less, Portuguese players on the team,” Bernardo said. “We had Germans, Italians, great players from all [ethnicities]. Charlie McCully [who earned 11 caps for the U.S. National Team in the 1970s] played here. They didn’t care about your color, whatever you were.”
The entrance to Lusitano Stadium in Ludlow, MA
Among the players recognized by the Lusitano Alumni & Fans committee, in their initial program in 1987, were William “Gil” Bello, a member of the U.S. team that competed in the 1949 North American Football Championships (World Cup qualifiers) and Robert McIntyre, who started for a U.S. All-Star team that played to a 1-1 draw with Scotland’s national team at the Polo Grounds in New York City in 1939. Lusitano goalkeeper Tony Almeida and teammate Joseph Costa were named alternates on the 1948 U.S. Olympic team.
Lusitano competed in the shadow of another Portuguese club, Ponta Delgada, out of Fall River, that won the 1950 U.S. Open Cup and captured five U.S. Amateur Cup titles from 1946-53. Lusitano proved worthy opponents, reaching four Open Cup Quarterfinals from 1949-56. In 1949, Lusitano defeated Ponta Delgada for the New England title, then lost to New York SC in the Open Cup Quarterfinals. In 1953, Lusitano appeared on the verge of advancing to the Last Eight again, but Joe Feicha’s 83rd-minute penalty hit the post, and Swiss FC of New York took a 4-1 extra-time win on two goals by Argentine-born Efrain “Chico” Chacurian.
During the 1970s, former Benfica superstar Eusebio arrived in Ludlow along with Humberto Coelho and Antonio Simoes, all playing in the old North American Soccer League (NASL), for a friendly match against the Connecticut Bicentennials. Eusebio returned to Ludlow for a tribute in the early ‘90s. In 2016, two years after Eusebio’s death, Gillette Stadium had removed a statue of him – another copy stands in front of Estadio da Luz in Lisbon – and Gremio Lusitano came to the rescue.
FROM PIONEERS TO PIONEERS
In 1998, the club took a major step toward “Americanization” by joining the USISL. A local newspaper readers’ poll named the team the Western Mass Pioneers. In 1999, the Pioneers defeated the South Jersey Barons, 2-1, in the USISL D3 Pro final before a crowd of about 6,000 at Lusitano Stadium. (Ludlow’s population was listed at 21,209 in 2000).
“You know what, it was the best thing we did,” Bernardo said of the name change. “Because this united the community more than anything else. People don’t realize that this game united this community a lot. Since then, there’s not as much people not liking each other, or whatever. People wouldn’t come to watch the soccer game when we were the Lusitanos. It was just Portuguese people watching the game. But now it’s totally different.”
From 2003-05 the New England Revolution made the stadium a base for their U.S. Open Cup games. The Revolution took a 2-1 win over the Rochester Rhinos on goals by Steve Ralston and Taylor Twellman before an estimated 4,000 fans in the 2003 Open Cup. The next year, the Rhinos eliminated the Revolution on penalty kicks there. In 2005, the Pioneers advanced to the third round of the U.S. Open Cup, falling to the Chicago Fire by a 3-1 score before a crowd of 4,000 at Lusitano Stadium. But the Pioneers gave the Fire a game with former Boston College star Neil Krause opening the scoring in the fifth minute. The Fire returned to take a 3-2 extra-time win over the Revolution before a full house on August 3, 2005. The suspenseful match included late red cards issued to the Fire’s Jesse Marsch and the Revolution’s Jay Heaps, who grew up in nearby Longmeadow, Massachusetts.
2018 was the last Open Cup the Pioneers too part in
Soccer generates profits, partly because of a concession area that includes alcohol sales and features the “tasty” bifana sandwich, a Portuguese specialty. But travel has proven costly, and the Pioneers chose to go amateur after losing on penalties to the Charlotte Eagles in the USISL D3 Pro final in 2005.
Lusitano Stadium underwent a makeover in 2013, a synthetic surface installed to accommodate an expanded youth program. Several grass fields are also maintained, located next to the stadium, behind Our Lady of Fatima church. “If you come to Lusitano Stadium now it is very similar to when you came 25 years ago to a Gremio Lusitano game, with the set-up and fan base,” Kolodziey said. “We’re trying to reach out to all fans now.
SPECIAL HISTORY IN LUDLOW
“What makes this special is definitely the history, most definitely the history,” Kolodziey added. “The players that played here, the fan base has been dedicated for a lot of years. When opposing teams come in here the atmosphere is pretty electric, the atmosphere is tight-knit. Teams like to play here on a Friday night, a couple thousand people – it’s a pretty neat thing for a small town.”
The Western Mass nickname, inspired by the area’s Pioneer Valley, is a nod to assimilation, but Portuguese influences remain strong here. Walls are adorned with a mosaic of the Trás-Os-Montes region of Northern Portugal and framed likenesses of Portuguese Ballon D’Or/World Players of the Year – Luis Figo and Cristiano Ronaldo. (The Figo picture has since been purchased by a fan).
The Boston Globe archives include dozens of Lusitano game stories, dating back to 1922. In 1940, after a game against Pawtucket, the club was ordered to pay a $75 fine, plus a $100 “soccer peace bond” for what was described as a “riot” and “fracas,” leading to a one-year suspension for Pawtucket’s Harry Burness. “The fans love their soccer,” said Fred Pereira, the Town of Ludlow Tax Collector. “Fans are very close to the field so it’s very easy to get excited. We do have some fans who are passionate. It’s all part of the tradition – keep it under control but have some passion.”
Open Cup Action from Lusitano Stadium in 2014
Pereira, who set a Ludlow High School record with 50 goals in a season, might have been the first to follow a path from this club to the Ivy League to pro soccer (the latest would be New York City midfielder Thomas McNamara). “I was born in Portugal and came here when I was 12,” said Pereira, 64, who played at Brown University, then in the NASL and for the U.S. men’s national team. “Fortunately, it was a very good soccer town and that made it easier for me to make friends. Ludlow is a good town to come to if you’re a soccer player.”
Half a century later, Pioneers midfielder Maximiliano Viera found similar acceptance after arriving from Uruguay via the University of Rio Grande in Ohio. “My experience in the U.S.,” Viera said, “I didn’t find the same passion, the same attitude to the games, as I found here for the Pioneers. That’s why I really liked it here, because it really made me feel at home – the passion the people have here, the attitude for the games. The town, they do everything for the club, they’re really passionate about it. That’s why I keep playing for the Pioneers. It helps to motivate us for the games and I think it helps the rivals because they’re not used to the scenario, playing [before] all these people in the stadium, so they’re more motivated when they play us. That makes every game harder for us.”
There’s a tradition that connects people in Ludlow to their roots overseas and the game they love. It lives in Lusitano Stadium and the boys who line up there – call them the Lusitanos or the Pioneers, it doesn’t matter – it’s all the same in Ludlow, Mass.
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https://www.tribalfootball.com/articles/the-week-in-women-s-football-nasl-changes-uws-adds-league-two-usl-return-4316424
The Week in Women's Football: NASL changes; UWS adds League Two; USL return;
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https://www.83degreesmedia.com/features/top-takeaways-from-Tampa-Bay-Area-mayors-at-Tiger-Bay-Club-022520.aspx
A tale of 2 boomtowns: Tampa, St. Pete
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor and St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman took the stage February 21 at Tampa Tiger Bay Club’s monthly meeting at the Cuban Club in Ybor City to tell "A Tale of Two Boomtowns.''
83 Degrees asked several attendees to share their top takeaways with our larger audience. Here is what they think you should know:
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https://www.sacbee.com/sports/article240606446.html
Australia, New Zealand showcase 2023 World Cup bid to FIFA
FILE - In this Sunday, July 7, 2019 file photo, United States' Megan Rapinoe poses with her individual awards at the end of the Women's World Cup final soccer match between US and The Netherlands at the Stade de Lyon in Decines, outside Lyon, France. The U.S. men's national team urged the U.S. Soccer Federation to sharply increase pay of the American women and accused the governing body of making low-ball offers in negotiations with the men. The union for the women's team filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against the USSF that is scheduled for trial starting May 5. The women agreed to a collective bargaining agreement in April 2017 that extends through 2021.
Backers of a bid to bring the 2023 Women's World Cup to Australia and New Zealand are confident they've showcased the benefits of co-hosting the event across two confederations.
New Zealand Football and Football Federation Australia are proposing the first ever co-confederation World Cup, the first FIFA World Cup in the Pacific region and the first Women's World Cup in the Southern Hemisphere.
A FIFA inspection team has completed a six-day tour, reviewing plans for a tournament involving 13 stadiums and up to 100 practice venues across the two countries.
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https://www.breitbart.com/sports/2020/02/24/u-s-womens-player-admits-men-stronger-faster-women/
U.S. Women’s Player Admits Men Are Stronger, Faster than Women
A lawsuit filed by the U.S. Women’s National soccer team says that U.S. Soccer has wrongly paid them less than the U.S. Men’s team. But the proceedings in the suit already show that men’s soccer has much stiffer competition and have lost less money than the women’s team.
In the most recent phase of the proceedings, several members of women’s soccer were pressed to speak to the differences between men’s and women’s soccer. In one instance, a lawyer for the national organization asked if the U.S. women’s team could best Germany’s men’s team, the AP reported.
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https://www.nashvillepost.com/sports/nashville-sc/article/21118268/ayre-nashville-sc-can-finally-take-a-breath-as-mls-debut-nears
Ayre, Nashville SC can finally take a breath as MLS debut nears
CEO excited to finally see 'everything fall into place'
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https://news.yahoo.com/nashville-c-ready-mls-debut-044508373.html
Nashville S.C. Ready For MLS Debut
After a month of training camp in Florida, Nashville S.C. is back home to gear up for its inaugural Major League Soccer game Saturday night against Atlanta United at Nissan Stadium.
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https://www.miamitodaynews.com/2020/02/25/dont-swap-largest-city-park-for-the-grass-between-buildings/
Don’t swap largest city park for the grass between buildings
Miami showcases its policy that it can lose no total parkland. Yet a lease of the city’s largest park for a private mega-project would lose 53 acres. That’s shameful.
Don’t blame Miami Freedom Park’s developers – they’ll do what it takes to displace Melreese Golf Course. Still, the city commission has three paths to keep residents from being cheated.
First, commissioners could (and should) refuse to turn over the only golf course in city limits at any price, thus protecting the valuable public green space.
Even if the commissioners yield to lease the course for as much as they can get, however, they can insist that developers find more than 20 disconnected acres to replace the 73 contiguous acres in their development – because 20 acres in bits and pieces is what an attorney for the developers told commissioners it’s going to be.
In fact, if commissioners insist on giving up vital parkland that was never in play until developers wanted it, the city should decide what it wants to get in return rather than developers telling the city what it’s going to get in this ass-backwards deal.
Look at what’s at stake:
Melreese is Miami’s Central Park, its largest green space. It’s right beside Miami International Airport, providing open area below takeoffs and landings at the county’s main economic engine.
The airport director worries that if Melreese were built over, the Federal Aviation Administration would limit runway use at the entry point for much of our air cargo and more than 95% of all visitors to this tourist-oriented county.
Unfortunately, Miami gave the airport to the county decades ago, so city commissioners have no formal requirement to look out for the airport’s health. They certainly haven’t in the Melreese deal.
The deal is, in fact, a spinoff of soccer team owners’ hunt for a stadium site (though they now have two others, one in Broward County and another in Overtown).
The owners, led by celebrity ex-star David Beckham, united with the well-connected Mas brothers, who have used a stadium as bait in a billion-dollar plan to develop a shopping-hotel-office complex larger than downtown’s Brickell City Centre, which was built on private lands quietly acquired over decades at market rates.
The Mas brothers didn’t do that long groundwork: they simple asked for public land that was never offered, dealing at well below market rate without competitive bids. City leaders went along.
Now it’s time for commissioners to either OK whatever deal hits the table or vote it down. It will take four of five votes for approval after they vet the deal in May.
The developers’ attorney told commissioners this month some of what they plan.
Developers magnanimously are offering to let the city keep 58 of its 131 acres as a “contribution.”
Developers are also talking about finding 20 acres to replace the 73 they’ll lease – probably counting the stadium and space around their buildings as the other 53 acres needed to meet park replacement requirements, as if a building’s front lawn were a park.
Then of 20 replacement acres, they want to count land the city or other governments already own that could be dressed up and called parks. Then they’ll find bits and pieces of land elsewhere that with the rest could total 20 acres. In the latter, they have support from commissioners, all of whom want sprinkles of park in their district as they carve up the bones of Melreese.
New Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla, who represents the Melreese area, and Joe Carollo talk about getting a really good deal – presumably meaning a high lease level. And if city decides to break up its largest park, the lease figure will indeed be important.
But lease talk is putting the cart before the horse: if the city isn’t getting more parkland than it started with or has to supply its own land elsewhere as part of a replacement, why in heaven’s name would the city part with its only golf course?
Commissioners seem to be assuming they have to make a deal and plan to haggle for more money instead of grappling with the questions of why diminish parks and why carve up the biggest one we have.
Would New York City let developers take over Central Park and then count the space between all the buildings in Manhattan as a replacement?
That’s the point of questions Commissioner Manolo Reyes raised in hearing the plans for Melreese. He asked for a replacement park at least as large as Melreese, but other commissioners shot him down. He also asked, in vain, not to let developers count areas smaller than 40,000 square feet as replacement parkland.
“Either we accept it or we erase [requirements of no parkland loss] and stop being liars and hypocrites that we are telling the public out there that we are protecting our parks,” Mr. Reyes said.
He’s driving right down the fairway: either keep Melreese as a city amenity, which is the best shot, or at least follow city policy to the letter and have would-be developers provide equal or greater contiguous parkland elsewhere.
It doesn’t matter that commissioners raise lease rates a bit to say they’ve protected the public interest if in the process they’ve degraded parkland forever. That would indeed be shameful.
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https://www.sportbusiness.com/news/columbus-crew-expands-partnership-with-ohiohealth-jersey-deal-imminent/
Columbus Crew expands partnership with OhioHealth, jersey deal imminent
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https://sporttechie.com/mls-club-chicago-fire-wgn-tv
MLS Club Chicago Fire Will Have Its Games Aired on WGN-TV
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https://soccer.nbcsports.com/2020/02/26/concacaf-champions-league-atlanta-united-pity-josef-martinez-cruz-azul/
CCL wrap: Atlanta United, Cruz Azul advance
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https://soccer.nbcsports.com/2020/02/25/italy-may-lift-ban-on-sporting-events-by-monday-serie-a-coronavirus/
Coronavirus: Italy may lift ban on sporting events by Monday
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http://www.flowsports.co/major-league-soccer/video/beckham-excited-for-inter-miami-era-begin
Beckham excited for Inter Miami era to begin
Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham is excited for the MLS franchise's new era to begin this weekend away at Los Angeles FC.
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