(Follow link for full article.)
http://www.wlwt.com/article/major-league-soccer-commissioner-visiting-cincinnati-tuesday/8374960
Major League Soccer commissioner visiting Cincinnati Tuesday
Tuesday, November 29, 2016
Milwaukee Torrent Brings Pro Outdoor Soccer To Wisconsin
(Follow link for full article.)
http://midfieldpress.com/2016/11/28/milwaukee-torrent-brings-pro-outdoor-soccer-to-wisconsin/
Milwaukee Torrent Brings Pro Outdoor Soccer To Wisconsin
http://midfieldpress.com/2016/11/28/milwaukee-torrent-brings-pro-outdoor-soccer-to-wisconsin/
Milwaukee Torrent Brings Pro Outdoor Soccer To Wisconsin
A Message From Georgia Revolution
(Follow link for full article.)
http://www.dirtysouthsoccer.com/2016/11/28/13764026/georgia-revolution-owner-finances-vision-npsl
A Message From Georgia Revolution
The Georgia Revolution owner tells us his vision for the club
http://www.dirtysouthsoccer.com/2016/11/28/13764026/georgia-revolution-owner-finances-vision-npsl
A Message From Georgia Revolution
The Georgia Revolution owner tells us his vision for the club
Hartford Lands Team In Fourth-Tier Pro Soccer League
(Follow link for full article.)
http://www.courant.com/sports/hc-hartford-npsl-soccer-1129-20161128-story.html
Hartford Lands Team In Fourth-Tier Pro Soccer League
Matthew Conyers
Professional soccer is finally returning to Hartford.
The National Premier Soccer League announced on its website Monday evening that Hartford City FC had joined the league as an expansion team and will compete in the Northeast Region's Atlantic Conference.
http://www.courant.com/sports/hc-hartford-npsl-soccer-1129-20161128-story.html
Hartford Lands Team In Fourth-Tier Pro Soccer League
Matthew Conyers
Professional soccer is finally returning to Hartford.
The National Premier Soccer League announced on its website Monday evening that Hartford City FC had joined the league as an expansion team and will compete in the Northeast Region's Atlantic Conference.
Foundry soccer group offers to pay $80 million 'public portion' for stadium
(Follow link for full article.)
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/foundry-soccer-group-offers-to-pay-million-public-portion-for/article_278e8003-b1c0-5b8a-adc1-c46c53d9222a.html
Foundry soccer group offers to pay $80 million 'public portion' for stadium
By Mike Faulk St. Louis Post-Dispatch
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/foundry-soccer-group-offers-to-pay-million-public-portion-for/article_278e8003-b1c0-5b8a-adc1-c46c53d9222a.html
Foundry soccer group offers to pay $80 million 'public portion' for stadium
By Mike Faulk St. Louis Post-Dispatch
With MLS numbers rivalling the CFL, Canadian soccer is entering a new era
(Follow link for full article.)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/soccer/with-mls-numbers-rivalling-the-cfl-canadian-soccer-is-entering-a-new-era/article33057018/
With MLS numbers rivalling the CFL, Canadian soccer is entering a new era
Sean Gordon
MONTREAL — The Globe and Mail
Published Friday, Nov. 25, 2016 9:03PM EST
Last updated Friday, Nov. 25, 2016 9:04PM EST
We live in ahistorical times. Thankfully there is photographic proof of the golden age.
It was 1979, and the downtown of a major Canadian city was choked with fans celebrating the Vancouver Whitecaps’ North American Soccer League triumph in the now-defunct Soccer Bowl.
“Five years before, we were playing in front of friends and family, then it was Giants Stadium and 100,000 people in the streets,” said Bob Lenarduzzi, a Canadian soccer great who played in that 2-1 triumph over the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
They were heady times for the beautiful game in North America, Pele and Franz Beckenbauer were winding down their careers with the New York Cosmos. The Toronto Blizzard and the Montreal Manic were filling stadiums.
Everything was great, until suddenly it wasn’t.
“Five years later, we were done,” Lenarduzzi said. “It was lightning in a bottle.”
There is contemporary evidence of a soccer resurgence in Canada. This time no one is taking anything for granted.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/soccer/with-mls-numbers-rivalling-the-cfl-canadian-soccer-is-entering-a-new-era/article33057018/
With MLS numbers rivalling the CFL, Canadian soccer is entering a new era
Sean Gordon
MONTREAL — The Globe and Mail
Published Friday, Nov. 25, 2016 9:03PM EST
Last updated Friday, Nov. 25, 2016 9:04PM EST
We live in ahistorical times. Thankfully there is photographic proof of the golden age.
It was 1979, and the downtown of a major Canadian city was choked with fans celebrating the Vancouver Whitecaps’ North American Soccer League triumph in the now-defunct Soccer Bowl.
“Five years before, we were playing in front of friends and family, then it was Giants Stadium and 100,000 people in the streets,” said Bob Lenarduzzi, a Canadian soccer great who played in that 2-1 triumph over the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
They were heady times for the beautiful game in North America, Pele and Franz Beckenbauer were winding down their careers with the New York Cosmos. The Toronto Blizzard and the Montreal Manic were filling stadiums.
Everything was great, until suddenly it wasn’t.
“Five years later, we were done,” Lenarduzzi said. “It was lightning in a bottle.”
There is contemporary evidence of a soccer resurgence in Canada. This time no one is taking anything for granted.
You say you want an MLS team here? Here's your chance to show your colors
(Follow link for full article.)
http://www.wcpo.com/news/insider/you-say-you-want-an-mls-team-here-heres-your-chance-to-show-your-colors
You say you want an MLS team here? Here's your chance to show your colors
Come meet the MLS commissioner on Tuesday
Laurel Pfahler | WCPO contributor
7:00 AM, Nov 26, 2016
3:18 PM, Nov 28, 2016
CINCINNATI -- Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber has seen all the metrics behind FC Cincinnati's record-breaking inaugural season, but now the club has a chance to show him why the city makes it such a success.
Garber is set to visit Cincinnati on Tuesday to learn more about the potential MLS expansion market.
FC Cincinnati president and general manager Jeff Berding said the overall goal for the visit is simple: The club hopes the scheduled meetings and tour of the city, as well as a visit to Nippert Stadium, give Garber a better understanding of Cincinnati as a budding soccer market.
http://www.wcpo.com/news/insider/you-say-you-want-an-mls-team-here-heres-your-chance-to-show-your-colors
You say you want an MLS team here? Here's your chance to show your colors
Come meet the MLS commissioner on Tuesday
Laurel Pfahler | WCPO contributor
7:00 AM, Nov 26, 2016
3:18 PM, Nov 28, 2016
CINCINNATI -- Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber has seen all the metrics behind FC Cincinnati's record-breaking inaugural season, but now the club has a chance to show him why the city makes it such a success.
Garber is set to visit Cincinnati on Tuesday to learn more about the potential MLS expansion market.
FC Cincinnati president and general manager Jeff Berding said the overall goal for the visit is simple: The club hopes the scheduled meetings and tour of the city, as well as a visit to Nippert Stadium, give Garber a better understanding of Cincinnati as a budding soccer market.
What Don Garber's visit means for Cincy's MLS chances
(Follow link for full article.)
http://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/soccer/fc-cincinnati/2016/11/28/what-don-garbers-visit-means-cincys-mls-chances/94566762/
What Don Garber's visit means for Cincy's MLS chances
http://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/soccer/fc-cincinnati/2016/11/28/what-don-garbers-visit-means-cincys-mls-chances/94566762/
What Don Garber's visit means for Cincy's MLS chances
Get Involved in Garber's Visit
(Follow link for full article.)
http://www.fccincinnati.com/news_article/show/727263?referrer_id=2584136
Get Involved in Garber's Visit
By D.J. Switzer - Director of Communications, 11/28/16, 11:45AM EST
Tomorrow is a big day in Cincinnati.
After an expectation smashing first season, the Queen City has attracted attention from far and wide. And among those whose attention was grabbed during that incredible inaugural campaign were the eyes of Major League Soccer and their commissioner, Don Garber.
Tomorrow, he comes to see what Cincinnati is about with his own eyes.
http://www.fccincinnati.com/news_article/show/727263?referrer_id=2584136
Get Involved in Garber's Visit
By D.J. Switzer - Director of Communications, 11/28/16, 11:45AM EST
Tomorrow is a big day in Cincinnati.
After an expectation smashing first season, the Queen City has attracted attention from far and wide. And among those whose attention was grabbed during that incredible inaugural campaign were the eyes of Major League Soccer and their commissioner, Don Garber.
Tomorrow, he comes to see what Cincinnati is about with his own eyes.
Slate on soccer: On USMNT future, MLS Cup, RB Leipzig
(Follow link for full article.)
http://www.metro.us/boston/slate-on-soccer-on-usmnt-future-mls-cup-rb-leipzig/zsJpkB---WeAsZWm1bRmQ/
Slate on soccer: On USMNT future, MLS Cup, RB Leipzig
Rich Slate
http://www.metro.us/boston/slate-on-soccer-on-usmnt-future-mls-cup-rb-leipzig/zsJpkB---WeAsZWm1bRmQ/
Slate on soccer: On USMNT future, MLS Cup, RB Leipzig
Rich Slate
Orlando City SC to honor nightclub shooting victims at new stadium
(Follow link for full article.)
http://soccer.nbcsports.com/2016/11/28/orlando-city-sc-to-honor-nightclub-shooting-victims-at-new-stadium/
Orlando City SC to honor nightclub shooting victims at new stadium
http://soccer.nbcsports.com/2016/11/28/orlando-city-sc-to-honor-nightclub-shooting-victims-at-new-stadium/
Orlando City SC to honor nightclub shooting victims at new stadium
USL: Phoenix Rising FC unveils stadium plans
(Follow link for full article.)
http://www.socceramerica.com/article/71396/usl-phoenix-rising-fc-unveils-stadium-plans.html
USL: Phoenix Rising FC unveils stadium plans
http://www.socceramerica.com/article/71396/usl-phoenix-rising-fc-unveils-stadium-plans.html
USL: Phoenix Rising FC unveils stadium plans
Cincinnati set to welcome Commissioner Don Garber in push for MLS expansion
(Follow link for full article.)
http://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2016/11/28/cincinnati-set-welcome-commissioner-don-garber-push-mls-expansion
Cincinnati set to welcome Commissioner Don Garber in push for MLS expansion
http://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2016/11/28/cincinnati-set-welcome-commissioner-don-garber-push-mls-expansion
Cincinnati set to welcome Commissioner Don Garber in push for MLS expansion
Schedule for Don Garber's Visit Released
(Follow link for full article.)
http://www.fccincinnati.com/news_article/show/724873?referrer_id=2584136
Schedule for Don Garber's Visit Released
http://www.fccincinnati.com/news_article/show/724873?referrer_id=2584136
Schedule for Don Garber's Visit Released
Looking Ahead to Don Garber’s Visit
(Follow link for full article.)
http://cincinnatisoccertalk.com/2016/11/22/looking-ahead-don-garber-visit/
Looking Ahead to Don Garber’s Visit
http://cincinnatisoccertalk.com/2016/11/22/looking-ahead-don-garber-visit/
Looking Ahead to Don Garber’s Visit
Group reveals plan for $200M soccer stadium in St. Louis
(Follow link for full article.)
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/group-reveals-plan-200m-soccer-stadium-st-louis-191830681--mls.html
Group reveals plan for $200M soccer stadium in St. Louis
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/group-reveals-plan-200m-soccer-stadium-st-louis-191830681--mls.html
Group reveals plan for $200M soccer stadium in St. Louis
MLS commissioner in Cincinnati Tuesday
(Follow link for full article.)
http://www.wlwt.com/article/mayor-dubs-tuesday-blue-and-orange-day-ahead-of-mls-commissioner-visit/8365994
MLS commissioner in Cincinnati Tuesday
Mayor dubs Tuesday 'Blue and Orange Day'
http://www.wlwt.com/article/mayor-dubs-tuesday-blue-and-orange-day-ahead-of-mls-commissioner-visit/8365994
MLS commissioner in Cincinnati Tuesday
Mayor dubs Tuesday 'Blue and Orange Day'
Lion Links: 11/20/16
(Follow link for full article.)
http://www.themaneland.com/2016/11/20/13688608/lion-links-11-20-16
Lion Links: 11/20/16
Pride goalkeepers take their talents to Africa, train with Aubrey Bledsoe this week, Cincinnati entertains Don Garber, and four Florida colleges are still alive in NCAA soccer tournaments.
http://www.themaneland.com/2016/11/20/13688608/lion-links-11-20-16
Lion Links: 11/20/16
Pride goalkeepers take their talents to Africa, train with Aubrey Bledsoe this week, Cincinnati entertains Don Garber, and four Florida colleges are still alive in NCAA soccer tournaments.
Monday, November 28, 2016
Arizona United SC Unveils Phoenix Rising FC Rebrand
(Follow link for full article.)
http://www.uslsoccer.com/news_article/show/727456?referrer_id=2364194-news-archive
Arizona United SC Unveils Phoenix Rising FC Rebrand
11/28/2016, 2:30pm EST
By USLSoccer.com Staff
Organization announces plans for soccer-specific stadium, forms partnership with Arizona Youth Soccer Association
http://www.uslsoccer.com/news_article/show/727456?referrer_id=2364194-news-archive
Arizona United SC Unveils Phoenix Rising FC Rebrand
11/28/2016, 2:30pm EST
By USLSoccer.com Staff
Organization announces plans for soccer-specific stadium, forms partnership with Arizona Youth Soccer Association
FCC to host MLS commissioner Tuesday in push for MLS expansion
(Follow link for full article.)
http://www.fox19.com/story/33808894/fcc-to-host-mls-commissioner-tuesday-in-push-for-mls-expansion
FCC to host MLS commissioner Tuesday in push for MLS expansion
Monday, November 28th 2016, 5:38 pm EST
Posted by Nathan Vicar, Digital Content Producer
CINCINNATI (FOX19) -
Major League Soccer (MLS) Commissioner Don Garber will be visiting Cincinnati to learn more about what FC Cincinnati and the Queen City has to offer Tuesday.
A town hall event will be held from 4 p.m. - 5 p.m. at the Woodward Theater, located at 1404 Main Street, on Tuesday.
Doors to the Woodward Theater, will open at 3:00 p.m. to the general public. To accommodate expected overflow, the event will be live streamed at MOTR Pub, Rhinehaus and Mr. Pitiful’s. Entry into the town hall event will be on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Garber is expected to take questions from the audience and fans can also submit questions in advance on Twitter by using the hashtag #MLS2Cincy.
"The commissioner of MLS doesn't go to every city that has an interest in MLS expansion. It's a privilege that we've been selected as a city that he'd like to come see," FC Cincinnati President & General Manager Jeff Berding said in October.
http://www.fox19.com/story/33808894/fcc-to-host-mls-commissioner-tuesday-in-push-for-mls-expansion
FCC to host MLS commissioner Tuesday in push for MLS expansion
Monday, November 28th 2016, 5:38 pm EST
Posted by Nathan Vicar, Digital Content Producer
CINCINNATI (FOX19) -
Major League Soccer (MLS) Commissioner Don Garber will be visiting Cincinnati to learn more about what FC Cincinnati and the Queen City has to offer Tuesday.
A town hall event will be held from 4 p.m. - 5 p.m. at the Woodward Theater, located at 1404 Main Street, on Tuesday.
Doors to the Woodward Theater, will open at 3:00 p.m. to the general public. To accommodate expected overflow, the event will be live streamed at MOTR Pub, Rhinehaus and Mr. Pitiful’s. Entry into the town hall event will be on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Garber is expected to take questions from the audience and fans can also submit questions in advance on Twitter by using the hashtag #MLS2Cincy.
"The commissioner of MLS doesn't go to every city that has an interest in MLS expansion. It's a privilege that we've been selected as a city that he'd like to come see," FC Cincinnati President & General Manager Jeff Berding said in October.
2017 Will Give Orlando City Its First In-State League Rival
(Follow link for full article.)
http://www.themaneland.com/2016/11/27/13754962/2017-will-give-orlando-city-its-first-in-state-league-rival
2017 Will Give Orlando City Its First In-State League Rival
With the addition of the Tampa Bay Rowdies to the USL next season, Orlando City will have its first league rival for any of its teams as OCB reopens the I-4 Derby.
by Sean Rollins Nov 27, 2016, 10:00am EST
Rivalries are a key part of the sport of soccer. All around the world, the biggest games every year are the biggest rivalries in those countries. This is no more prevalent than in the United States where Major League Soccer has made its mission to promote the league's rivalries. However, because Orlando City has always been separated from other teams throughout the league, finding a true rival has been very difficult. But next season, one of the club's teams will have a league rival.
Last month, it was announced that the Tampa Bay Rowdies would make the move, along with the Ottawa Fury, from the North American Soccer League (NASL) to the United Soccer League (USL), where the club's reserve team, Orlando City B, plays. The move will give OCB a natural rival and will give the club its first local league rival.
. . .
When the young Lions and the Rowdies face off for the first time during the 2017 USL season, it will be the first time the two clubs have played a league game against each other. More than that, it will be the first time that Orlando City as a club has had a true league rival for any of its teams. While David Beckham's prospective Miami MLS team would give the senior team its first in-state league rival, the Rowdies are set to become the club's first next season.
http://www.themaneland.com/2016/11/27/13754962/2017-will-give-orlando-city-its-first-in-state-league-rival
2017 Will Give Orlando City Its First In-State League Rival
With the addition of the Tampa Bay Rowdies to the USL next season, Orlando City will have its first league rival for any of its teams as OCB reopens the I-4 Derby.
by Sean Rollins Nov 27, 2016, 10:00am EST
Rivalries are a key part of the sport of soccer. All around the world, the biggest games every year are the biggest rivalries in those countries. This is no more prevalent than in the United States where Major League Soccer has made its mission to promote the league's rivalries. However, because Orlando City has always been separated from other teams throughout the league, finding a true rival has been very difficult. But next season, one of the club's teams will have a league rival.
Last month, it was announced that the Tampa Bay Rowdies would make the move, along with the Ottawa Fury, from the North American Soccer League (NASL) to the United Soccer League (USL), where the club's reserve team, Orlando City B, plays. The move will give OCB a natural rival and will give the club its first local league rival.
. . .
When the young Lions and the Rowdies face off for the first time during the 2017 USL season, it will be the first time the two clubs have played a league game against each other. More than that, it will be the first time that Orlando City as a club has had a true league rival for any of its teams. While David Beckham's prospective Miami MLS team would give the senior team its first in-state league rival, the Rowdies are set to become the club's first next season.
Where Will Orlando City B Play in 2017?
(Follow link for full article.)
http://www.themaneland.com/2016/11/28/13759396/where-will-orlando-city-b-play-in-2017
Where Will Orlando City B Play in 2017?
With Orlando City’s new stadium nearing completion, where will the Lions’ reserve side play in 2017?
by Sean Rollins Nov 28, 2016, 9:30am EST
With the opening of Orlando City's new stadium in 2017, the Lions will have an elegant home built for and owned by the club. The new 25,500-seat stadium located in downtown Orlando will be home to Orlando City of MLS and the Orlando Pride of the NWSL. But there is one other team that could play there, although a decision has yet to be announced.
. . .
With the new stadium being owned by the club and with attendances in Melbourne being deemed disappointing, despite the fact that they were around the average for an MLS reserve team, many have speculated that the club would move the team to the new stadium for the 2017 season.
The Mane Land spoke with USL President Jake Edwards recently and the league boss hinted that the league may be in favor of the team moving into the new stadium for the 2017 season. The thought process from the league is that attendances might be higher if the team plays in a more populated area. It has also been speculated that, as the senior team will be expected to sell out every game based on past attendance figures, those in the Orlando area that are unable to acquire tickets for the MLS side may attend USL games instead.
http://www.themaneland.com/2016/11/28/13759396/where-will-orlando-city-b-play-in-2017
Where Will Orlando City B Play in 2017?
With Orlando City’s new stadium nearing completion, where will the Lions’ reserve side play in 2017?
by Sean Rollins Nov 28, 2016, 9:30am EST
With the opening of Orlando City's new stadium in 2017, the Lions will have an elegant home built for and owned by the club. The new 25,500-seat stadium located in downtown Orlando will be home to Orlando City of MLS and the Orlando Pride of the NWSL. But there is one other team that could play there, although a decision has yet to be announced.
. . .
With the new stadium being owned by the club and with attendances in Melbourne being deemed disappointing, despite the fact that they were around the average for an MLS reserve team, many have speculated that the club would move the team to the new stadium for the 2017 season.
The Mane Land spoke with USL President Jake Edwards recently and the league boss hinted that the league may be in favor of the team moving into the new stadium for the 2017 season. The thought process from the league is that attendances might be higher if the team plays in a more populated area. It has also been speculated that, as the senior team will be expected to sell out every game based on past attendance figures, those in the Orlando area that are unable to acquire tickets for the MLS side may attend USL games instead.
Episode 97 – USL President Jake Edwards
(Follow link for full article.)
http://www.theunsubs.com/wp/2016/11/16/episode-97-usl-president-jake-edwards/2425
Episode 97 – USL President Jake Edwards
November 16, 2016 Matthew Cox Podcasts
USL President Jake Edwards joins the show to talk about the Rowdies move & what it means for the league and the club.
In tonight’s episode:
– Jake Edwards
http://www.theunsubs.com/wp/2016/11/16/episode-97-usl-president-jake-edwards/2425
Episode 97 – USL President Jake Edwards
November 16, 2016 Matthew Cox Podcasts
USL President Jake Edwards joins the show to talk about the Rowdies move & what it means for the league and the club.
In tonight’s episode:
– Jake Edwards
MBA kicks British sportsman into US big league
(Follow link for full article.)
https://www.ft.com/content/01899d16-ab3d-11e6-ba7d-76378e4fef24
MBA kicks British sportsman into US big league
A former professional footballer from the UK now promotes soccer in America
by: Jonathan Moules
Jake Edwards soaks up the cool ocean breeze drifting through the window of the president’s office at the United Soccer League headquarters in Tampa, Florida. “It’s another day in paradise,” he coos.
. . .
After returning to live in the US with his American wife in 2012, Mr Edwards was introduced to the new owners of the USL, NuRock Soccer Holdings, which had bought the then struggling league from Nike three years earlier. At the time it had just 11 teams, mainly on the east coast, but Mr Edwards was impressed.
“I was also struck with the opportunity to create a football league structure like in the UK,” he says.
He wrote a strategic plan for the ownership group and they hired him as executive vice-president to focus on growing the business. Less than a year later, he was promoted to the top job.
The USL now consists of 30 professional teams across the country and is three years into a partnership with the nation’s top tier Major League Soccer. One and a half million people came through the turnstiles at USL games last season, a 33 per cent increase on the previous year.
“The sport is booming,” Mr Edwards says. “I look at this as a long-term play.”
https://www.ft.com/content/01899d16-ab3d-11e6-ba7d-76378e4fef24
MBA kicks British sportsman into US big league
A former professional footballer from the UK now promotes soccer in America
by: Jonathan Moules
Jake Edwards soaks up the cool ocean breeze drifting through the window of the president’s office at the United Soccer League headquarters in Tampa, Florida. “It’s another day in paradise,” he coos.
. . .
After returning to live in the US with his American wife in 2012, Mr Edwards was introduced to the new owners of the USL, NuRock Soccer Holdings, which had bought the then struggling league from Nike three years earlier. At the time it had just 11 teams, mainly on the east coast, but Mr Edwards was impressed.
“I was also struck with the opportunity to create a football league structure like in the UK,” he says.
He wrote a strategic plan for the ownership group and they hired him as executive vice-president to focus on growing the business. Less than a year later, he was promoted to the top job.
The USL now consists of 30 professional teams across the country and is three years into a partnership with the nation’s top tier Major League Soccer. One and a half million people came through the turnstiles at USL games last season, a 33 per cent increase on the previous year.
“The sport is booming,” Mr Edwards says. “I look at this as a long-term play.”
NASL formally ends all ties with Traffic Sports
(Follow link for full article.)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2016/11/23/nasl-formally-ends-ties-traffic-sports/
NASL formally ends all ties with Traffic Sports
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2016/11/23/nasl-formally-ends-ties-traffic-sports/
NASL formally ends all ties with Traffic Sports
Cosmos' fate could be determined at NASL board of governors meeting next 2 days
(Follow link for full article.)
http://www.bigapplesoccer.com/teams/cosmos2.php?article_id=46562
November 28, 2016
D-DAY IS COMING
Cosmos' fate could be determined at NASL board of governors meeting next 2 days
http://www.bigapplesoccer.com/teams/cosmos2.php?article_id=46562
November 28, 2016
D-DAY IS COMING
Cosmos' fate could be determined at NASL board of governors meeting next 2 days
Soccer town Tampa Bay: It was a kick in the grass
(Follow link for full article.)
http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/soccer-town-tampa-bay-it-was-a-kick-in-the-grass/2208187
Soccer town Tampa Bay: It was a kick in the grass
Sue Carlton, Times Columnist
Thursday, November 27, 2014 6:20pm
Once upon a time, this was a soccer town. Before Tampa Bay had its Buccaneers, long before the Lightning hit the ice or the first Devil Ray hefted a bat at the Trop, this town loved its Rowdies.
Fans streamed into Tampa Stadium in team green and yellow, learned that the field was now a "pitch" and sang a merry fight song that called the team a kick in the grass. Crowds averaged more than 12,000 that first season in 1975, and a 1980 match drew a record 56,000 spectators.
Farrukh Quraishi, now 63, was on that first team — still remembered, all these years later, by the Rowdie faithful.
When a broken leg benched him for a time — a tangle with the foot of a player from Toronto — he started hanging out on the business side of things, sitting in on advertising meetings, hosting a sports and talk show on TV. Maybe things happen for a reason.
After the league folded, Quraishi helped shape another team, the Mutiny. He ran the World Cup when it came to Orlando and pushed to bring that same huge event to Tampa — no dice on that one, though.
America has an interesting relationship with soccer. It has its fans and not. In a scene from Mad Men, a British fellow enthusiastically mentions the World Cup. Roger Sterling, the show's silver-haired, Stoli-sipping ad man, snarks, "Cup of what?"
Quraishi watches American football. He admires the skill in baseball and hockey, too.
"But obviously," he said, "soccer's my first love."
And so today is full circle: Quraishi was just named president and general manager of the Tampa Bay Rowdies in its latest incarnation, playing these days at Al Lang Stadium in bustling downtown St. Petersburg. He smiles at the symmetry.
So my question: Why did Tampa Bay take to the Rowdies in such a big way back then — besides, you know, all the stuff that makes soccer the most popular sport elsewhere in the world?
In 1977, no less than Yankees owner George Steinbrenner said this in Sports Illustrated: "If anyone asked me how to start and operate any kind of franchise, I'd tell them to study the Rowdies. It is simply the best marketing in sports. From the top on down, it's a group of geniuses that have put it together. They have done the one thing that most teams fail at in all sports — in Tampa, they've made going to the soccer game the thing to do."
Quraishi points to the contract clause that required players to make lots of public appearances. They were to be the face of soccer, live and in person.
Fans knew where the Rowdies would be after a game to chat — Boneshakers in Hyde Park one night, Victoria Station near the stadium on another. The Rowdies had a regular Monday luncheon. Players were always showing up at public events and even kids' birthday parties. To this day, people come up to Quraishi and say, "I remember when you came to my junior high years ago." Fans remember the words to the song.
"It was a love affair between the team and the community," Quraishi said. "And it went both ways."
There was no competition then from other professional teams. Plus, they won.
"We won more than we lost," he said. And it was fun — the band called the Loudies, the cheerleaders who were Wowdies and, of course, the Fannies. As Quraishi put it, "People really felt we were their team."
http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/soccer-town-tampa-bay-it-was-a-kick-in-the-grass/2208187
Soccer town Tampa Bay: It was a kick in the grass
Sue Carlton, Times Columnist
Thursday, November 27, 2014 6:20pm
Once upon a time, this was a soccer town. Before Tampa Bay had its Buccaneers, long before the Lightning hit the ice or the first Devil Ray hefted a bat at the Trop, this town loved its Rowdies.
Fans streamed into Tampa Stadium in team green and yellow, learned that the field was now a "pitch" and sang a merry fight song that called the team a kick in the grass. Crowds averaged more than 12,000 that first season in 1975, and a 1980 match drew a record 56,000 spectators.
Farrukh Quraishi, now 63, was on that first team — still remembered, all these years later, by the Rowdie faithful.
When a broken leg benched him for a time — a tangle with the foot of a player from Toronto — he started hanging out on the business side of things, sitting in on advertising meetings, hosting a sports and talk show on TV. Maybe things happen for a reason.
After the league folded, Quraishi helped shape another team, the Mutiny. He ran the World Cup when it came to Orlando and pushed to bring that same huge event to Tampa — no dice on that one, though.
America has an interesting relationship with soccer. It has its fans and not. In a scene from Mad Men, a British fellow enthusiastically mentions the World Cup. Roger Sterling, the show's silver-haired, Stoli-sipping ad man, snarks, "Cup of what?"
Quraishi watches American football. He admires the skill in baseball and hockey, too.
"But obviously," he said, "soccer's my first love."
And so today is full circle: Quraishi was just named president and general manager of the Tampa Bay Rowdies in its latest incarnation, playing these days at Al Lang Stadium in bustling downtown St. Petersburg. He smiles at the symmetry.
So my question: Why did Tampa Bay take to the Rowdies in such a big way back then — besides, you know, all the stuff that makes soccer the most popular sport elsewhere in the world?
In 1977, no less than Yankees owner George Steinbrenner said this in Sports Illustrated: "If anyone asked me how to start and operate any kind of franchise, I'd tell them to study the Rowdies. It is simply the best marketing in sports. From the top on down, it's a group of geniuses that have put it together. They have done the one thing that most teams fail at in all sports — in Tampa, they've made going to the soccer game the thing to do."
Quraishi points to the contract clause that required players to make lots of public appearances. They were to be the face of soccer, live and in person.
Fans knew where the Rowdies would be after a game to chat — Boneshakers in Hyde Park one night, Victoria Station near the stadium on another. The Rowdies had a regular Monday luncheon. Players were always showing up at public events and even kids' birthday parties. To this day, people come up to Quraishi and say, "I remember when you came to my junior high years ago." Fans remember the words to the song.
"It was a love affair between the team and the community," Quraishi said. "And it went both ways."
There was no competition then from other professional teams. Plus, they won.
"We won more than we lost," he said. And it was fun — the band called the Loudies, the cheerleaders who were Wowdies and, of course, the Fannies. As Quraishi put it, "People really felt we were their team."
Cosmos in Crisis: Late Pay, Furloughs cast team’s future in doubt
Yikes.
(Follow link for full article.)
http://www.empireofsoccer.com/cosmos-in-crisis-late-pay-furloughs-cast-teams-future-in-doubt-55932/
Cosmos in Crisis: Late Pay, Furloughs cast team’s future in doubt
(Follow link for full article.)
http://www.empireofsoccer.com/cosmos-in-crisis-late-pay-furloughs-cast-teams-future-in-doubt-55932/
Cosmos in Crisis: Late Pay, Furloughs cast team’s future in doubt
Sunday, November 27, 2016
Five Points Seek Answers from Cosmos Front Office
(Follow link for full article.)
http://firstteampod.com/5-points-supporters-group-seek-answers-from-cosmos-front-office/
Five Points Seek Answers from Cosmos Front Office
http://firstteampod.com/5-points-supporters-group-seek-answers-from-cosmos-front-office/
Five Points Seek Answers from Cosmos Front Office
Financier and philanthropist Bill Edwards amps up entertainment empire
So I am digesting some of the comments on Facebook and elsewhere, reacting to this (my speculation about the seemingly coordinated timing regarding the December 6th "historic announcement"):
http://supportyourlocalfootballclub.blogspot.com/2016/11/sacramentos-soccer-future-could-soon.html
I can understand the feeling of skepticism about my theory that the Tampa Bay Rowdies will be announced as an expansion team for MLS on December 6th. I share this feeling; we have been disappointed so many times before that we don't want to get our hopes up again only to see them dashed.
However, I think that this time there is something happening, something big. I can't prove it, but some of the people reacting skeptically don't seem to have digested all of the news coming out over the past month or two.
Consider:
http://supportyourlocalfootballclub.blogspot.com/2016/11/open-letter-november-4-2016.html
http://supportyourlocalfootballclub.blogspot.com/2016/10/summary-of-garbers-comments-about-tampa.html
http://supportyourlocalfootballclub.blogspot.com/2016/10/soundbites-from-don-garber-at-tampa-bay.html
We have the argument that Bill Edwards does not have "MLS money"; I don't know what his actual wealth is, I have been told that he is a billionaire. Even if he has "MLS money" (and how much is that, truly?), he will still want other investors, though, to share the expense and to spread out the risk; hence my letter writing campaign to David Beckham and others as potential Tampa Bay Rowdies co-owners. Bill Edwards could very well have already recruited other potential minority investors for a Tampa Bay Rowdies MLS bid; we would not have heard about this yet, if he has; only Don Garber and the MLS expansion committee would have been informed.
We also hear the argument that an MLS stadium "must" be in Hillsborough County, preferably in downtown Tampa, but as we see from Don Garber's comments on October 26th, this simply isn't true at all. Garber likes the Al Lang Stadium location. As long as St. Pete city officials are on board with the MLS project, we're all good. The only question is where to play temporarily while the Al Lang SSS is being built, and as I outlined in my last open letter, the Rowdies in MLS could play at Raymond James Stadium or Tropicana Field for their first year or two, while Al Lang was unavailable (similar to how Orlando City used Camping World Stadium/Citrus Bowl while their SSS was being built). If the Glazers were minority co-owners of the Rowdies, that would smooth the way towards use of Raymond James Stadium. Ditto Sternberg and Tropicana Field. Bill Edwards has options; if he has been recruiting these people, or others, as co-owners, he would not be letting that information get out into the news media yet.
With Miami putting off their entry into MLS until 2019 (and frankly, probably giving up entirely if they can't land their big investor by the end of the year), that 24th spot in 2018 is wide open. Read or reread the article on Sacramento in the first link above; the writer times the MLS expansion committee meetings to the second week in November, followed by a Don Garber announcement/state of the league talk on December 6th or 7th. Is Sacramento Republic having a big "historic announcement" on December 6th or 7th? Is anyone else? Not that I am aware of. But the Rowdies are. If that doesn't make you go "hmmmmm...." you aren't paying enough attention.
Now I could be wrong. I am often wrong, and I am usually no good at predictions. But I really haven't seen any good arguments yet why I am wrong, this time. The best I have seen is that the timing of the announcement could just be a coincidence, which is true. But, it's a pretty big coincidence. Also, any other news would not have needed a two or three week delay. If it were just "we're expanding Al Lang" or "we really, really, really want to go to MLS some day", that could have been announced last week. Why wait until December 6th, and why that date precisely?
Much of the skepticism is due to that fact that Don Garber hasn't officially mentioned Tampa Bay as an expansion possibility yet, but, people who say this also discount his comments about the Tampa Bay market that he made on October 26th. They discount the possibility that these things can move really fast. Who knew that Minnesota United were going to MLS, before it was announced March of last year? I knew, but only because a certain Minnesota United fan leaked the info two weeks beforehand on a certain web forum. Prior to March 2015, it simply wasn't "in the air"; I don't recall anyone discussing it, as best I can remember. And yet, suddenly, Minnesota United were in MLS. I think Tampa Bay Rowdies may be in a similar situation.
Note that through his recording studio/entertainment business, Bill Edwards potentially has links to both David Beckham and Simon Fuller, see for instance this:
http://supportyourlocalfootballclub.blogspot.com/2016/08/bill-edwards-knocks-muhammad-ali-out-in.html
http://supportyourlocalfootballclub.blogspot.com/2016/11/bill-edwards-presents-power-of-love.html
Also, in the article below about Bill Edwards, note this sentence: "An American Idol runner-up is coming in to record soon." So, another potential link to Simon Fuller.
I know it is a very long shot, but, it is still quite possible that a frustrated Miami Beckham United group could close up shop in Miami, and then pivot to St. Pete and become co-owners with Bill Edwards (and others) in an MLS Tampa Bay Rowdies team. It is still possible. While I think it likely that Rowdies to MLS will be announced on December 6th, the possibility of Beckham joining the Rowdies as a co-owner has to be a much, much lower possibility. I have no idea what is actually happening. But, something is happening. We will know for sure what it is on December 6th.
Anyway, below are some links to a wiki on Bill Edwards, and an article about him from about five and a half years ago. Neither indicates whether Bill Edwards has "MLS money" or not. But he has a lot of money, and he does a lot of deals with people in real estate and in entertainment, and he works closely with St. Pete city government. So if he pulls off a big surprise announcement on December 6th, should we really be that surprised?
(Follow link for full article.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Edwards_%28businessman%29
http://www.tampabay.com/features/humaninterest/financier-and-philanthropist-bill-edwards-amps-up-entertainment-empire/1163468
Financier and philanthropist Bill Edwards amps up entertainment empire
Katherine Snow Smith, Times Staff Writer
Monday, April 18, 2011 4:07pm
Upstairs, where he oversees 880 employees who aggressively hawk mortgages across the country, Bill Edwards makes money. Downstairs, where he has a state-of-the-art recording studio, he makes music.
"I'd rather be down here a lot more," the 66-year-old financier/impresario says before clamping his eyes shut and playing air drums while listening to a new artist out of California. "Why can't I make the kind of money down here that I make up there?"
Edwards, multimillionaire, chief executive of Mortgage Investors Corp., philanthropist and overgrown teenager, is poised to be among the biggest cultural forces in Tampa Bay. The St. Petersburg City Council just voted to award his music promotion company the job of managing the struggling Mahaffey Theater. Edwards already has plenty on his plate: a mortgage company that refinanced $4.1 billion worth of VA loans last year, the Big 3 Entertainment music production and distribution company, two Treasure Island hotels, the Garden Restaurant, and the Club at Treasure Island, which he bought out of bankruptcy and plans to enhance with 24 luxury suites, a bowling center and small movie theater. He partnered on a $1 million renovation of Jannus Landing in St. Petersburg and then pulled out days after it reopened last year.
"He doesn't win every time, but he swings that bat more than anyone I know,'' said an admiring Cedric Harris, who worked for Edwards' mortgage company for five years.
Financially, Edwards has gone platinum many times over. As a record producer he hasn't fared as well.
He says he started in the mortgage business in 1993 with $30,000 borrowed on a 90-day note that he paid back in 45 days. Last year he closed the highest number of interest rate reduction VA loans in the country, 20,000, according to the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.
He grew up poor, one of six children of a New Bedford, Mass., taxi driver. The Vietnam vet who never went to college now owns an 8,400-square-foot house in Treasure Island and a Boeing jet that he flies to take in shows in Las Vegas or play in golf tournaments with Prince Albert II in Monte Carlo. Among the charities he supports are All Children's Hospital, which he has given $3.4 million. He also is the largest donor in history to Veterans Airlift Command, which transports wounded veterans and family members to hospitals.
Though he has worked with artists like Cheap Trick, Josh Groban, Christian rock band Stryper and Carnie Wilson, none has recorded a huge hit on his Big 3 label. He distributes Sen. Orrin Hatch's annual album of the Utah Republican crooning his favorite holiday songs. An American Idol runner-up is coming in to record soon.
"I don't make a fortune. Used to be we lost money, now we make money," Edwards said. "One of these days somebody's going to come in here and blow the whole thing out of the water."
In 2004, he offered the city $10 million for Mahaffey renovations in exchange for the rights to manage the theater for five years and keep all revenue. Before the city made a decision, he abruptly rescinded the offer. Edwards still donated $2 million to Mahaffey.
The St. Petersburg Times later revealed that he was convicted on a misdemeanor charge of marijuana possession in Greece, accused of shipping the drug from his St. Petersburg business to the yacht he was vacationing on. Edwards told officers that the marijuana relieved back pain caused by a war injury. His conviction was thrown out on appeal.
"It was a matter of being insulted. It was an emotional thing," Edwards said when asked recently about why he backed out of the potential deal.
Edwards plans to book more expensive acts with bigger draws. He says he'll have the help of Joe Jimenez, managing director of the Edwards Group, whom he recruited from MGM Grand at Foxwoods and was previously at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas and Atlantic City.
"We know the agents for the bigger acts, the people that bring in the bigger crowd," Jimenez said. "There are so many acts that fit perfectly in that 2,000-seat arena."
The pair also want to package Mahaffey shows with hotels, museums and restaurants. Say Gladys Knight plays the Mahaffey at 8 p.m. That ticket could be combined with dinner at Bella Brava, then a night at the Vinoy.
"We're not selling a two-hour show within four walls. We're selling a six-hour show for all of downtown," Edwards said.
"Edwards has the ability to bring the theater to a new vibrancy level with different types of acts and shows," said former St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker.
The lineup the company secured for the Taste of Pinellas at Vinoy Park is impressive, headlined by retro rocker Chris Isaac, country singer Josh Turner and blues legends Bonnie Raitt and Buddy Guy.
Last year he partnered with Jeff Knight on the renovation of Jannus Landing. Within days of the reopening of Jannus Live, Knight bought out Edwards' share.
"My part was going to be to do the entertainment there. We had a difference of opinion on what entertainment I liked vs. what (he) wanted," Edwards said. "We parted friends."
Knight declined to comment for this article.
Last summer, Edwards' production of Sgt. Pepper Live at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel, featuring Cheap Trick performing the beloved Beatles album, was well reviewed. For 38 shows, the band played with showgirls, cascading papier-mache hearts and a full orchestra.
He met his current wife, Joey, 36, through his music business. Several years back, someone sent him a CD with four cuts from an aspiring country singer in California who wrote her own lyrics.
"I signed her up before I ever met her and then I met her and she was gorgeous," he gushed. "Six years later we were married, and two years after that we had a baby."
The baby was born in January, on Edwards' 66th birthday. He also has four grown children.
"I'm not 66, I'm 30," he said, taking off his leather blazer and flexing his arms. "Check out these guns." To two 20-something Big 3 employees, he's far from a senior citizen boss.
"When you're in Vegas with Bill, you get front-row tickets to a sold-out show," said music producer Jason Pennock. "We sat in front of Tiger Woods at one of the fights. We were so close we were getting sprayed by the blood."
Then there was that time they were in Monte Carlo for a golf tournament with Prince Albert II and Kevin Costner and grew tired of the French food. Edwards had the jet fly them to the nearest town with a McDonald's. A delivery truck was waiting at the airport with Big Macs and fries for everyone.
Money man
On an average day the employees in Mortgage Investors Corp.'s outgoing-call center book 300 appointments for loan officers to visit veterans in their homes. About 75 percent of those result in a refinanced VA loan.
A POW-MIA flag hangs in the call center. Being a veteran is an asset to the business and part of who Edwards is. Yet he also has tried to distance himself from his time in the Marines to the extent of legally changing his name.
He entered the Marine Corps as Edward Francis Sylvia III. While stationed near Honolulu he rushed into burning staff quarters and rescued three children and their father, then received a spot promotion to lance corporal. Shortly after he was sent to Vietnam, where he survived without a scratch until he was two weeks from going home.
He tripped a mine while on a mission. "Then in the middle of all this there was a sniper somewhere in a tree who shot me in the leg," he recounted 45 years later. A medical unit did surgery, but doctors wanted to amputate his leg when he returned to the United States. He refused and spent 19 months in hospitals.
"They gave me the story that I would never walk again, and I'm still dancing," he said, throwing in a little soft shoe.
Perhaps the emotional wounds were even worse. He returned to Massachusetts and got married but was still haunted by the war and other issues. After his marriage ended he moved to Detroit and changed his name to William Larry Edwards.
"In the early '70s I changed my name, which many people do. It wasn't a big secret. It was a personal issue as far as I'm concerned," he said when asked by the Times about his previous name. "There are a lot of cool things I did in the military to make me a hero that got me decorated. But it was a really tough situation to be in the Marine Corps. The further I got away from the Marine Corps and Vietnam, the better for me."
Being a veteran is key to the success of his business, he said, and he mentions it in much of the advertising. He calls the script he personally wrote for telemarketers "the book." They are not to veer from it. It's based on sales principles he has culled from 20 years along with "understanding, firsthand, veterans, how they think, speak, analyze and relate to people."
Edwards' flair for the dramatic shows up in his mortgage business. The employee who books the most appointments in a day may get 30 seconds in the glass booth grabbing money blown around with a fan. The first one to book 20 appointments on any day might get to spin something akin to the Wheel of Fortune for a chance to win $5 to $100.
Some say his company's tactics are too aggressive. In the past three years, 252 people filed complaints with the Better Business Bureau. About 20 have posted negative comments on Ripoffreport.com in the past two years. Seven complaints have been filed with the Florida Office of Financial Regulation in the same amount of time. The majority say that telemarketers call repeatedly or that loan officers who visit their homes are very pushy. Some attest that closing costs end up being a lot more than they expected and monthly savings aren't as great as they were initially told.
The Office of Financial Regulation found no violations when it investigated complaints or during five examinations of MIC from 1998 to 2010. According to the Better Business Bureau, MIC is approachable and works to correct problems. Comparatively, a couple of other large companies it monitors in the area, Rooms to Go and HSN, received 1,491 and 459 complaints in the past two years.
"We do our best to avoid causing complaints, but we make thousands of calls a day and we can't avoid a small percentage from filing complaints, which we respond to as quickly as possible," Edwards said.
MIC's website promises veterans their loans will close in eight to 10 days. No appraisal, income verification or debt-to-income ratio is required. "Less than perfect credit" isn't a deal breaker.
The scenario seems ripe for some homeowners to breeze into a refinanced loan they may not be able to handle.
"It doesn't matter how much their house is worth if they can make the payments. The VA has already guaranteed it," Edwards said. "They have to be current. If they've never been late and I can save them $300 a month, that's not a risk. The one thing we check is credit. Their credit has to be good."
In 2008, the Department of Housing and Urban Development investigated 22 MIC loans and found that the company failed to do due diligence and refinanced loans to borrowers whose mortgages were delinquent at the time of refinancing. MIC didn't admit wrongdoing but paid the FHA $78,500.
All the paperwork for appointments, loan applications and closings are processed at MIC's 90,000-square-foot Central Avenue headquarters, which was the first headquarters for Raymond James Financial. Edwards bought the adjacent small apartment building because he wanted to own the whole block. There are two generators on hand to prevent any delay in loan closing and moneymaking should the power go out.
As for those apartment dwellers, "They don't make me enough money for me to give them a generator," he joked.
Cedric Harris earned his first $1 million at age 27 as MIC's marketing president. He credits Edwards for changing his life.
"He's the type of guy who can make decisions and stick to his decisions and keep it moving," said Harris, now an Internet marketer and public speaker. "He doesn't sit around and let it marinate all the time."
Salesman
Edwards loves his adopted town of Treasure Island. He ponied up $50,000 to $100,000 (he can't remember exactly how much) for it to have its own chamber of commerce, separate from the Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber of Commerce. "Our tourism is down. Our hotels on the beach, we can't knock them down and we can't build them up bigger. We try to hold them together with glue or whatever else we have," he said.
Edwards is pushing for more events like volleyball tournaments and street festivals to draw tourists. Edwards says the shows, weddings and events at his club are a shot in the arm for other businesses. He cited how comedian Richard Lewis is playing the club in July and just called to talk about renting a boat.
Did Edwards warn him to expect some extremely hot outings on that boat in July?
"I told him it will be 73 degrees and sunny," he said with a laugh. "I tell everybody it's 73 degrees here."
http://supportyourlocalfootballclub.blogspot.com/2016/11/sacramentos-soccer-future-could-soon.html
I can understand the feeling of skepticism about my theory that the Tampa Bay Rowdies will be announced as an expansion team for MLS on December 6th. I share this feeling; we have been disappointed so many times before that we don't want to get our hopes up again only to see them dashed.
However, I think that this time there is something happening, something big. I can't prove it, but some of the people reacting skeptically don't seem to have digested all of the news coming out over the past month or two.
Consider:
http://supportyourlocalfootballclub.blogspot.com/2016/11/open-letter-november-4-2016.html
http://supportyourlocalfootballclub.blogspot.com/2016/10/summary-of-garbers-comments-about-tampa.html
1. Garber said that MLS recognizes that the Tampa Bay region is the largest market without a team in MLS, in the country.
2. Markets with two teams are incredibly successful. Garber pointed to LA and NYC; he was implying that Tampa and Orlando are so close that it would encourage an intense rivalry.
3. Garber was skeptical of Miami making it happen (Garber DID NOT mention Beckham).
4. MLS will probably not grow beyond 28 teams in the foreseeable future.
5. Garber implied that Orlando City ownership group would not stop MLS from expanding to Tampa Bay.
http://supportyourlocalfootballclub.blogspot.com/2016/10/soundbites-from-don-garber-at-tampa-bay.html
1. Don Garber was extremely complimentary regarding the Tampa Bay market and Al Lang stadium. Garber did go out of his way to mention the beauty of Al Lang's waterfront view.
2. Garber mentioned MLS looking to expand to 28 teams. Sacramento, Las Vegas, San Antonio, and many others were mentioned. Miami didn't sound definite.
3. Audience question was asked about Orlando having a hold of this market. Garber said Tampa Bay is doing great things and is a prime market.
4. Don Garber also mentioned that it is pivotal that the St. Pete Mayor (Kriseman) and the other governmental bodies get behind bringing MLS to St Pete.
5. Garber mentioned Bill Edwards by name a couple of times during the discussion. As soon as the discussion finished and everyone began to mingle, Edwards was the first person Garber spoke to. Garber acknowledged the large media market we have here in Tampa Bay. He also mentioned that if Tampa had an MLS team that Orlando City's TV rights could be changed.
We have the argument that Bill Edwards does not have "MLS money"; I don't know what his actual wealth is, I have been told that he is a billionaire. Even if he has "MLS money" (and how much is that, truly?), he will still want other investors, though, to share the expense and to spread out the risk; hence my letter writing campaign to David Beckham and others as potential Tampa Bay Rowdies co-owners. Bill Edwards could very well have already recruited other potential minority investors for a Tampa Bay Rowdies MLS bid; we would not have heard about this yet, if he has; only Don Garber and the MLS expansion committee would have been informed.
We also hear the argument that an MLS stadium "must" be in Hillsborough County, preferably in downtown Tampa, but as we see from Don Garber's comments on October 26th, this simply isn't true at all. Garber likes the Al Lang Stadium location. As long as St. Pete city officials are on board with the MLS project, we're all good. The only question is where to play temporarily while the Al Lang SSS is being built, and as I outlined in my last open letter, the Rowdies in MLS could play at Raymond James Stadium or Tropicana Field for their first year or two, while Al Lang was unavailable (similar to how Orlando City used Camping World Stadium/Citrus Bowl while their SSS was being built). If the Glazers were minority co-owners of the Rowdies, that would smooth the way towards use of Raymond James Stadium. Ditto Sternberg and Tropicana Field. Bill Edwards has options; if he has been recruiting these people, or others, as co-owners, he would not be letting that information get out into the news media yet.
With Miami putting off their entry into MLS until 2019 (and frankly, probably giving up entirely if they can't land their big investor by the end of the year), that 24th spot in 2018 is wide open. Read or reread the article on Sacramento in the first link above; the writer times the MLS expansion committee meetings to the second week in November, followed by a Don Garber announcement/state of the league talk on December 6th or 7th. Is Sacramento Republic having a big "historic announcement" on December 6th or 7th? Is anyone else? Not that I am aware of. But the Rowdies are. If that doesn't make you go "hmmmmm...." you aren't paying enough attention.
Now I could be wrong. I am often wrong, and I am usually no good at predictions. But I really haven't seen any good arguments yet why I am wrong, this time. The best I have seen is that the timing of the announcement could just be a coincidence, which is true. But, it's a pretty big coincidence. Also, any other news would not have needed a two or three week delay. If it were just "we're expanding Al Lang" or "we really, really, really want to go to MLS some day", that could have been announced last week. Why wait until December 6th, and why that date precisely?
Much of the skepticism is due to that fact that Don Garber hasn't officially mentioned Tampa Bay as an expansion possibility yet, but, people who say this also discount his comments about the Tampa Bay market that he made on October 26th. They discount the possibility that these things can move really fast. Who knew that Minnesota United were going to MLS, before it was announced March of last year? I knew, but only because a certain Minnesota United fan leaked the info two weeks beforehand on a certain web forum. Prior to March 2015, it simply wasn't "in the air"; I don't recall anyone discussing it, as best I can remember. And yet, suddenly, Minnesota United were in MLS. I think Tampa Bay Rowdies may be in a similar situation.
Note that through his recording studio/entertainment business, Bill Edwards potentially has links to both David Beckham and Simon Fuller, see for instance this:
http://supportyourlocalfootballclub.blogspot.com/2016/08/bill-edwards-knocks-muhammad-ali-out-in.html
http://supportyourlocalfootballclub.blogspot.com/2016/11/bill-edwards-presents-power-of-love.html
Also, in the article below about Bill Edwards, note this sentence: "An American Idol runner-up is coming in to record soon." So, another potential link to Simon Fuller.
I know it is a very long shot, but, it is still quite possible that a frustrated Miami Beckham United group could close up shop in Miami, and then pivot to St. Pete and become co-owners with Bill Edwards (and others) in an MLS Tampa Bay Rowdies team. It is still possible. While I think it likely that Rowdies to MLS will be announced on December 6th, the possibility of Beckham joining the Rowdies as a co-owner has to be a much, much lower possibility. I have no idea what is actually happening. But, something is happening. We will know for sure what it is on December 6th.
Anyway, below are some links to a wiki on Bill Edwards, and an article about him from about five and a half years ago. Neither indicates whether Bill Edwards has "MLS money" or not. But he has a lot of money, and he does a lot of deals with people in real estate and in entertainment, and he works closely with St. Pete city government. So if he pulls off a big surprise announcement on December 6th, should we really be that surprised?
(Follow link for full article.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Edwards_%28businessman%29
http://www.tampabay.com/features/humaninterest/financier-and-philanthropist-bill-edwards-amps-up-entertainment-empire/1163468
Financier and philanthropist Bill Edwards amps up entertainment empire
Katherine Snow Smith, Times Staff Writer
Monday, April 18, 2011 4:07pm
Upstairs, where he oversees 880 employees who aggressively hawk mortgages across the country, Bill Edwards makes money. Downstairs, where he has a state-of-the-art recording studio, he makes music.
"I'd rather be down here a lot more," the 66-year-old financier/impresario says before clamping his eyes shut and playing air drums while listening to a new artist out of California. "Why can't I make the kind of money down here that I make up there?"
Edwards, multimillionaire, chief executive of Mortgage Investors Corp., philanthropist and overgrown teenager, is poised to be among the biggest cultural forces in Tampa Bay. The St. Petersburg City Council just voted to award his music promotion company the job of managing the struggling Mahaffey Theater. Edwards already has plenty on his plate: a mortgage company that refinanced $4.1 billion worth of VA loans last year, the Big 3 Entertainment music production and distribution company, two Treasure Island hotels, the Garden Restaurant, and the Club at Treasure Island, which he bought out of bankruptcy and plans to enhance with 24 luxury suites, a bowling center and small movie theater. He partnered on a $1 million renovation of Jannus Landing in St. Petersburg and then pulled out days after it reopened last year.
"He doesn't win every time, but he swings that bat more than anyone I know,'' said an admiring Cedric Harris, who worked for Edwards' mortgage company for five years.
Financially, Edwards has gone platinum many times over. As a record producer he hasn't fared as well.
He says he started in the mortgage business in 1993 with $30,000 borrowed on a 90-day note that he paid back in 45 days. Last year he closed the highest number of interest rate reduction VA loans in the country, 20,000, according to the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.
He grew up poor, one of six children of a New Bedford, Mass., taxi driver. The Vietnam vet who never went to college now owns an 8,400-square-foot house in Treasure Island and a Boeing jet that he flies to take in shows in Las Vegas or play in golf tournaments with Prince Albert II in Monte Carlo. Among the charities he supports are All Children's Hospital, which he has given $3.4 million. He also is the largest donor in history to Veterans Airlift Command, which transports wounded veterans and family members to hospitals.
Though he has worked with artists like Cheap Trick, Josh Groban, Christian rock band Stryper and Carnie Wilson, none has recorded a huge hit on his Big 3 label. He distributes Sen. Orrin Hatch's annual album of the Utah Republican crooning his favorite holiday songs. An American Idol runner-up is coming in to record soon.
"I don't make a fortune. Used to be we lost money, now we make money," Edwards said. "One of these days somebody's going to come in here and blow the whole thing out of the water."
In 2004, he offered the city $10 million for Mahaffey renovations in exchange for the rights to manage the theater for five years and keep all revenue. Before the city made a decision, he abruptly rescinded the offer. Edwards still donated $2 million to Mahaffey.
The St. Petersburg Times later revealed that he was convicted on a misdemeanor charge of marijuana possession in Greece, accused of shipping the drug from his St. Petersburg business to the yacht he was vacationing on. Edwards told officers that the marijuana relieved back pain caused by a war injury. His conviction was thrown out on appeal.
"It was a matter of being insulted. It was an emotional thing," Edwards said when asked recently about why he backed out of the potential deal.
Edwards plans to book more expensive acts with bigger draws. He says he'll have the help of Joe Jimenez, managing director of the Edwards Group, whom he recruited from MGM Grand at Foxwoods and was previously at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas and Atlantic City.
"We know the agents for the bigger acts, the people that bring in the bigger crowd," Jimenez said. "There are so many acts that fit perfectly in that 2,000-seat arena."
The pair also want to package Mahaffey shows with hotels, museums and restaurants. Say Gladys Knight plays the Mahaffey at 8 p.m. That ticket could be combined with dinner at Bella Brava, then a night at the Vinoy.
"We're not selling a two-hour show within four walls. We're selling a six-hour show for all of downtown," Edwards said.
"Edwards has the ability to bring the theater to a new vibrancy level with different types of acts and shows," said former St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker.
The lineup the company secured for the Taste of Pinellas at Vinoy Park is impressive, headlined by retro rocker Chris Isaac, country singer Josh Turner and blues legends Bonnie Raitt and Buddy Guy.
Last year he partnered with Jeff Knight on the renovation of Jannus Landing. Within days of the reopening of Jannus Live, Knight bought out Edwards' share.
"My part was going to be to do the entertainment there. We had a difference of opinion on what entertainment I liked vs. what (he) wanted," Edwards said. "We parted friends."
Knight declined to comment for this article.
Last summer, Edwards' production of Sgt. Pepper Live at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel, featuring Cheap Trick performing the beloved Beatles album, was well reviewed. For 38 shows, the band played with showgirls, cascading papier-mache hearts and a full orchestra.
He met his current wife, Joey, 36, through his music business. Several years back, someone sent him a CD with four cuts from an aspiring country singer in California who wrote her own lyrics.
"I signed her up before I ever met her and then I met her and she was gorgeous," he gushed. "Six years later we were married, and two years after that we had a baby."
The baby was born in January, on Edwards' 66th birthday. He also has four grown children.
"I'm not 66, I'm 30," he said, taking off his leather blazer and flexing his arms. "Check out these guns." To two 20-something Big 3 employees, he's far from a senior citizen boss.
"When you're in Vegas with Bill, you get front-row tickets to a sold-out show," said music producer Jason Pennock. "We sat in front of Tiger Woods at one of the fights. We were so close we were getting sprayed by the blood."
Then there was that time they were in Monte Carlo for a golf tournament with Prince Albert II and Kevin Costner and grew tired of the French food. Edwards had the jet fly them to the nearest town with a McDonald's. A delivery truck was waiting at the airport with Big Macs and fries for everyone.
Money man
On an average day the employees in Mortgage Investors Corp.'s outgoing-call center book 300 appointments for loan officers to visit veterans in their homes. About 75 percent of those result in a refinanced VA loan.
A POW-MIA flag hangs in the call center. Being a veteran is an asset to the business and part of who Edwards is. Yet he also has tried to distance himself from his time in the Marines to the extent of legally changing his name.
He entered the Marine Corps as Edward Francis Sylvia III. While stationed near Honolulu he rushed into burning staff quarters and rescued three children and their father, then received a spot promotion to lance corporal. Shortly after he was sent to Vietnam, where he survived without a scratch until he was two weeks from going home.
He tripped a mine while on a mission. "Then in the middle of all this there was a sniper somewhere in a tree who shot me in the leg," he recounted 45 years later. A medical unit did surgery, but doctors wanted to amputate his leg when he returned to the United States. He refused and spent 19 months in hospitals.
"They gave me the story that I would never walk again, and I'm still dancing," he said, throwing in a little soft shoe.
Perhaps the emotional wounds were even worse. He returned to Massachusetts and got married but was still haunted by the war and other issues. After his marriage ended he moved to Detroit and changed his name to William Larry Edwards.
"In the early '70s I changed my name, which many people do. It wasn't a big secret. It was a personal issue as far as I'm concerned," he said when asked by the Times about his previous name. "There are a lot of cool things I did in the military to make me a hero that got me decorated. But it was a really tough situation to be in the Marine Corps. The further I got away from the Marine Corps and Vietnam, the better for me."
Being a veteran is key to the success of his business, he said, and he mentions it in much of the advertising. He calls the script he personally wrote for telemarketers "the book." They are not to veer from it. It's based on sales principles he has culled from 20 years along with "understanding, firsthand, veterans, how they think, speak, analyze and relate to people."
Edwards' flair for the dramatic shows up in his mortgage business. The employee who books the most appointments in a day may get 30 seconds in the glass booth grabbing money blown around with a fan. The first one to book 20 appointments on any day might get to spin something akin to the Wheel of Fortune for a chance to win $5 to $100.
Some say his company's tactics are too aggressive. In the past three years, 252 people filed complaints with the Better Business Bureau. About 20 have posted negative comments on Ripoffreport.com in the past two years. Seven complaints have been filed with the Florida Office of Financial Regulation in the same amount of time. The majority say that telemarketers call repeatedly or that loan officers who visit their homes are very pushy. Some attest that closing costs end up being a lot more than they expected and monthly savings aren't as great as they were initially told.
The Office of Financial Regulation found no violations when it investigated complaints or during five examinations of MIC from 1998 to 2010. According to the Better Business Bureau, MIC is approachable and works to correct problems. Comparatively, a couple of other large companies it monitors in the area, Rooms to Go and HSN, received 1,491 and 459 complaints in the past two years.
"We do our best to avoid causing complaints, but we make thousands of calls a day and we can't avoid a small percentage from filing complaints, which we respond to as quickly as possible," Edwards said.
MIC's website promises veterans their loans will close in eight to 10 days. No appraisal, income verification or debt-to-income ratio is required. "Less than perfect credit" isn't a deal breaker.
The scenario seems ripe for some homeowners to breeze into a refinanced loan they may not be able to handle.
"It doesn't matter how much their house is worth if they can make the payments. The VA has already guaranteed it," Edwards said. "They have to be current. If they've never been late and I can save them $300 a month, that's not a risk. The one thing we check is credit. Their credit has to be good."
In 2008, the Department of Housing and Urban Development investigated 22 MIC loans and found that the company failed to do due diligence and refinanced loans to borrowers whose mortgages were delinquent at the time of refinancing. MIC didn't admit wrongdoing but paid the FHA $78,500.
All the paperwork for appointments, loan applications and closings are processed at MIC's 90,000-square-foot Central Avenue headquarters, which was the first headquarters for Raymond James Financial. Edwards bought the adjacent small apartment building because he wanted to own the whole block. There are two generators on hand to prevent any delay in loan closing and moneymaking should the power go out.
As for those apartment dwellers, "They don't make me enough money for me to give them a generator," he joked.
Cedric Harris earned his first $1 million at age 27 as MIC's marketing president. He credits Edwards for changing his life.
"He's the type of guy who can make decisions and stick to his decisions and keep it moving," said Harris, now an Internet marketer and public speaker. "He doesn't sit around and let it marinate all the time."
Salesman
Edwards loves his adopted town of Treasure Island. He ponied up $50,000 to $100,000 (he can't remember exactly how much) for it to have its own chamber of commerce, separate from the Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber of Commerce. "Our tourism is down. Our hotels on the beach, we can't knock them down and we can't build them up bigger. We try to hold them together with glue or whatever else we have," he said.
Edwards is pushing for more events like volleyball tournaments and street festivals to draw tourists. Edwards says the shows, weddings and events at his club are a shot in the arm for other businesses. He cited how comedian Richard Lewis is playing the club in July and just called to talk about renting a boat.
Did Edwards warn him to expect some extremely hot outings on that boat in July?
"I told him it will be 73 degrees and sunny," he said with a laugh. "I tell everybody it's 73 degrees here."
MLS Cup should be on the day after Thanksgiving, every year
No, it should not, because reasons.
Longer version: thanks to constant interruptions due to the FIFA calendar, it simply isn't possible to end the MLS season this early, especially with the interruptions that have come during the MLS playoffs (for instance BMO field this year had to schedule around both the CFL Grey Cup final and Toronto FC being in the MLS playoffs). And even if it were possible, playing the MLS Cup final on Black Friday isn't really going to increase its media exposure.
(Maybe they could play the USSF Open Cup final on Black Friday; that might work.)
I mean, if you're going to start the season earlier so as to finish with the MLS Cup final on Black Friday, you're going to have to start the season so early that you'll be playing games in February or March in Chicago, Toronto, Montreal, etc.
Or maybe we could go with my idea of giving every cold weather MLS SSS an ETFE roof or dome and we could play a fall-spring season with a winter break, or other crazy ideas I have. Ask me; I got dozens.
(Follow link for full article.)
http://www.blackandredunited.com/opinion/2016/11/25/13742912/mls-cup-black-friday
MLS Cup should be on the day after Thanksgiving, every year
Longer version: thanks to constant interruptions due to the FIFA calendar, it simply isn't possible to end the MLS season this early, especially with the interruptions that have come during the MLS playoffs (for instance BMO field this year had to schedule around both the CFL Grey Cup final and Toronto FC being in the MLS playoffs). And even if it were possible, playing the MLS Cup final on Black Friday isn't really going to increase its media exposure.
(Maybe they could play the USSF Open Cup final on Black Friday; that might work.)
I mean, if you're going to start the season earlier so as to finish with the MLS Cup final on Black Friday, you're going to have to start the season so early that you'll be playing games in February or March in Chicago, Toronto, Montreal, etc.
Or maybe we could go with my idea of giving every cold weather MLS SSS an ETFE roof or dome and we could play a fall-spring season with a winter break, or other crazy ideas I have. Ask me; I got dozens.
(Follow link for full article.)
http://www.blackandredunited.com/opinion/2016/11/25/13742912/mls-cup-black-friday
MLS Cup should be on the day after Thanksgiving, every year
Saturday, November 26, 2016
NASL a Defendant in Bill Edwards’ Lawsuit Against Fort Lauderdale Strikers
(Follow link for full article.)
http://www.empireofsoccer.com/nasl-a-defendant-in-bill-edwards-lawsuit-against-fort-lauderdale-strikers-55894/
NASL a Defendant in Bill Edwards’ Lawsuit Against Fort Lauderdale Strikers
By Jake Nutting on 11/26/2016
A few weeks ago, Bill Edwards was threatening legal action against the NASL for its relationship to Traffic Sports. Now the Tampa Bay Rowdies owner appears to have found a new target in the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, who he alleges failed to repay multiple loans totaling over $300,000.
. . .
http://www.empireofsoccer.com/nasl-a-defendant-in-bill-edwards-lawsuit-against-fort-lauderdale-strikers-55894/
NASL a Defendant in Bill Edwards’ Lawsuit Against Fort Lauderdale Strikers
By Jake Nutting on 11/26/2016
A few weeks ago, Bill Edwards was threatening legal action against the NASL for its relationship to Traffic Sports. Now the Tampa Bay Rowdies owner appears to have found a new target in the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, who he alleges failed to repay multiple loans totaling over $300,000.
The lawsuit came to light in an initial report from SaintPetersBlog, which revealed that the former NASL owner filed his complaint against Fort Lauderdale’s holding company Miami FC, LLC on November 17 in Pinellas County after first sending Strikers ownership a letter of demand for repayment on November 4.
Unmentioned in the report is the fact that court records for the case show the NASL is also listed as a defendant in the case against Fort Lauderdale’s ownership. Both Fort Lauderdale and the NASL were issued a summons in the case, although the complaint filed by Edwards’ attorneys does not ask for judgement against the league, only Fort Lauderdale.
The NASL is only mentioned in the complaint in relation to an allegation that Fort Lauderdale breached the original loan agreement with Edwards by also giving the league a secured interest in the team’s assets in late September. A financing statement showing the agreement between the NASL and Fort Lauderdale is included as an exhibit in Edwards’ filing.
. . .
Edwards is seeking damages and foreclosure on Fort Lauderdale’s assets in the lawsuit. A promissory note signed by Strikers Managing Director Luis Cuccattii, and that lists team owner Paulo Cesso as the Individual Guarantor, details the considerable collateral the team put up to secure the loans. Included in the list along with tangible assets are the team’s patents, copyrights, trademarks, rights to use of the name “FT Lauderdale Strikers” and any and all variations thereof.
The Miami Connection
Given the current situation, this is a good read, or re-read, about the big silent (too silent) partner in the Miami Beckham United ownership consortium: Marcelo Claure.
(Follow link for full article.)
http://reprints.longform.org/howler-miami-marcelo-claure
The Miami Connection
Billionaire Marcelo Claure wants to bring soccer to South Florida. He just doesn't want to talk about it.
ROBERT ANDREW POWELL • HOWLER
This article appears in the latest issue of Howler, our favorite soccer magazine. See the full issue here. All illustrations by James Gulliver Hancock.
Here’s a little tossed-off aside from Marcelo Claure, the wealthiest Bolivian alive, a self-described embodiment of the American dream, and a guy trying, for the second time, to bring a Major League Soccer team to South Florida.
“Departures magazine asked me for an interview about our plans in Miami. I said, ‘Sure!’ But then I ran it past David and he said, ‘I hate Departures magazine.’ So that was that. No interview. No more contact. Completely cut off.”
(Follow link for full article.)
http://reprints.longform.org/howler-miami-marcelo-claure
The Miami Connection
Billionaire Marcelo Claure wants to bring soccer to South Florida. He just doesn't want to talk about it.
ROBERT ANDREW POWELL • HOWLER
This article appears in the latest issue of Howler, our favorite soccer magazine. See the full issue here. All illustrations by James Gulliver Hancock.
Here’s a little tossed-off aside from Marcelo Claure, the wealthiest Bolivian alive, a self-described embodiment of the American dream, and a guy trying, for the second time, to bring a Major League Soccer team to South Florida.
“Departures magazine asked me for an interview about our plans in Miami. I said, ‘Sure!’ But then I ran it past David and he said, ‘I hate Departures magazine.’ So that was that. No interview. No more contact. Completely cut off.”
Friday, November 25, 2016
Bill Edwards seeking control of Fort Lauderdale Strikers after team defaults on loan
(Follow link for full article.)
http://saintpetersblog.com/bill-edwards-seeks-control-fort-lauderdale-strikers-team-defaults-loan/
http://saintpetersblog.com/bill-edwards-seeks-control-fort-lauderdale-strikers-team-defaults-loan/
Bill Edwards seeking control of Fort Lauderdale Strikers after team defaults on loan
Thursday, November 24, 2016
Sacramento’s soccer future could soon become more clear
So I was Googling, trying to figure out when this year's MLS Board of Governors was meeting, when I stumbled upon this article. Very interesting timing; this was published three days before Garber give his talk in Tampa this past October.
So: "a committee of MLS team owners exploring expansion is scheduled to meet in New York the second week of November".
Third week in November: Thursday, November 17, Ralph's Mob president and vice-president post very odd, cryptic comments on Facebook and post that they are in a meeting with Bill Edwards. Coincidence?
So: "Garber is then scheduled to make a “state of the league” address either Dec. 6 or 7 – and it’s possible he could have something to announce. And if the expansion issue isn’t settled by then, all of the league’s owners have scheduled a Board of Governors meeting Dec. 15 in New York at which they are expected to talk more about expansion."
The following Monday after the Ralph's Mob cryptic comments, November 21, we have the announcement from the Rowdies about their "historic announcement" upcoming on December 6. Coincidence?
The timing of the Rowdies "historic announcement" on the night of December 6 is highly suggestive, but so far no one in the media or fandom (apart from me) seems to have noticed.
Could Garber be at the "historic announcement" in St. Petersburg on December 6 to announce the Rowdies are joining MLS in 2018? Or could he remotely announce it from New York on the night of December 6, and officially explain it to the general media the following day, December 7, as part of his “state of the league” address? That would be quite a coup and would take everyone by surprise (I can already hear the complaining from the usual suspects).
Suggestive, but not conclusive, information. We shall see what happens.
(Follow link for full article.)
http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/city-beat/article110079987.html
OCTOBER 23, 2016 12:00 PM
Sacramento’s soccer future could soon become more clear
BY RYAN LILLIS
When Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber visited Sacramento in April, he said he wanted the league to decide on Sacramento’s bid for an expansion team by the time Mayor Kevin Johnson leaves office.
Given that the mayor has just over seven weeks left, that scenario may seem like a bigger long shot than, say, Johnson showing up to all his remaining City Council meetings. But here’s a prediction: Sacramento and Republic FC will receive concrete news about their MLS future around the day Johnson jumps into his black SUV outside City Hall one last time.
The country’s premier pro soccer league has key meetings scheduled over the next several weeks that should provide us with clarity on its expansion plans.
First, a committee of MLS team owners exploring expansion is scheduled to meet in New York the second week of November. For that session, MLS spokesman Dan Courtemanche said the league is “preparing extensive data on various markets and what the impact of expansion would be on a wide variety of aspects of the league.”
That timing could work out very well for Sacramento.
The city’s planning commission is expected to recommend approval of the environmental impact report for the downtown railyard – including plans for a 19,621-seat professional soccer stadium – at a special meeting Monday. The City Council is scheduled to vote on that recommendation Nov. 10, likely granting key political support to the project as MLS owners explore Sacramento’s viability as an expansion market.
Garber is then scheduled to make a “state of the league” address either Dec. 6 or 7 – and it’s possible he could have something to announce. And if the expansion issue isn’t settled by then, all of the league’s owners have scheduled a Board of Governors meeting Dec. 15 in New York at which they are expected to talk more about expansion. That’s two days after Johnson’s final day at City Hall.
So where does that leave Sacramento? Well, it leaves the city in the same place it’s been for several months: at the front of the line to become the next Major League Soccer city.
Garber clearly loves Sacramento. He made that clear when he was here in the spring. And here’s what he told Sports Illustrated during an interview last month: “I don’t think there’s any market that’s done more than any other, other than Sacramento, which clearly is MLS ready.”
The commissioner went on to mention other “viable” markets fighting for expansion slots – including St. Louis, Detroit, San Diego, Cincinnati, Las Vegas and Austin, Texas. But he then added, “Sacramento is wired pretty tight right now.”
Sacramento’s inevitable climb to MLS is dragging along, and some fans are getting restless. How many more times can Republic FC expect to pack Bonney Field for matches against the Harrisburg City Islanders or Tulsa Roughnecks? What’s made the climb frustrating for some is that there hasn’t been much predictability to the process.
For instance, last year MLS said it was going to take at least a month – maybe two – to vet a proposal for adding a team in Minnesota’s Twin Cities. It then awarded the region an expansion team one week later. At the same time, the league has allowed Miami’s floundering expansion bid to hang on for nearly three years, even as stadium plan after stadium plan in South Florida has evaporated.
What seems most likely is that by December, MLS will finalize its timing for moving from its current roster of 24 franchises to 28. And with Sacramento “wired pretty tight,” that timing could essentially tell soccer fans here when Republic FC will finally make the leap to the big leagues.
Johnson won’t be the mayor to cut a ribbon on a new downtown soccer stadium. But Garber still has time to make good on his pledge to hand Johnson a parting gift on his way out the door.
So: "a committee of MLS team owners exploring expansion is scheduled to meet in New York the second week of November".
Third week in November: Thursday, November 17, Ralph's Mob president and vice-president post very odd, cryptic comments on Facebook and post that they are in a meeting with Bill Edwards. Coincidence?
So: "Garber is then scheduled to make a “state of the league” address either Dec. 6 or 7 – and it’s possible he could have something to announce. And if the expansion issue isn’t settled by then, all of the league’s owners have scheduled a Board of Governors meeting Dec. 15 in New York at which they are expected to talk more about expansion."
The following Monday after the Ralph's Mob cryptic comments, November 21, we have the announcement from the Rowdies about their "historic announcement" upcoming on December 6. Coincidence?
The timing of the Rowdies "historic announcement" on the night of December 6 is highly suggestive, but so far no one in the media or fandom (apart from me) seems to have noticed.
Could Garber be at the "historic announcement" in St. Petersburg on December 6 to announce the Rowdies are joining MLS in 2018? Or could he remotely announce it from New York on the night of December 6, and officially explain it to the general media the following day, December 7, as part of his “state of the league” address? That would be quite a coup and would take everyone by surprise (I can already hear the complaining from the usual suspects).
Suggestive, but not conclusive, information. We shall see what happens.
(Follow link for full article.)
http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/city-beat/article110079987.html
OCTOBER 23, 2016 12:00 PM
Sacramento’s soccer future could soon become more clear
BY RYAN LILLIS
When Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber visited Sacramento in April, he said he wanted the league to decide on Sacramento’s bid for an expansion team by the time Mayor Kevin Johnson leaves office.
Given that the mayor has just over seven weeks left, that scenario may seem like a bigger long shot than, say, Johnson showing up to all his remaining City Council meetings. But here’s a prediction: Sacramento and Republic FC will receive concrete news about their MLS future around the day Johnson jumps into his black SUV outside City Hall one last time.
The country’s premier pro soccer league has key meetings scheduled over the next several weeks that should provide us with clarity on its expansion plans.
First, a committee of MLS team owners exploring expansion is scheduled to meet in New York the second week of November. For that session, MLS spokesman Dan Courtemanche said the league is “preparing extensive data on various markets and what the impact of expansion would be on a wide variety of aspects of the league.”
That timing could work out very well for Sacramento.
The city’s planning commission is expected to recommend approval of the environmental impact report for the downtown railyard – including plans for a 19,621-seat professional soccer stadium – at a special meeting Monday. The City Council is scheduled to vote on that recommendation Nov. 10, likely granting key political support to the project as MLS owners explore Sacramento’s viability as an expansion market.
Garber is then scheduled to make a “state of the league” address either Dec. 6 or 7 – and it’s possible he could have something to announce. And if the expansion issue isn’t settled by then, all of the league’s owners have scheduled a Board of Governors meeting Dec. 15 in New York at which they are expected to talk more about expansion. That’s two days after Johnson’s final day at City Hall.
So where does that leave Sacramento? Well, it leaves the city in the same place it’s been for several months: at the front of the line to become the next Major League Soccer city.
Garber clearly loves Sacramento. He made that clear when he was here in the spring. And here’s what he told Sports Illustrated during an interview last month: “I don’t think there’s any market that’s done more than any other, other than Sacramento, which clearly is MLS ready.”
The commissioner went on to mention other “viable” markets fighting for expansion slots – including St. Louis, Detroit, San Diego, Cincinnati, Las Vegas and Austin, Texas. But he then added, “Sacramento is wired pretty tight right now.”
Sacramento’s inevitable climb to MLS is dragging along, and some fans are getting restless. How many more times can Republic FC expect to pack Bonney Field for matches against the Harrisburg City Islanders or Tulsa Roughnecks? What’s made the climb frustrating for some is that there hasn’t been much predictability to the process.
For instance, last year MLS said it was going to take at least a month – maybe two – to vet a proposal for adding a team in Minnesota’s Twin Cities. It then awarded the region an expansion team one week later. At the same time, the league has allowed Miami’s floundering expansion bid to hang on for nearly three years, even as stadium plan after stadium plan in South Florida has evaporated.
What seems most likely is that by December, MLS will finalize its timing for moving from its current roster of 24 franchises to 28. And with Sacramento “wired pretty tight,” that timing could essentially tell soccer fans here when Republic FC will finally make the leap to the big leagues.
Johnson won’t be the mayor to cut a ribbon on a new downtown soccer stadium. But Garber still has time to make good on his pledge to hand Johnson a parting gift on his way out the door.
Wednesday, November 23, 2016
More Big Soccer Comments
More Big Soccer comments. I hope for option 3: expanded ownership group (maybe with David Beckham? hence this blog) and Tampa Bay Rowdies to MLS (hopefully in 2018).
Rowdies to MLS does require a stadium solution, but provided the Rowdies ownership group doesn't require government funding, then the Rays situation doesn't matter. The St. Pete mayor is on board; no reason why Al Lang could not be the stadium solution, provided the Rowdies ownership can pay for it.
(Follow link for full article.)
http://forums.bigsoccer.com/threads/rowdies-news-and-updates.1873744/page-49
More Big Soccer Comments
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leftboot
With "Historic Announcement" as the headline and held at a Hotel it has to be big. I can see only a few things worthy.
1. MLS aspirations (USL then to MLS)
2. Ownership change - BE makes his money and moves on.
3. Combination of both. BE brings in other investors to be able to afford MLS (fees).
Players/coaches are not historic (unless its a big name) and we are not moving to Tampa. Stadium expansion we would have heard about. Sponsor's come and go. New Restaurant at the stadium...I know far fetched...but maybe? New Kits would be announced as such. All that cost him money and BE is all about making money. Who the hell knows what its going to be...but it should be good!
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kenntomasch
MLS would be great, but that necessarily portends a stadium solution. The Rays are the big stadium aspirant in the market at the moment, though they are years away from closure on that.
If they announce a Sacramento situation, where certain things will be executed if they are awarded a franchise, terrific.
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Rowdies to MLS does require a stadium solution, but provided the Rowdies ownership group doesn't require government funding, then the Rays situation doesn't matter. The St. Pete mayor is on board; no reason why Al Lang could not be the stadium solution, provided the Rowdies ownership can pay for it.
(Follow link for full article.)
http://forums.bigsoccer.com/threads/rowdies-news-and-updates.1873744/page-49
More Big Soccer Comments
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leftboot
With "Historic Announcement" as the headline and held at a Hotel it has to be big. I can see only a few things worthy.
1. MLS aspirations (USL then to MLS)
2. Ownership change - BE makes his money and moves on.
3. Combination of both. BE brings in other investors to be able to afford MLS (fees).
Players/coaches are not historic (unless its a big name) and we are not moving to Tampa. Stadium expansion we would have heard about. Sponsor's come and go. New Restaurant at the stadium...I know far fetched...but maybe? New Kits would be announced as such. All that cost him money and BE is all about making money. Who the hell knows what its going to be...but it should be good!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
kenntomasch
MLS would be great, but that necessarily portends a stadium solution. The Rays are the big stadium aspirant in the market at the moment, though they are years away from closure on that.
If they announce a Sacramento situation, where certain things will be executed if they are awarded a franchise, terrific.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
More on Al Lang: Historic announcement regarding the club's future on December 6
Additional comments about Al Lang on reddit. Useful refresher in case the December 6 announcement has anything to do with Al Lang.
Important reminder: we now know that Orlando City can't block the Rowdies from getting into MLS, so the delay in expanding Al Lang and the cancellation of the November vote probably has more to do with the lack of support for city/county funding due to the Rays situation, maybe, and also maybe due to waiting to see how talks between Bill Edwards and Don Garber went as to whether the Rowdies can get into MLS, and when.
I would not expect any announcement of Al Lang expansion (or replacement) until after the Tampa Bay Rowdies are officially in MLS. Much easier to commit money into building a proper SSS if MLS is assured. So I am hoping that the December 6 announcement isn't just about the stadium; I am hoping it is about Rowdies entry into MLS, and if so maybe also some news about the stadium as well. But we shall see.
It would definitely be better to tear down the existing structure at Al Lang and build a new, properly oriented SSS on the site. Piecemeal expansion of the existing facility simply locks us in to a bad setup, with no room to expand on one side and limited overall capacity of the bare minimum for MLS (18,000) at a time when MLS SSS size is slowly growing (for instance Orlando City increased their SSS to 25,000 from an earlier lower planned capacity).
Also, forget what the waterfront plan says or does not say: don't decrease parking in and around the stadium. Keep the parking lot, and add additional parking around the new stadium if possible. Every bit helps.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Follow link for full article.)
https://www.reddit.com/r/TampaBayRowdies/comments/5e7mnq/historic_announcement_regarding_the_clubs_future/
Historic announcement regarding the club's future on December 6
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
unsubmatt
There's also more room for something if the rest of the old outfield wall comes down. Used to be batting cages and a practice diamond out there, so if that was finally cleared out and everything "shifted," it could make more sense space-wise.
I've also thought for awhile now that the parking deals with other nearby lots (whether Edwards-owned like the Den garage & Sundial, or with USFSP, etc) might be a prelude to the Al Lang lot disappearing someday. AFAIK, that's still city-owned/run but maybe that changes down the road?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
phat7deuce
I think the city owns, but Edwards manages and collects revenue from the Al Lang lot as part of the stadium deal.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
unsubmatt
that's the one I've never gotten a clear answer on. Was told early last season that city owned & controlled everything with an asphalt top, which was why there would never be food trucks, etc at tailgates
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
phat7deuce
...yeah, you're right. City still manages it, but Edwards does seem to get some of the parking revenue - maybe only for games.
"Zeoli assured the council that while the city will give up some parking revenue to Edwards under the deal, the city will still control and manage the lot. The city currently makes about $20,000 a year from that. Given that Edwards is putting so much more into capital improvements, officials were fine with surrendering that money, Zeoli said."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
dietrich14
I would add that their is plenty more room if they push the pitch closer to the main stands. Of course tbat would mean removing half of the kids hill, or atleast relocating it.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Follow link for full article.)
http://www.tampabay.com/news/localgovernment/its-official-bill-edwards-will-control-al-lang-stadium-in-a-deal-approved/2200447
St. Petersburg City Council gives developer Bill Edwards control of Al Lang Stadium
By Kameel Stanley, Times Staff Writer
Thursday, October 2, 2014 2:14pm
ST. PETERSBURG — It's official. Starting today, businessman Bill Edwards will take over management of Al Lang Stadium, the home turf for his soccer team, the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
Edwards has pledged to spend $1.5 million to fix up the aging downtown stadium and will control the facility for the next four years in a deal the City Council approved 7-1 on Thursday.
"I came to the conclusion this is overwhelmingly a win-win-win," said council member Darden Rice, following remarks by some lamenting the end of baseball at the storied stadium. "I think this is a new day for the city. That death kind of happened a while ago.
"Soccer is alive and kicking."
Edwards has been trying for months to wrest control of Al Lang from the city's current management contractor, the St. Petersburg Baseball Commission, which he has long criticized because of conditions at the facility.
The deal calls for the baseball commission to continue to manage the city's Walter Fuller sports complex.
Edwards has accused the commission of mismanagement and said baseball's presence at Al Lang is hurting the Rowdies. He sued the commission earlier this year.
The new management deal ends the lawsuit, which was important to the city, said Joe Zeoli, who is in charge of downtown enterprise facilities.
While the deal itself was public, the settlement of the lawsuit will remain secret. That has irked some council members.
"Why is this confidential if these are two public assets?" council member Wengay Newton said.
Council member Steve Kornell said he understands the reasons for secret settlements, but doesn't like it.
"Frankly, I just find it laughable that we got this on Monday, and if we don't do it (now) it's going to cause business disruption," Kornell said of the deal, which was proposed, then scrapped, then revived over the past few weeks. "I understand it, I just don't like it. I think if people want to do business with the city it's not a private deal. I appreciate everyone involved in this, I'm just not there yet."
Kornell also wants assurance the Saturday Morning Market, which operates in the stadium's parking lot, would be protected.
Zeoli assured the council that while the city will give up some parking revenue to Edwards under the deal, the city will still control and manage the lot. The city currently makes about $20,000 a year from that. Given that Edwards is putting so much more into capital improvements, officials were fine with surrendering that money, Zeoli said.
The baseball commission also asked the city to continue giving it a $200,000 annual subsidy even though it will be managing one less facility, and the city agreed, Zeoli said.
While the majority of the council seemed comfortable with the deal, some people inside the council chambers on Thursday were not.
Developer Dan Harvey encouraged council members to view the Al Lang deal as a short-term solution, and highlighted the importance of the ongoing waterfront plan, which is expected to give guidance about the future of the site.
Community activist Theresa "Momma Tee" Lassiter chastised the council for bowing to pressure from Edwards. She said she shares Kornell's concerns that the Saturday Morning Market could eventually find itself out of favor with whatever plans Edwards has for the stadium.
"I have sat here 20 years and watched you allow big business to manipulate us," she said. "Call it what it is. It's Rick Baker and Bill Edwards … why can't we all get along? Why do you have to go and do a back room deal?"
After the vote, Edwards said he was pleased. Soccer is here to stay, he said, and it is the norm for teams to control their stadiums. He said he and the baseball commission have let "bygones be bygones."
He didn't go into details about all the improvements he plans to make but said a new scoreboard is definitely in order.
Baseball will continue to be remembered at the stadium, Edwards said, noting that what happens to the site after four years will be up to the waterfront master plan.
"I think it's going to be a great place for people to congregate," he said. "Citizens have a million and a half reasons they should be happy."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Follow link for full article.)
http://www.tampabay.com/news/growth/st-petersburg-mayor-rick-kriseman-shelves-plans-to-ask-voters-for/2275984
St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman shelves plans to ask voters for permission to expand Al Lang
Charlie Frago
Wednesday, May 4, 2016 9:11pm
ST. PETERSBURG — Mayor Rick Kriseman and the Tampa Bay Rowdies announced plans in March to ask voters to give the team — and its owner, Bill Edwards — a longer lease for historic waterfront venue Al Lang Stadium.
At the time, Edwards and a team executive said a longer lease would allow the Rowdies to expand Al Lang and transform it into a city showpiece.
But those plans have been shelved along with any request to ask the county for tourism dollars to add seats and other amenities.
Pinellas County Administrator Mark Woodard said this week that Kriseman told him the city wouldn't seek hotel bed tax money for Al Lang or the Rowdies. That means the referendum idea appears dead.
Kriseman spokesman Ben Kirby declined to comment further than a brief statement.
"Based on the mayor's conversations with Mr. Edwards, there is no urgency for a referendum related to a lease on Al Lang Stadium," Kirby said.
He referred all other questions to Edwards, whose office didn't elaborate.
"In my last meeting with Mayor Kriseman, I asked for a renewal of the management agreement for the maximum length allowed by the charter," Edwards said in a statement.
The current agreement is a four-year lease that expires in November 2018.
Extending that lease would require voter approval under the city charter.
While Kriseman and Edwards are remaining mum about the decision to drop the push for upgrading Al Lang into a first-class soccer stadium, they might have lost interest after discovering that the Orlando City SC, a Major League Soccer franchise, has territorial rights over St. Petersburg.
Council Chairwoman Amy Foster said in March that Edwards told her and other council member of his desire to join MLS. He had made similar comments to the Tampa Bay Times shortly after buying the team in 2014.
But after the Times reported Orlando's rights over the market, Edwards said he had no immediate plans for the Rowdies to join MLS and was happy to remain in the second-tier North American Soccer League.
The ongoing campaign to keep the Tampa Bay Rays in the city may have also played a role. If the Rays decide to build a new stadium in the city, the county tourist tax dollars would be an essential piece of the financial puzzle.
For now, the mystery remains, but the terseness of Wednesday's statements stand in stark contrast to the exuberance of Rowdies chief operating officer Lee Cohen in March on the prospect of a bigger, better Rowdies home.
"From our standpoint, we feel that the city of St. Petersburg and where we're at in Al Lang is a great location for soccer to grow. It's a great area and a thriving area, there's a lot of success there. We feel like an expansion to a proper stadium and proper facility could lend itself to be the great flagship cornerstone piece of downtown. … It's not just an important project for the Rowdies or for the sport. It's important for the city of St. Petersburg because it adds another piece to an already up and coming city," Cohen told a Rowdies blog.
Council member Steve Kornell said he hadn't heard about the plans to drop the referendum, but surmised that the campaign to keep the Rays might have interfered.
"It might make sense to work on the Rays issue at this point and work on the Rowdies down the road," Kornell said. "I like Al Lang having a tenant rather than sitting empty."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Important reminder: we now know that Orlando City can't block the Rowdies from getting into MLS, so the delay in expanding Al Lang and the cancellation of the November vote probably has more to do with the lack of support for city/county funding due to the Rays situation, maybe, and also maybe due to waiting to see how talks between Bill Edwards and Don Garber went as to whether the Rowdies can get into MLS, and when.
I would not expect any announcement of Al Lang expansion (or replacement) until after the Tampa Bay Rowdies are officially in MLS. Much easier to commit money into building a proper SSS if MLS is assured. So I am hoping that the December 6 announcement isn't just about the stadium; I am hoping it is about Rowdies entry into MLS, and if so maybe also some news about the stadium as well. But we shall see.
It would definitely be better to tear down the existing structure at Al Lang and build a new, properly oriented SSS on the site. Piecemeal expansion of the existing facility simply locks us in to a bad setup, with no room to expand on one side and limited overall capacity of the bare minimum for MLS (18,000) at a time when MLS SSS size is slowly growing (for instance Orlando City increased their SSS to 25,000 from an earlier lower planned capacity).
Also, forget what the waterfront plan says or does not say: don't decrease parking in and around the stadium. Keep the parking lot, and add additional parking around the new stadium if possible. Every bit helps.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Follow link for full article.)
https://www.reddit.com/r/TampaBayRowdies/comments/5e7mnq/historic_announcement_regarding_the_clubs_future/
Historic announcement regarding the club's future on December 6
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
unsubmatt
There's also more room for something if the rest of the old outfield wall comes down. Used to be batting cages and a practice diamond out there, so if that was finally cleared out and everything "shifted," it could make more sense space-wise.
I've also thought for awhile now that the parking deals with other nearby lots (whether Edwards-owned like the Den garage & Sundial, or with USFSP, etc) might be a prelude to the Al Lang lot disappearing someday. AFAIK, that's still city-owned/run but maybe that changes down the road?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
phat7deuce
I think the city owns, but Edwards manages and collects revenue from the Al Lang lot as part of the stadium deal.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
unsubmatt
that's the one I've never gotten a clear answer on. Was told early last season that city owned & controlled everything with an asphalt top, which was why there would never be food trucks, etc at tailgates
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
phat7deuce
...yeah, you're right. City still manages it, but Edwards does seem to get some of the parking revenue - maybe only for games.
"Zeoli assured the council that while the city will give up some parking revenue to Edwards under the deal, the city will still control and manage the lot. The city currently makes about $20,000 a year from that. Given that Edwards is putting so much more into capital improvements, officials were fine with surrendering that money, Zeoli said."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
dietrich14
I would add that their is plenty more room if they push the pitch closer to the main stands. Of course tbat would mean removing half of the kids hill, or atleast relocating it.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Follow link for full article.)
http://www.tampabay.com/news/localgovernment/its-official-bill-edwards-will-control-al-lang-stadium-in-a-deal-approved/2200447
St. Petersburg City Council gives developer Bill Edwards control of Al Lang Stadium
By Kameel Stanley, Times Staff Writer
Thursday, October 2, 2014 2:14pm
ST. PETERSBURG — It's official. Starting today, businessman Bill Edwards will take over management of Al Lang Stadium, the home turf for his soccer team, the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
Edwards has pledged to spend $1.5 million to fix up the aging downtown stadium and will control the facility for the next four years in a deal the City Council approved 7-1 on Thursday.
"I came to the conclusion this is overwhelmingly a win-win-win," said council member Darden Rice, following remarks by some lamenting the end of baseball at the storied stadium. "I think this is a new day for the city. That death kind of happened a while ago.
"Soccer is alive and kicking."
Edwards has been trying for months to wrest control of Al Lang from the city's current management contractor, the St. Petersburg Baseball Commission, which he has long criticized because of conditions at the facility.
The deal calls for the baseball commission to continue to manage the city's Walter Fuller sports complex.
Edwards has accused the commission of mismanagement and said baseball's presence at Al Lang is hurting the Rowdies. He sued the commission earlier this year.
The new management deal ends the lawsuit, which was important to the city, said Joe Zeoli, who is in charge of downtown enterprise facilities.
While the deal itself was public, the settlement of the lawsuit will remain secret. That has irked some council members.
"Why is this confidential if these are two public assets?" council member Wengay Newton said.
Council member Steve Kornell said he understands the reasons for secret settlements, but doesn't like it.
"Frankly, I just find it laughable that we got this on Monday, and if we don't do it (now) it's going to cause business disruption," Kornell said of the deal, which was proposed, then scrapped, then revived over the past few weeks. "I understand it, I just don't like it. I think if people want to do business with the city it's not a private deal. I appreciate everyone involved in this, I'm just not there yet."
Kornell also wants assurance the Saturday Morning Market, which operates in the stadium's parking lot, would be protected.
Zeoli assured the council that while the city will give up some parking revenue to Edwards under the deal, the city will still control and manage the lot. The city currently makes about $20,000 a year from that. Given that Edwards is putting so much more into capital improvements, officials were fine with surrendering that money, Zeoli said.
The baseball commission also asked the city to continue giving it a $200,000 annual subsidy even though it will be managing one less facility, and the city agreed, Zeoli said.
While the majority of the council seemed comfortable with the deal, some people inside the council chambers on Thursday were not.
Developer Dan Harvey encouraged council members to view the Al Lang deal as a short-term solution, and highlighted the importance of the ongoing waterfront plan, which is expected to give guidance about the future of the site.
Community activist Theresa "Momma Tee" Lassiter chastised the council for bowing to pressure from Edwards. She said she shares Kornell's concerns that the Saturday Morning Market could eventually find itself out of favor with whatever plans Edwards has for the stadium.
"I have sat here 20 years and watched you allow big business to manipulate us," she said. "Call it what it is. It's Rick Baker and Bill Edwards … why can't we all get along? Why do you have to go and do a back room deal?"
After the vote, Edwards said he was pleased. Soccer is here to stay, he said, and it is the norm for teams to control their stadiums. He said he and the baseball commission have let "bygones be bygones."
He didn't go into details about all the improvements he plans to make but said a new scoreboard is definitely in order.
Baseball will continue to be remembered at the stadium, Edwards said, noting that what happens to the site after four years will be up to the waterfront master plan.
"I think it's going to be a great place for people to congregate," he said. "Citizens have a million and a half reasons they should be happy."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Follow link for full article.)
http://www.tampabay.com/news/growth/st-petersburg-mayor-rick-kriseman-shelves-plans-to-ask-voters-for/2275984
St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman shelves plans to ask voters for permission to expand Al Lang
Charlie Frago
Wednesday, May 4, 2016 9:11pm
ST. PETERSBURG — Mayor Rick Kriseman and the Tampa Bay Rowdies announced plans in March to ask voters to give the team — and its owner, Bill Edwards — a longer lease for historic waterfront venue Al Lang Stadium.
At the time, Edwards and a team executive said a longer lease would allow the Rowdies to expand Al Lang and transform it into a city showpiece.
But those plans have been shelved along with any request to ask the county for tourism dollars to add seats and other amenities.
Pinellas County Administrator Mark Woodard said this week that Kriseman told him the city wouldn't seek hotel bed tax money for Al Lang or the Rowdies. That means the referendum idea appears dead.
Kriseman spokesman Ben Kirby declined to comment further than a brief statement.
"Based on the mayor's conversations with Mr. Edwards, there is no urgency for a referendum related to a lease on Al Lang Stadium," Kirby said.
He referred all other questions to Edwards, whose office didn't elaborate.
"In my last meeting with Mayor Kriseman, I asked for a renewal of the management agreement for the maximum length allowed by the charter," Edwards said in a statement.
The current agreement is a four-year lease that expires in November 2018.
Extending that lease would require voter approval under the city charter.
While Kriseman and Edwards are remaining mum about the decision to drop the push for upgrading Al Lang into a first-class soccer stadium, they might have lost interest after discovering that the Orlando City SC, a Major League Soccer franchise, has territorial rights over St. Petersburg.
Council Chairwoman Amy Foster said in March that Edwards told her and other council member of his desire to join MLS. He had made similar comments to the Tampa Bay Times shortly after buying the team in 2014.
But after the Times reported Orlando's rights over the market, Edwards said he had no immediate plans for the Rowdies to join MLS and was happy to remain in the second-tier North American Soccer League.
The ongoing campaign to keep the Tampa Bay Rays in the city may have also played a role. If the Rays decide to build a new stadium in the city, the county tourist tax dollars would be an essential piece of the financial puzzle.
For now, the mystery remains, but the terseness of Wednesday's statements stand in stark contrast to the exuberance of Rowdies chief operating officer Lee Cohen in March on the prospect of a bigger, better Rowdies home.
"From our standpoint, we feel that the city of St. Petersburg and where we're at in Al Lang is a great location for soccer to grow. It's a great area and a thriving area, there's a lot of success there. We feel like an expansion to a proper stadium and proper facility could lend itself to be the great flagship cornerstone piece of downtown. … It's not just an important project for the Rowdies or for the sport. It's important for the city of St. Petersburg because it adds another piece to an already up and coming city," Cohen told a Rowdies blog.
Council member Steve Kornell said he hadn't heard about the plans to drop the referendum, but surmised that the campaign to keep the Rays might have interfered.
"It might make sense to work on the Rays issue at this point and work on the Rowdies down the road," Kornell said. "I like Al Lang having a tenant rather than sitting empty."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Blame U.S. soccer culture, not the coach
(Follow link for full article.)
http://www.timesunion.com/sports/article/Blame-U-S-soccer-culture-not-the-coach-10633797.php
Blame U.S. soccer culture, not the coach
http://www.timesunion.com/sports/article/Blame-U-S-soccer-culture-not-the-coach-10633797.php
Blame U.S. soccer culture, not the coach
Didier Drogba looks to end Impact stay with victory
(Follow link for full article.)
http://www.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/mls/drogba-looks-end-impact-stay-victory-1.3863946
Didier Drogba looks to end Impact stay with victory
Montreal fans got last chance to cheer for Chelsea legend after playoff victory over TFC
http://www.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/mls/drogba-looks-end-impact-stay-victory-1.3863946
Didier Drogba looks to end Impact stay with victory
Montreal fans got last chance to cheer for Chelsea legend after playoff victory over TFC
Paint ball: Montreal-Toronto game delayed by incorrect penalty box
(Follow link for full article.)
http://www.mercurynews.com/2016/11/23/paint-ball-montreal-toronto-game-delayed-by-incorrect-penalty-box/
Paint ball: Montreal-Toronto game delayed by incorrect penalty box
http://www.mercurynews.com/2016/11/23/paint-ball-montreal-toronto-game-delayed-by-incorrect-penalty-box/
Paint ball: Montreal-Toronto game delayed by incorrect penalty box
The football pyramid in America
(Follow link for full article.)
http://www.economist.com/blogs/gametheory/2016/11/football-pyramid-america
The football pyramid in America
Why is there no promotion and relegation in the United States?
http://www.economist.com/blogs/gametheory/2016/11/football-pyramid-america
The football pyramid in America
Why is there no promotion and relegation in the United States?
Didier Drogba announces he won't return to Montreal Impact in 2017
(Follow link for full article.)
http://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2016/11/22/didier-drogba-announces-he-wont-return-montreal-impact-2017
Didier Drogba announces he won't return to Montreal Impact in 2017
http://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2016/11/22/didier-drogba-announces-he-wont-return-montreal-impact-2017
Didier Drogba announces he won't return to Montreal Impact in 2017
Bad penalty box paint job mars glorious night for MLS in Montreal
(Follow link for full article.)
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/bad-penalty-box-paint-job-mars-glorious-night-for-mls-in-montreal-145159470.html
Bad penalty box paint job mars glorious night for MLS in Montreal
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/bad-penalty-box-paint-job-mars-glorious-night-for-mls-in-montreal-145159470.html
Bad penalty box paint job mars glorious night for MLS in Montreal
How Trump’s views may affect US World Cup bid – Swansea coach, Bradley
(Follow link for full article.)
http://dailypost.ng/2016/11/23/trumps-views-may-affect-us-world-cup-bid-swansea-coach-bradley/
How Trump’s views may affect US World Cup bid – Swansea coach, Bradley
http://dailypost.ng/2016/11/23/trumps-views-may-affect-us-world-cup-bid-swansea-coach-bradley/
How Trump’s views may affect US World Cup bid – Swansea coach, Bradley
Football: MLS semi-final delayed by improper penalty area
"Hey guys, how big is the 18 yard box?"
Damned Canadians and their newfangled metric system!
(Follow link for full article.)
http://wwos.nine.com.au/2016/11/23/12/45/football-mls-semi-final-delayed-by-improper-penalty-area
Football: MLS semi-final delayed by improper penalty area
Officials delayed the start of Tuesday's Major League Soccer semi-final opening leg match between Montreal and Toronto after it was discovered the marked penalty area was too small.
A sellout crowd of more than 60,000 spectators at Olympic Stadium in Montreal was forced to wait for the kickoff as officials marched off the measurements on the pitch and found it was about two metres narrower than required on either side.
That forced groundskeepers to apply green paint to the original markings and lay out new white paint on the artificial turf to the proper specifications, fans watching paint dry when they had expected to be watching a derby between Canadian foes.
"We're somewhat embarrassed," Montreal Impact owner Joey Saputo said. "It's our fault. It's unfortunate this happened."
The team moved the match from its usual home stadium, three times smaller in seating capacity, to the 40-year-old Summer Games venue in order to meet huge ticket demand.
Both squads practiced Monday on the pitch and were warming up Tuesday when the errant markings were discovered.
Damned Canadians and their newfangled metric system!
(Follow link for full article.)
http://wwos.nine.com.au/2016/11/23/12/45/football-mls-semi-final-delayed-by-improper-penalty-area
Football: MLS semi-final delayed by improper penalty area
Officials delayed the start of Tuesday's Major League Soccer semi-final opening leg match between Montreal and Toronto after it was discovered the marked penalty area was too small.
A sellout crowd of more than 60,000 spectators at Olympic Stadium in Montreal was forced to wait for the kickoff as officials marched off the measurements on the pitch and found it was about two metres narrower than required on either side.
That forced groundskeepers to apply green paint to the original markings and lay out new white paint on the artificial turf to the proper specifications, fans watching paint dry when they had expected to be watching a derby between Canadian foes.
"We're somewhat embarrassed," Montreal Impact owner Joey Saputo said. "It's our fault. It's unfortunate this happened."
The team moved the match from its usual home stadium, three times smaller in seating capacity, to the 40-year-old Summer Games venue in order to meet huge ticket demand.
Both squads practiced Monday on the pitch and were warming up Tuesday when the errant markings were discovered.
Beijing National Aquatics Center
Another example of the use of ETFE: Beijing National Aquatics Center (the Water Cube).
(Follow link for full article.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beijing_National_Aquatics_Center
Beijing National Aquatics Center
Architecture
In July 2003, the Water Cube design was chosen from 10 proposals in an international architectural competition for the aquatic center project.[6] The Water Cube was specially designed and built by a consortium made up of PTW Architects (an Australian architecture firm),[7] Arup international engineering group, CSCEC (China State Construction Engineering Corporation), and CCDI (China Construction Design International) of Shanghai.[8] The Water Cube's design was initiated by a team effort: the Chinese partners felt a square was more symbolic to Chinese culture and its relationship to the Bird's Nest stadium, while the Sydney-based partners came up with the idea of covering the 'cube' with bubbles, symbolising water. Contextually the cube symbolises earth whilst the circle (represented by the stadium) represents heaven. Hence symbolically the water cube references Chinese symbolic architecture.
Comprising a steel space frame, it is the largest ETFE clad structure in the world with over 100,000 m² of ETFE pillows that are only 0.2 mm (1/125 of an inch) in total thickness.[9] The ETFE cladding, supplied and installed by the firm Vector Foiltec, allows more light and heat penetration than traditional glass, resulting in a 30% decrease in energy costs.[9]
The outer wall is based on the Weaire–Phelan structure, a structure devised from the natural pattern of bubbles in soap lather.[10] In the true Weaire-Phelan structure the edge of each cell is curved in order to maintain 109.5 degree angles at each vertex (satisfying Plateau's rules), but of course as a structural support system each beam was required to be straight so as to better resist axial compression. The complex Weaire–Phelan pattern was developed by slicing through bubbles in soap foam, resulting in more irregular, organic patterns than foam bubble structures proposed earlier by the scientist Kelvin.[8] Using the Weaire–Phelan geometry, the Water Cube's exterior cladding is made of 4,000 ETFE bubbles, some as large as 9.14 metres (30.0 ft) across, with seven different sizes for the roof and 15 for the walls.[11]
The structure had a capacity of 17,000[9] during the games that is being reduced to 7,000. It also has a total land surface of 65,000 square meters and will cover a total of 32,000 square metres (7.9 acres).[9] Although called the Water Cube, the aquatic center is really a rectangular box (cuboid) 178 metres (584 ft) square and 31 metres (102 ft) high.[11] The building's popularity has spawned many copycat structures throughout China.[12] For example, there is one-to-one copy of the facade near the ferry terminal in Macau – the Casino Oceanus by Paul Steelman.[13]
(Follow link for full article.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beijing_National_Aquatics_Center
Beijing National Aquatics Center
Architecture
In July 2003, the Water Cube design was chosen from 10 proposals in an international architectural competition for the aquatic center project.[6] The Water Cube was specially designed and built by a consortium made up of PTW Architects (an Australian architecture firm),[7] Arup international engineering group, CSCEC (China State Construction Engineering Corporation), and CCDI (China Construction Design International) of Shanghai.[8] The Water Cube's design was initiated by a team effort: the Chinese partners felt a square was more symbolic to Chinese culture and its relationship to the Bird's Nest stadium, while the Sydney-based partners came up with the idea of covering the 'cube' with bubbles, symbolising water. Contextually the cube symbolises earth whilst the circle (represented by the stadium) represents heaven. Hence symbolically the water cube references Chinese symbolic architecture.
Comprising a steel space frame, it is the largest ETFE clad structure in the world with over 100,000 m² of ETFE pillows that are only 0.2 mm (1/125 of an inch) in total thickness.[9] The ETFE cladding, supplied and installed by the firm Vector Foiltec, allows more light and heat penetration than traditional glass, resulting in a 30% decrease in energy costs.[9]
The outer wall is based on the Weaire–Phelan structure, a structure devised from the natural pattern of bubbles in soap lather.[10] In the true Weaire-Phelan structure the edge of each cell is curved in order to maintain 109.5 degree angles at each vertex (satisfying Plateau's rules), but of course as a structural support system each beam was required to be straight so as to better resist axial compression. The complex Weaire–Phelan pattern was developed by slicing through bubbles in soap foam, resulting in more irregular, organic patterns than foam bubble structures proposed earlier by the scientist Kelvin.[8] Using the Weaire–Phelan geometry, the Water Cube's exterior cladding is made of 4,000 ETFE bubbles, some as large as 9.14 metres (30.0 ft) across, with seven different sizes for the roof and 15 for the walls.[11]
The structure had a capacity of 17,000[9] during the games that is being reduced to 7,000. It also has a total land surface of 65,000 square meters and will cover a total of 32,000 square metres (7.9 acres).[9] Although called the Water Cube, the aquatic center is really a rectangular box (cuboid) 178 metres (584 ft) square and 31 metres (102 ft) high.[11] The building's popularity has spawned many copycat structures throughout China.[12] For example, there is one-to-one copy of the facade near the ferry terminal in Macau – the Casino Oceanus by Paul Steelman.[13]
Some more news articles about ETFE.
Some more news articles about ETFE.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Follow link for full article.)
https://sgbonline.com/ucla-basketball-facility-incorporates-stadium-design-tech/
UCLA Basketball Facility Incorporates Stadium Design Tech
Posted by Carly Terwilliger | Oct 26, 2016
University of California Los Angeles’s (UCLA) new Mo Ostin Basketball Practice Facility will feature Texlon ETFE (ethylene-tetra-fluoro-ethylene) skylights supplied by Vector Foiltec.
The Texlon ETFE skylights, most recently on display at the Minnesota Vikings’ new stadium, are incorporated into the design and will allow in controlled amounts of Southern California sunlight. Acoustic comfort is another major factor created through the foil material.
Originated in Germany, Vector Foiltec engineers, designs and installs ETFE projects, helping create sustainable, cost efficient transparent building envelopes.
In addition to the high-tech skylights, the facility, designed by Kevin Daly Architects, will offer practice gyms, locker rooms and training areas for both the men’s and women’s basketball programs, as well as other athletic programs.
By creating a separate facility from where actual games are played, the overall experience for players and coaches is improved. There is less of a time crunch, allowing for more flexibility with both academics and athletics for the student athletes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Follow link for full article.)
https://archpaper.com/2016/11/los-angeles-rams-stadium-breaks-ground/#gallery-0-slide-0
Los Angeles Rams stadium breaks ground
By Antonio Pacheco • November 22, 2016
The new $2.66 billion HKS-designed football stadium for the Los Angeles Rams broke ground in Inglewood, California late last week, bringing the newly-relocated National Football League (NFL) team one step closer toward completing the team’s transition from Saint Louis to Los Angeles.
The stadium, designed by New York–based HKS, features a giant triangular roof supported by thick columns and made of ETFE. This super-roof also spans across an adjacent outdoor lobby called “champions plaza” to be used as a communal gathering spot for game day spectators. Los Angeles–based Mia Lehrer + Associates is acting as landscape architect for the project. The stadium has been designed to accommodate two professional teams and to seat 80,000 spectators for these types of sporting events, with the San Diego Chargers potentially lining up to use the stadium as their new home. The recent election dashed that team’s bid to fund a new stadium in San Diego proper, opening up the potential for the Inglewood stadium to host that team as well as the Rams. HKS has designed to the multi-use stadium to accommodate up to 100,000 spectators for concerts that utilize the playing field for floor seating and the stadium is also being considered as part of the city’s 2024 Olympic bid.
The stadium will be located at the heart of the new City of Champions district, a purpose-built mixed-use, entertainment, and leisure neighborhood being constructed on the site of the recently-demolished Hollywood Park fairgrounds. The City of Champions development has been under construction for several months and with construction of the stadium component of the development (a late-in-the-game addition to the neighborhood) now underway, plans are quickly coalescing around making the new neighborhood a focal point for the region. The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority has publicly endorsed the idea of extending existing light rail system to the stadium and plans are currently being developed to provide such access.
The stadium is due to be completed in time for the 2019-2020 NFL season.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Follow link for full article.)
http://www.britishplastics.co.uk/materials/etfe-fluoropolymers-help-new-underground-station-set-sail/
ETFE fluoropolymers help new underground station set sail
by Leanne Taylor
November 11, 2016
11:57 AM
A new underground station development at London’s Canary Wharf is showcasing the architectural capabilities of plastics to create an aesthetically pleasing as well as durable design.
Being built as part of the Crossrail project, the new station sits 18 metres below water level in the middle of the waters of the former East India Dock, with the complex designed to look like a ship to reflect the site’s nautical heritage.
Three floors with shops and restaurants are situated below water level and above the waterline the building has further floors and a partly open rooftop garden. The station is crowned by a 30 metre-high and 310 metre-long timber roof construction covered with 780 film cushions, extruded from 3M’s Dyneon Fluoroplastic ETFE, which are illuminated after dark.
Dyneon ETFE was chosen for the film cushions owing to its resistance to chemical effects, tearing and damaging UV radiation. A durable and extremely resistant material with high mechanical strength, the cushions withstand hail, driving rain and high snow loads.
The transparency of the films was considered a significant advantage with regards to allowing sunlight and plant-loving UVA rays to penetrate through to the rooftop garden. For the film cushions used around the complex, the majority of the films were printed with various patterns in order to scatter the light with a delicate translucence in plant-free areas.
Canary Wharf station will open in December 2018 when Crossrail services begin through central London.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Follow link for full article.)
https://www.dezeen.com/2016/10/31/carbon-fibre-orb-taubman-complex-lawrence-technological-university-detroit-michigan-morphosis/
Carbon-fibre orb marks entrance to Detroit academic building by Morphosis
Jenna McKnight | 31 October 2016
US studio Morphosis has completed a science, design and engineering facility in Michigan, which features a scrim made of ETFE plastic and an entrance stairwell contained within a black orb made of carbon fibre.
The A Alfred Taubman Engineering, Architecture, and Life Sciences Complex – commonly referred to as the Taubman Complex – encompasses 36,700 square feet (3,410 square metres).
. . .
The facility's east and west facades are sheathed in a thin scrim made of ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE), a fluorine-based plastic. At night, the diaphanous veil is illuminated by backlighting.
Elevated bridges link the facility to neighbouring structures.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Follow link for full article.)
http://greenbuildingelements.com/2016/03/10/16417/
ETFE Football Stadium Will Soon Be Minneapolis Showcase
March 10th, 2016 by Glenn Meyers
When it opens this summer, US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis will feature the only ETFE (ethylene-tetra-fluoro-ethylene) roof on a sports facility in the United States. This resilient and transparent material, long used in Europe, will now provide Minnesota Vikings football fans with a comfortable experience inside the stadium and a clear view outside, even if the outdoor temperature is far below zero degrees Fahrenheit.
In contrast to the preponderance of opaque domed stadiums in this country, some 60% of the Vikings’ facility has been covered with ETFE, not only letting in daylight, but allowing fans to gaze skyward and enjoy the view. Additionally, this dramatic stadium features five of the world’s largest operable glass doors, which can be opened if the weather outside is pleasant. These gargantuan doors measure 55 feet in width, angling from 75 feet to 95 feet in height, and weigh approximately 57,000 pounds each. Of note, the large door system also contains five smaller doors which can be used when the large doors are closed due to inclement weather.
. . .
Designed by Dallas-based HKS Architects, the US Bank Stadium features the largest transparent ETFE roof in North America, spanning 240,000 square feet. This will be the only stadium in the nation with a clear ETFE roof.
Vikings ETFE & cane IMG_6142Because of the angles of the roof, ETFE material on the south side accounts for 60% of the entire roof, while hard metal deck on the north side will account for the remaining 40%.
ETFE Basics
ETFE is a co-polymer resin which is extruded into a thin film. The light-weight material is transparent but can be treated to be translucent. It is durable and resistant to corrosion. In an architectural application ETFE is typically used in a multi-layer pneumatic system.
Longevity of ETFE
This material does not degrade with exposure to UV light, atmospheric pollution, harsh chemicals, or extreme temperatures. It has withstood extensive testing within extreme environments and is expected to have a 30 to 50-year life expectancy, requiring minimal maintenance. Presently, the true life-cycle of ETFE is not known, as the oldest applications are just hitting the 30-year mark with little to no replacement of system components.
ETFE Weight & Strength
us bank stadium 2 Berg-150707-0965Despite its light weight (1/100 the weight of glass) ETFE is reported to handle snow/wind loads well. In sheet form, it can stretch three times its length without losing elasticity. Support rods are used with the stadium roof panels.
Cleaning ETFE
The surface of the foil is non-stick and non-porous, which allows the natural action of rain to clean the surface. Deposits of dirt, dust and debris remain unattached and are washed away in the rain, meaning ETFE effectively self-cleans with virtually no need to clean externally.
As Amy Wilson has written on Architen, “Originally invented by DuPont as an insulation material for the aeronautics industry, ETFE was not initially considered as a main-stream building material, its principle use being as an upgrade for the polythene sheet commonly used for green house polytunnels.”
“The advantages of its extraordinary tear resistance, long life and transparency to ultra-violet light off-set the higher initial costs and 20 years later it is still working well. It wasn’t until the early 1980s, when German mechanical engineering student, Stefan Lehnert, investigated it in his quest for new and exciting sail materials, that its use was reconsidered.”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Follow link for full article.)
http://www.designboom.com/architecture/oma-chicago-lcam-lucas-cultural-arts-museum-competition-07-04-2016/
OMA's elevated LCAM chicago museum proposal wrapped in transparent ETFE
led by architect shohei shigematsu, OMA‘s proposal creates a vertical gallery on the site and an atrium tower that elevates the traditional, horizontal galleries that accommodate LCAM’s three collections. the tower suspends the galleries above the city, but also connects them to it. lifting the main galleries enables the site below to be preserved as a new urban park, while simultaneously providing maximum flexibility within the horizontal gallery plate itself. the scheme sees the horizontal plate and vertical tower enveloped within a dome-like membrane that expands the museum’s physical and emotional presence within the city. this membrane—a cloud of ETFE pillows—creates a sheltered, lifted public space for chicago (sky park). like a park, it is freely accessible like an urban plaza, it is a flexible territory that accommodates a range of activities and in turn, evolves into a social space that engages the public to share and create.
the ETFE membrane is fritted to accept projections both from within and from the outside. inside the sky park, projections can be used as an integral part of larger displays and presentations. meanwhile, at the ground level, projects can transform the museum park into an outdoor or drive in cinema. the museum’s theater and lecture spaces are located at the base of the tower, allowing for separate ground level entry and expansion to the museum park at ground level. a series of escalators lead visitors up to the gallery levels and lifted sky park above. from these levels, elevators presenting views of the vertical gallery show visitors to the offices, event space and observation deck at the top of the tower. lifted, the building offers eight times the public space it occupies. the park space that surrounds the building—a flexible surface that can accommodate both grasses and parking. the museum park can be used for a range of public events and activities, casting the building as the backdrop for new programs for local residents of the neighborhoods throughout chicago.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Follow link for full article.)
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160518005426/en/Vikings-Football-Stadium-U.S.-Lightweight-ETFE-Film
New Vikings Football Stadium First in the U.S. to Use Lightweight ETFE Film Roof
3M Science creates an enjoyable environment year round inside the stadium by permitting outdoor atmosphere without frigid temperatures
May 18, 2016 09:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time
ST. PAUL, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The new home of the Minnesota Vikings, U.S. Bank Stadium, will become the first sports facility in the United States with a transparent roof, permitting outdoor light without weather restrictions. Utilizing material from the franchise’s Official Science Partner, 3M, the venue will be covered by high-performance film, extruded from 3M Dyneon Fluoroplastic ETFE (ethylene-tetrafluoroethylene). The product, which lets light in, is lighter than glass, and more cost-effective than retractable alternatives.
Open-air football stadiums are not often a viable option in northern climates. The Dallas-based firm HKS Architects designed the stadium roof using ETFE film cushion technology, which is already widespread in Europe and Asia, to enable year-round use for a variety of events. The design lowered construction costs by around $100 million compared to a retractable roof.
Energy Efficient Insulating Air Cushions Lower Operating Costs
The stadium’s 248,000-square-foot roof and facade is covered by 75 three-layer ETFE film cushions, making U.S. Bank Stadium the largest ETFE film project in the United States. Some of the individually air-filled cushions are more than 1,200 square feet long and about 32 feet wide. The top film is printed with a geometric pattern, which scatters the sunlight and prevents a greenhouse effect in summer. In winter, the film roof protects the interior from the cold outside temperatures.
The film cushions allow 95 percent of daylight to pass through, but their weight is only about five percent of the weight of glass. As a result, the supporting steel structure is light and slender, offering spectators a premium view of the playing field.
Designed for High Snow Loads
Since the Metrodome’s roof collapsed in 2010 under the weight of a 17-inch snowstorm, architects and roof planners paid particular attention to the load-bearing capability under heavy snow falls. Compared to other roofing membranes, ETFE films feature superior values for tear strength, resistance to tear propagation and puncture resistance – which let the air-filled cushions easily cope with highly concentrated impact loads like hail. Their use in northern Europe and the Alps prove their winter compatibility in areas with heavy snow fall.
U.S. Bank’s asymmetric roof inclines more toward the north to fend off the snow. The films are so smooth snow can hardly get a grip, sliding off in an almost controlled manner. A heavy rain shower is enough to clean it.
To learn more about Fluoroplastic ETFE, you can read about it here.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Follow link for full article.)
https://sgbonline.com/ucla-basketball-facility-incorporates-stadium-design-tech/
UCLA Basketball Facility Incorporates Stadium Design Tech
Posted by Carly Terwilliger | Oct 26, 2016
University of California Los Angeles’s (UCLA) new Mo Ostin Basketball Practice Facility will feature Texlon ETFE (ethylene-tetra-fluoro-ethylene) skylights supplied by Vector Foiltec.
The Texlon ETFE skylights, most recently on display at the Minnesota Vikings’ new stadium, are incorporated into the design and will allow in controlled amounts of Southern California sunlight. Acoustic comfort is another major factor created through the foil material.
Originated in Germany, Vector Foiltec engineers, designs and installs ETFE projects, helping create sustainable, cost efficient transparent building envelopes.
In addition to the high-tech skylights, the facility, designed by Kevin Daly Architects, will offer practice gyms, locker rooms and training areas for both the men’s and women’s basketball programs, as well as other athletic programs.
By creating a separate facility from where actual games are played, the overall experience for players and coaches is improved. There is less of a time crunch, allowing for more flexibility with both academics and athletics for the student athletes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Follow link for full article.)
https://archpaper.com/2016/11/los-angeles-rams-stadium-breaks-ground/#gallery-0-slide-0
Los Angeles Rams stadium breaks ground
By Antonio Pacheco • November 22, 2016
The new $2.66 billion HKS-designed football stadium for the Los Angeles Rams broke ground in Inglewood, California late last week, bringing the newly-relocated National Football League (NFL) team one step closer toward completing the team’s transition from Saint Louis to Los Angeles.
The stadium, designed by New York–based HKS, features a giant triangular roof supported by thick columns and made of ETFE. This super-roof also spans across an adjacent outdoor lobby called “champions plaza” to be used as a communal gathering spot for game day spectators. Los Angeles–based Mia Lehrer + Associates is acting as landscape architect for the project. The stadium has been designed to accommodate two professional teams and to seat 80,000 spectators for these types of sporting events, with the San Diego Chargers potentially lining up to use the stadium as their new home. The recent election dashed that team’s bid to fund a new stadium in San Diego proper, opening up the potential for the Inglewood stadium to host that team as well as the Rams. HKS has designed to the multi-use stadium to accommodate up to 100,000 spectators for concerts that utilize the playing field for floor seating and the stadium is also being considered as part of the city’s 2024 Olympic bid.
The stadium will be located at the heart of the new City of Champions district, a purpose-built mixed-use, entertainment, and leisure neighborhood being constructed on the site of the recently-demolished Hollywood Park fairgrounds. The City of Champions development has been under construction for several months and with construction of the stadium component of the development (a late-in-the-game addition to the neighborhood) now underway, plans are quickly coalescing around making the new neighborhood a focal point for the region. The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority has publicly endorsed the idea of extending existing light rail system to the stadium and plans are currently being developed to provide such access.
The stadium is due to be completed in time for the 2019-2020 NFL season.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Follow link for full article.)
http://www.britishplastics.co.uk/materials/etfe-fluoropolymers-help-new-underground-station-set-sail/
ETFE fluoropolymers help new underground station set sail
by Leanne Taylor
November 11, 2016
11:57 AM
A new underground station development at London’s Canary Wharf is showcasing the architectural capabilities of plastics to create an aesthetically pleasing as well as durable design.
Being built as part of the Crossrail project, the new station sits 18 metres below water level in the middle of the waters of the former East India Dock, with the complex designed to look like a ship to reflect the site’s nautical heritage.
Three floors with shops and restaurants are situated below water level and above the waterline the building has further floors and a partly open rooftop garden. The station is crowned by a 30 metre-high and 310 metre-long timber roof construction covered with 780 film cushions, extruded from 3M’s Dyneon Fluoroplastic ETFE, which are illuminated after dark.
Dyneon ETFE was chosen for the film cushions owing to its resistance to chemical effects, tearing and damaging UV radiation. A durable and extremely resistant material with high mechanical strength, the cushions withstand hail, driving rain and high snow loads.
The transparency of the films was considered a significant advantage with regards to allowing sunlight and plant-loving UVA rays to penetrate through to the rooftop garden. For the film cushions used around the complex, the majority of the films were printed with various patterns in order to scatter the light with a delicate translucence in plant-free areas.
Canary Wharf station will open in December 2018 when Crossrail services begin through central London.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Follow link for full article.)
https://www.dezeen.com/2016/10/31/carbon-fibre-orb-taubman-complex-lawrence-technological-university-detroit-michigan-morphosis/
Carbon-fibre orb marks entrance to Detroit academic building by Morphosis
Jenna McKnight | 31 October 2016
US studio Morphosis has completed a science, design and engineering facility in Michigan, which features a scrim made of ETFE plastic and an entrance stairwell contained within a black orb made of carbon fibre.
The A Alfred Taubman Engineering, Architecture, and Life Sciences Complex – commonly referred to as the Taubman Complex – encompasses 36,700 square feet (3,410 square metres).
. . .
The facility's east and west facades are sheathed in a thin scrim made of ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE), a fluorine-based plastic. At night, the diaphanous veil is illuminated by backlighting.
Elevated bridges link the facility to neighbouring structures.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Follow link for full article.)
http://greenbuildingelements.com/2016/03/10/16417/
ETFE Football Stadium Will Soon Be Minneapolis Showcase
March 10th, 2016 by Glenn Meyers
When it opens this summer, US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis will feature the only ETFE (ethylene-tetra-fluoro-ethylene) roof on a sports facility in the United States. This resilient and transparent material, long used in Europe, will now provide Minnesota Vikings football fans with a comfortable experience inside the stadium and a clear view outside, even if the outdoor temperature is far below zero degrees Fahrenheit.
In contrast to the preponderance of opaque domed stadiums in this country, some 60% of the Vikings’ facility has been covered with ETFE, not only letting in daylight, but allowing fans to gaze skyward and enjoy the view. Additionally, this dramatic stadium features five of the world’s largest operable glass doors, which can be opened if the weather outside is pleasant. These gargantuan doors measure 55 feet in width, angling from 75 feet to 95 feet in height, and weigh approximately 57,000 pounds each. Of note, the large door system also contains five smaller doors which can be used when the large doors are closed due to inclement weather.
. . .
Designed by Dallas-based HKS Architects, the US Bank Stadium features the largest transparent ETFE roof in North America, spanning 240,000 square feet. This will be the only stadium in the nation with a clear ETFE roof.
Vikings ETFE & cane IMG_6142Because of the angles of the roof, ETFE material on the south side accounts for 60% of the entire roof, while hard metal deck on the north side will account for the remaining 40%.
ETFE Basics
ETFE is a co-polymer resin which is extruded into a thin film. The light-weight material is transparent but can be treated to be translucent. It is durable and resistant to corrosion. In an architectural application ETFE is typically used in a multi-layer pneumatic system.
Longevity of ETFE
This material does not degrade with exposure to UV light, atmospheric pollution, harsh chemicals, or extreme temperatures. It has withstood extensive testing within extreme environments and is expected to have a 30 to 50-year life expectancy, requiring minimal maintenance. Presently, the true life-cycle of ETFE is not known, as the oldest applications are just hitting the 30-year mark with little to no replacement of system components.
ETFE Weight & Strength
us bank stadium 2 Berg-150707-0965Despite its light weight (1/100 the weight of glass) ETFE is reported to handle snow/wind loads well. In sheet form, it can stretch three times its length without losing elasticity. Support rods are used with the stadium roof panels.
Cleaning ETFE
The surface of the foil is non-stick and non-porous, which allows the natural action of rain to clean the surface. Deposits of dirt, dust and debris remain unattached and are washed away in the rain, meaning ETFE effectively self-cleans with virtually no need to clean externally.
As Amy Wilson has written on Architen, “Originally invented by DuPont as an insulation material for the aeronautics industry, ETFE was not initially considered as a main-stream building material, its principle use being as an upgrade for the polythene sheet commonly used for green house polytunnels.”
“The advantages of its extraordinary tear resistance, long life and transparency to ultra-violet light off-set the higher initial costs and 20 years later it is still working well. It wasn’t until the early 1980s, when German mechanical engineering student, Stefan Lehnert, investigated it in his quest for new and exciting sail materials, that its use was reconsidered.”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Follow link for full article.)
http://www.designboom.com/architecture/oma-chicago-lcam-lucas-cultural-arts-museum-competition-07-04-2016/
OMA's elevated LCAM chicago museum proposal wrapped in transparent ETFE
led by architect shohei shigematsu, OMA‘s proposal creates a vertical gallery on the site and an atrium tower that elevates the traditional, horizontal galleries that accommodate LCAM’s three collections. the tower suspends the galleries above the city, but also connects them to it. lifting the main galleries enables the site below to be preserved as a new urban park, while simultaneously providing maximum flexibility within the horizontal gallery plate itself. the scheme sees the horizontal plate and vertical tower enveloped within a dome-like membrane that expands the museum’s physical and emotional presence within the city. this membrane—a cloud of ETFE pillows—creates a sheltered, lifted public space for chicago (sky park). like a park, it is freely accessible like an urban plaza, it is a flexible territory that accommodates a range of activities and in turn, evolves into a social space that engages the public to share and create.
the ETFE membrane is fritted to accept projections both from within and from the outside. inside the sky park, projections can be used as an integral part of larger displays and presentations. meanwhile, at the ground level, projects can transform the museum park into an outdoor or drive in cinema. the museum’s theater and lecture spaces are located at the base of the tower, allowing for separate ground level entry and expansion to the museum park at ground level. a series of escalators lead visitors up to the gallery levels and lifted sky park above. from these levels, elevators presenting views of the vertical gallery show visitors to the offices, event space and observation deck at the top of the tower. lifted, the building offers eight times the public space it occupies. the park space that surrounds the building—a flexible surface that can accommodate both grasses and parking. the museum park can be used for a range of public events and activities, casting the building as the backdrop for new programs for local residents of the neighborhoods throughout chicago.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Follow link for full article.)
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160518005426/en/Vikings-Football-Stadium-U.S.-Lightweight-ETFE-Film
New Vikings Football Stadium First in the U.S. to Use Lightweight ETFE Film Roof
3M Science creates an enjoyable environment year round inside the stadium by permitting outdoor atmosphere without frigid temperatures
May 18, 2016 09:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time
ST. PAUL, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The new home of the Minnesota Vikings, U.S. Bank Stadium, will become the first sports facility in the United States with a transparent roof, permitting outdoor light without weather restrictions. Utilizing material from the franchise’s Official Science Partner, 3M, the venue will be covered by high-performance film, extruded from 3M Dyneon Fluoroplastic ETFE (ethylene-tetrafluoroethylene). The product, which lets light in, is lighter than glass, and more cost-effective than retractable alternatives.
Open-air football stadiums are not often a viable option in northern climates. The Dallas-based firm HKS Architects designed the stadium roof using ETFE film cushion technology, which is already widespread in Europe and Asia, to enable year-round use for a variety of events. The design lowered construction costs by around $100 million compared to a retractable roof.
Energy Efficient Insulating Air Cushions Lower Operating Costs
The stadium’s 248,000-square-foot roof and facade is covered by 75 three-layer ETFE film cushions, making U.S. Bank Stadium the largest ETFE film project in the United States. Some of the individually air-filled cushions are more than 1,200 square feet long and about 32 feet wide. The top film is printed with a geometric pattern, which scatters the sunlight and prevents a greenhouse effect in summer. In winter, the film roof protects the interior from the cold outside temperatures.
The film cushions allow 95 percent of daylight to pass through, but their weight is only about five percent of the weight of glass. As a result, the supporting steel structure is light and slender, offering spectators a premium view of the playing field.
Designed for High Snow Loads
Since the Metrodome’s roof collapsed in 2010 under the weight of a 17-inch snowstorm, architects and roof planners paid particular attention to the load-bearing capability under heavy snow falls. Compared to other roofing membranes, ETFE films feature superior values for tear strength, resistance to tear propagation and puncture resistance – which let the air-filled cushions easily cope with highly concentrated impact loads like hail. Their use in northern Europe and the Alps prove their winter compatibility in areas with heavy snow fall.
U.S. Bank’s asymmetric roof inclines more toward the north to fend off the snow. The films are so smooth snow can hardly get a grip, sliding off in an almost controlled manner. A heavy rain shower is enough to clean it.
To learn more about Fluoroplastic ETFE, you can read about it here.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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