Financial report says St. Petersburg is most fiscally healthy city in Florida

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http://saintpetersblog.com/financial-report-says-st-petersburg-fiscally-healthy-city-florida/

Financial report says St. Petersburg is most fiscally healthy city in Florida

Mitch Perry

St. Petersburg is the most fiscally healthy large city in Florida, according to a new report.

The online Fiscal Times has put out a list of America’s large cities ranked by their fiscal stability — and the ‘Burg came out tops in the Sunshine State, and 23rd in the nation.

The report was written by Marc Joffe, director of policy research at the California Policy Center. He compiled the list using some a number of statistical tests.

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https://www.facebook.com/CityofStPetersburg/photos/gm.1353988661289789/10155768428892316/

City of St. Petersburg, Florida USA‎ > State Of The City

"Because it's the people who are our greatest asset - who make the sun shine here.

It’s the child running through the splash pad at Dell Holmes Park, and the teenager learning to mix music at TASCO.

It’s the Eckerd College Search and Rescue team responding to an emergency, and the entrepreneur wowing the crowd at the St. Petersburg Greenhouse.

It’s Ralph's Mob marching to the soccer match, and it’s the childhood friends opening up a market in the Old Southeast.

It’s the young woman selling Strands of Sunshine, and it’s the Kids & Kubs playing in it.

It’s two men getting married inside City Hall, and it’s the Tuskegee Airman celebrating his 100th birthday.

It’s the Bishop at Christ Gospel Church of St Petersburg, but it’s also the rabbi at Temple Beth-El.

It’s St. Petersburg, and it’s the best city in America."

- Mayor Rick Kriseman, 2016 State of the City Address

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http://www.socceramerica.com/article/71921/nasl-cosmos-and-league-find-their-savior.html?edition=16673

NASL: Cosmos -- and league -- find their savior

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http://www.socceramerica.com/article/71929/mls-expansion-st-louis-setback-charlottes-dual.html

MLS Expansion: St. Louis setback, Charlotte's dual options

TAMPA/ST. PETERSBURG. The USL (former NASL) Rowdies have played at Al Lang Stadium in downtown St. Petersburg since 2011. The former baseball stadium will need to be expanded from 7,500 seats to 18,000 stadium for MLS.

Rowdies owner Bill Edwards proposes to spend $80 million on the stadium. The project would still need public approval via referendum because of its location on the St. Petersburg waterfront. The referendum on Rays Ballpark the MLB Rays proposed for the same area was withdrawn before going to the voters.

Edwards believes the modest scale of the soccer stadium and accompanying impact (local parking) makes it a better fit for the St. Petersburg waterfront.

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http://edition.cnn.com/2017/01/11/football/david-beckham-la-galaxy-10-year-anniversary-mls/

'Galactico' to the Galaxy: How Brand Beckham conquered the US

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http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/major+league+soccer+announces+fiveyear+canadian+broadcast/12680562/story.html

Major League Soccer announces new five-year Canadian broadcast agreements

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http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2017/01/11/charlotte-councilman-says-adding-mls-team-would-be.html

Councilman details big items on city's economic-development agenda

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http://www.sportskeeda.com/football/beckham-put-mls-on-fast-track-to-respectability

Beckham put MLS on fast track to respectability

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http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/soccer/major-league-soccer-announces-five-year-deals-with-tsn-tva-sports/article33564118/

Major League Soccer announces five-year deals with TSN, TVA Sports

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http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mls/2017/01/10/st-louis-soccer-funding-wont-be-on-april-ballot/96402738/

St. Louis soccer funding won't be on April ballot

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http://wbco.com/news/030030-beckham-put-mls-on-fast-track-to-respectability/

Beckham put MLS on fast track to respectability

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http://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2017/01/11/mls-unveil-complete-2017-regular-season-schedule-thursday-january-12

MLS to unveil complete 2017 regular season schedule on Thursday, January 12

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http://ussoccerplayers.com/2017/01/that-mls-expansion-list-major-league-soccer.html

That MLS expansion list

January 11, 2017

By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Jan 11, 2016) US Soccer Players - There’s plenty of interest in Major League Soccer’s next rounds of expansion. The league wants to get to 28 teams by an indeterminate, but not-too-far-off future. MLS has a list of ten interested cities. Many of them are already rich, vibrant soccer communities with lower division teams. Few if any of them are sizable risks. What gets them into MLS is an appropriate stadium, well financed ownership, and a willingness to write a check. The expansion fee hasn't gone down, after all.

The deadline for bidders to submit their credentials is the end of his month. The ten cities on that list are Sacramento, San Antonio, Charlotte, Raleigh/Durham, Nashville, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Detroit, Tampa/St. Petersburg, and San Diego. The presumption was that all of them would be ready to make their cases when the time came.

When the league decided to publicize that list and their deadline, it led to a quick depth chart. Some bids already looked stronger than others. MLS itself seemed to be playing favorites with their attention. Cities would slip into slots based on a few obvious factors.

So what is happening with St Louis? A city thought to be at the front of the line is now an issue. A city with deep connections to the game and now minus an NFL team has a big problem. Their stadium financing plan is in trouble. Public money won't be available, resetting how the bid plans to pay for its stadium. The group behind St. Louis’s bid, SC STL, had asked the city of St. Louis to provide $80 million in public funds. That would help offset the $300 million they plan to spend to bring top level pro soccer to the city.

The city bill failing happened in large part because the incoming governor of Missouri refused to support a tax break from the state that was also attached to the group’s stadium plan. The political winds shifted in a negative direction. It seems as though the #MLS2STL campaign will pay the price. There’s always a chance that some other plan comes together, but will it happen by January 31?

Will we see more St Louis scenarios? The political atmosphere surrounding public spending on stadiums is getting more difficult by the day. Things have changed, and not just in Missouri. That reality could limit the pool of prospective expansion candidates.

It’s easy to talk about expansion both at a league and local perspective. What's not so clear is the new era of MLS asking for an awful lot. Atlanta got in with a shared stadium, but the preference is new construction. NYCFC is spending seasons on the clock in that regard. What does a lack of interest in building publicly supported stadiums mean for MLS? That's a new question.

So did MLS overstep by announcing a list and setting such an early deadline? Well, this is MLS after all. Rules can change. Deadlines can slide. If there's a market the league wants, they'll push to make it happen. See that New York City team playing in a baseball stadium in the Bronx as a prime example.

However, if there's more to this timeline than it seems, the St Louis scenario could start to push bids up the table. If there are cities without these issues, why not go there now? If St. Louis has to start from scratch on the stadium plan front, cities like Sacramento, San Antonio, and Tampa stand to benefit the most.

Sacramento has already lined up their plan to the point of being ready to enact it the moment MLS awards them a team. San Antonio has a facility that can meet MLS requirements. Tampa’s stadium plan involves upgraded their current venue with only private funds.

Not that those bids are perfect by any means. What they have going for them via lack of red tape they might lose in questions over the size of their market, the location of the “easy” stadium solution, or the crowded sports situation in their cities. MLS has played it cool in many cases (especially with Sacramento) likely for those reasons and also because those cities didn’t need the League’s help creating buzz.

It should be sobering for MLS, though. With all of the expansion hype, they still can't demand what the big leagues regularly get. At least not in some markets where they'd probably like to go. It’s a message both about budgets and the still-evolving importance of soccer.

The group of serious bidders will contract. MLS still stands to have enough cities angling for entry to fill the slots up to 28. Whether those bids will be everything the league wants is the question.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/us-soccer-usa-beckham-idUSKBN14V2M0

MLS all grown up, not waiting for another Beckham

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http://www.sj-r.com/sports/20170110/funding-proposal-for-st-louis-soccer-stadium-removed-from-ballot

Funding proposal for St. Louis soccer stadium removed from ballot

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http://www.themalaymailonline.com/sports/article/a-decade-on-beckham-ready-to-make-more-waves-in-mls

A decade on, Beckham ready to make more waves in MLS

LOS ANGELES, Jan 11 — Ten years ago today David Beckham rocked the football establishment when he turned his back on Real Madrid, the world’s most glamorous soccer club, and signed with Los Angeles Galaxy.

For a decade the tremors of that deal have rumbled through Major League Soccer and Tim Leiweke, the man who orchestrated what is perhaps the most significant signing in sport history, predicts the charismatic former England captain will soon be making shockwaves again — as an owner.

“David was an impact moment for the league but it wasn’t our birth and it didn’t save us from death, but ... David allowed us to realise how big we could be,” Leiweke, now one of Beckham’s partners in trying to bring an MLS team to Miami, told Reuters.

“We went from surviving to conquering and David gave us that reputation, that belief and from that point on there was no question this league was going to succeed.

“But as big an impact as he had 10 years ago I continue to predict he is going to have as big an impact as an owner.”

Certainly Beckham’s emergence as the potential owner of a Miami-based MLS franchise dogged by setbacks has been muted compared to his rock star arrival in Los Angeles in 2007.

“David Beckham will have a greater impact on soccer in America than any athlete has ever had on a sport globally,” Leiweke, the then-president and CEO of Anschutz Entertainment Group, the Galaxy’s corporate parent, said at the time of the signing.

Leiweke, who is equal parts visionary and shrewd salesman, also proved to be a prophet.

The five-year deal to lure Beckham to the United States, one estimated at US$250 million (RM1.1 billion) and including commercial opportunities and the rights to buy an MLS expansion team at a steep discount, was by most barometers worth every dollar.

By the time he played his final game in a Galaxy jersey in 2012 MLS was no longer regarded as soccer’s comfy retirement home and five years on the Beckham affect is still being felt as the league pushes forward with expansion plans.

In Beckham’s first season the average attendance at MLS games was 16,770 and last season it jumped to 21,692. This season will feature 22 MLS teams, up from 13 in 2007.

Toronto FC, which debuted in 2007, paid a US$10 million expansion fee. The next round of expansion will be a minimum of US$150 million per club while Beckham gets his for US$25 million.

While the Miami team has no stadium and no name what it does have is the cache behind the Beckham brand that Leiweke believes once operating will make the South Florida club a magnet for some of the soccer’s marquee names.

“Is there anyone who is going to be better in the living room than David Beckham recruiting the next David Beckham,” asked Leiweke. “To me he can affect the league in a lot of ways and we are now about to see him and the impact on the league he is going to have in a business suit instead of a jersey.

“He can be just as dynamic and just as powerful because for the great players of the world we have the world’s greatest recruiter now in David, he’s an owner.”

“The 10 years have been great but I don’t think his work with our league is done by any means or capacity.”

While there may never be another signing that will impact a league the way Beckham did Leiweke says there are players out there that can still move the needle globally pointing to names like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Once operational, Leiweke made it clear the Miami franchise will move quickly to put the club on the global soccer map.

“We have arguably one of the best brand ambassadors in the world with David, we are going to aim extremely high,” said Leiweke. “We are going to push aggressively.

“As an owner David is going to continue to revolutionise our sport and our league and I think we are only getting started on our potential to where this league is going to go in the next 10 years.

“We aspire not only to be the best club in Major League Soccer we want to be the best club in the Americas and we think Miami has that culture and that tradition that allows us to think that way.

“What I can promise you is Miami is going to create waves.”

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http://www.foxsports.com/soccer/story/david-beckham-mls-don-garber-10-years-011117

Don Garber reflects on David Beckham’s impact on MLS 10 years after his signing

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http://sports.yahoo.com/news/soccer-mls-grown-not-waiting-another-beckham-210836489--sow.html

Soccer-MLS all grown up, not waiting for another Beckham

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http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/1110/major-league-soccer/2017/01/12/31433282/why-british-coaches-may-be-shying-away-from-mls-jobs

Why British coaches may be shying away from MLS jobs

While more and more U.K. players see MLS as a potential league to ply their trade, the many intricacies provide a greater challenge for U.K. coaches.

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http://www.lagalaxy.com/post/2017/01/12/new-year-new-ball-major-league-soccer-unveil-2017-official-match-ball

New year, new ball! Major League Soccer unveil the 2017 official match ball

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http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/article126080274.html

Should Charlotte pay $100 million for soccer stadium? Other cities have spent far less.

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http://sportsday.dallasnews.com/soccer/soccer/2017/01/12/2017-major-league-soccer-official-match-ball

2017 Major League Soccer Official Match Ball

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http://www.soundersfc.com/post/2017/01/11/mls-unveil-complete-2017-regular-season-schedule-thursday-jan-12

MLS to unveil complete 2017 regular season schedule on Thursday, Jan. 12

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http://www.seattletimes.com/sports/sounders/major-league-soccer-releases-full-2017-regular-season-schedule/

Major League Soccer releases full 2017 regular-season schedule

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http://www.bigapplesoccer.com/leagues/mls2.php?article_id=46815

THE BIGGEST SEASON

MLS schedule includes two rivalry weeks, most games, new teams, new stadiums

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http://www.fourfourtwo.com/us/news/major-league-soccer-releases-2017-mls-schedule

Major League Soccer releases 2017 MLS schedule

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http://playingfor90.com/2017/01/12/ten-years-on-still-searching-for-answers-to-david-beckham-question/

MLS: Did the David Beckham experiment work for the league?

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http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/88281660/david-beckham-showdown-a-fond-memory-for-welltravelled-sean-morris

David Beckham showdown a fond memory for well-travelled Sean Morris

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http://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/leaders-mull-over-charlotte-major-league-soccer-franchise/483946858

Leaders mull over Charlotte Major League Soccer franchise

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http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/sd-sp-mls-20170112-story.html

Can soccer fill void left by Chargers?

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http://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2017/01/12/mls-commissioner-don-garber-talks-about-leagues-growth-herd

MLS commissioner Don Garber talks about league's growth on The Herd

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https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2017/jan/11/david-beckham-la-galaxy-mls

A decade on, did David Beckham's move to MLS make a difference?

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2017/01/11/10-years-ago-today-sport-real-madrid-midfielder-david-beckham/

10 years ago today in sport: Real Madrid midfielder David Beckham agrees move to LA Galaxy

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http://www.eurosport.com/football/factbox-david-beckham-s-impact-on-major-league-soccer_sto6007975/story.shtml

FACTBOX-David Beckham's impact on Major League Soccer

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https://www.yahoo.com/news/soccer-beckham-put-galaxy-map-staying-another-story-190000474--sow.html

Soccer-Beckham put Galaxy on map, staying there is another story

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http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/11/football/david-beckham-la-galaxy-10-year-anniversary-mls/index.html

'Galactico' to the Galaxy: How Brand Beckham conquered the US

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http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/sports/factbox-david-beckhams-impact-on-major-league-soccer/articleshow/56464143.cms

Factbox - David Beckham's impact on Major League Soccer

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http://sport360.com/article/football/global/218142/10th-anniversary-of-david-beckhams-mls-move-becks-la-galaxy-impact-and-us-soccer-legacy/

Ten years on: Beckham and the MLS

On the 10th anniversary of his move to the MLS, Aditya Devavrat examines David Beckham's time stateside and the impact he made at LA Galaxy.

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http://www.thestar.com.my/sport/football/2017/01/11/beckham-put-galaxy-on-map-staying-there-is-another-story/

Beckham put Galaxy on map, staying there is another story

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http://www.dirtysouthsoccer.com/2017/1/11/14236720/david-beckham-mls-designated-player-anniversary

10 Years Ago Today, MLS Changed Forever

David Beckham announced he was joining MLS ten years ago today

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https://www.yahoo.com/news/beckham-put-mls-fast-track-respectability-092036557--sow.html

Beckham put MLS on fast track to respectability

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http://www.kashmirmonitor.in/Details/115899/ten-years-after-turning-his-back-on-real-madrid-beckham-all-set-to-turn-an-owner

Ten years after turning his back on Real Madrid, Beckham all set to turn an owner

Published at: Jan 12, 2017

London : Ten years ago on Wednesday David Beckham rocked the soccer establishment when he turned his back on Real Madrid, the world`s most glamorous soccer club, and signed with Los Angeles Galaxy.

For a decade the tremors of that deal have rumbled through Major League Soccer and Tim Leiweke, the man who orchestrated what is perhaps the most significant signing in sport history, predicts the charismatic former England captain will soon be making shockwaves again -- as an owner.

"David was an impact moment for the league but it wasn`t our birth and it didn`t save us from death, but ... David allowed us to realise how big we could be," Leiweke, now one of Beckham`s partners in trying to bring an MLS team to Miami, told Reuters.

"We went from surviving to conquering and David gave us that reputation, that belief and from that point on there was no question this league was going to succeed.

"But as big an impact as he had 10 years ago I continue to predict he is going to have as big an impact as an owner."

Certainly Beckham`s emergence as the potential owner of a Miami-based MLS franchise dogged by setbacks has been muted compared to his rock star arrival in Los Angeles in 2007.

"David Beckham will have a greater impact on soccer in America than any athlete has ever had on a sport globally," Leiweke, the then-president and CEO of Anschutz Entertainment Group, the Galaxy`s corporate parent, said at the time of the signing.

Leiweke, who is equal parts visionary and shrewd salesman, also proved to be a prophet.

The five-year deal to lure Beckham to the United States, one estimated at $250 million and including commercial opportunities and the rights to buy an MLS expansion team at a steep discount, was by most barometers worth every dollar.

By the time he played his final game in a Galaxy jersey in 2012 MLS was no longer regarded as soccer`s comfy retirement home and five years on the Beckham affect is still being felt as the league pushes forward with expansion plans.

In Beckham`s first season the average attendance at MLS games was 16,770 and last season it jumped to 21,692. This season will feature 22 MLS teams, up from 13 in 2007.

Toronto FC, which debuted in 2007, paid a $10 million expansion fee. The next round of expansion will be a minimum of $150 million per club while Beckham gets his for $25 million.

While the Miami team has no stadium and no name what it does have is the cache behind the Beckham brand that Leiweke believes once operating will make the South Florida club a magnet for some of the soccer`s marquee names.

"Is there anyone who is going to be better in the living room than David Beckham recruiting the next David Beckham," asked Leiweke.

"To me he can affect the league in a lot of ways and we are now about to see him and the impact on the league he is going to have in a business suit instead of a jersey.

"He can be just as dynamic and just as powerful because for the great players of the world we have the world`s greatest recruiter now in David, he`s an owner."

"The 10 years have been great but I don`t think his work with our league is done by any means or capacity."

(Follow link for full article.)

http://www.themaneland.com/2017/1/12/14244804/lion-links-1-12-17

Lion Links: 1/12/17

2016 SuperDraft retrospective, David Beckham’s impact on MLS a decade later, SheBelieves Cup dates set, Marsch leaves Red Bulls and more.

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http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=385161

Beckham fast tracks Galaxy

LOS ANGELES - David Beckham sent shockwaves around the world when he signed with Los Angeles Galaxy in 2007, giving Major League Soccer a level of legitimacy and visibility that otherwise may have taken decades to reach before the ink on his contract was barely dry.

Wednesday marks the 10th anniversary of Beckham's coming to America, a deal that made the former England captain the poster boy for a new era of MLS and transformed the Galaxy into one of the planet's most recognizable football brands.

With Beckham aboard, Galaxy merchandise flew off store shelves, MLS enjoyed a spike in interest and attendance and even landed international TV deals but perhaps his greatest mark is the creation of the designated player rule.

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http://www.cityam.com/256842/why-rise-footballers-image-rights-values-mean-clubs-and

Why the rise in footballers' image rights values mean clubs and players are locked in contract negotiations for longer

When David Beckham was asked in 2002 why his contract negotiations with Manchester United, which eventually took a year to complete, were taking so long, he was frank in his response.

“It’s not the salary that’s a problem,” he admitted. “It’s just the image rights that needed a little perking.”

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http://www.si.com/planet-futbol/2017/01/11/best-worst-mls-designated-players-10-years-david-beckham-la-galaxy

MLS's top 10, worst 10 Designated Players since David Beckham's signing

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http://playingfor90.com/2017/01/12/ten-years-on-still-searching-for-answers-to-david-beckham-question/

MLS: Did the David Beckham experiment work for the league?

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http://www.83degreesmedia.com/innovationnews/tampa-bay-innovation-summit-planned-011217.aspx

Tampa Innovation Summit to boost local startup ecosystem

Cheryl Rogers | Thursday, January 12, 2017

Twentieth century entrepreneurs are working hard to make the Tampa Bay region a place that attracts -- and keeps -- 21st Century businesses. Among their goals is helping young business minds recognize what they did: the Tampa Bay area is business friendly, has great weather (especially in the winter) and is an all-around beautiful place to live.

“We want the Tampa Bay region to be one of the best places in the country to build a company,” says Marc Blumenthal, CEO of Florida Funders, which looks to invest in between 12 and 25 companies annually. “We want people to seek us out, to stay here to build their companies.”

. . .

The Innovation Summit, scheduled from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Tampa Marriott Waterside, is a showcase event featuring Jeff Vinik, Chairman and Governor of Tampa Bay Lightning; and Chris Sullivan, Chairman of Omnivore and MenuPad.

“Chris Sullivan is one of the gems of the Tampa Bay area,” Blumenthal says. “He and his partners built Outback [Steakhouse] many many years ago. They chose Tampa as the base. They got the time and the energy and the capital and the support that they needed.”

The slate of speakers and panelists also includes Mindy Grossman, CEO and Director of HSN Inc.; innovator Ron Klein; Bill Edwards, CEO of The Edwards Group and Chairman, CEO and Governor of Tampa Bay Rowdies; and governmental representatives.

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http://www.austinchronicle.com/sports/2017-01-13/soccer-watch/

Soccer Watch

U.S. Soccer's Board of Directors voted on Jan. 6 to grant provisional Division II status to both the North American Soccer League and United Soccer League for the 2017 season. Neither league meets all D2 standards, but U.S. Soccer said it "will work with the leagues on a pathway to full compliance." The NASL had been in danger of folding, and is down to eight teams for 2017. The USL has grown to 30 teams for 2017 – including San Antonio FC but not the still-dormant Austin Aztex – but not all of them meet D2 requirements for stadium size, among other issues… San Antonio, by the way, averaged the fifth highest attendance among the 38 minor league soccer teams playing in 2016, at 6,170 per game.

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http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2017/01/12/warren-smith-republics-success-helped-its-league.html

Warren Smith: Republic's success helped its league get to higher tier

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http://www.sportspromedia.com/notes_and_insights/americas_bulletin_cosmos_crisis_averted_ces_tidbits_usta_unveils_tennis_nir

Americas Bulletin: Cosmos crisis averted; CES tidbits; the USTA’s tennis ‘nirvana’ and more

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http://nysportsjournalism.squarespace.com/can-new-cosmos-owner-save-nasl/

Net Gains, Losses: Can New York Cosmos New Owner Commisso Save Team, NASL?

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http://ballparkdigest.com/2017/01/11/hillsborough-pinellas-continue-rays-ballpark-pitches/

Hillsborough, Pinellas Continue Rays Ballpark Pitches

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http://www.gobearcats.com/sports/m-soccer/spec-rel/011117aaa.html

Men's Soccer to Host FC Cincinnati in Spring Friendly

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http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/columns/column-the-case-against-tax-money-for-stadiums-movies/2309252

Column: The case against tax money for stadiums, movies

What's more, plenty of sports owners can afford to renovate without a special taxpayer-funded deal.

Case in point: The Orlando City Soccer Club is building its own stadium. And while the Orlando team originally asked for $30 million from the state, it announced it would self-fund the stadium after citizens and lawmakers opposed state funding.

In St. Petersburg, Tampa Bay Rowdies owner Bill Edwards has pledged to privately finance an $80 million renovation of Al Lang Stadium in order to bring a Major League Soccer team to the region.

If these sports teams can renovate on their own, why do other teams such as the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Miami Dolphins or Jacksonville Jaguars deserve taxpayer money?

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http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/mls/article125553379.html

Miami FC to stay in NASL – for now

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http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2017/01/10/here-s-when-fc-cincinnati-kicks-off-its-second.html

Here’s when FC Cincinnati kicks off its second season and which new teams it’ll play

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http://sports.yahoo.com/news/cosmos-future-assured-media-tycoon-takeover-191717709--sow.html

Cosmos future assured after media tycoon takeover

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http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/soccer/fort-lauderdale-strikers/fl-fort-lauderdale-strikers-news-0110-20170109-story.html

Strikers' 2017 season in jeopardy

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http://www.vnews.com/soccer-roundup-7367530

Soccer Roundup: Ronaldo, Lloyd Earn Top Player Awards

WNY Flash Moving

Chicago — The National Women’s Soccer League announced on Monday that the Western New York Flash have been sold to a group that will move the team to North Carolina for the upcoming season.

North Carolina FC acquired the rights to the defending league champion Flash, who will be renamed the North Carolina Courage and based in the Raleigh suburb of Cary. The name is a nod to the Carolina Courage of the now-defunct Women’s United Soccer Association in the early 2000s.
NASL Ousts President

New York — Bill Peterson is out as president of the troubled North American Soccer League, which is cutting from 12 teams to eight.

The league Monday called the move a mutual decision. Peterson led the league since 2012, a year after the current NASL started play. Appointed interim commissioner was Rishi Sehgal, the NASL’s director of business development and legal affairs.

The NASL said it will play with four fewer teams this year. Its second-division status was extended provisionally Friday by the U.S. Soccer Federation. The 30-team United Soccer League also was given provisional second division status by the USSF, up from third tier from 2011-16.

Aaron Davidson was the NASL board chairman and an NASL investor before he was indicted in 2015 as part of a U.S. Justice Department investigation into soccer corruption. He pleaded guilty last October to federal racketeering conspiracy and wire-fraud conspiracy charges and is awaiting sentencing.

The league said it cut ties with Davidson’s soccer management company in November.

The Cosmos, the defending champions, said they will discuss on Tuesday their ownership status and financial obligations to players. Seamus O’Brien has been the team’s chairman team since it resumed play in 2013.

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http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/sports/soccer/2017/01/09/flash-say-wny-market-not-right-fit-nwsl/96346844/

Flash say WNY market 'not right fit' for NWSL

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http://www.phillysoccerpage.net/2017/01/10/2017-usl-takes-shape/

2017 USL takes shape

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http://nysportsjournalism.squarespace.com/beleaguered-nasl-restart-again/

Beleaguered NASL Seeks Another New Start, Vision, Direction For 2017 And Beyond

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http://www.bigapplesoccer.com/leagues/nasl2.php?article_id=46810

SOME INTERESTING DRAFT TRIVIA

Some tidbits about the original incarnation of the NASL and other league's drafts

The first man

Defender Alain Maca, son of Joe Maca, who played for the U.S. in its 1-0 upset of England in the 1950 World Cup, was the NASL's first draft choice ever -- on Feb. 9, 1972 -- by the Miami Gatos, the forerunners of the Fort Lauderdale Strikers. His NASL career was an undistinguished one, scoring one goal in 41 games over three seasons. Maca, a Brockport State graduate, also played two seasons in the American Soccer League. The Gatos, incidentally, took Maca over Kyle Rote and Shep Messing.

"It was flattering being drafted first," Maca said years later. "It was a nice feeling at the time. I didn't get rich from it. But I guess being No. 1 was my reward."

In 1979, Maca had some advice for players: "If you seriously consider being a soccer player, forget college. You lose four years. When you're 21 or 22, you should be ready to play. It took some players nearly five years to develop. Others never did."

The first woman

The Chicago Sting selected Marilyn Lange, Playboy's 1975 Playmate of the Year, in the fourth and final round of the 1976 draft. Lange, who played soccer in her native Hawaii, never played a minute for the Sting.

"I wouldn't want to play against the guys the Sting play," she said. "They're too rough."

Lost in the publicity for Lange was the fact the Tampa Bay Rowdies also selected a woman -- B.J. Woodard of the University of North Carolina in the fourth round.

Because of her name -- B.J. Woodard -- was not given immediate recognition of the second woman taken in the NASL draft. Woodard played basketball for the Tar Heels. "I had never played soccer before, so they taught me some of the skills," Woodard told The Daily Tar Heel in 1976 after a trip the Rowdies training camp. "I was able to pick up soccer pretty quickly."

. . .

Some things never change

With all that wheeling and dealing of draft picks for the MLS SuperDraft, well, the league is following a tradition leftover from NASL days. For the 1980 draft, 13 of the 24 first-round picks were either dealt or sold before the draft. Fort Lauderdale originally owned the 18th selection in the first round. They dealt it to the Aztecs, who traded it to the Tulsa Roughnecks, who sent it to the California Surf, which dealt it to the Tampa Bay Rowdies.

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http://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2017/01/10/lalas-on-beckham-snell-intv.cnn

Alexi Lalas on signing David Beckham

Former LA Galaxy General Manager Alexi Lalas talks to CNN's Patrick Snell about how he persuaded David Beckham to leave Real Madrid for an American soccer team.

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https://whatahowler.com/usl-nasl-and-the-uncertain-future-of-being-division-2-ad286b6e3936#.564l6up68

USL, NASL, and the uncertain future of being Division 2

Thoughts from USL president Jake Edwards on a decision that raises more questions than it answers