Rays explain details of Montreal plan: ‘This is not a staged exit.’

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http://www.tampabay.com/sports/rays/2019/06/25/rays-montreal-primer-what-you-need-to-know-before-todays-press-conference/

Rays explain details of Montreal plan: ‘This is not a staged exit.’

Team officials started talking today about their plan to split seasons between Tampa Bay and Montreal.

Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg greets visitors prior to the Rays announcement Tuesday at the Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, that they want to play half of their home games in Montreal, Canada.

ST. PETERSBURG — Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg was adamant in explaining Tuesday that the plan to split the season with Montreal is a solution to make the team successful in both markets...

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https://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/news/2019/06/25/tampa-bay-rays-owner-stu-sternberg-makes-public.html

Tampa Bay Rays owner Stu Sternberg makes public pitch for St. Pete to share the team with Montreal

It was the second time in less than a year that Rays officials faced the media with plans for a new stadium — and scant details on how it would get built.

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https://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/news/2019/06/25/tampa-bay-rays-owner-stu-sternberg-makes-public.html#i/11362122

Tampa Bay Rays owner Stuart Sternberg addresses the media at a June 25, 2019, news conference at the Dali Museum in downtown St. Petersburg.

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https://wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu/post/sternberg-rays-split-season-montreal-will-help-baseball-thrive-tampa-bay

Sternberg: Rays' Split Season With Montreal Will Help Baseball 'Thrive' In Tampa Bay

Saying the Tampa Bay area is "simply not well-suited" to host a full 162-game baseball schedule, Tampa Bay Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg spoke about his plan to split its home games with Montreal.

During a news conference Tuesday afternoon at The Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Sternberg said his hope is that the Rays will play in new open-air ballparks located in both St. Petersburg and Montreal.

Where that stadium would be located would be "part of the exploration," Sternberg said.

Sternberg said moving the Rays’ second half of the season to Montreal is not a negotiating ploy, and not a pitch to move the team.

"We are focused on how the Rays can thrive here in Tampa Bay," Sternberg said.

Sternberg explained how he envisioned this split game plan with the first half in Tampa Bay area and the second in Montreal.

"That community will come here in droves to watch our baseball team, to set up businesses, visit our shops, eat in our restaurants, share in our community and perhaps retire here," Sternberg stated. "It will score an economic connection that is - like its team - will last for generations."

He acknowledges that there will be more work to come in order to complete this agreement.

Steve Newborn
@SteveNewborn3
 Rays owner Stu Sternberg says the Montreal Expos owner inquired years ago about moving the team, but he rejected it. Says that city is looking for an expansion team. Sternberg says he has no intention of selling the team. @wusf

1:28 PM - Jun 25, 2019
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The news conference was held near Al Lang Stadium, home of the Tampa Bay Rowdies soccer team which the Rays purchased last year from Bill Edwards. He was reluctant to state how much he sold the team for, only giving a hint of it being in the “millions.”

Under that deal, the Rays agreed to keep the Rowdies at Al Lang Stadium for five years. Edwards said at the time that the contract with the city that the Rays will inherit is for Lang to remain a soccer field only.

That hasn’t stopped speculation that the Rays may want to build an open-air stadium on that site. They had announced similar plans for that site in 2007. The team cancelled that plan a year later due to objections from St. Petersburg and Pinellas County leaders.

In 2015, the Rays received permission from the city of St. Petersburg to negotiate a new stadium site elsewhere in the Tampa Bay area.

Last July, the Rays unveiled sketches of a new domed stadium in Tampa’s Ybor City, but by December, that plan was dead. Site control and whether the stadium would be open by 2023 were major questions, but the biggest concern was the cost -- estimated to be around $900 million.

In November, the team announced it had received $16 million in corporate support. Sternberg said the team would contribute more than $150 million, but would not disclose the specific number publicly. Hillsborough County and Tampa officials, including Mayor Bob Buckhorn, wanted the team to cover closer to half of the cost.

The Rays have a lease that keeps them tied to Tropicana Field until 2027.

St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman said last week that he would hold the Rays to that deal and he did not foresee allowing them to look at a split home schedule.

"I have no intention of bringing this idea to our City Council to consider," Kriseman said. "I believe this is getting a bit silly. I have great respect for Stu Sternberg and his leadership team...but after 12 years of indecision, including three years of exploring its options throughout the Tampa Bay region, like many in Tampa Bay, I am tired of the games that are being played related to getting a new stadium built."

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https://graziadaily.co.uk/celebrity/news/victoria-david-beckham-marriage-brand-beckham/

20 Years On, What Can We Expect Next From Brand Beckham?

The 4th of July sees David and Victoria Beckham celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary. Jane Mulkerrins reports on the secret to their brand success - and what they have planned next...

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https://www.wralsportsfan.com/how-viable-is-raleigh-s-bid-for-major-league-soccer/18473428/

SOCCER

How viable is Raleigh's bid for Major League Soccer?

Tags: MLS, soccer, NCFC, NC Courage, Steve Malik, MLSto919...

RALEIGH, N.C. — There is about a 2,000-seat difference between the new downtown Raleigh stadium proposal and the one revealed two years ago. There is a major difference in land.

"A few years ago, we were talking about 13 acres, and the stadium took up 10 acres of it," NCFC and NC Courage owner Steve Malik explained. "This is a 100-acre project," added team vice-president and general manager Curt Johnson. "It's about a stadium, which is a catalyst, but the catalyst is about driving people into Downtown South."

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https://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/sport/other_football/17729587.is-the-inexorable-rise-of-the-mls-bad-for-scottish-football/

Is the inexorable rise of the MLS bad for Scottish football?

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https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2019/06/25/report-atlanta-united-make-record-bid-venezuelan-yeferson-soteldo

Yefferson Soteldo - Atlanta United target

Report: Atlanta United make record bid for Venezuelan Yeferson Soteldo

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https://www.sportbusiness.com/news/concerns-raised-over-toxic-us-soccer-work-culture/

Concerns raised over ‘toxic’ US Soccer work culture

A series of anonymous reviews about the “toxic” work culture at the United States Soccer Federation on networking website Glassdoor have been confirmed as legitimate by the New York Times.

In the past two months, numerous comments about been made about the “culture of fear and intimidation” and low staff morale at the federation’s headquarters in Chicago by present and former employees.

These comments specifically name USSF chief executive Dan Flynn and his potential successor Jay Berhalter – the brother of current US men’s national team head coach Gregg Berhalter – as the cause of many of these problems.

These include a workplace climate in which employees’ arrivals and departures are monitored, long working weeks, limited career progression to senior positions, and reprimands for those with dissenting or unpopular opinions.

One employee told the New York Times the Glassdoor comments were “cathartic” and a “like a desperate cry for help”.

A US Soccer spokesman said: “At the moment we are at an inflection point where we are rapidly growing as an organization, which is both rewarding and challenging. As we grow, listening to our employees and taking action where and when needed will be more important than ever.”

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https://phillysoccerpage.net/2019/06/25/bethlehem-steel-vs-tampa-bay-fury-in-pictures/

PHOTO ESSAYS / USL - BETHLEHEM STEEL FC

Bethlehem Steel vs Tampa Bay Fury: In Pictures

PSP photographer Marjorie Elzey was on hand Saturday afternoon as Bethlehem Steel fell to Tampa Bay Rowdies 1-2 on their return to Goodman Stadium. Here’s the game in pictures

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https://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/buzz/2019/06/25/what-will-the-rays-say-kriseman-wont-be-there-to-hear-it/

What will the Rays say? Kriseman won’t be there to hear it.

St. Petersburg’s mayor will not attend the team’s 1 p.m. announcement along the waterfront. What might that mean?

St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman (right) derides the Tampa Bay Rays' proposal to split home games with Montreal at a news conference last week. City Council members Charlie Gerdes (left) and Ed Montanari (center) stand behind. [MARTHA ASENCIO-RHINE | Times]

ST. PETERSBURG — What Tampa Bay Rays’ leadership will announce at the team’s waterfront news conference this afternoon is anybody’s guess.

They are likely to double down on the plan Major League...

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https://rbnn.us/2019/06/25/preview-nyrbii-look-to-bounce-back-against-nashville/

Preview: NYRBII look to bounce back against Nashville

New York Red Bulls II will face a quick turnaround on Wednesday when they travel to take on Nashville SC.

The “baby bulls” three-match win streak was snapped on Saturday when they were defeated by the Pittsburgh Riverhounds 3-0. Despite some quality chances, NYRBII were unable to break down Pittsburgh and were poor defensively from set pieces which lead to 2 of the goals. Midfielder Jean- Christophe Koffi was also sent off and will miss the match against Nashville.

Both teams currently sit 4 points off of Eastern Conference leaders Tampa Bay Rowdies and a win for either team could see them jump up to second place. Stroud is hoping he and his teammates can get some revenge from their meeting earlier this year.

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https://phillysoccerpage.net/2019/06/25/where-are-they-now-taking-a-look-at-the-unions-2018-2019-trades/

Where are they now? Taking a look at the Union’s 2018-2019 trades

John McCarthy (Gk) – Good move for him

McCarthy only played 90 minutes last season, but he put in a great performance. Interestingly enough, he is the Union’s highest-rated player on WhoScored for the 2017-2018 season based off that one performance. It seemed like he was the perfect backup goalkeeper to have, but it was understandable when he left to seek more playing time elsewhere. He joined the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the USL Championship, and has since started all 15 matches this season with 9 clean sheets to bring them to number one in the USL Eastern Conference. Overall, it looks like he’s getting the play time he deserves and has been excelling.

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https://en.as.com/en/2019/06/26/football/1561507993_813619.html

The Sun shapes Beckham's MLS team with Cristiano and Messi

MLS team owner David Beckham speaks during the Miami MLS expansion team announcement at the Adrienne Arsht Center.

Piqué, Rooney, Luis Suárez and Falcao are other of the best players that, according to
The Sun, Beckham wants to recruit for his project in Miami.

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https://www.thebentmusket.com/2019/6/25/18744307/revolution-signing-coach-staff-dave-van-den-bergh-as-assistant-coach

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LATEST NEWS

Revolution hire Dave van den Bergh as assistant coach

He will join the Revs on Jul. 1.

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https://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/787975/Man-United-fans-Glazers-out-campaign-twitter

Glazers Out campaign to return as Man Utd fans vow to turn Twitter green and gold

MANCHESTER UNITED fans are looking to bring back the Glazers Out campaign after experiencing success last week.