MLS in Charlotte - 2021

[CharlotteWkndBuzz]

MLS noob here (soccer in general).  When does a MLS season start/end?  How many games are in a season and how many of those would be at home (are they played during day or night)?  Just seeing how an MLS season will mesh with our other pro sports in town.  I think the stadium design looks great (looks larger than the stated 22k).  From a person that doesn't follow soccer, I would follow and regularly attend games if we were awarded an expansion team.  I would become more than just a casual fan, meaning I would more than just follow the team, I would know the players, the opponents, and actually care about the on field performance.  Unlike Knights and Checkers where I go usually more for the atmosphere and comradery (winning is just a bonus).  I think MLS would do great here and more importantly, evolve Charlotte's culture even more.

Edited February 1, 2017 by CharlotteWkndBuzz

[deaconator]

Again FWIW but if you believe the Indy ownership group they gave details of the talks when trying to partner with the Smith's they may be looking for a quick ROI on the team.  Apparently MLS only requires 25% of the expansion fee upfront and then it's built into the cost of operating the franchise throughout the remainder off the balance.  Also the team would pay $12.5M toward the stadium up front.  So essentially they thought the rising team values they'd make a $49M up front investment to bring a club here and flip their share for hundreds of millions in a few years to a new majority owner as franchise values continue to go up.
Getting into tin foil hat conspiracy theory territory but I do not see their passion for the sport as with some other bids.  However to end on a positive for the Smith's, I do like the sports portfolio of the architecture group they chose for the rendering that was released.

I think the Smiths would have been well-served to bite the bullet and actually partner with the Charlotte Independence group in making their bid. I'm not sure which side was at fault for not forging this partnership, but this COULD be yet another deal-killer. Look at all the other bids and how they are strongly linked to a lower level team, their organization, supporters, season ticket holders, etc.

But instead, the Smiths opted to alienate the most loyal soccer-focused investors and more importantly, the biggest soccer fans in the city which could have been your ground game of activists to galvanize the rest of Charlotte to become future MLS fans.

At this point, you may end up with a team that has no fans, or at least no educated, passionate fans.



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[SouthEndCLT811]

15 minutes ago, CharlotteWkndBuzz said:

MLS noob here (soccer in general).  When does a MLS season start/end?  How many games are in a season and how many of those would be at home (are they played during day or night)?  Just seeing how an MLS season will mesh with our other pro sports in town.  I think the stadium design looks great (looks larger than the stated 22k).  From a person that doesn't follow soccer, I would follow and regularly attend games if we were awarded an expansion team.  I would become more of a casual fan, meaning I would more than just follow the team, I would know the players, the opponents, and actually care about the on field performance.  Unlike Knights and Checkers where I go usually more for the atmosphere and comradery (winning is just a bonus).  I think MLS would do great here and even evolve Charlotte's culture even more.

Regular season goes March to October, playoffs November/December and MLS cup in mid-December.  There's 34 regular season games, 17 home.  Most league games are at nights weekly on Saturday, national broadcasts on Sunday vary between time slots throughout the day.  Some midweek interspersed but mostly on the weekend.  

There are also Lamar Hunt US Open Cup matches.  That's a tournament where all levels of pro US soccer compete in an open tournament.  So for example our team in the USL, Charlotte Independence, defeated New England of MLS in this tournament in 2015 and lost to Chicago Fire also of MLS in that year.  Depending on how far the team goes that may add an additional 1-4 midweek home games though they're usually sparsely attended till the later rounds.

Edited February 1, 2017 by SouthEndCLT811

[CLT704]

2 hours ago, HopHead said:

I could see someone like Duke Energy, Sealed Air or the like jumping in as well as another one of the financial institutions in town (Ally Bank anyone?) trying to make a name for themselves. Wells Fargo already has their name on the PGA event here so yea, I doubt they'd be the ones to put naming rights on the facility. 

I was about to type "Duke Energy Stadium" I think is sounds pretty good!

[CharlotteWkndBuzz]

3 minutes ago, SouthEndCLT811 said:

Regular season goes March to October, playoffs November/December and MLS cup in mid-December.  There's 34 regular season games, 17 home.  Plus Lamar Hunt US Open Cup matches.  That's a tournament where all levels of pro US soccer compete in an open tournament.  So for example our team in the USL, Charlotte Independence, defeated New England of MLS in this tournament in 2015 and lost to Chicago Fire also of MLS in that year.  Depending on how far the team goes that may add an additional 1-4 midweek home games though they're usually sparsely attended till the later rounds.

Awesome, thanks for the info! 

[ChessieCat]

3 hours ago, HopHead said:

I could see someone like Duke Energy, Sealed Air or the like jumping in as well as another one of the financial institutions in town (Ally Bank anyone?) trying to make a name for themselves. Wells Fargo already has their name on the PGA event here so yea, I doubt they'd be the ones to put naming rights on the facility. 

How about BB&T Stadium?  You can never get enough of those, even in the same city: BB&T Ballpark and BB&T Field coexist just fine in Winston-Salem   

[deaconator]

I was excited that there was a YouTube video....until I watched it lol.

That being said I really hope they get their act together and win the franchise.


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[SgtCampsalot]

Cheese alert.

Dude looks like a beefcake Jason Ritter (son of John):
 

 

Edited February 1, 2017 by SgtCampsalot

[Jack152]

3 hours ago, deaconator said:

 

At this point, you may end up with a team that has no fans, or at least no educated, passionate fans.



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I find it hard to believe that "educated, passionate" Charlotte Independence fans would snub a local MLS franchise, out of some allegiance to a team that has only existed for 2 years.

[elrodvt]

I've never been to an Independence game due to the crappy facilities situation and I usually don't drive far if at all.

I would become a "supporter" if this came about. I bet there are a lot more people in my boat.

Also, have you ever been to a Knights game? 3/4 people are there to drink and be seen and don't even know how to act at a baseball game. Yet they are a very successful franchise and over time the game "sinks in". Rant - Like after enough people tell you not to stand and talk on your phone during the inning you might just get a clue.

Edited February 1, 2017 by elrodvt

[ah59396]

3 hours ago, deaconator said:

 

 

I was excited that there was a YouTube video....until I watched it lol.

That being said I really hope they get their act together and win the franchise.


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Jesus, that was brutal.  What kind of sales pitch is "the MLS would be great for Charlotte because we've got NASCAR and also the Checkers don't exist"  

Edited February 1, 2017 by ah59396
word

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, ah59396 said:

 

Jesus, that was brutal.  What kind of sales pitch is "the MLS would be great for soccer because we've got NASCAR and also the Checkers don't exist"  

No mention of the success of the Premier League teams playing preseason games in charlotte. 

[SouthEndCLT811]

Haven't really heard much but those talking points from Marcus Smith.  Seems his right hand man on this bid is Mike Burch and he was featured on the ESPN Charlotte soccer podcast.  First 20 minutes are the guys talking Liverpool so skip past that and you'll hear more from their side.

http://www.espncharlotte.net/podcast/the-second-yellow-soccer-podcast-episode-xxiv/

[deaconator]

1 hour ago, Jack152 said:

I find it hard to believe that "educated, passionate" Charlotte Independence fans would snub a local MLS franchise, out of some allegiance to a team that has only existed for 2 years.

 

12 minutes ago, elrodvt said:

I've never been to an Independence game due to the crappy facilities situation and I usually don't drive far if at all.

I would become a "supporter" if this came about. I bet there are a lot more people in my boat.

Good point - and I'd be in the same boat as you.  And maybe that is good enough, I don't know.  But from what I am picking up from the tone of all those involved - McPhillamy, City/County government, Smith, soccer fans on here and on Twitter than actually know something about soccer - I really think that Smith needs to work with the community to build something successful here.  His crapty interviews and YouTube videos are not going to cut it.  He already has a lot working against him.

8 minutes ago, ricky_davis_fan_21 said:

No mention of the success of the Premier League teams playing preseason games in charlotte. 

Thought the exact same thing, and that was an easy one.  He doesn't get it. 

[Guest]

Does no one else think that the Smith Ownership Stadium Rendering is much less awesome than the one done for Jim McPhilliamy?

[jednc]

51 minutes ago, ricky_davis_fan_21 said:

Does no one else think that the Smith Ownership Stadium Rendering is much less awesome than the one done for Jim McPhilliamy?

Hard to tell. One is from inside the stadium, one is from the outside. At least that's all I've seen.

[Desert Power]

Seems weird that the rendering doesn't have any press/luxury boxes

[Dcarnys]

10 hours ago, Desert Power said:

Seems weird that the rendering doesn't have any press/luxury boxes

I wouldn't be surprised if it was just the first google result for "soccer stadium" photoshoped into a picture of the skyline.

[CLT2014]

^ That's what I was thinking too! haha

[swh1972]

I am a big fan of the Premiere League, and regularly watch their games on Saturday and Sunday mornings.  I can't really get excited for a second tier soccer club that plays their matches in a park next to 485 (I'm being overly critical to make a point - I have absolutely nothing against the Charlotte Independence), I would, however, be close to the front of the line for MLS Season tickets if Charlotte lands a team.  The Bayern Munich/Chelsea level matches over the past two summers have been great events that attracted tens of thousands of passionate fans.  I can imagine a more intimate venue in Elizabeth with International caliber players would be very successful. 

[Desert Power]

23 minutes ago, swh1972 said:

I am a big fan of the Premiere League, and regularly watch their games on Saturday and Sunday mornings.  I can't really get excited for a second tier soccer club that plays their matches in a park next to 485 (I'm being overly critical to make a point - I have absolutely nothing against the Charlotte Independence), I would, however, be close to the front of the line for MLS Season tickets if Charlotte lands a team.  The Bayern Munich/Chelsea level matches over the past two summers have been great events that attracted tens of thousands of passionate fans.  I can imagine a more intimate venue in Elizabeth with International caliber players would be very successful. 

Pretty much the same way, except with La Liga.  Driving down to Pineville on a week-night for a game in that traffic is just not something I'm going to do.

[Synopsis101]

MLS exec 'impressed' by Charlotte bid group

A local bid for an expansion team in Major League Soccer hasn’t suffered because of deadline pressure despite complaints by some Charlotte City Council members about that issue, a league executive said Wednesday.

Mark Abbott, MLS deputy commissioner, told CBJ during a media conference call, “We recognized different markets would be in different places with respect to their ownership groups and with respect to their stadium plans and we just wanted to know where they were ... But that they would be supplementing their applications as we continued the review process.”

http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2017/02/01/mls-exec-impressed-by-clt-bid-group.html?ana=e_me_set1

[elrodvt]

On 2/16/2010 at 11:17 PM, tozmervo said:

Having never lived in an MLS city, but being someone who enjoys the occasional soccer match, I have been wondering if Charlotte could support an MLS team.

 

* The Southeast is currently a gaping void in their market coverage.

* Tampa Bay and Miami both had teams until 2001, but I don't know the details of those teams' demise.

* While the league as a whole is still struggling toward profitability, their momentum is upward.

* Along with San Francisco, Houston, NY, Chicago and LA, Charlotte is one of six American cities hosting Mexico's world cup team in an exhibition match this spring (March 24 here).

* On the other side of that coin, we didn't make the cut as a stadium for the US's 2018 or 2022 World Cup Bid.

 

I think it would definitely be a coup for Charlotte to scoop up a team, especially if it happened in front of the other Southeast big boys. It would give us a unique sports edge in the region. What do you think?

 

(fun fact - while Los Angeles still can't get an NFL franchise back, it now has two MLS teams)

Although the location was not ideal we really enjoyed going to the MLS games in Denver. The Rugby stadium in town was even better! 

[go_vertical]

I'm getting the feeling that MLS reeeeaaaally wants a team in Charlotte. The south is clearly in their sights and I think they see Charlotte as one of the best markets in the region. If the Smiths get their heads out of their gas tanks and attempt to understand what soccer means to fans and the community (hint: it has next to nothing to do with NASCAR) then I think the odds are in our favor.

[elrodvt]

2 minutes ago, go_vertical said:

I'm getting the feeling that MLS reeeeaaaally wants a team in Charlotte. The south is clearly in their sights and I think they see Charlotte as one of the best markets in the region. If the Smiths get their heads out of their gas tanks and attempt to understand what soccer means to fans and the community (hint: it has next to nothing to do with NASCAR) then I think the odds are in our favor.

Half agree. I think they would love a success in the south east. I doubt they care nearly as much about what it means to fans and community as you think. It's just business / numbers. I'm getting excited. Love that location. Although the uptown flyer sounded even better to me....