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The Commissioner Speaks, again. This time on Vancouver. Here is an excerpt:
"We believe Vancouver is a potential market for a future Major League Soccer expansion team. There is no doubt the market for professional soccer exists in Vancouver, as we saw last November when nearly 50,000 fans attended the exhibition match between the Los Angeles Galaxy and the Whitecaps.
"We understand the newly renovated BC Place Stadium will be a world-class facility. We look forward to learning more about the proposed renovations so that we may determine whether BC Place can serve as an interim venue for an MLS team pending the construction of a soccer-specific stadium.
Go here to read more.
22 comments:
Why does Garber need to make a public statement as opposed to / in addition to responding directly to Vancouver?
Idle speculation: this is a message to owners in Portland, St. Louis and Miami to get their stuff in gear as much as it is a response to Vancouver's proposal, so this is not so much bad news for these other clubs.
The waterfront stadium would be a dream, but even as an interim option, this BC compromise is simply terrible.
Man this would just suck - watching footie in a mostly empty domed stadium on carpet in the summertime. This would doom further expansion in the Northwest and never duplicate the success of TFC.
If you thought playing in Qwest field was bad . . .
fixturedates: you answered your own question
Does Seattle Sounders FC have any plans to make a Soccer Specific Stadium? I sure hope so. I dont think Quest Field is the answer.
Qwest Field was built to soccer specifications. The lower bowl is great and the lines are nearly up to the walls so there is an amazing intimacy there. Granted the upper deck ruins it but the stadium is great if you have seen it. Always wonder if they will build a new SSS in Seattle and never rule it out since these owners have big money but doubt it due to Qwest Fields location in heart of city.
I've seen footie in Qwest (Mexico v China) and was honestly disappointed. One advantage that BC might have over Qwest is that the roof may keep in the crowd noise. Qwest is amazingly quiet even with a large crowd because there is no roof or even partial awning.
While Qwest may be pretty, it sucks for atmosphere, while BC will surely be ugly and maybe only have slightly better atmosphere. This is not the way MLS should expand.
I understand that Qwest Field may not be the most intimate setting, but the argument that that arena is terrible even with large crowds doesn't fly. I went to the NY-LA Galaxy game last year at Giants Stadium, there were over 66,000 fans at that game. The atmosphere and the display of passion were incredible and Giants Stadium is older and also doesn't have any roof on it. Besides I know that Qwest field is designed for soccer and that only the lower bowl will be used for sounders games so the atmosphere can't be that terrible, right?
As for expansion cities, either Vancouver or Portland would be great choices for a team in the Northwest, but I think Vancouver would win b/c it has a larger market. Besides those two cities, the best bets for new teams would be Montreal, St.Louis, or maybe a second NY team.
My statement that Qwest has poor atmosphere even with large crowds was not an assumption or an argument, but first-hand experience. It's quieter than other stadiums for some reason. Just because Giants might be loud sometimes doesn't invalidate my personal experience here at Qwest relative to other stadiums.
And don't even get me started on Sounders games.
Garber is working the market. He is limiting supply and doing his best to increase perceived demand. He is doing a great job as expansion fees sky rocket.
An interesting MLS rumor would be what is happening with these large expansion fees.
Seattle will be like NE and be stuck in that huge stadium for good. They get free rent and don't have to pay to build anything why would they move?
Unfortunately I think that means the current atmosphere the Sounders have in USL won't translate no matter how hard they tried to factor soccer into the construction.
No, I have heard that the New England Revs are interested in their own stadium. It's just a matter of time.
The problem with Quest is that while it might be decent for soccer (and I certainly defer to those who have first experiences that contradict the assumption), it sets a precedent: well, if you can make enough noise about decent your NFL stadium is, we'll look the other way on the SSS "requirement." This expansion thing has gotten out of control. A separatist franchise. A team with a monarchist name in Utah. Canada. A team that will make its home in an NFL stadium. And a team in Philly that is considering playing on fieldturf. Great job, Garber. Wonderful sellout.
Anyone who says Qwest is quiet is clearly mistaken.. It's proven to be the loudest stadium in the NFL...
qwest is great, except for the beer selection
As far as Qwest being the loudest stadium in the NFL . . .
Isn't the plan to close the upper decks? I don't know how the NFL argument is valid for soccer if the MLS configuration is going to be significantly different.
I've not been there, so I'd put more creedence in personal accounts of soccer games in Qwest than the NFL experience. Isn't that what was behind the SSS movement anyway?
seattle doesnt need turf. grass.. would be a similar muck to the uk's.
think usm/wnt training grounds
IT IS TIME THAT THE SOUTH GET AN EXPANSION TEAM AND MIAMI IS THE BEST CHOICE.
There is one person propagandizing about expansion to Me-ami in all of these comment boards.
Give it up - Florida has failed over and over again.
First of all you can call it soccer, football, or futbol but footie is something you play under the table and we don't want to hear about anything you are doing under the table. Second of all, the only way somebody was disappointed with the soccer experience at Qwest was if they made up their mind before ever going and then somehow convinced themselves of such. Qwest is designed to project noise back towards the field and can actually achieve a decent noise level even when only four or five thousand USL fans are in the stadium. With 16,000 season tickets sold it is surely going to be a great soccer atmosphere - unlike in NE where they only open one side of the stadium. Seattle fans will have a great atmosphere despite what anybody else in the country thinks about Qwest. I have attended approximately 35 MLS matches over the last two years and I have attended USL, Gold Cup, and friendlies in Qwest and the stadium situation in Seattle is just fine.
My friend you know nothing about the Florida market. There are teams in MLS now that have a lower attendance average than the last year of the Fusion, who played 30 miles away from Miami, in Ft. Lauderdale. In today's MLS a Fusion team in Miami would be a fantastic choice, maybe not better than a real NYC team, but non the less good enough to take one of the last 4 expansions spots.
My friend you know nothing about the Florida market. There are teams in MLS now that have a lower attendance average than the last year of the Fusion, who played 30 miles away from Miami, in Ft. Lauderdale. In today's MLS a Fusion team in Miami would be a fantastic choice, maybe not better than a real NYC team, but non the less good enough to take one of the last 4 expansions spots.
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