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If the following report which first appeared on the Amonestado y Expulsado Spanish language blog site and later was reported in English on the Puerto Rico Islanders site on The Offside, is true then it may give a clue that Atlanta MLS has been given the go ahead.
Here is the translation of the Spanish article:
Saturday November 15, 2008
Roja Directa - The Silverbacks of the USL are no more!
A source informs us in full confidence that the Atlanta Silverbacks the rival of the Islanders in the USL 1st Division will suspend operations. We do not know why and we have not verified the news, but we understand that members of the coaching staff are already circulating their resumes.
If this is true, ywe can not believe or understand how a team with 10 years of existence and in a league that is booming, as evidenced by the great performance of the Islanders and the Montreal Impact in the CONCACAF Champions League, could disappear so suddenly.
Another thing that remains in a question is the system of lower divisions in the club, and one of the best programs for youth development in the U.S.
We will have to see what happens, but hopefully that is not true. Stay tuned because if you miss a team like Atlanta ...
If this is true then it may be the last straw which raised the ire of the USL President, leading him to the outburst we reported earlier. Might it also mean we hear an announcement of Atlanta at MLS Cup? Stay tuned indeed.
REPORT: USL's Atlanta Silverback No More? Has Atlanta MLS Been Pre-Approved?
Monday, November 17, 2008
no, it probably means that since atlanta is a horrible market and barley draws flies that the usl is giving up on them. if mls picks atlanta over miami, montreal, vancouver, portland, st.louis... then they are retarded.
well said
Please that is the worse rumor of the year.
Atlanta is where it's at! Don't hate. Pretty soon you will appreciate!
Seems odd since they were in the middle of construction on their stadium. . .
umm no, trust me, nobody will appreciate it if atlanta wins one of the bids... outside of arthur blank and the three or four other soccer fans in the deep south.
the only team that is worth a damn in atlanta is the braves, and those fans are some of the worst baseball fans in the country. at turner field, nobody is in their seats watching the game, they're just standing around in that bar in the outfield drinking beer. not saying that there is anything wrong with drinking beer at a ballgame (any sport...), but you did go to turner field to watch a game, right? if not, go to a bar down the street.
... steps off soapbox...
God forbid that MLS select the capital of the South over cities in Canada.
Mr Garber,
"Welcome to Atlanta where the players play
And we ride on dem thangs like ev-ery day
Big beats, hit streets, see gangsters roamin
And parties dont stop 'til eight in the mo'nin"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpKZ1aWB_OE
So I guess we're doing Miami 2010 and St. Louis and Atlanta in 2011.
Miami 2010 and St. Louis and Atlanta in 2011. Sounds good to me.
Well it sounds good except for the fact that you somehow are adding 3 teams instead of the 2 that are coming in. That and the fact that you are adding Atlanta instead of Portland.
How does the Silverbacks folding mean MLS is coming? Different owners, and the earliest it would happen is 2011...so the team is quitting two years in advance of the MLS team coming to town? That makes so little sense...and the article doesn't say anything about MLS to ATL, just that ATL is shutting down.
Besides have the next teams even been chosen yet? I remember specifically that the BOG was suppose to meet in Jan to discuss canidates, with noticification coming in the early part of next year...am I wrong?
Booooo, bad rumor. I wasted 3 minutes on this site just to read a no story. Silverbacks go extinct! Great, by far the dumbest fucking teamname ever.
It don't say shit about the MLS. Atlanta wouldn't be a good MLS market. AND their are many places that would be better.
Will be an MLS Rumor fan for life! Haters Step off! Great news for MLS and its fans!
its all bullshit.... the silverbacks just announced their ticket prices for 2009 and its a 10 yr anniversary special
http://atlantasilverbacks.com/news/displaynews.php?id=1039&cat=1
Dude, it's dated 10/03. Go ATL!
Man what a shock.
I thought the Silverbacks had a decent fan base as far as a bush league town like Atlanta goes and a nice new stadium that they were expanding. This is proof that things are not always as they appear.
RIP Silverbacks.
There is no MLS connection here.
Here's the story:
The Backs were losing money due to debt accumulated through stadium investment that could not be serviced at current attendence and concessions revenues.
In late October, the organization had to make a choice between taking on additional risk and investing in additional marketing to improve attendance or to bankrupt the corporation and walk away.
The timing of the need to make that decision and the inability to find funding to cover the additional investment needed to make it happen were the death knells to the Silverbacks organization.
In the end it came down to the classic financial decision of evaluating NPV and ignoring sunk cost in things like Stadia.
On a side note - Pratten had grown frustrated with the regular shortfalls in attendance - expectations were roughly 3.5x the 2k they averaged. Despite on-field successes in the last few years, and a variety of marketing programs the marketing team couldn't find the reciepe to interest Atlantans or local media outlets in professional soccer.
Given these lessons, Pratten has privately said that he doubts the metro area's ability to succeed at a higher level.
Would it not be nice to have an MLS team in place to fuel the WPS team there or vice versa? Choo-Choo! Go ATL!
im sad to see atlanta go, but if i owned/wrote for mlsrumors id immediately retract this story. no mls for atlanta for a long time, probably ever.
that said, go FCB MIAMI!!!!
The USL is in need of expansion or else it's headed for the morgue. This would leave it at only 9 teams...
Dynamo are MOVING to Atlanta.
Their stadium deal is falling apart in the Bayou City, and Blank will either pay for or complete the Silverbacks stadium for the new Atlanta Dynamo.
It's coming, check with your ticket reps Houston fans.
:-(
Without Atlanta, that makes 10 teams. Austin's joining USL-1 in 2009. 11 in 2010 as Tampa will join the league.
Houston is the only team in MLS not selling 2009 season tickets. even RBNY and Crew are selling '09 seats.
Atlanta Dynamo . . . might need to get used to it.
- Roy
USL-1 should expand to B-More!!
No, all you Atlantaphobes are all wet. If the Silverbacks do/did fold, it was of their own making. It's interesting that other minor league teams can make it in this town, yet the 'Backs cannot. The Knights hockey team had a very large, loyal following, and only left because the Omni was taken out. The Gladiators get good attendance for a AA level team. Heck, the Atlanta Attack (indoor soccer) had great attendance, until they started getting crappy dates, and lost their home field playoff advantage to a Grateful Dead concerts.
No, the Silverbacks have only themselves to blame for their demise. No marketing or advertising to speak of, spending all their money on a stadium (although it's not a bad place to have a game, if you don't mind glorified port-a-loos for restrooms) instead of putting a consistently good team on the field that would win over the hearts of ATL's soccer fans, are the real culprits in this mystery. USL attendance has absolutely no bearing on potential MLS attendance; just look at Toronto, and soon Seattle. Neither one should be in MLS based on the attendance of the Lynx and Sounders. Atlanta can, and will support pro soccer if it is done in a first class manner. We supported the Beat for as long as they lasted, and we would support MLS as well. Minor league doesn't have to be bush league. MLS should pick Atlanta as well as all the others mentioned. Sorry for the long post.
the only way the dynamo come to atlanta is if arthur blank can buy in. thats unlikely, and the mls will not come to atlanta without arthur blank. dont expect atlanta dynamo. houston probably wont move, but if they do, it will be to a place where they actually have a stadium to play in.
Anyone know what this will do to the Kandji to New York deal? Is he a free agent now?
Atlanta won't happen .. at least not yet .. Montreal and Miami got too much going for them and Vancouver right right behind them
maybe
Montreal & Miami 2011
Vancouver & Atlanta 2012
no way!!!!
It will be....
Seattle 2009
Philly in 2010
Portland and Vancouver in 2011
Maybe in 2012 Montreal & Miami
Atlanta no way!!!
Portland Timbers FC 2011
Portland Timbers FC! http://www.mlstopdx.com/