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NCFC MLS bid/General Soccer Bizzo

Listen, pal, not all of us can afford our own personal helicopter service to get us into and out of high traffic areas
 
NoMich said:
Listen, pal, not all of us can afford our own personal helicopter service to get us into and out of high traffic areas
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Bah ... I'm a surface mule, dude. I just know my way around a map like the good Boy Scout I was.
 
that guy who owned the Cobras took a chopper to a game in season 1, I saw him arrive. I think he was later exposed as a crook maybe even spent some time behind bars.
 
Paulie Walnuts said:
that guy who owned the Cobras took a chopper to a game in season 1, I saw him arrive. I think he was later exposed as a crook maybe even spent some time behind bars.
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He escaped jail time, but only because he cut a deal. He was in fact a crook. Fun fact ... my Uncle was his primary partner in the Cobras. Ugh.
 
I don't think forcing an owner to stay in town normally works but in this case that Ohio law might help if they can find a local owner(s). Have not heard of any other state with that type law but there may be some. Was Austin trying for a MLS expansion team? I don't remember them on the list of cities that applied but I could be wrong.

Also the Governor honored Courage for winning that tournament and finishing 1st in regular season

https://www.newsobserver.com/sports/article216653115.html
 
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Paulie Walnuts said:
I don't think forcing an owner to stay in town normally works but in this case that Ohio law might help if they can find a local owner(s). Have not heard of any other state with that type law but there may be some. Was Austin trying for a MLS expansion team? I don't remember them on the list of cities that applied but I could be wrong.

Also the Governor honored Courage for winning that tournament and finishing 1st in regular season

https://www.newsobserver.com/sports/article216653115.html
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Austin was not on the original expansion list, possibly because Precourt had the possibility of Austin relocation specifically written into the contract when he bought the Crew.

Also, tickets for the NC Courage playoff game on September 16 go on sale today. The Championship game is September 22 in Portland. The Courage will be presented with the Supporters Shield after Saturday’s match against Alex Morgan and the Orlando Pride.
 
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For the record, Hurricanes fans ... Anthony Precourt is simply following Peter Karmanos' blueprint for moving a franchise when the league either doesn't want you to do so or or is neutral on the subject. Denigrate the existing facilities, alienate the fans and community, gin up interest in the new market that may or may not be as intense as you assume ... then work a deal with the new market for the facility you "need."

Yeah ... the parallels aren't perfect, but the general gist of it is the same old song and dance. There's absolutely nothing wrong with Columbus as a market for MLS. Crew Stadium isn't perfect, but it's perfectly suitable and the community has always been willing and eager to work with the Crew on changes and upgrades in the past. What they haven't been willing to do is gift wrap Precourt a brand new stadium in the downtown area. A stadium that isn't really desired by anyone other than Precourt. That existing stadium at the Fair Grounds has served the community and the club well for 20 years and was the first soccer specific stadium of it's type in the US. I've been there several times ... it's lovely. It reminds me of our own Carter Finely Stadium ... there's parking out the ears, it's easy to drive to, perfect for tailgating and easy to get away from at the end of the night. They have systematically upgraded from temporary to permanent bleachers to cast in place concrete with two upper decks. They've added locker room and meeting facilities as the team's needs have changed. Up until 2 years ago it was a model for how a facility can grow with a club and with the MLS. Heck, the USMNT used it as their unofficial big match home field for a fairly long time. The only thing that's changed is the owner's desire to be there ... and that wouldn't be enough to generate the relocation of a franchise in a strong, well run pro league. The MLS sadly isn't really that.
 
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an odd thing about Columbus is OSU did not agree to share an arena with the Blue Jackets. So Columbus has 2 arenas that are basically the same size and age. I guess OSU has so much money from FB they could fund that and not worry about sharing a building like NCSU and the Canes. Not been there but I would guess the Blue Jackets place is more upscale than the OSU place.
 
The Save the Crew group identified a place in downtown Columbus to build a new Stadium, about 3/4 mile from Nationwide Arena. Now all they need is a investor(s) to buy out Precourt and fund the stadium construction.
 
Don't think an owner can be forced to sell in most cases unless they find a Donald Sterling (LA Clippers former owner) type tape where he says stuff nobody wants to hear. I expect if they try to use that Ohio law to force a sale it will end up in court.
 
Paulie Walnuts said:
an odd thing about Columbus is OSU did not agree to share an arena with the Blue Jackets. So Columbus has 2 arenas that are basically the same size and age. I guess OSU has so much money from FB they could fund that and not worry about sharing a building like NCSU and the Canes. Not been there but I would guess the Blue Jackets place is more upscale than the OSU place.
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The Blue Jackets contract the management of Nationwide Arena out to Ohio State and they operate as sister venues, not competitors. OSU's arena was always going to be located on their campus and that simply won't work with a pro franchise playing 40 some odd dates a year. Parking there is roughly as good as that at NC State or UNC ... as in there isn't any unless it's a weekend. Consequently they don't book a ton of entertainment acts at the campus facility. They use Nationwide of most of that stuff.
 
I would guess Columbus is like Knoxville where I lived for 2 years. That means the 3 biggest sports there are:

OSU FB
OSU Spring FB
OSU FB recruiting
:)

and if you are not a OSU fan they act like you are from the planet Mars.

Columbus is bigger than Knoxville so it may not be quite as extreme. Knoxville shuts down during Tenn. home FB games - and both stadiums seat over 100k.
 
Columbus is a lot like if Raleigh and Chapel Hill were merged into one city and you replaced the local mania for basketball with one for football. The city is a little bit bigger but really similar to Raleigh as a whole (State Capital, big college, research hub, tech sector), but the area around campus is as devoted to all things tOSU as Chapel Hill is to all things UNCCH. NC State and Raleigh have nothing like that kind of relationship, which is both good and bad.

Columbus is a proper regional city though, unlike those overgrown, overly-insulated college towns. And it's a lot more diverse than places like Knoxville or Columbia SC. I've spent a fair amount of time up there since the 80s. We had some business interests and then my brother and sister in law moved there. It's nasty in the winter, but a really nice place otherwise. Honestly, MLS abandoning THAT city for freaking Austin is a joke. They already have franchises in Dallas and Houston so they wouldn't be breaking new ground and Austin's infrastructure barely supports the population they have now ... and it's getting worse as the city just keeps growing and acting like like everything is hunky dory.
 
My oldest daughter just left the south Austin suburbs. Fortunately, she drove south in the morning and was able to laugh at the commuters driving north on I-35. The southern suburbs of Kyle and Buda are growing like crazy and 35 can’t keep up, even with frontage roads on both sides. When we drove back to NC, I got to see rush hour from the eastern suburbs along TX-71 and that’s no picnic either.
 
I've got a buddy who works in the Collings Guitar facility in West Austin and he said it's so bad to commute from basically any other part of town, all their full time guys end up moving within 5 miles of the shop within a couple of years. Good people, great guitars BTW ... if anybody other than me cares about such things
 
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