Comments on: Ottawa Fury Applies for a USL-1 Franchise

By: Lars

Lars — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 16:57:59 +0000

As someone who has seen the Fury play, excellent. I hope this club has a hugely successful future in Ottawa. Going to see the Fury play this summer was a treat, and the owner of the club is dedicated to the game. He owns as a hobby more than anything else, because he enjoys the game so much.

By: Ottawa USL Fan

Ottawa USL Fan — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 16:28:20 +0000

Red Bull draws 5000 people to a 80 thousand seater. I doubt an Ottawa MLS team would fill the proposed 30,000 seat Ottawa MlS stadium.

I doubt there are more than 200 people who wouldn’t go to an USL game simply because they only want MLS.

This is a test for soccer fans in Ottawa. Put up Montreal attendance numbers and then you can tell everyone that this is a demand for a local pro team.

Until then, no one knows.

By: Ottawa MLS Fan

Ottawa MLS Fan — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 02:58:43 +0000

I agree with people who have posted that the Fury announcement is nothing to do with demonstrating the strength of USL. The timing is all about sending a message to Ottawa City Council in advance of tomorrow’s debate, that they can satisfy soccer and football fans when the Lansdowne Live proposal finally reaches a vote (in a couple of months). Not sure how well that will work since it won’t satisfy soccer fans who still want MLS. And it won’t satisfy people who just don’t want a stadium in their neigbourhood. And I have doubts about the viability of USL-1 in a 25,000 seat stadium with CFL end zones. The atmosphere is not likely to be the best

By: Vnice

Vnice — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 02:10:19 +0000

Could the new breakaway league possibly be the long fabled MLS2?

They could coexist on the second tier with USL (sub-top flight tiers can be composed of multiple leagues), and I could see it being a good deal for MLS.

A budget MLS, if you will.

By: sal

sal — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 01:04:10 +0000

JMB321
Thanks for the explanation.

By: JMB321

JMB321 — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 22:19:48 +0000

Normally the sale of a business is open to bidders until such point the Buyer and Seller agree to a price. At that stage, a non-binding letter of intent is signed by both parties usually accompanied by some earnest money. Usually included in the letter of intent is a binding clause disavowing the ability of other bidders to offer a buying proposal until such time due diligence is completed and a Purchase Agreement is concluded or the parties decide togo their separate ways for some reason.

If if was advised to Cooper’s group and the TOA that they were the high bidder weeks ago, I cannot understand why a Letter of Intent with a no competing bids clause was not drawn up at that time. How they could have continued to be doing extensive research up to last Wednesday and then outbid is beyond my ability to comprehend. Nike may have refused to accept this clause in which case it is very surprising that legal counsel did not advise caution and want to get some kind of protection during the due diligence process.

Somebody dropped the ball on this and got seriously snookered!

By: sal

sal — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 21:57:56 +0000

U.S.L as we know it is done, all because of Nikes greed. I realize that this was a private sale but I have 2 questions. Is it illegal what they did, to leak the bid to Nurock?
Is it illegal not selling to the highest bidder ?

By: Murray Wentworh

Murray Wentworh — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 21:50:27 +0000

Ottawa could never support an MLS team. But it can a USL team. Being local I could see them getting 5-7K a game. The real money behind this is the guys who want to the contract to develop the stadium and area around it. They are local developers with deep pockets, one who currently owns the JR 67’s hockey team that averages 8,000 people per game. They are also the money behind the CFL team. They simply want to add dates to the stadium. A USL franchise is cheap compared to insane money the MLS want.

This has more to do with them, than the USL trying to look like everything is alright with the league.

By: Scap

Scap — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 20:21:21 +0000

Not sure why Ottawa wants in right after Toronto, Vancouver and probably Montreal all jump to MLS. However, if it advances soccer in North America and makes roster spots for kids to fill I’m all for it.

By: Uncle Ed

Uncle Ed — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 19:55:59 +0000

LOL, Why would Ottawa want to join now at this very instant?