Proposed 15,000 seat San Jose Earthquakes Stadium

Fifteen years ago, MLS launched with teams in downright psychedelic uniforms playing on football fields; some of MLS’s earliest highlights look like the two teams are playing on a lacrosse field.  In 2011, the situation has vastly changed, as most MLS franchises have their own soccer specific fields or compounds with only a few still sharing their stadiums with an NFL team.  The multitude of stadiums has also allowed MLS franchises to own another revenue flow which has led to marked improvements of the product on the pitch.  As part of the MLS Talk 2011 preview, we will take a look at the stadium situation for MLS franchises and how it has helped their fortunes, as well as those that are still waiting to build their first home.

The announcement of the Houston Dynamo new soccer-specific stadium this offseason added this franchise to the list of clubs with their own grounds.  In the past year, the New York Red Bulls and Sporting Kansas City debuted new soccer complexes (with KC’s unveiling coming in a few months) while new MLS franchises like Philadelphia and Portland join the league with new stadiums already in place.  And this may be the biggest indicator of the success of the league – instead of hunkering down in a football stadium for a few years, hoping to gather enough revenue and support to build your own place, these teams plan on having their own stadium from the beginning.  Montreal will join MLS in 2012 with Saputo Stadium, their soccer-specific grounds built in 2008.

The state of stadiums in MLS can be divided into a few categories, and there are some similarities among these clubs based on where they play:

Teams playing in a multi-use facility and looking to get out: Sadly, some of MLS’s most storied franchises are in this category.  DC United and the New England Revolution’s plights are well documented, but these clubs suffer from a financial drain of resources from lack of control over where they play.  While both have been competitive in the past and still get good talent, they will begin to fall behind their brethren in finances and be unable to get the higher-priced talent they need.  While it sounds like United’s search for a stadium site is beginning to make progress, the Revolution are still looking at yard markers and Patriots logos for the foreseeable future.

Teams playing in a multi-use facility and happy to stay: There is a marked difference between the two aforementioned clubs and Seattle’s situation.  Qwest Field, while known as the home of the Seattle Seahawks, has the type of design that makes it a good venue for soccer as well.  Sounders fans have adopted the stadium as their own and have made it the only NFL-MLS partnership that seems to work without problem.

Teams moving to their own stadium in the next four years: These are the teams that will show how big of an advantage having your own stadium and the revenue it brings in is for a professional team.  Most of these clubs were in the DCU/New England situation, but are hoping shiny new places attract casual fans and their dollars.  This is a model that all professional sports follow – build the new stadium/arena that is a nirvana for the hardcore fans but has enough aesthetic qualities to attract the casual fans and their families.  Fans are eagerly anticipating the Houston/San Jose/Sporting KC new fields and the benefits the clubs will accrue from them.

Teams playing in soccer-specific stadiums:  This number is growing and that is only a good thing for MLS as well as these individual teams.  It used to be that the Galaxy were the class of the league with the Home Depot Center; now arenas like Rio Tinto and Red Bull Arena give their teams a real home field advantage.  The problem with many of these new stadiums are their locations – Dick’s Sporting Goods Park is in Commerce City, not Denver.  Pizza Hut Park is in Frisco, not Dallas.  And while being located outside of a major city is not a death warrant for a franchise (the New York Giants and Jets play in the Meadowlands after all) but it would be better to have these stadiums closer to the fans.

What do all these new soccer stadiums mean for MLS this year?  Fans can expect to see the beautiful game played in nicer stadiums, and this does make a difference for the product on the field.  Watching a playoff match or a rivalry on TV in a soccer specific stadium looks nicer if nothing else.  The money that comes from these stadiums will also make the teams more financially secure, helping the league become more financially secure.  These new stadiums are both a sign of MLS progress and the sign of a brighter future for American soccer.

Proposed 15,000 seat San Jose Earthquakes Stadium

Fifteen years ago, MLS launched with teams in downright psychedelic uniforms playing on football fields; some of MLS’s earliest highlights look like the two teams are playing on a lacrosse field.  In 2011, the situation has vastly changed, as most MLS franchises have their own soccer specific fields or compounds with only a few still sharing their stadiums with an NFL team.  The multitude of stadiums has also allowed MLS franchises to own another revenue flow which has led to marked improvements of the product on the pitch.  As part of the MLS Talk 2011 preview, we will take a look at the stadium situation for MLS franchises and how it has helped their fortunes, as well as those that are still waiting to build their first home.

The announcement of the Houston Dynamo new soccer-specific stadium this offseason added this franchise to the list of clubs with their own grounds.  In the past year, the New York Red Bulls and Sporting Kansas City debuted new soccer complexes (with KC’s unveiling coming in a few months) while new MLS franchises like Philadelphia and Portland join the league with new stadiums already in place.  And this may be the biggest indicator of the success of the league – instead of hunkering down in a football stadium for a few years, hoping to gather enough revenue and support to build your own place, these teams plan on having their own stadium from the beginning.  Montreal will join MLS in 2012 with Saputo Stadium, their soccer-specific grounds built in 2008.

The state of stadiums in MLS can be divided into a few categories, and there are some similarities among these clubs based on where they play:

Teams playing in a multi-use facility and looking to get out: Sadly, some of MLS’s most storied franchises are in this category.  DC United and the New England Revolution’s plights are well documented, but these clubs suffer from a financial drain of resources from lack of control over where they play.  While both have been competitive in the past and still get good talent, they will begin to fall behind their brethren in finances and be unable to get the higher-priced talent they need.  While it sounds like United’s search for a stadium site is beginning to make progress, the Revolution are still looking at yard markers and Patriots logos for the foreseeable future.

Teams playing in a multi-use facility and happy to stay: There is a marked difference between the two aforementioned clubs and Seattle’s situation.  Qwest Field, while known as the home of the Seattle Seahawks, has the type of design that makes it a good venue for soccer as well.  Sounders fans have adopted the stadium as their own and have made it the only NFL-MLS partnership that seems to work without problem.

Teams moving to their own stadium in the next four years: These are the teams that will show how big of an advantage having your own stadium and the revenue it brings in is for a professional team.  Most of these clubs were in the DCU/New England situation, but are hoping shiny new places attract casual fans and their dollars.  This is a model that all professional sports follow – build the new stadium/arena that is a nirvana for the hardcore fans but has enough aesthetic qualities to attract the casual fans and their families.  Fans are eagerly anticipating the Houston/San Jose/Sporting KC new fields and the benefits the clubs will accrue from them.

Teams playing in soccer-specific stadiums:  This number is growing and that is only a good thing for MLS as well as these individual teams.  It used to be that the Galaxy were the class of the league with the Home Depot Center; now arenas like Rio Tinto and Red Bull Arena give their teams a real home field advantage.  The problem with many of these new stadiums are their locations – Dick’s Sporting Goods Park is in Commerce City, not Denver.  Pizza Hut Park is in Frisco, not Dallas.  And while being located outside of a major city is not a death warrant for a franchise (the New York Giants and Jets play in the Meadowlands after all) but it would be better to have these stadiums closer to the fans.

What do all these new soccer stadiums mean for MLS this year?  Fans can expect to see the beautiful game played in nicer stadiums, and this does make a difference for the product on the field.  Watching a playoff match or a rivalry on TV in a soccer specific stadium looks nicer if nothing else.  The money that comes from these stadiums will also make the teams more financially secure, helping the league become more financially secure.  These new stadiums are both a sign of MLS progress and the sign of a brighter future for American soccer.

It was an admittedly slow week in American soccer as the American sports scene shifted to Dallas and the American football Super Bowl.  Within the soccer world some amazing results and goals from the English Premier League overshadowed almost all the other soccer news.  But nevertheless there were some noteworthy happenings in MLS this past weekend; as usual, share your thoughts and anything I missed in the comments section.

• The Chicago Fire are adding more fire-power (sorry, couldn’t resist) by signing Uruguayan forward Gaston Puerari.  The 25 year-old South American has scored eight goals the past two years with the Montevideo Wanderers.  I do not know much about the Uruguayan professional leagues, but I do know the signing helps Chicago in an area of need.
• In other signing news, New York inked Brazilian Marcos Paullo to a contract following a trial with the club last season.
• New Eastern Conference club Houston has announced the groundbreaking for a new stadium.  Expect an MLS Talk post on this subject soon.
• For those curious about Charlie Davies recovery and trial with D.C. United, I have included a released video above this post so you can take a look at his progress.  I don’t know about you, but seeing an MLS club in action put a smile on my face.
• Speaking of Davies, MLS has updated the allocation list for its teams and explains why DCU gets first crack at signing Davies.
• And finally, I had initially missed this part of the MLS call last week but the Wall Street Journal shares Don Garber’s comments on the 20th club.  He acknowledges the Cosmos are an option but says MLS is speaking to other ownership groups as well.  No surprises here.

Photo by Monasosh

The United States is scheduled to play an international friendly next week in Egypt against the host country, and as many of you are well aware, the political situation is unsettled, to put is lightly.  By the February 9 friendly there may not be a government in Egypt, or even a new one, but the situation is incredibly fluid.  So far, USSF officials have not canceled the match and have said they will play on February 9, but are monitoring the situation and are in communication with the State Department regarding travel advisories and other details. (The status is still up in the air as of Monday)

But this post is not a political discourse on Egypt, but on politics in general.  If you are like me, sports can be an excellent escape from the real world.  When you are at the stadium, you don’t have to worry about the stock market or which political party is in power.  What goes on inside a stadium is an isolated incident in the world: two teams facing off to determine who will win.  The losing team will not lose their lives or face serious penalties, with the most serious consequence of a loss or bad draw being temporarily out of a job.  For fans, the result of a loss or bad draw is disappointment or anger, but their lives overall will not normally be negatively changed.  In other words, soccer and other sports do not matter in the grand scheme of things, it is just a game.

And that is why we love sports: no matter how many times a team breaks our heart, we can leave the stadium or arena and re-enter the real world.  Even watching a game on TV allows us a temporary removal from reality.  But sometimes reality invades our sports bubble and we must be aware of the greater world around us.

Egypt is an example of this idea.  This week Bob Bradley will announce his call-ups for the match, and we will debate who he should call up, who he should start, etc.  And some of the players will play well, and some will not.  But how much should we hold against the players if they play poorly or suffer an ugly loss.  Imagine the situation they walk into: a stadium full of opposing fans who are themselves anxious about their lives or who may be interested in making a political point.  It is near impossible to play well in a “friendly” under those circumstances.

This principle applies to other aspects of American soccer as well.  On this site and others we have had lively debates about the merits of relegation and promotion between MLS and lower divisions, whatever those look like.  In the sphere of sports, this is a great debate to have and one where both sides can make excellent points.  However as the United States leaves an economic recession, relegation and promotion cannot be immediately applied.  At a time when sports teams are battling for fewer entertainment dollars, it is important to financially establish leagues to allow for successful promotion and relegation principles.

Another MLS example is the D.C. United stadium situation.  It is a travesty that this championship franchise does not have its own stadium, and it seems like the club has fallen on its face by not securing stadium space.  And they do share some of the blame.  But in D.C. the new mayor has opposed using public financing for a stadium, like the city did for the baseball team.  The real estate and construction industry has also been mired in the recession, so anywhere a new stadium would be built would not have the new construction around it that new stadiums often need to attract casual fans and business.  Again politics and the financial world have influenced the sports world.

So should politics and international relations invade our sports world and refocus the way we view sports?  Not necessarily; the greatest value sports brings to life is that it allows an escape from life.  Sports takes two to four hours of our life and removes our cares about work, family, finances, and everything else and allows us to just focus on two teams on the field (or rink or court) and an outcome that most likely will not change the world permanently.  Every once in a while, though, we have to allow for the things that really matter to have a role in the things that don’t.

On Saturday morning, Landon Donovan will board a bus at Goodison Park, the stadium at the top of the photo amid all the working class houses, and travel about a mile to Anfield, the stadium at the bottom of the photo amid all the working class houses.    Escorted by a phalanx of security, Donovan and his teammates will walk into Anfield and then, eventually through he tunnel, onto the field, and into an experience wholly new to Donovan.  No matter what happens for the rest of Landon Donovan’s career, no matter what happens in South Africa, no matter whether he returns to the Galaxy or stays in Europe, the following two hours will be among the most memorable he will ever have.

Of all the great European derbies, there are few that can compare to the Merseyside clash.  The Old Firm game in Scotland may be rooted in religious rivalry and for a half century the Barca-Real battle in Spain stood in for the civil war after the bullets stopped flying.  However, it is the proximity of the Merseyside battle that drives the vitriol.  For these two teams, separated by only a park, a cemetery, and 100 years of hate, this game can often define the value of their whole season. 

Part of what makes this Derby so powerful is the sound.  Both Anfield and Goodison are relatively small, confined stadiums.  The crowd at Anfield is right on top of the action, and the noise reverberates around the stadium like shaken pennies in glass jar.  For a normal Liverpool game against some random opponent, Anfield is one of the loudest stadia in the land.  For the Merseyside game, noise is taken to an entirely new level.  The noise at Anfield has feeling.  You can sense it in your chest.  When Donovan takes a cornerkick, he will be taking it while leaning against a wall of sound.  To the extent he will be able to make out anything specific, the dialog would make a pornographer blush.

Ultimately, it is these types of experiences that will make his loan to Everton so valuable to Donovan.  Playing with great players, against great players in an electrified atmosphere is something that you cannot get in 2010’s MLS.  Maybe one day, but not today.  To the extent that Landon under-performed in the World Cup four years ago, one of the reasons why is that he did not have enough experiences like the Merseyside Derby. 

The games Donovan has played against Mexico are passionate, but really do not compare to a Liverpool/Everton match up.  Ultimately, both Mexico and the US have always known that no matter the result, they were both going to qualify for the World Cup.  Beating Mexico is fun mostly because it is so galling to the Mexicans.  Losing to Mexico is always disappointing, but rarely devastating.  What Donovan will experience on Saturday is of a completely different nature.  The fans on both sides are so emotionally committed to the game that they hold nothing in reserve to cushion the blow should they lose. 

For us west-coasters, we are looking at a 4:30 am kick-off on Saturday.  My advice – set your alarm.  With ESPN2 broadcasting the game in HD, it is time to wall –off the TV room, turn the volume up, and let the action wipe the sleep from your eyes.  You rarely get to see a game like this with an American playing a position other than ‘keeper.  It should not be missed.

As Landon Donovan settles into the Everton, Michael Bradley becomes even more a fixture at the Bundesliga, and Stuart Holden and Ricardo Clark leave the US and take big career risks to fight for a position on European teams, many American fans are bemoaning the fate of the MLS. What if all our stars go to Europe? What if the MLS becomes just a developmental league for European teams?

It may be counter-intuitive, and perhaps a little heretical, but soccer in America, and MLS in particular, can thrive as an exporter of quality domestic talent.

As I have said before, there are plenty of great soccer nations that export all their quality players and yet command a fervent following from their fans. Nearly every great Dutch player plays outside of Holland, and that does not make the Ajax fans walk around bemoaning the state of their league. The majority of the Argentina national team plays in Europe, and the River vs. Boca Super Classico in Buenos Aires makes the Galaxy/Chivas Superclassico look like a garden party. And of course, there is not a single member of the Brazil starting XI who plays for a Brazilian club team (with the possible exception of the newly outcast Robinho), but there are still over 400 teams in the Brazilian Football Confederation.

For the casual US soccer fan, they need to know MLS is not some rinky-dink outfit full of future high-school soccer coaches and European geriatrics. Nothing affirms the quality of our domestic league like watching our players be able to compete in the best leagues of Europe. As Donovan, Bradley, Clint Dempsey, and Tim Howard move from MLS, lock down starting XI positions and square off on a weekly basis against the best talents in the world, casual fans begin to accept the product put out by MLS as worthy of their attention and support.

The more talent we export, or more precisely, the more MLS talent is craved in Europe, the more esteem MLS will garner among US fans. As US players head off to Europe, US soccer fans are affirmed in their decision to follow the teams that can create that type of quality. As the US fans learn, through the experiences of our US players, about the culture and atmosphere of European soccer teams, they will want to replicate that atmosphere here with our domestic league.

Most importantly, the success of soccer in America has far more to do with the success of the US National Team than it does Major League Soccer. Do you want to see full MLS stadiums this summer and fall? If the US team has a decent run in South Africa, it will make a MLS ticket one of the hottest tickets in town. For the US to do well in South Africa, its best player must spend a lot of time in Europe playing against the best the world has to offer. I don’t think anyone seriously argues with that (if you do, I have the US/Honduras game from last month featuring a mostly MLS team on my Tivo to show you). Will Donovan, Clark and Holden be better players this summer after their European experiences? There is little doubt they will be.

Sometime in the coming years, the US will hopefully produce a truly world class outfield player – a player who may start in MLS, but will go on to play an important role for one of the great teams of Europe. The moment when some US player takes off their Kansas City Wizards or Columbus Crew uniform and puts on their Real Madrid or Manchester United kit will be one of the great moments in MLS history – the moment when the MLS will have truly arrived as a great league worthy of the casual sports fans’ attention.

Well, “Atlanta”. It’s actually in Kennesaw, on the grounds of Kennesaw State University. Kennesaw is in Cobb County, northwest of Atlanta-proper.

Did you know that everyone in Kennesaw has to own a gun? They don’t enforce that law, but it is on the books. Has been since ’82, I believe. But that’s just being random, on to the story…

Steven Goff broke the news today, although the secret wasn’t exactly well kept by the Atlanta Beat or Kennesaw State.  The stadium will seat about 8,300 and looks a little like Rochester’s stadium. It’s somewhat remarkable in a way, since the stadium is so closely tied to the Atlanta Beat, it means Greater Atlanta now has two professional soccer stadiums, this one and Re/Max Greater Atlanta Stadium in Chamblee, where the Atlanta NASL team will play.

Of course, neither is actually in Atlanta, and Herndon Stadium is just sitting there these days thanks to Morris Brown being so badly managed financially. But beggers can’t be choosers, and at this point we’re still beggers. Soccer stadiums of any kind are better than playing in cramped high school stadiums with narrow athletics tracks around the fields. In truth, Atlanta is setting an example for other metro areas in the US in regards to soccer infrastructure, and being a Charlottean, it’s not easy for me to compliment Atlanta. I’m looking at you, Houston.

Hopefully many more are on the way.

Some random thoughts on the US win and the upcoming game against Costa Rica

The Greatest US Win I Have Never Seen.   A lot has already been said about how absurd it was that this game was not broadcast to the average US fan, so there is no reason to continue to beat this dead horse.  Beyond the television rights, Grant Wahl’s twitter on the game failed to tweet, the ussoccer.com twitter was intermittent at best and their Match Tracker did not work at all (at least for me), so switching between the New York Times Goal! update and Ives Galarcep’s running update was the best I could do.  It was easier to get information about North Korea’s political divisions than it was to figure out what was going on in the game.

Last night’s win was as impressive as the win against Spain in South Africa.  There are a lot of ways to hedge the win against Spain – it was in a neutral stadium, the Spanish took us for granted, it was as much a holiday as a tournament for Spain, etc.  There are no qualifications needed for what happened last night.  The stadium was absolutely rockin (check out Ives’ Youtube from three hours before the game began http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5C8mh-Vhrw).  Honduras had absolutely everything to play for.  We went a goal down at the same time that we knew Costa Rica was ahead and going to get three points.  Nevertheless, the US stepped up and won the game.  And yes, it was lucky that Pavon put the PK over the bar, but no less unlucky than that Holden had a completely fluky handball to set up the PK. 

Is Connor Casey the next Jozy Altidore or the next Eddie Johnson?  Many fans, including myself, were flummoxed to see Connor Casey in the starting lineup in place of Jozy Altidore or Brian Ching.  I guess that is one of several thousand reasons why Bob Bradley is the coach and I am not.  Nevertheless, one game does make a regular US National.  Remember Steve Ralston’s goal against Mexico last qualifying round?   Remember the great run that Johnson had in qualifications for 2006?  Neither do I.  I would suspect that Casey has gotten himself a ticket to South Africa, but I am not convinced he has a place in our starting XI.  I hope that Jozy plays Wednesday against Costa Rica because he should be playing like a man with something to prove.  In fact…

The entire team has something to prove against Costa Rica.  Our worst loss this year was not the Gold Cup final, which came with a boatload of “what ifs.”  It was the 3-1 loss against Costa Rica at Saprissa in June.  The 3-1 score line flattered the US as Costa Rica dominated the game from the beginning to the end.  The US was not just out-played but also out-competed.  Additionally, if we beat Costa Rica, we will have won the Concacaf hex, and….

Winning the Concacaf hex is far more impressive than any hex win in the European qualifying.  For all the talk about the minnows in Concacaf, the truth is winning the Concacaf hex is far more difficult than anything Spain, Italy, England or Germany or any other European team had to do to qualify for South Africa.  None of those teams had a road game that compares with going to Azteca, Saprissa or last night’s games at San Pedro Sula.  There are no Montenegros, Faroe Islands, Andorras or Liechtensteins in the Concacaf hex.  In fact, the worst team in our hex, Trinidad and Tobago, is probably better than the worst 10 teams in the European qualification.  Reigning champion Italy has qualified with six wins in its nine games (just like the US), but Italy has had to play Ireland, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Montenegro and Georgia.  Did you know that Cyprus had 1,100 people show up for one of their WCQ games?  All those Euro football snobs can go stick it.  If the US wins the Concacaf, it will be a fantastic achievement.

Here’s a link to the press release.

I know, this is MLS Talk, not USL Talk. But given recent events, this is newsworthy.

This has been rumored for awhile, not always the Fury, but that a party in Ottawa was interested in entering the USL First Division. But they picked a really strange time to do it, didn’t they?

A little more about the club: It was founded in 2005 and currently fields teams in the PDL, W-League (Ottawa Fury Women), and the Super-20 League.

It appears that they plan to play matches at a new stadium to be built at Lansdowne Park, pending the approval of the Ottawa city council. Currently Lansdowne Park is the home of Frank Claire Stadium, which hosted matches at the U-20 World Cup. Frank Clair is in, let’s say, less that pristine condition and there’s been talk about redeveloping the place. We may well be looking at a ground-share with a potential new Ottawa CFL team.

The Ottawa council meets tomorrow (Sept. 2) to rule on the stadium plan, and that’s probably what this whole thing hinges on.

So, what do you guys think of this news, and the timing of the announcement considering everything that’s going on with the USL at the moment? I think it’s great news for Canada, the more professional options for Canadians the better.

Update: Here’s a link to the Lansdowne Live project including the potential stadium. The stadium would seat 25,000. That’s massive by USL standards.