Minnesota gets MLS Franchise

[SDHornet]

Interesting move. I know Sac made a hard run at the bid and have a good shot at the 24th team given the minor league team support in its inaugural season last year.

I have a feeling the mls is going to pick a second LA team... Chivas redoux if you will... Rather than a smart choice

Wouldn't surprise me. The MLS is already going back to failed territory with the pending Miami bid.

Sac has everything lined up: the City gifted the owners land on the north side of downtown and the $150M stadium will be privately financed (49ers and Kings ownership entities were brought on board for the potential new MLS team). Shovels would hit the ground not long after a team is awarded to the city.

The soccer fans in Sac have backed it up with their support of an equivalent single A soccer team. Plus since soccer doesn’t directly compete with the NBA (Sac’s only pro franchise) there would be no other competition for the MLS team and Sac is a decent sized (and untapped) TV market for a summer sport.

With the Minnesota bid, Sac’s hope is for the Miami bid to fall through if Beckham can’t get a MLS stadium built…and it sounds like they are on their last option (an option previously rejected by the ownership group). The question is can Beckham get a stadium deal inked, and how much patience does the MLS have with Beckham/Miami.

I’m not a soccer fan so I don’t really care one way or another, but I wouldn’t mind having the option to go to MLS games in the summer. Plus I selfishly hope the Hornets could rent the MLS stadium for late season FB games...although since the stadium would be privately owned I'm not sure how possible that would be.

[DSUrocks07]

I have a feeling the mls is going to pick a second LA team... Chivas redoux if you will... Rather than a smart choice

Wouldn't surprise me. The MLS is already going back to failed territory with the pending Miami bid.

Sac has everything lined up: the City gifted the owners land on the north side of downtown and the $150M stadium will be privately financed (49ers and Kings ownership entities were brought on board for the potential new MLS team). Shovels would hit the ground not long after a team is awarded to the city.

The soccer fans in Sac have backed it up with their support of an equivalent single A soccer team. Plus since soccer doesn’t directly compete with the NBA (Sac’s only pro franchise) there would be no other competition for the MLS team and Sac is a decent sized (and untapped) TV market for a summer sport.

With the Minnesota bid, Sac’s hope is for the Miami bid to fall through if Beckham can’t get a MLS stadium built…and it sounds like they are on their last option (an option previously rejected by the ownership group). The question is can Beckham get a stadium deal inked, and how much patience does the MLS have with Beckham/Miami.

I’m not a soccer fan so I don’t really care one way or another, but I wouldn’t mind having the option to go to MLS games in the summer. Plus I selfishly hope the Hornets could rent the MLS stadium for late season FB games...although since the stadium would be privately owned I'm not sure how possible that would be.

The politicos on the Miami-Dade commission are the main reason for the delay. They want Beckham to build a dual purpose stadium for UMiami to use as well an next to Marlins Park. I'm not sure that a 40,000 seat stadium can work there but we'll see.

Like Clenz, I just want my own MLS team to root for.

A lot of smoke and mirrors when it comes to (corrupt) South Florida politics.

[DSUrocks07]

Sac Republic is doing everything right AND they have the full support of the legislators and the mayor.

I wouldn't be surprised if they ended up being the 24th team and we have to wait until the next expansion in 2020 to get on the pitch.

[bluehenbillk]

I forgot the MLS was even still around. Didn't we get beat by Denmark yesterday?

[GannonFan]

I don't get the fascination with sinking a second team in LA again. Hard to see that team being successful with the Galaxy there. Sacramento would be a perfect choice.

[89Hen]

I thought about this the other day. I've always lived in a four sport town... kinda. When I moved to DC the Nats weren't here, but everyone followed the O's. The Colts had already left town, so there wan't much animosity for B'more from most DC folks. I was wondering what it's like to live in an area that doesn't have all four sports and having to pick up on another city that maybe you would otherwise hate. Are people in Indiana Cubs, Cards or Reds fans? Do folks in Pittsburgh root for the Cavaliers?

Having moved to San Antonio (a ONE sport town, with the exception of the semi-pro soccer team), I can tell you the amount of Cowboys gear here is absolutely disgusting. It also appears to be a Rangers town, not an Astros town...and I dont' think anyone gives a shit about hockey (big surprise).

Au contraire. The Rampage have quite a nice following there. My brother had season tickets when he lived in SA and he said they had a great following. They were 7th in the AHL last year beating out a lot of teams from hockey areas. Hell, I think they may outdraw your old team in AZ.

[UNI88]

Iowa and LSD are pretty much the same thing. No real teams of their own.

I'm not sure about hockey but I think in baseball you'll find loyalties based on geography and team success in Indiana similar to what you have in Iowa. The NW portion of the state will mostly follow Chicago teams, the SW portion will be more Cardinals fans and SE will be more Reds fans. The NE will likely be Tigers/Indians fans. The Indianapolis minor league team is affiliated with Pittsburgh so you'll have some Pirate fans as a result. Overall I would guess that the Cardinals have the most fans in the state.