Mecklenburg County BOC approves new MLS Stadium/CCC Fugs it up/1/30-bid still ON despite CCC

[NewFootballFan]

Personally, I hope you're right - I'd rather have a team in Charlotte than the Triangle.

IMO, neither bid is close enough to where it needs to be - but my gut feeling is that MLS will work to strengthen the NCFC bid rather than going for the Smith bid.

I think it could play out very much like the duelling Minnesota bids. The Wilfs had more political clout, a crystal-clear stadium plan, and more capital, and they made a very forceful play, but ultimately the league chose to work on strengthening the Minnesota United bid and went with that group in the end.

But who knows? There's so many cities in the mix right now that it's really hard to foresee.


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[Ricky Spanish]

1 hour ago, Nails said:

Money talks, bull$hit walks.  The league looking far more favorable on the NCFC bid?  Maybe NOW because the CCC are fools, but even those in the Triangle knew that was an incorrect statement before.  ANY website or outlet listing the candidate cities had NCFC trailing the CLT bid.  Even Triangle ones (ex. NCFC gets a "boost").

People also acting as if the Smith's are the only family with money AND enemies/haters in the MLS bidding process or life in general are laughably wrong.

Damn dude, charge your phone. 

[Pimpdaddy]

Fug soccer, who gives a rats azz...

[Nails]

39 minutes ago, Pimpdaddy said:

Fug soccer, who gives a rats azz...

Somebody must, given that the expansion fee for Toronto 10 years ago was $10 million and now with Vegas and Phoenix in the mix there's at least 12 cities involved, most of which have investors lined up to pay the now $150 million expansion fee.

With concussions, arrogance, poor officiating, hypocrisy, length of games, and declining ratings, the trajectory of football is down and soccer is up, pure and simple.

[C47]

2 hours ago, Pimpdaddy said:

Fug soccer, who gives a rats azz...

Thank you for your extremely thoughtful and intelligent contribution to this thread. If only all posters constructed their posts as well as you, the huddle would be a much better place for discussion. 

[csx]

The stereotypical American reaction to soccer jumped the shark years ago. I can't figure out the condescension towards it. 

[KittyLover]

15 hours ago, Nails said:

I think people need to read and see how much the Smiths are already investing.  Someone does have to fit the bill but public/private partnerships are how things work in major sports in 2017, and $43 million is a drop in the bucket.  That amount would be recouped many times over in motel taxes and visitors from outside of Mecklenburg County coming on 17 days/nights a year.  The city fitted a far bigger bill (rightfully so) for NFL and NBA, and (stupidly) for minor league baseball.  Many in the Carolinas prefer college football or basketball to the NFL and NBA and there are numerous minor league baseball options.  There is no soccer option however, guaranteeing success in a soccer crazed Carolinas, and the CCC's lack of insight (not just from a $$$ but from a prestige/pride/entertainment standpoint) is mind numbing.

Agreed for the most part and think it would be great for the city. I'm not against the idea. Just the rush of putting together a quote without proper due diligence. It's a major investment (and opportunity) that deserves mindful consideration. I understand that there wasn't a lot of time for the proposal but that in itself isn't a valid excuse to move forward without allowing homework to be done. There is no denying the popularity of the sport. 

[Nails]

5 minutes ago, KittyLover said:

Agreed for the most part and think it would be great for the city. I'm not against the idea. Just the rush of putting together a quote without proper due diligence. It's a major investment (and opportunity) that deserves mindful consideration. I understand that there wasn't a lot of time for the proposal but that in itself isn't a valid excuse to move forward without allowing homework to be done. There is no denying the popularity of the sport. 

The problem is other cities such as Sacramento have ALL their ducks in a row already and the league is looking for two teams to begin play in 2020.  CLT is relatively late to the party, but that's still no excuse given that years of international friendlies at BOA should have prepared the council and the community for this inevitable day.  I'd be lying if I said I was the foremost insider with SMI or the council but I can also say without hesitation that there's no excuse for the council or public to have been blindsided by this-there were plenty of tea leaves for YEARS (the successful friendlies, opting to invest in minor league baseball instead of waiting for major league thereby opening up the disposable income/summer market for MLS), etc.

[MechaZain]

The local minor league team does very well and every soccer friendly they bring to town sells out, MLS would do fine. It's not on the table but I really think Greensboro would be best for this. Centrally located, big youth soccer town, finally give them some big city relevance they've been yearning for. I'd prefer an MLB team in Charlotte but we already blew our load on a ridiculously picturesque stadium for the Knights.

[Nails]

51 minutes ago, MechaZain said:

The local minor league team does very well and every soccer friendly they bring to town sells out, MLS would do fine. It's not on the table but I really think Greensboro would be best for this. Centrally located, big youth soccer town, finally give them some big city relevance they've been yearning for. I'd prefer an MLB team in Charlotte but we already blew our load on a ridiculously picturesque stadium for the Knights.

The Triad lost their chance two decades ago, when they had a chance but blew it by rejecting a measly fast food tax for a MLB stadium that would have cost the "taxpayers" less than current MLS Stadiums.  http://www.savetheminnesotatwins.com/articles/5.6.98.html  Should serve as a warning to all cities so they too don't end up on the ash heap of history.

To reiterate, the taxes the CCC refused to vote on were hotel/car rental taxes, which no resident would pay anyway.  Insane.

[gorillamilitia13]

Is this about North Carolina F.C.? If so, I hope they find a spot in the triangle. We could use it.

[Nails]

3 minutes ago, gorillamilitia13 said:

Is this about North Carolina F.C.? If so, I hope they find a spot in the triangle. We could use it.

The Charlotte City Council had a chance to bury NCFC six feet under today.  But, as of today, NCFC is alive and in the game, literally and figuratively.  We'll see.

[Pimpdaddy]

1 hour ago, C47 said:

Thank you for your extremely thoughtful and intelligent contribution to this thread. If only all posters constructed their posts as well as you, the huddle would be a much better place for discussion. 

Why thank you.... maybe we can head up a venue for tiddlywinks and chess too....soccer has no place in the panther forum..

[C47]

Just now, Pimpdaddy said:

Why thank you.... maybe we can head up a venue for tiddlywinks and chess too....soccer has no place in the panther forum..

It's relevant to Charlotte and it's the offseason. Therefore yes, it does have a place in the main forum.