MLS?

by Geezaldinho Wed Sep 03, 2008 5:44 pm

Well, it looks like it might actually happen. I've been skeptical the last couple of years, but if these guys can pull it off, we might actually get a team.
If it happens, I'm in for season tickets.

MLS in PDX

by **SciFi** Thu Sep 04, 2008 3:31 pm

Do you have season tickets to the current Timbers?

-SciFi

by FANatic Sun Sep 07, 2008 10:18 am

I think the MLS would be great for the Portland and Oregon sports scene.

I didn't think Merritt Paulson was here to run two minor league teaams. And, oh yes, you can bet he's talking to the NHL and MLB.

by **DaTruRochin** Fri Sep 12, 2008 3:18 pm

This could provide a serious problem in competition for a team:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601079&sid=aHVNjsHmJShU&refer=home

Sure NY already has a team, but Major League owners with Major League money are hard to argue with.....

by **DaTruRochin** Thu Oct 16, 2008 3:49 pm

Hmmmm, looks like some pretty stiff competition for 2 slots... FC Barcelona, Gillet/Hicks, Steve Nash.... Lots of competition with big name sports ownership. Could be an uphill battle for the Paulson family and getting one of the slots.

Seven cities bid for two MLS expansion teams
Associated Press

October 15, 2008
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NEW YORK -- A group that includes two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash submitted a bid Wednesday for a Major League Soccer franchise in Vancouver, British Columbia, and the family of Liverpool co-owner George Gillett applied for a team in Montreal.

Seven cities bid for two expansion teams, which the MLS said will be selected by the end of March. Also applying were Atlanta; Miami; Ottawa; Portland, Ore.; and St. Louis.

Nash, a Phoenix Suns guard was joined by Greg Kerfoot, owner of the United Soccer League's Vancouver Whitecaps, and Jeff Mallett, a former president and chief operating officer at Yahoo Inc. Nash and Jeff Mallett have previously invested in the Women's Professional Soccer league, which starts play next year.

NBA spokesman Brian McIntyre said the league doesn't prohibit players from owning franchises in other sports.

The family of Gillett, who owns the NHL's Montreal Canadiens and co-owns Liverpool with Texas Rangers and Dallas Stars owner Tom Hicks, was joined in the Montreal bid by the Saputo family, which controls the dairy processor Saputo Inc.

Arthur Blank, who controls the NFL's Atlanta Falcons and the Arena Football League's Georgia Force, submitted Atlanta's bid. Miami's application was put it by the Spanish club Barcelona and BrightStar Corp. chairman Marcelo Claure, a Miami resident who owns the Bolivian club Bolivar.

Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk submitted the bid for his city, and Portland's was put in by the Paulson family, which controls the USL's Portland Timbers and Portland Beavers of baseball's Triple-A Pacific Coast League.

Jeff Cooper, a lawyer who also heads the St. Louis WPS franchise, submitted the St. Louis bid. He also is on the board of Brentford, a League Two team in England.

The Wilpon family, the controlling owner of baseball's New York Mets, had considered bidding for a team in Queens or Long Island but did not apply.

by PurplePrideTrumpet Thu Oct 16, 2008 4:22 pm

FWIW, the writers at my favorite soccer blog, Unprofessional Foul, each made their picks for who should get the franchises. The most popular pick, chosen by five out of the eight...was Portland! They had some nice things to say about our city.

http://unprofessionalfoul.blogspot.com/2008/10/mls-expansion.html

Then again, they are just bloggers, so what do they know? Wink

(No really, I think they're pretty smart over there.)

by Stonehouse Thu Oct 16, 2008 5:10 pm

Interesting with all those cities. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if Vancouver and Montreal got them. Vancouver is a big, big city with only one pro sport (NHL) and Montreal doesn't have anything but the Canadiens now that the Expos are gone. I think Montreal is a shoe-in, especially given the radical success of Toronto's team and the Liverpool connection.

Miami could be interesting, but that stupid city has proved again and again that it's not a great sports town. Maybe the large Hispanic population could be a natural fit for soccer, but correct me if I'm wrong... most of the Latinos in Miami are Cuban, and soccer isn't nearly as popular in Cuba as it is in Mexico or South America. Baseball is the national sport of Cuba, and look how well the Marlins draw.

Atlanta, St. Louis, Ottawa... they just don't seem right.

Portland definitely has a chance, but I think Vancouver likely has a leg up at this point.

by **DaTruRochin** Thu Oct 16, 2008 5:59 pm

St. Louis already has an extremely well planned proposal to the MLS and has for some time, I've heard they are front runners in addition to one of the Canadian cities. But the FC Barca connetion in Miami is concerning to Portlands chances. The MLS is looking for not only rich owners but also a deditaction of said owners to the communities themselves. Academy systems for the franchises are also an important part of the formula.

by FANatic Fri Oct 17, 2008 6:35 pm

PurplePrideTrumpet - interesting read on your fav soccer blog.

Boy, not only the bloggers, but also the comments had a whole lot of Portland mentions. They talked mostly of rivalry with Seattle and great fanbase.

Was a little blown away, to be honest. I didn't know that many people in this country knew about Portland except NBA fans. Wink

by **SciFi** Sat Oct 18, 2008 11:04 am

You'd be suprised how well the current Timbers are supported. Despite a dismal year, The Timbers drew an average of over 8,000 fans per game this year, I believe. 2nd in the league. My guess on which two cities the MLS will pick is Portland and Vancouver. I'll be happy either way. . .

-SciFi

by FANatic Sun Oct 19, 2008 9:39 am

Portland Tribune/Kerry Eggers/10-19-2008

A MUST READ FOR MLS TO PORTLAND FANS!!!

Very intriguing stuff. Maybe it's okay to get our hopes up a bit, eh?

by **SciFi** Sun Oct 19, 2008 2:24 pm

Despite the fact that I believe that Portland and Vancouver are the likely recipients, I don't take much stock in this article. A lot of things have to (and probably will) happen for us to get a franchise. . .

-SciFi

by onetouchfutbol Sun Oct 19, 2008 6:53 pm

I really hope it happens. I think that the 16,000+ tickets that have been sold for Sounders FC as well as having the league's first local TV contract in Seattle bodes well for Portland. I'd love to see a Seattle vs. Portland rivalry with some UP alumni playing in PDX. That would be sweet.

by Stonehouse Sun Oct 19, 2008 9:33 pm

You know, you make a good point with the local TV contract... I bet Comcast Sports NW would snap it right up if the MLS did come here. Actually, wouldn't surprise me if Paulson got that lined up and is using it as part of his proposal.

by **DaTruRochin** Tue Nov 25, 2008 5:17 pm

Just an FYI, the Montreal contingent withdrew their bid for an MLS team!!! They were previously cited as one of the leaders due to their soccer infrastructure right now. Listed as main beneficiaries to land teams now are Portland, St. Louis and Miami. Ottawa is considered a longshot for their lack of soccer infrastructure, and from several places I've read, Vancouver is considered a less favorable bid due to their lack of plans for a new soccer specific stadium... All in all this definitely helps the chances for a PDX franchise in the future!!

by PurplePrideTrumpet Tue Nov 25, 2008 5:25 pm

Another issue for the Canadian cities is that they seem to have issues securing sponsorship deals.

There is also talk that Paulson and the city are looking at either the Portland Public Schools headquarters across from the Rose Quarter or the Memorial Coliseum site as places to build a baseball stadium. It remains to be seen if there's enough space at the Coliseum site for a stadium but I think either one of those makes more sense than playing out in Lents.

A Portland-Seattle MLS derby would be awesome.

by **DaTruRochin** Tue Nov 25, 2008 5:35 pm

Not only that, VERY good for the league

by **SciFi** Tue Nov 25, 2008 5:52 pm

PurplePrideTrumpet wrote:Another issue for the Canadian cities is that they seem to have issues securing sponsorship deals.

There is also talk that Paulson and the city are looking at either the Portland Public Schools headquarters across from the Rose Quarter or the Memorial Coliseum site as places to build a baseball stadium. It remains to be seen if there's enough space at the Coliseum site for a stadium but I think either one of those makes more sense than playing out in Lents.

A Portland-Seattle MLS derby would be awesome.

So does that mean that the Lents Park idea is dead?

-SciFi

by PurplePrideTrumpet Tue Nov 25, 2008 7:03 pm

Not necessarily; the Rose Quarter idea is just one idea at this point. Paulson has said from the beginning he is considering more than one option.

I've been meaning to post the link to the Talk Timbers MLS to PDX forum. Lots of ideas and discussion there:
http://www.soccercityusa.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=mlsinpdx

by FANatic Sun Nov 30, 2008 10:08 am

Great news about Montreal dropping out. Portland's chances are definitely helped by that.

It's starting to feel like we have got ourselves a real possibility here. Cool

by **DaTruRochin** Wed Dec 10, 2008 12:00 pm

And now support from the commish himself....
http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2008/12/08/daily27.html

Fingers crossed.... fingers crossed....

by PurplePrideTrumpet Wed Dec 10, 2008 12:55 pm

The first meeting of the MLS task force was yesterday, and Merritt Paulson and MLS executives made their presentation to the members. The best quote from Merritt that I found in the O was when one person asked him if Portland fans would go to Seattle to watch the Sounders Duck!

(now, now, it doesn't hurt to ask)

(Hears the murmurs from the few dozen TA who came to watch)
"You're about to get rushed from the back. I can promise you Portland Timbers fans are not going to be driving to Seattle to watch Seattle Sounders soccer."

by **DaTruRochin** Wed Dec 10, 2008 3:38 pm

Which is EXACTLY what the league needs... A true euro style derby.... (although yeah I know technically a derby has to be in the same town, but the US is laid out a bit different than England or the rest of Europe for that matter...)

by PurplePrideTrumpet Wed Dec 10, 2008 6:06 pm

I agree--Seattle vs. Portland would be huge for MLS. What Paulson means is that Timbers fans won't be going up to Seattle this season for the chance to watch MLS. If the Portland does get a franchise, of course the TA will be traveling with them.

by **DaTruRochin** Wed Dec 10, 2008 8:55 pm

I understand that, and I'm going to withhold further comment because we know what happens when I open my mouth about the TA...

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