So Sporting was told the Swope Park Rangers have to play at Sporting Park or play all their games on the road. The USSF created new standards for stadiums to give USL the “Div 2” status. So before the season they told SPR they needed to add more seats and bathrooms to their park. So they made a game plan on adding some bleachers and PortAPodys to meet the standards. It was all good until a month before the season started and USL told them get a new stadium or you’re kicked out. So they moved to a HS stadium that met the requirements and all was good. USL approves everything about the stadium. So they play the Flounders 2.0 squad. Then they get a letter from USL saying they’re not allowed to play at the HS anymore and they’ll play road games all year. The 2 rumors floating around are that Seattle complained about the field and Drogba complained about having to play and use a HS locker room (the game after Seattle was vs Phoenix and got moved from KC to Phoenix). So now all games are at Sporting Park. Why this is peeving everyone off? 1) SPR has been to back to back league finals. They have a lot of talent. 2) USL tried moving one of SPR’s home playoff games last year to Sacramento because they drew more fans last year even though SPR earned the home match. 3) Why did USL approve the stadium before the season started but now it’s unacceptable? 4) A lot of people go to SPR games because they’re played on the Missouri side of the city close to the main population centers. Sporting Park is about 15-20 ish minutes from downtown and 45ish minutes from the Eastern suburbs of the city. 5) Future USMNT players like Lindsey and Busio should be given a chance to get minutes for a professional team that is actually treated like one.
There was no match moved to Phoenix. Swope Park played here Saturday as scheduled and we visit at the end of May.
They did move the rest of the season to CMP. Everything is flowing from the lawsuit with NASL and denying them 2nd Tier status, but allowing USL teams variances off the stadium requirements. It is why S2 moved to Tacoma this year. Long term, I would not be shocked if affiliate teams move to USL II or the 3rd Tier. It is really a better level for young prospects, which should be the entire purpose of MLS affiliate clubs.
How many teams will this league go up to? They just announced a team for Albuquerque which will be a nice regional rivalry
It'll be interesting since there's going to be a Div. 3 league next year. D2 markets are supposed to have a metro population of at least in the 750K range. So there's still plenty of markets left. I could see some MLS teams dropping their reserve clubs down to D3 eventually. Orlando and Dallas look like they'll have theirs in D3 next year.
That's what I thought. I feel pretty good about our (Phoenix) chances and Detroit and Sacramento seem to be the others gunning for the next spot. Hot new rumor is that we're going to trade our Indian land where our current "popup" stadium is, and where the open air rendering has been made for, to the Dbacks for their new stadium and then we take over Chase Field and remodel since MLS seems to want us to have a roof.
You have Drogba+millionaires and MLS loves that. Detroit doesn’t have a stadium plan and Sacramento doesn’t have deep enough pockets at this moment.
Can't find the specific proposal, but this is something like it but ours would be on a much smaller scale. The city has $200 million to burn on an arena and/or stadium from a bond that was passed in 2012. Note: This is a proposal for Tigres in Monterrey, which if gets built will be the host stadium for the World Cup. Supposed to be 10x better than Monterrey's new stadium BBVA.
Why are the Dbakc moving? Their stadium isn't that old and seemed to be in a good location from the one time I wan in Phoenix.
Their ownership is bitching that it's "outdated" and needs improvements. It isn't as nice as some of the other ballparks built in the late '90's/early '00's but it's far from the dump they make it out to be. Seems like they're just trying to shake down taxpayers for more money. It's in a great location right downtown. It would be a great location for a soccer stadium as downtown continues to develop with more and more bars and restaurants opening.
Pet the llamas, their pitch is very bumpy on the baseball areas, solid beer selection. Will probably be better once Cashman is soccer-only next season. Would go again.
USL and PDL are totally fine (USL is a better name than MLS imo). Should’ve just come up with a new name that’s not League One for D3.
Indy basically locked up a playoff spot last night but almost no chance we make any noise in the playoff