By Paul Kennedy
New York City Football Club, which will begin play in MLS in 2015, will announce the hiring of former Rutgers athletic directorTim Pernetti as its chief business officer,
Pernetti, 42, was considered one of college sports’ top young athletics directors, but he resigned in the wake of the scandal involving Rutgers basketball coachMike Rice, who was seen in a videos physically and verbally attacking players at practices while using gay slurs. Pernetti suspended Rice after seeing parts ofthe video, though in his resignation letter he said his first instinct was to fire him immediately. Following the fallout from ESPN’s airing of the video, Rice was fired, and Pernetti quit.
NYCFC, owned by Manchester City and the New York Yankees, is expected to begin play at Yankee Stadium, but it must still find a permanent home. MLS had identified a site in Flushing Meadows-CoronaPark, but NYCFC is reportedly considering other sites as well, including a parking garage on East 153rd Street in the Bronx near Yankee Stadium.
CASTROSUPPORTS SAN ANTONIO MLS BID. Support from San Antonio mayor Julian Castro “matures the process” of seeking an MLS expansion team in San Antonio,
Castro said he was convinced San Antonio should be a front-runner for an MLS franchise.
“I’m very impressed with what Gordon has accomplished with theScorpions in terms of the stadium and fan enthusiasm,” Castro told the San Antonio Express-News. “I believe he and I are both confident … that there is strong demand here for MLS soccer.”
San Antonio would be considered a strong expansion candidate. It has the size (it now ranks as the seventh-largest U.S. city), growing fan support (the Scorpions lead the NASL in attendance)and a new soccer stadium (8,000-seat Toyota Field). Toyota Field would need to be expanded — there is room to expand to about 18,500 seats and 32 suites — and Hartman, a former real estatedeveloper, would have to commit to the MLS effort.
Hartman got behind the Scorpions as part of Soccer for a Cause, his effort to help promote support for children with special needs. Heopened the Morgan’s Wonderland amusement park, designed to accommodate children and adults with special needs, in 2010. He has repeatedly said he want to slowly grow the Scorpions, who arestruggling through a horrible second NASL on the field.
DYNAMO GETS VISA. The Houston Dynamo and Visa reached along-term sponsorship agreement that will make Visa a founding partner of BBVA Compass Stadium and the official payment services partner of the Dynamo and BBVA Compass Stadium. As part of thepartnership, fans who purchase a Dynamo jersey with name customization with their Visa card from the adidas Dynamo team store inside BBVA Compass Stadium will receive a $25 Visa gift card.
HAPPY SQUEEZE JOINS U.S. YOUTH SOCCER. U.S. Youth Soccer has signed a sponsorship deal with Happy Family that will highlight its line of Happy Squeeze pouches.Happy Squeeze will be the official On-the-go “Superfood” of U.S. Youth Soccer. Samples of Happy Squeeze snacks will be available at U.S. Youth Soccer’s National Championship Series andWorkshop at the NSCAA Convention.
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