Bill Edwards, the Tampa Bay Rowdies owner since 2013, wants to sell team. Just how much a stake in the team was disputed. After a Sports Business Journal report that the Rowdies, who will begin their second season in the USL aftermany seasons in the NASL, were being put up for sale, Edwards told the […]
expansion
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
What They're Saying: Jake Reid
“The Miami reaction is actually funny because the owners were like, ‘Wow, we haven’t budgeted enough for what we need to do.’ To that extent, it is an arms race at some point,and I think we’ve put ourselves in position [just] as we did with the stadium. We’ve got now the best asset, in our […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
What They're Saying: Jeff Berding
“Let me stress this: We’re not taking anyone’s homes. We’re going to increase home ownership. We’re going to increase the number of people living in a neighborhood. Thenotion that we’re somehow going to try to buy people’s homes out, move people out of the neighborhood, that’s just false. That’s just made up. It’s a real […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
What They're Saying: Don Garber
“It was very, very complicated. It’s a difficult city with the political structure. You had multiple mayors with multiple jurisdictions. There were many times we were at death’sdoor.” — MLS commissioner Don Garber on the process that began in February 2014 to bring an MLS franchise under David Beckham‘s ownership to Miami. (Miami Herald)
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
David Beckham: 'I don't give up'
After multiple false starts and twists and turns, MLS is returning to Miami, fulfilling on its agreement with David Beckham to give him an option on an expansion team. On Monday,Beckham and his ownership group were introduced as owners of MLS’s 25th franchise at an Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts on Monday. Beckham […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Crew owners scratch riverfront park off Austin target list
Precourt Sports Ventures, owner of MLS’s Columbus Crew, has dropped Butler Shores Metropolitan Park from its list of sites it is looking at as possible sites for the soccer stadium it hopes to buildin Austin. “Based on this feedback, we are no longer exploring this location and are continuing our due diligence on other possible […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
Report: MLS announcement in Miami set for next week
Almost four years after DavidBeckham met the press in Miami, his preferred site for an MLS expansion team, the Miami Herald reportedthe official launch will finally take place next week, most likely on Monday. The two key elements to getting the deal done were: — Finding a stadium; and –Rounding up owners. Both didn’t finally […]
Posted inSoccer America Daily, What They're Saying
What They're Saying: Paul Purcell
“We’re in favor of bringing a professional franchise to our city. However, we’re opposed to losing any of our precious parkland to build a pro sports stadium for a corporation.” — Paul Purcell, president of the South Austin Little League that has several baseball fields at Butler Shores Metropolitan Park, one of the sites preferred […]
Posted inSoccer America Confidential, Story
LAFC general manager John Thorrington on getting ready for Year 1, working with Bob Bradley and learning from Sir Alex Ferguson
More than 20 years ago, John Thorrington left his Southern California home at 17 to sign for Manchester United. Injuries hampered his career, during which he played in the lower Englishdivisions and for three MLS teams before retiring in 2013. He worked for the MLS Players’ Union (now the MLS Players’ Association) and helped negotiate […]
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Best XI: Soccer's top new personalities of 2017
It was a wild year, good and bad, for American soccer. On the field and off, new personalities burst on the scene. Our list of the top new personalities includes five players, plus an MLS owner, anNASL owner, a mayor, a judge, an attorney and a lobbyist. Megan Barry. A year ago, no one gave […]