It's official, Orlando to the MLS in 2015!!

[__wowza]

http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/articl...set-2015-debut



some quick points:

• they're going to open their MLS season in the citrus bowl, before moving to a new 18,000k stadium.
• orlando health with be their shirt sponsor.
• co-owner rawlins owns EPL club stoke city.
• this will be the 4th time two clubs have joined the league at the same time (the last being 2011 with portland and vancouver)

related media:
http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/articl...-league-soccer
http://www.mlssoccer.com/video/2013/...-recognized-dp
http://www.mlssoccer.com/sideline/ne...tion-21st-mls-
http://www.reddit.com/r/MLS/comments..._the_21st_mls/

[Suds]

What's betting odds on us making the playoffs before they do?

Road trip in 2015??

[nascarguy]

What's betting odds on us making the playoffs before they do?

Road trip in 2015??

not good

[nascarguy]

we got to go to that bar

[BuSaPuNk]

Do I sense a road trip?

[prizby]

worst kept secret

[prizby]

• co-owner rawlins owns EPL club stoke city.

explains why stoke has 4 or 5 americans

[Initial B]

So Orlando FC will be a feeder club for Stoke?

Looks like the other co-owner is saying Kaka is going to be their first DP.

Man, is it wrong for me to be jealous of for them having a Front Office that knows what its doing right out of the gate?

[prizby]

So Orlando FC will be a feeder club for Stoke?

Looks like the other co-owner is saying Kaka is going to be their first DP.

Man, is it wrong for me to be jealous of for them having a Front Office that knows what its doing right out of the gate?

helps a lot when you have been running a team at the lower division since 2007

[habstfc]

Orlando won't work, anybody that's been there knows why. It's a small city and is a tourist town. Wages are below national average.

[Redcoe15]

Fuck, there goes the neighbourhood! Horrible mistake adding that shitty city, IMO!

[Yohan]

Orlando won't work, anybody that's been there knows why. It's a small city and is a tourist town. Wages are below national average.

Metropolitan Orlando has 2.2 mil in population

[prizby]

Orlando won't work, anybody that's been there knows why. It's a small city and is a tourist town. Wages are below national average.

pretty sure they top attendance of all NASL/USL-PRO teams

[mdc 77]

pretty sure they top attendance of all NASL/USL-PRO teams

They do, but I'm skeptical as well. Orlando is a very spread out city, obviously very tourist oriented...two things that don't add up well for pro sports. Can't really argue much that Orlando, and the state of Florida for that matter is not a good place for pro sports.

Back to them leading the USL/NASL/Whatever its called...8,000/match is fantastic but is that all they can ever do? They need to double that now. Is that sustainable in Orlando? I have strong doubts.

[brad]

pretty sure they top attendance of all NASL/USL-PRO teams

Smaller markets often have an advantage here due to less competition for your time and money.

Saskatchewan Roughriders are a prime example.

[bones]

• this will be the 4th time two clubs have joined the league at the same time (the last being 2011 with portland and vancouver)

Oh great just as we're making our cup run we'll get stripped of a few players

Bones...

[Dreadlocks]

I don't get this need to expand the league ffs. There are not enough players here to keep the standard of play high. Unless the cap is increased substantially the level of play will drop.

Hell, I remember when the NHL and NBA last expanded; there were concerns of this for those leagues.

Does Garber not think this will impact the MLS?

[Ultra & Proud]

helps a lot when you have been running a team at the lower division since 2007

I thought that's what we've been doing

[Areathrasher]

explains why stoke has 4 or 5 americans

Rawlins is a minority owner at Stoke. Peter Coates who owns Bet365 is the majority owner.

[Canary10]

It'll be nice to have a purple team in MLS.

[brad]

I don't get this need to expand the league ffs.

It's all about the expansion fees.

[BuSaPuNk]

It's all about the expansion fees.

Agreed. Garber is just looking at capital gains when it comes to expansion fees. However these are one time fees and the teams have to sustain some type of financial profitability to make it even out that's what's really in doubt.

Having a new team is all and good. However this might give the leverage to the players in the up coming labour contract with the leauge. I would expect salaries and cap to get a pretty good raise. Atleast we all should hope so.

[cmonyoureds]

If Chivas still exists, through funny numbers/MLS help/witchcraft, then Orlando will be able to survive as well.
As a "single entity" as long as the New Yorks/Seattle's/Toronto's (allegedly) keep pulling in $'s they can prop up the league.

[brad]

Agreed. Garber is just looking at capital gains when it comes to expansion fees. However these are one time fees and the teams have to sustain some type of financial profitability to make it even out that's what's really in doubt.

Having a new team is all and good. However this might give the leverage to the players in the up coming labour contract with the leauge. I would expect salaries and cap to get a pretty good raise. Atleast we all should hope so.

NYCFC might be the exception here - it's not secret that the NY market is soft for the MLS, and it's the largest market in the US.

[JamboAl]

I think it'll be a transient following...tourists will make up a larger proportion of the attendance than any place else especially as the place is so popular with the British and Brazilian tourists. But how is the population base in Orlando any worse than Salt Lake or Columbus or the second team in LA. I think the upside potential is quite high.

[prizby]

They do, but I'm skeptical as well. Orlando is a very spread out city, obviously very tourist oriented...two things that don't add up well for pro sports. Can't really argue much that Orlando, and the state of Florida for that matter is not a good place for pro sports.

Back to them leading the USL/NASL/Whatever its called...8,000/match is fantastic but is that all they can ever do? They need to double that now. Is that sustainable in Orlando? I have strong doubts.

TFC fans are pretty spread out too; there are many that travel far distances, from down to Niagara from out west as far as Guelph/KW/London from up from Newmarket or even Barrie from out east as far as Oshawa, Port Hope/Coburg, more than even Jays/Raptors/Leafs fans...and that isn't counting the couple handful of people I know that come from Buffalo/Detroit/Chatam etc...I think if you are a fan of the sport, distance does not matter as much as it does with other NA sports for SSH

Can't be worse than Colorado or Clownbus or Salt Lake or eventually Montreal when they have a losing season

Smaller markets often have an advantage here due to less competition for your time and money.

Saskatchewan Roughriders are a prime example.

College market is a tough one to crack; luckily UCF isn't that good most years in football/bball although they are improving, got new stadiums etc.

Rawlins is a minority owner at Stoke. Peter Coates who owns Bet365 is the majority owner.

are you suggesting that Rawlins would have 0 influence over signings though?

[Joe Kool]

Funny how the MLS video montage they showed didn't have BMO Field or TFC really except for an Earnshaw flip. Guess that is all we contributed last year as far as they are concerned....

[Initial B]

They did have a cross from Plata and him celebrating...

But what gets me is that there were no TFC supporter shots at all. Have we really fallen that far?

[BuSaPuNk]

NYCFC might be the exception here - it's not secret that the NY market is soft for the MLS, and it's the largest market in the US.

Agreed but big pocket owners that probably don't care about the overall dollars being made by NYCFC.

They'll probably make more by cross marketing the team with Man City. That's where the true money will come from.

[TOBOR !]

I thought that's what we've been doing