majerus mojo Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 Their commish said today the league will add 4 teams by 2020 (http://espnfc.com/news/story/_/id/1511148/mls-plans-add-4-teams-2020?cc=5901).. genuinely curious, anyone here see St. Louis as a viable option? Slim chance? The folks at sportslogos.net had already came up with this possible (and rather badass) logo/kit when I did some googling: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pistol Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 Their commish said today the league will add 4 teams by 2020 (http://espnfc.com/news/story/_/id/1511148/mls-plans-add-4-teams-2020?cc=5901).. genuinely curious, anyone here see St. Louis as a viable option? Slim chance? The folks at sportslogos.net had already came up with this possible (and rather badass) logo/kit when I did some googling: What's the "AC" for? Please don't tell me it's something stupid like "Real" Salt Lake, which I never knew had a Spanish royal family. Or "Sporting" KC, which is how people in KC speak, of course. Or FC Dallas, since most people from Dallas can be convinced that they're the true football club. If MLS wants to legitimize itself more as an international brand (and the quality itself is consistently rising), it needs to quit aping Euro names that don't make any sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pistol Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 (Don't get me wrong, I'd love MLS to expand to STL. It's a great, growing, quality league that could have a nice relationship with a soccer market like STL. I just don't want a dumb name.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prebilliken Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 AC, as in AC Milan, stands for Associazione Calcio, or "Football Club" in Italian. So it is a stupid name. Unless they are trying to get it to stand for "Athletic Club" or something like that. With all due respect to The Hill, STL's French and German heritage is far more famous and relevant to today's city than its Italian heritage. In regards to our German heritage, I think all those naming ideas would sound corny: Bayern (literally Bavaria) STL? Come on. If there was a team, give it a simple, bold name, St. Louis Athletic...I dunno, but I agree with the "don't piggy back off Europe sentiment." Real Salt Lake may be the worst team name in America. Other than that I think the jerseys are pretty good looking. Also, am I over reacting or am I right to be concerned that an MLS team would have a detrimental effect on SLU soccer? The TRUE soccer team of STL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Metzinger Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 Bring back the old Busch SC. Down with Gallagher or whatever his name is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Box and Won Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 Or "Sporting" KC, which is how people in KC speak, of course. Should it be Sportin' KC? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pistol Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 AC, as in AC Milan, stands for Associazione Calcio, or "Football Club" in Italian. So it is a stupid name. Unless they are trying to get it to stand for "Athletic Club" or something like that. With all due respect to The Hill, STL's French and German heritage is far more famous and relevant to today's city than its Italian heritage. In regards to our German heritage, I think all those naming ideas would sound corny: Bayern (literally Bavaria) STL? Come on. If there was a team, give it a simple, bold name, St. Louis Athletic...I dunno, but I agree with the "don't piggy back off Europe sentiment." Real Salt Lake may be the worst team name in America. Other than that I think the jerseys are pretty good looking. Also, am I over reacting or am I right to be concerned that an MLS team would have a detrimental effect on SLU soccer? The TRUE soccer team of STL. What's wrong with an American name for an American team? I'm not too wrapped up in our French, German, Italian, Irish, or any other heritage, and neither are most people there. All the French street names get butchered by the locals, anyway. Portland Timbers. Boom. That's how American team names go- City, Nickname. They play downtown and sell out every home game. Great identity for one of the league's youngest franchises. I'd also be fine with St. Louis Soccer Club, or something simple like that. None of this Euro BS. Forge our own identity. And no, I don't think it will have an adverse effect on SLU soccer. I think it is the missing piece in St. Louis' soccer culture, the big pro club. How nice would it be to see a local kid play at SLU and get drafted by a local MLS team? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMM28 Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 Should it be Sportin' KC? I think you're thinking of wood, not KC. And I agree with Pistol. If St Louis could add MLS it would only be good for SLU soccer. If someone could get an NBA team in here, it would also be great for the AC Real SLU Basketball Club. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prebilliken Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 What's wrong with an American name for an American team? I'm not too wrapped up in our French, German, Italian, Irish, or any other heritage, and neither are most people there. All the French street names get butchered by the locals, anyway. Portland Timbers. Boom. That's how American team names go- City, Nickname. They play downtown and sell out every home game. Great identity for one of the league's youngest franchises. I'd also be fine with St. Louis Soccer Club, or something simple like that. None of this Euro BS. Forge our own identity. And no, I don't think it will have an adverse effect on SLU soccer. I think it is the missing piece in St. Louis' soccer culture, the big pro club. How nice would it be to see a local kid play at SLU and get drafted by a local MLS team? No, No, I am completely agreeing with you, American teams, American names. So, I grew up playing soccer, in America, love the American game, and think part of us as a nation finding our identity as a Soccer country is detaching from this idea that European terms=legitimacy in the beautiful game. I yell "Go Billikens" at Bills soccer games, not "come on now you Billikens" that is ridiculous. The same thing should follow with our naming conventions. I hate that teams feel like if they don't have "United" or "FC" on their jerseys they aren't a real squad. Also, I could be convinced that having an MLS team is a good thing for SLU soccer, I just sort of like the Bills being the #1 thing people identify with the soccer heritage of this city. Also, quick sidebar: Though I love applying American Sports cultural practices to soccer, I will say soccer scarves are awesome and that I like that other American sports are getting in on that trend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emoracze Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 This is interesting, I was in St. Louis over the weekend and had this same thought about St. Louis having an MLS team. I think they would get the support and it would be great for everyone. Maybe they could rent out SLU's stadium to start and provide some revenue for SLU. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westy03 Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 St. Louis would be a great city for a MLS team and MLS knows it, the problem is having someone with the cash to own and support a team in St. Louis. No one is willing to do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Box and Won Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 This is interesting, I was in St. Louis over the weekend and had this same thought about St. Louis having an MLS team. I think they would get the support and it would be great for everyone. Maybe they could rent out SLU's stadium to start and provide some revenue for SLU. They'd need a much bigger facility than Hermann Stadium. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billikens747 Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 Moved to Seattle after graduating recently, and I have become a huge fan of the Seattle Sounders. Awesome atmosphere with 40k fans a game, and rivalries with Vancouver and Portland. I would love to see St. Louis get a team as I’m aware of how big soccer is there, but it is a huge price tag. Also, I agree with Pistol. It bugs the heck out of me when I see/hear Real Salt Lake. Salt Lake is not royal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emoracze Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 So what I'm hearing you all say is I need to put together an ownership group. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgeldmacher Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 Anyone think their's a chance SLU could work out a deal with an MLS ownership group to build a beautiful soccer only facility on the site of the current Hermann Stadium/Field that both SLU and the MLS team would share? Infrastructure and parking are already there. I agree it would be unlikely, but just wanted to throw it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billikens747 Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 So what I'm hearing you all say is I need to put together an ownership group. Get Jeff Cooper on the phone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pistol Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 St. Louis would be a great city for a MLS team and MLS knows it, the problem is having someone with the cash to own and support a team in St. Louis. No one is willing to do that. Exactly. MLS loves the Lamar Hunts of the world. If I had the cash, I'd do it. They'd need a much bigger facility than Hermann Stadium. True. Could Hermann be expanded on the east side, and possibly the north and south ends a bit? It would take a creative renovation but a mid-20,000s stadium might not be unrealistic there. Then again, there are other sites that would offer a chance to start from scratch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiseAndGrind Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 Exactly. MLS loves the Lamar Hunts of the world. If I had the cash, I'd do it. True. Could Hermann be expanded on the east side, and possibly the north and south ends a bit? It would take a creative renovation but a mid-20,000s stadium might not be unrealistic there. Then again, there are other sites that would offer a chance to start from scratch. People who could make it happen: Taylor Family Shad Khan Stan Kroenke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 Billikens.com Stadium has a nice ring to it. Time for some more donations? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thetorch Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 MLS is a pipe dream for St. Louis. Expansion of Hermann is a no go. St. Louis doesn't have an owner. Frankly MLS has priced itself too high. They want billionaires to own all their teams when the league has very little chance of being financially viable in the long term. Rise and Grind is right, there are about 3 people capable of owning a team in STL. None of them want to. Even Kroenke doesn't he own the team in Colorado? He can't own 2 teams? We'd need a nice soccer specific stadium, probably downtown. Certainly not feasible building in Illinois or way out in the county as a stand alone facility. I've been to two MLS stadiums, Crew which is older and kind of a dump now, plus their scoreboard randomly catches fire and KC which is really nice. We'd need a top facility like KC's to make this feasible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianstl Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 I wouldn't count out the DeWitts and the Cardinals out when it comes to stepping up to own an MLS. The Yankees are partnering on a expansion team with Manchester City. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Box and Won Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 People who could make it happen: Taylor Family Shad Khan Stan Kroenke Chaifetz? I believe Khan is looking to purchase an EPL team. Would Kroenke want to buy a second MLS team? Is that even possible? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgeldmacher Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 My point before was that SLU has the land (Hermann and surrounding areas) and the infrastructure (streets, park garages, power grid already set up for lighting standards). Obviously, what is already there would have to be knocked down and a new stadium built. However, it would seem to make it easier to build a facility like this when you would have two teams using it instead of just one (three if you count the women's team). I think that an MLS team in St. Louis would hurt Billiken soccer attendance. However, the added interest may cause even more development of local talent and, I'm sure that there would be some cooperation between SLU and the MLS team with regard to workouts and such. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiseAndGrind Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 Chaifetz? I believe Khan is looking to purchase an EPL team. Would Kroenke want to buy a second MLS team? Is that even possible? Don't think Chaifetz is too interested in an MLS team. He's talked about an NBA team, but don't think he has mentioned soccer. Khan has purchased Fulham so he's definitely a soccer fan. It's possible for Kroenke to own multiple soccer teams. The league allows several teams to be owned by the same person, which I've always found weird. But they need the money so I guess they allow it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milwaukeebill Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 I think kronke should look into buying an stl team. With a presumably new outdoor stadium you are basically getting 10 to 12 games a year there. A soccer team adds what 20 home games during an off time to the revenue stream of the stadium. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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