CDNFootballer Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 NASL may be getting ready to approve a new expansion team in Miami. Principle owners are Brazilian apparently, and the team name is Miami Fusion FC (yes, the old MLS Miami teams name that MLS used to own but no longer does). Plans are to play in NPSL this year and join NASL in 2016 or 2017. With Beckham's MLS bid stalling even if they get a stadium plan going it seems they will be years off until at least 2020 or 2022 leaving the market open for NASL to build for 4-6 years. Miami Fusion Returns, Aim For NASL Expansion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedinathan Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 Talk about over crowding the market in Florida. However, kinda cool to see an NASL club push back against a perceived MLS market. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steedman Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 Nice stick in the eye for MLS haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red and White Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 The Florida market really is overcrowded. This would be NASL's third one. Not exactly good business to split fans who could be supporting a common team, is it? Unless the rivalries draw a lot of people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youllneverwalkalone Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 Ok fine, I'll say it. This is a horrible fucking idea that will never work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nolando Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 Ok fine, I'll say it. This is a horrible fucking idea that will never work. QFT! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDNFootballer Posted April 11, 2015 Author Share Posted April 11, 2015 Ok fine, I'll say it. This is a horrible fucking idea that will never work. Strikers don't draw from Miami and with the size of Miami a seperate fanbase can be built. If the Brazilian owners of the Fusion are as moneyed as the Strikers owners it has the possibility to work out if done right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Macksam Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 This is significant for the NASL as they're bringing in another rich owner that is committed to growing the team within NASL like the Cosmos and Strikers. This is most likely the reason expansion talks have stalled in certain places. Going forward, the NASL wants ownership groups who are going to be committed to the league long term. They want owners who are going to build 20000 soccer specific stadiums for the NASL and not as some segue/springboard to the MLS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fussball_eh Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 The Florida market really is overcrowded. This would be NASL's third one. Not exactly good business to split fans who could be supporting a common team, is it? Unless the rivalries draw a lot of people. actually, there are already three Florida teams: Jacksonville, Fort Lauderdale & Tampa Bay. So this would be the 4th team. This would be a horrible addition imho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Hammer- Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 The Florida market really is overcrowded. This would be NASL's third one. Not exactly good business to split fans who could be supporting a common team, is it? Unless the rivalries draw a lot of people. I think you hit the nail on the head with this one. I'm all for keeping teams close together because it cuts travel costs, builds rivalries and generally is a lead up to bigger and better things. The problem I have is, while Flordia is a nice place to visit in the winter, I can see the heat being oppressive in the summer and given Flordia's generally poor track record in pro sports (Given the apparent tanking of the Rays, Marlins, Panthers, Jaguars and the Bucs and Dolphins being on the lower end on attendance and capacity numbers by NFL standards) it doesn't strike me as wise place to put another team, unless you have something there already you can build on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Hammer- Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 This is significant for the NASL as they're bringing in another rich owner that is committed to growing the team within NASL like the Cosmos and Strikers. This is most likely the reason expansion talks have stalled in certain places. Going forward, the NASL wants ownership groups who are going to be committed to the league long term. They want owners who are going to build 20000 soccer specific stadiums for the NASL and not as some segue/springboard to the MLS. One can only hope this bodes well for Hamilton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedinathan Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 So this was confirmed today. Miami FC to start playing in 2016. Might push any future MLS expansion out of the state? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub Narcotic Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 Why would it? MLS at a purpose-built facility vs. NASL at a football stadium w/ lines isn't really a contest. That metro should be able to support a few teams so hopefully they can co-exist. Another brutal and expensive road trip for FC Edmonton however. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 The Florida market really is overcrowded. This would be NASL's third one. Not exactly good business to split fans who could be supporting a common team, is it? Unless the rivalries draw a lot of people. I can't imagine that a Miami club will affect Tampa Bay or Jacksonville's fanbase at all. I doubt that it would cause any split of Strikers fans. I think the potential for a local derby outweighs this. Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 Ultimately, you want good owners and solid franchises in your league. The stronger the league, the more interest will grow from other parties. So my view is base your expansion on quality organizations, not trying to satisfy a map. Even if USSF requires a team in the Pacific time zone, whether Miami exists or not will not affect this team. It's not like they will do an expansion draft or dilute the talent pool too much. Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedinathan Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 Miami FC is moving into an already crowded market. There is strong ownership, who is going to attract interest (at least initially). Due to this, MLS would pretty much be doing everything BUT outright saying that they are trying to squash NASL if they attempt to start a club there. Don't think it will change the existing fan base (other than potentially the Strikers), but any league would be hard pressed to look at starting yet another franchise there. Now NASL needs to quickly and effectively look west in the USA. An announcement regarding a club starting in the west in 2017 would go a LONG way to reassuring supporters, especially up in Edmonton. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurt-MTL Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 None of the articles I've read have specified exactly where they're going to play; only that it will be in one of the existing "world-class stadiums". Kinda curious about that given all the trouble Beckham and Co have had with trying to secure a site for MLS... wherever it is, hopefully there won't be any football lines or baseball mounds in sight! Ownership group looks solid on paper and Maldini certainly adds some star-power.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedinathan Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 Also starting to see some quotes stating that this group approached the league only 3 months ago. Not nearly the typical situation that NASL likes to have from Owners. After OKC and Cavalry mistakes, they've been good about making sure ownership is solid. Might create some concerns for fans of the league. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 None of the articles I've read have specified exactly where they're going to play; only that it will be in one of the existing "world-class stadiums". Kinda curious about that given all the trouble Beckham and Co have had with trying to secure a site for MLS... wherever it is, hopefully there won't be any football lines or baseball mounds in sight! Ownership group looks solid on paper and Maldini certainly adds some star-power.. FAU Stadium has been used for Gold Cup matches from what I can remember and might be a good candidate. Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazlo_80 Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 How do people closer to the NASL feel about this? Am I the only one that sees this as a tad reactionary and lacking? Considering average NASL attendances those world class stadiums are going to be pretty awful for gameday atmosphere. Isn't Miami a notoriously difficult market for sports? Especially for soccer? What happens to this team if MLS puts a team in there with it's own soccer stadium, how does this team ever compete with that? from afar this all reads as "Ooh, Beckham is having trouble getting a team in Miami, quick, let's put something together to spite MLS!" again, people closer to the situation please let me know if there's more to it than this, I'm no MLS fan boy, I honestly just think the optics of this are strange. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurt-MTL Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 Although I can't claim to be "close to NASL", my thinking is the owners saw an opportunity and went for it. Of course it helps that the Beckham-MLS venture has stalled but I doubt these other owners would be going into this without a solid plan and realistic hope for success besides "let's just get in before they do and hope their bid never sees the light of day". The only thing that kinda bothers me is the lack of a stadium announcement. If they can come up with a deal to configure/convert one of the existing stadiums for soccer use (i.e. no soccer lines/baseball mounds/not cavernous/decent location) then that will go a long way in reassuring me of the long-term viability of this club. If the delays with the other side continue and the NASL team is successful, perhaps Beckham/MLS eventually lose interest and move on? Plenty of markets around.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazlo_80 Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 The stadium issue is probably the biggest one I'm reacting to. Putting aside how difficult of a sports market Miami is for a second (Dolphins games don't sell out, heck the heat during their championship run didnt sell out all the playoff games) this is an extremely aggressive tactic from a league that frankly I'm wary can handle this sort of move. For all the big talk about the Cosmos they basically became an also-ran in that market, and that was before the aggressive NYCFC marketing MLS has been involved in. If they play in a 40K stadium, heck if they play in a 20K stadium and get the average NASL attendance (which i think is being generous) I still don't think an MLS bid will see that as a roadblock to going forward in Miami. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedinathan Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 Check out Steven Sandors (the11.ca) latest post for Tom Fath's (FCEd owner) take on it. Realistically, with the different model from MLS, this doesn't mean too much for the league. Ideally you don't want to see clubs fold, but you have to think that the league isn't going to turn away a solid ownership group. And if that owner wants to give it a go in Florida, power to him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazlo_80 Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 Thanks for that, Jedithan. Helps give an idea of the reasoning behind it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDNFootballer Posted May 22, 2015 Author Share Posted May 22, 2015 Why would it? MLS at a purpose-built facility vs. NASL at a football stadium w/ lines isn't really a contest. That metro should be able to support a few teams so hopefully they can co-exist. Another brutal and expensive road trip for FC Edmonton however. There's been nothing stated they will play on a field with football lines and NASL like MLS is against it. Ticket prices are similar from Edmonton to Miami and Edmonton to say New York so no, not really too expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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