Surprised this hasn't been posted yet (that I can see), but it seems almost official that Atlanta will get the next MLS team starting in 2017.

http://www.soccerbyives.net/2014/04/atlanta-announced-expansion.html

Not really a shock. Official announcement expected the 16th


[This message has been edited by LesloMcGoo (edited 4/8/2014 11:07a).]

Hoping for the best, but expecting the worst. Atlanta is (from my experience) a horrible sport town, and the team playing downtown is going to be bad. Downtown is a hassle to get to, and has very limited options for family fun pre- and post-game.

I wish they would have been playing out in Marietta, near the new Braves Stadium.

Yeah here's another article talking about the difficulty of soccer in Atlanta. I guess we'll see

http://www.topdrawersoccer.com/the91stminute/2014/04/why-the-atlanta-mls-franchise-matters/#more-32599

I guess I'd rather see them play downtown over somewhere in the burbs.

Braves are moving to the burbs for a reason.

Yeah, but I would bet that MLB and MLS attract a different set of fans.

That being said, I honestly don't know much about downtown Atlanta and if they've done the kind of work other metro areas have to revitalize their inner city landscape to attract the young crowd to move there.

Sweet! A new location for The Walking Dead...oh wait...what's that...oh never mind that's just a typical Saturday night crowd.

If Atlanta is franchise #22, is Beckham's Miami franchise #21 or #23?

quote:

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If Atlanta is franchise #22, is Beckham's Miami franchise #21 or #23?

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Miami is 23. Only because their spot is contingent on securing a stadium location.

Looks like Atlanta will be playing in the new Falcons stadium in downtown because they will be owned by the Falcons owner. Does that ease anyone's concerns or was it already known?

SI also think Minneapolis (or maybe San Antonio or Sacramento) is the favorite for team #24.

http://soccer.si.com/2014/04/09/mls-expansion-atlanta-minneapolis-realignment-miami/?eref=sihp

It was already known. It will be modified a la BC Place to make it more suitable for MLS games. Still not entirely sold on the idea but meh.

And yeah, gotta figure Minneapolis or San Antonio are the front runners at this point. I view Sacramento as a pretty distant long-shot. Maybe St. Louis could bypass the frontrunners if a true ownership group appeared, but that has been the case for ages and never materialized.

The new stadium is being built off of a rail line so that it will be easier to ferry people in an out of. MLS places a premium on downtown stadiums because it attracts young fans.

MLBs fan base is aging, I read that the average fan of MLB is around 50, that is why they're moving to the burbs, it's closer to their fans. Suburbs are no fun, "can't wait till I get out of the soccer match so I can go to the Chucky Cheese down the street," said no one ever.

I don't know if it will be a huge success but I bet it will be more successful than NE and it will certainly add more ad revenue than Orlando is bringing.

Announcement was today, here's the story. I'm interested to see this "downsizing technology" in the new stadium

http://espnfc.com/news/story/_/id/1788126/atlanta-introduced-22nd-franchise-mls?cc=5901

Over or under 23 teams in the MLS in 5 years?

Well I believe Garber said he wants 24 by 2020, so I'll say over. I don't think they're too far from picking the last one (assuming Miami gets the 23rd)

A MLS team in San Antonio would do really well