It’s been a long week and there is apparently some other stuff in the news and also I want to go read the new Deadspin writers’ temporary blog that is not Deadspin, so let’s get straight to this week’s roundup, which is long, because remember what I literally just said about it having been a long week?
- Nashville Mayor John Cooper is still holding firm on refusing to allow demolition to begin, citing what he says is a doubling of projected, city infrastructure costs, and both team and league officials are kicking off negotiations by whining at him in public, via a joint press statement that “MLS Commissioner Don Garber made it clear to Mayor Cooper that Major League Soccer would not have awarded Nashville an expansion team without the commitment made by the city to build a soccer stadium at the Fairgrounds” and “the Mayor’s continued refusal to proceed is a deep disappointment to Nashville SC and MLS.” To which Cooper is totally free to say, Yeah, well, you shoulda finalized everything before approving the expansion team, then, you’ve gotta deal with me now. Hardball works for both sides!
- The San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs are getting free hotel rooms for the Super Bowl courtesy of Miami taxpayers after, in the words of the Miami Herald, “Miami’s Super Bowl Host Committee recently sent invoices totaling $1 million to the county’s budget office from the J.W. Marriott Marquis hotel downtown and Aventura’s Turnberry resort to cover an NFL requirement for subsidized rooms provided to players earning millions for teams owned by billionaires.” Reminder: The Super Bowl is garbage and football kills people.
- Roger Goodell didn’t stop at shaking down Buffalo for a new stadium this week, but tried to shake down Toronto as well, saying that it “certainly could be a great city for an NFL team” but “a stadium up to NFL standards is going to be an important element.” Toronto actually has two football stadium, but one only seats 25,000 and one is omigod over 30 years old, so time for a third stadium if you really want the NFL, which Toronto residents honestly don’t seem to all that badly.
- Jacksonville has given the fourth-tier NPSL (barely above semipro) Jacksonville Armada an option on buying city land for a new 10,000-seat stadium, with no details at all on how the stadium would be paid for or how much the Armada owners would pay for the land or what it’s worth, why bother reporting on stuff like that? There is a “sports event manager” saying “at the same time you bring more and more of these sporting events to town, it brings more and more people here,” just drop that in and hit Publish, we’ve got important RV dealer promotions to fluff!
- Do you want to have your say about what the new Calgary Flames arena that’s costing the public $250 million or more will look like? Then connect with their “ambassador team” or take their online survey, which involves such things as which “iconic experiences” like Beakerhead or the High Performance Rodeo make you “proud of Calgary.” Then you could win an Entertainment Prize Package! This is what democracy looks like!
- The NFL doesn’t just hold one big event in February where human beings bash their heads together until their brain cells die, it has the Pro Bowl too, which it’s currently shopping around to cities like Los Angeles and Las Vegas to see, presumably, who will agree to cough up free hotel rooms. Also there’s a new rule that the team that scores doesn’t have to give up the ball! Maybe they should try making Canada and Mexico the end zones, that should get people’s attention.
- A Hamilton developer says he can remodel the city’s arena with no tax money involved, and he must be telling the truth because he has a rendering featuring people crossing the street against the light, actually there are no traffic lights or crossing signals at all, this isn’t how “value engineering” is supposed to work!
- Atlanta Falcons fans defaulted on $32 million worth of personal seat licenses in 2019, but this is the Falcons owners’ problem since the money comes out of their pockets and anyway they can always try to find new fans to re-sell the PSLs to, ideally once the team doesn’t suck so much anymore. If you are neither a Falcons fan nor a Falcons owner, this mostly matters to you as yet another lesson that sports fans go to watch good sports teams, not new sports stadiums.
- The Erie Seawolves owners are hoping their stadium renovations will save their team from getting contracted, and if MLB really does start offering to remove teams from its hit list if they upgrade their stadiums, that would be a much more comprehensible shakedown than the one they’re pursuing so far.
- The Kansas City Royals don’t have a downtown stadium plan at all, but that’s not going to stop architecture firms from releasing their own renderings of what one could look like, and omigod it’s the cab-hailing purse lady from Worcester and Halifax!
I absolutely cannot wait for the first stadium report to calculate the projected economic impact of Cab-Hailing Purse Woman. Clearly she’ll go anywhere to see a game of baseball and/or soccerfootball! How can your city possibly turn up its nose at the spending on ride-hailing services she will bring?
UPDATE: Someone just forwarded me another article with more Royals stadium renderings, and OMG that sign:
If you’re having trouble reading it, the side facing the camera reads “HEY CDC KC HAS THE FEVER,” which is apparently a joke about the coronavirus epidemic now threatening to sweep the globe? And the other side, facing the field, reads “TODAY’S MY BIRTHDAY SURPRISE ME WITH A WIN” which is a way too on-the-nose reference to the fact that the Royals have lost more than 100 games the last two years. Forget any innovations in stadium design, I want to hear more about how the Royals can draw more fans by encouraging negging.
“Jacksonville has given the fourth-tier NPSL (barely above semipro) Jacksonville Armada…”
The NPSL is mostly amateur, so I’d say they are barely semipro, if even that.
(I’m relying on the current iteration of their Wikipedia entry, which states: “NPSL does not have any age limits or restrictions, thus incorporating both college players and former professional players alike.”)
They have a bunch of former NASL teams that were cut loose when that league folded, plus a bunch of glorified rec teams. I have no idea how that works, and since I’m not inclined to pay good money to watch bad soccer, I’m unlikely to find out.
Having watched more than my share of lower-tier soccer, I think one of the biggest drags on the experience is not the quality of play–which is often pretty good. Rather, it’s the lack of suitable stadiums. Lower-tier clubs overseas have their own small stadiums where fans can enjoy a pint or two while urging on their local semipro stalwarts. Certainly that has been an issue here in Durham, where the team is forced to play in an ugly, oversized municipal football stadium, which has very little ambiance (or beer) to entice casual fans.
“Ambience,” dammit.
Having attended a Cosmos game exactly once, I would strongly disagree that quality of play is not a problem.
Ouch… the Cosmos were a top second-division team.
NPSL has a salary cap so low that semi-pro is a bit generous. They may make up for it with lots of swag or player dorms or something.
Neil continuing our discussion about the Ray’s ballpark for yesterday I just wanted to add in a few tidbits. Very important to future discussions on this topic.
1. Kriesman seems to be sending conflicting messages on the Ray’s land. He wants to develop the land but he also recently talked up building a new rays ballpark on the land. I think he wants to punt this issue to the candidates running for his job and let voters have a voice.
2. Believe it or not kriesman has even greater leverage than the use agreement. The basin peel project only has a few years to get off the ground. Maybe he is running out the clock. He said in an interview he know mlb wants to expand soon
Neil,
I think you are mistaken about the identification of the “Cab Hailing Purse Woman”.
Fairly certain it is actually the “Female Sports Fan with Satchel of Cash trying to grab attention of Sports Team Owner”.
OMG – thank you for this AND for both the not-Deadspin new blog and for 17776. How did I never know that existed? It’s amazing!
17776 is truly incredible. Direct link for those who don’t want spoilers from the Wikipedia entry:
https://www.sbnation.com/a/17776-football
I don’t think Nashville Mayor Cooper knows what entails a mayor’s job that has a major league sports teams in a city with a stadium need.
“a complete solution for the Fairgrounds that is both financially sustainable and results in a successful, unified site plan.”
“complete”, “financially sustainable”…..that is crazy talk…. doesn’t Cooper understand he is supposed to not ask pesky who/what/where/how/why questions and to simply roll over completely for MLS and the Nashville SC? Someone forgot to give him the memo.
Actually, I can only hope that Cooper is laying the groundwork for future higher office aspirations.
It sure looks to me like the fundamental conflict is that MLS & the Nashville team want the fairgrounds for themselves, and the new mayor wants NASCAR to come back.
As a dedicated supply-sider I hate to poo-pooh the economic boost local sports teams provide, but the reality is sports like auto racing and football are far better at drawing out-of-towners than MLS. If I were the mayor, there’s no way I’d want to pass up a chance at a NASCAR race or two, just to keep a friggin minor league soccer team.
Well he already has an MLS team, they don’t really have an leverage once the games start being played. It’s not like the MLS can afford to return the $150 million or so that was the expansion fee if they try to contract them.
Boy, I’ve missed Linda! Thank God she’s back, even if now in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Do you know if she plans to make a USA West Coast, California, visit soon? Possibly Oakland?
Apologies. Linda is in good old USA. KC.
Question still holds.
It’s not just Linda the cab hailer. The lady to her left looking for the alien armada set to invade earth also appears in Halifax and other stadium renderings.
Clearly holographic (and occasionally transparent) e-fans are in such short supply that they need do double duty.
I wonder if holographic e-Fans have or require agents?
It was a dark, rainy day that late winter in 2005. I walked out of the office after a long day at work to catch a cab home. There she was standing in the pouring rain trying to hail a cab. Well, I did what any gentleman would do.
That’s the night we met. I knew from that moment on, Linda and I were destined to be true friends. Even as our careers have taken us to different cities, we’ve never failed to keep in contact to this day. Linda, I will always be there for you when you’ve had a bad day.
https://youtu.be/gH476CxJxfg
John Cooper just doesn’t understand Basic Economics™, and clearly lacks that That Sense of Civic Pride That You Just Can’t Put A Dollar Figure On™.
And he hates freedom.
Sometimes I wonder why he don’t just go the hell back to Russia then?
Updated to note the fan-held sign in the additional Royals stadium rendering that is so much more amazing than even Cab-Hailing Woman.
Also here’s a video featuring daytime fireworks, if you were missing those:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9u7D1f6PA9I?version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent&w=640&h=360]
Why are you letting Cab-Hailing woman get all the press? Has she an agent? Sky-Picture Teal lady is also in the Royals and Halifax pictures as well. I am pretty sure she has been in others.
There are no cabs in KC. That is why it’s so weird and getting all the press.
She is clearly a taxpayer funded homeland security employee ever vigilantly surveying the sky for the inevitable alien invasion force.
Since she is everywhere pretty much by definition, the question isn’t what is she doing when you can see her, it’s what is she doing when you can’t?
Neil
Has the mission of this site changed from keeping readers informed on public expenditures in stadium development to just anti-football? I get that it’s not your favorite sport, but the consistent quips about non-stadium items (i.e. bash their heads till they die) are a bit over-the-top.
Quips = mission change?
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It’s not *just* anti-football, no.
I actually don’t mind football as a sport. It just should only be legal to be played by robots.
Completely agree.
The comments on that 2016 piece were even more classless and uncalled for.
Seems like a lot of people who comment here do it to feel superior. Not surprising given the current sports culture, and that’s all I’ll say about that.
The default rate on the Falcons PSLs was interesting. It’s tempting to think of this as “loss”, but I doubt the defaulted licenses are being resold for less than the outstanding amounts.
You would think someone defaulting on the license would not be allowed on any sort of season ticket waiting list or whatever, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
Is it possible that some of these licenses were held by brokers or scalpers who have given up because they can’t turn a profit on the tickets large enough to cover PSL payments?
Or is this all “legitimate individual fans” who are giving up?
Just for clarification, yes I did make a statement about Toron-toe this week. However, this should in no way discourage any other city that I did not name from coming up with a plan to offer our member teams massive tax subsidies and exemptions (which are often overlooked but are an important part of our league’s operating platform, along with general stadium competitiveness) in order to relocate or just muse about relocating so we can get the lifeblood flowing.
While you have correctly stated that Toron-toe has ‘two’ large football stadia, the fact of the matter is that the larger one has had it’s concrete floor jackhammered up by some inferior sporting organization. Our current plan would be to host a team there temporarily (possibly employing the infield dirt sections as a kind of water jump – those of you familiar with horse racing generally and steeplechase in particular will understand the many exciting benefits & on field branding opportunities this could bring) while someone else organizes and pays for a new facility somewhere else and then pays us to play in it.
Since we would be unable to site a superbowl in Toron-toe for obvious reasons (not the lousy weather, marketing and liquor laws… you won’t believe this but Toron-toe is more or less living under the occupation of a foreign government that the league does not control), we will probably require that the new franchise agree to pay for hotel rooms for a future superbowl at another site, and also fork over an amount equivalent to the local and national tax revenues that would have been theoretically payable – and therefore refundable – at some other venue. Possibly annually. I haven’t discussed this part with Jerry and Stan yet so I’ll have to get back to you on that.
Finally, I would like to point out that it’s only a small percentage of former players who have died of brain injuries and or associated consequences. What you keep leaving out is the fact that no owners have thus far succumbed to CTE, so we continue to focus on the research and that research is very much not conclusive (see above) regarding any link between football and massive brain trauma. There are many reasons for brain trauma. You can get it from just watching Senate hearings, after all.
Thank you for your interest in marketing opportunities with our league (oh, and the on field stuff too). Should a third team in the NY area be under consideration, we will certainly afford every opportunity for your firm/website to be the title sponsor of whatever facility is built by someone else to house it.
D
This “sports journalist” writing about the Toronto NFL team thinks the Argos play at the “Rogers Centre/Skydome. He doesn’t know the Blue Jays evicted the Argos, which led to a fire sale, and now they’re drowning at their new stadium.
Buffalo $’s.
Time for a rebrand!
What about the poor red-shirt people with awful headaches? No sympathy for them? “Ow, I think a sack full of subsidy cash just fell on my head!”
And how about Mr. Red-Parka-in-Summer? That’s a mighty suspicious backpack he’s carrying. Maybe the red-shirt people are holding their ears because they know there’s an earth-shattering kaboom coming.
I think your brain cells have died
Revel America! Today is your day!
The greatest spectacle on the planet takes place today (in your mindset, anyway)! THE SUPER BOWL!!!!! Where’s that god damn bold font…..
In this nation, we celebrate everything American! Invented in America! Made in the USA. USA, USA, USA!!!!! (Note to Native Americans: You were not invented nor made in the USA. You were an impediment).
Even our major sports. Basketball. Baseball. Football. Hockey (Canada. Close enough).
Here, in the land of the free and home of the brave (aka capitalism, consumerism and a consumption rate of 2/3 ‘s of the planet’s resources ….. ah folks, America has a population of 327.7 million out of 7.7 billion on the planet), the greatest military power the planet has ever seen (shhhh. Don’t mention Vietnam to them, they’ll get upset. Or their 19-year occupation of Afghanistan, it’s too similar to the 9-year Russian occupation of Afghanistan. Especially not “iran” or “iran hostages”) we only do, play, watch American team sports!
Soccer (aka “futbol” on the rest of the planet) is a foreign team sport and is a very, very low 5 on the professional sports table, at best, that only American children play, those not competitive enough for real American sports.
Not so with other nations on the planet. Other nations readily adopt sports from other cultures. Maybe, just maybe, because they see themselves as a member of the community of nations on the planet (whereas in America, we are the only gorilla in the tree. The last vestige of imperialism on the planet today).
That should stir up FoS today.
Maybe, just maybe, if Americans didn’t have this mindset (paragraph 5), we wouldn’t subsidize billionaires and professional sports franchises, to the tune of $2 billion a year, public monies that could go to other services that the private sector doesn’t provide for. Oh, I don’t know, like bridges; fire, emergency and police services, roads, schools, etc. I’m intentionally avoiding public health, housing or welfare to avoid any s***storm. Poor FoS and Neil DeMause may’ve never existed, if not for the above.
By the way, franchising is another American way of “Capitalizing” what’s essentially, here comes that dirty word, “Socialism” in our professional sports leagues. Caps, Equity, Parity, Shared, Survival for all. Capitalism would be more like pro/rel, where only the strong survive and succeed, aka NY Yankees or Boston Celtics. Wow, without the above, you’d see more franchise failures here in a single season than the ABA.
Yes, yes, if you don’t like so much about this nation, why don’t you just leave it. Spend much time of the year out of this nation. And is being given strong consideration.
Yes. Live in Northern California. Not watching the Super Bowl. In the words of my Jewish grandfather, “couldn’t give a tinkers damn about it.” I know. Sacrilege.
I did watch the halftime show, “Ladybutts: An American Pageant.”
Agree with Frank. 17776 and not-Deadspin new blog were amazing! Best time spent on SBG Sunday.
Communications Log
NorCal
Page 174025 of 179835
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NorCal: Unusually dramatic decrease in consumer, pedestrian and vehicular traffic in the region during afternoon and early evening hours on 2-01-20.
NorCal: Normal congestion resumed in evening hours. However, mood of beings appears downcast and somber.
Typo: 2-2-20.
Neil,
Any chance you can rotate your magnetometer 113 degrees so we’re capable of quantum communication like 9, 10 and Juice (and Hubble) so we fix typos in real time, as opposed to three-dimensional space transmissions? : – )
Just curious…if I’m promoting the idea of a DOWNTOWN baseball stadium, shouldn’t there be some skyscrapers in the renderings? My mom lives in KC. I’ve been there, so I know they have them.