Jacksonville Armada in trouble?

[pierre]

http://www.empireofsoccer.com/sources-jacksonville-armada-leave-nasl-target-usl-move-56140/

According to this site, the Armada are leaving the NASL to make a bid in the USL. That means they're joining the Tampa Bay and Ottawa teams. The budget reductions may be an attempt to get ready for that move. Unfortunately, Frisch may be looking to get out. However, regardless of what happens, there are hopeful signs for the future of the Armada/soccer in Jax, as there is interest from other owners in having soccer here.

The article mentions that the high cost ($70k a game or more) of the Baseball Grounds is an issue for the Armada and would be even more so in the USL. UNF and JU may "serve to solve the team's short term stadium needs" if they leave the Baseball Grounds. However neither are going to be great for drawing crowds. Methinks the stadium issue will continue to hamstring the team or any other that wants to play here.

Not sure I see Frisch wanting to get out as a bad thing. The team has been a disaster under his watch.

And I agree about the stadium. Unless the team is able to play in a soccer stadium, I don't see it lasting long.

And I don't know that I see the city forking over money to build a facility.

[JaxAvondale]

We could definitely make a soccer stadium work downtown. Here is what is being proposed in Tampa.

http://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2016/12/07/mls2stpete-tampa-bay-rowdies-launch-mls-expansion-bid

[Tacachale]

Jacksonville Armada move to terminate all player contracts:

http://www.empireofsoccer.com/jacksonville-armada-terminate-all-player-contracts-56384/

Sounds like either they're folding, or trying to get under budget for the USL move.

[pierre]

Damn. You have to think at this point that the Armada are done.

Too bad. I had fun at their games, especially the first year. It's a shame they were not better run.

Now they get to be added to the pile of dozens of failed minor league teams in this town.

[TimmyB]

Jacksonville Armada move to terminate all player contracts:

http://www.empireofsoccer.com/jacksonville-armada-terminate-all-player-contracts-56384/

Sounds like either they're folding, or trying to get under budget for the USL move.

[nbace]

Armada deny reports that they released ALL of their players, confirm release of 5
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/sports/soccer/armada-fc/armada-denies-reports-of-club-releasing-all-players/370046452

[Tacachale]

Armada deny reports that they released ALL of their players, confirm release of 5
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/sports/soccer/armada-fc/armada-denies-reports-of-club-releasing-all-players/370046452

Interesting. Hopefully a clearer picture will emerge soon. Understandably there's a lot of turmoil that comes out of such a shakeup as the NASL is facing now.

[tufsu1]

I dont see Frisch getting out, personally. His pockets are deep, his wife's are even deeper, by like tenfold.

sorry, but your characterization is off

[copperfiend]

Armada deny reports that they released ALL of their players, confirm release of 5
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/sports/soccer/armada-fc/armada-denies-reports-of-club-releasing-all-players/370046452

From what I have read, they released their highest paid players.

That is being framed as a sign they are going to try and move to the USL.

I still have my doubts as they do not have a place to play. The Baseball Grounds is too expensive. The JU football field is artificial turf. The JU soccer stadium is probably too small. Maybe UNF?

[Adam White]

Armada deny reports that they released ALL of their players, confirm release of 5
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/sports/soccer/armada-fc/armada-denies-reports-of-club-releasing-all-players/370046452

From what I have read, they released their highest paid players.

That is being framed as a sign they are going to try and move to the USL.

I still have my doubts as they do not have a place to play. The Baseball Grounds is too expensive. The JU football field is artificial turf. The JU soccer stadium is probably too small. Maybe UNF?

Yeah, the redundancies start occurring when a club is relegated and has to trim its wages bill. It is possible they are going to pursue playing in the USL. Let's hope so!

[Tacachale]

Armada deny reports that they released ALL of their players, confirm release of 5
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/sports/soccer/armada-fc/armada-denies-reports-of-club-releasing-all-players/370046452

From what I have read, they released their highest paid players.

That is being framed as a sign they are going to try and move to the USL.

I still have my doubts as they do not have a place to play. The Baseball Grounds is too expensive. The JU football field is artificial turf. The JU soccer stadium is probably too small. Maybe UNF?

I know they looked into playing at UNF before choosing the baseball Grounds.  I haven't heard anything current to that effect. It would really be the only good alternative I can think of, besides maybe a high school football field somewhere.

[copperfiend]

Armada deny reports that they released ALL of their players, confirm release of 5
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/sports/soccer/armada-fc/armada-denies-reports-of-club-releasing-all-players/370046452

From what I have read, they released their highest paid players.

That is being framed as a sign they are going to try and move to the USL.

I still have my doubts as they do not have a place to play. The Baseball Grounds is too expensive. The JU football field is artificial turf. The JU soccer stadium is probably too small. Maybe UNF?

I know they looked into playing at UNF before choosing the baseball Grounds.  I haven't heard anything current to that effect. It would really be the only good alternative I can think of, besides maybe a high school football field somewhere.

Yeah, it seems like the only viable option. And it can only be short term.

For the team to have any type of long term stability, there has to be some sort of soccer stadium in town. But who is going to pay for it?

[Tacachale]

Armada deny reports that they released ALL of their players, confirm release of 5
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/sports/soccer/armada-fc/armada-denies-reports-of-club-releasing-all-players/370046452

From what I have read, they released their highest paid players.

That is being framed as a sign they are going to try and move to the USL.

I still have my doubts as they do not have a place to play. The Baseball Grounds is too expensive. The JU football field is artificial turf. The JU soccer stadium is probably too small. Maybe UNF?

I know they looked into playing at UNF before choosing the baseball Grounds.  I haven't heard anything current to that effect. It would really be the only good alternative I can think of, besides maybe a high school football field somewhere.

Yeah, it seems like the only viable option. And it can only be short term.

For the team to have any type of long term stability, there has to be some sort of soccer stadium in town. But who is going to pay for it?

They'd have to build it themselves, I'd think. The city may help in some way, especially if it could be used for other things.

[E_Dubya]

It's a proven that minor league soccer can work here, and I hope Frisch can make it work with the Armada. But if not, there's other interest and someone else will step in before long.

I would say that he or any future owner needs to understand how much of an issue the stadium is going to be.

^Totally agree with this point. For a city our size, we have a plethora of top-notch, specific-use facilities. Everbank for the Jaguars. The Baseball Grounds for the team formerly known as the Suns. The symphony hall for the JSO. The Sharks and Giants have Veteran's Memorial. You just can't stick a professional soccer franchise in a borrowed baseball stadium (at $70k a game) or at a high school or college campus and expect people to care. There are too many competing options, and the city has been burned too many times by fly-by-night franchises. You need a sense of quality and permanence that can't be provided using our existing facilities.

I honestly believe that for soccer to be truly successful here, we need a soccer-specific stadium. Not just a soccer field with bleachers surrounding a pitch, but a modern, 4,000 to 6,000 seat stadium that can be scaled when, and only when, demand dictates (it's impossible to overstate how many of the Jaguars blackout and attendance "problems" could have been solved by building a market-appropriate stadium).

Here's San Antonio's Toyota Field for an example of a scaleable soccer-specific stadium:

They need to come prepared to build their own facility in a decent location.

^To do it right, in a decent location, is going to be very expensive. With city subsidies/bed taxes already stretched thin by Daily's Place and Everbank improvements, it may prove difficult to find someone willing to bankroll a USL team here. That's where I think it might be at least worth taking a look at what Orlando did for their soccer-specific stadium. Though the stadium was privately financed by team ownership, Orlando donated a $4 million parcel of downtown land for construction of the stadium.

I'm normally not a huge fan of using waterfront property for sports facilities, but in my opinion, this parcel would make a lot of sense for a soccer-specific stadium:

It's in the immediate vicinity of the existing sports complex, adjacent to Everbank's largest parking lot. It's directly connected to the JTA's proposed Skyway corridor on Bay Street. It's right between the Metro Park development that Shad Khan is pitching and the park/development under consideration for the Shipyards. You'd probably save money on remediation by developing for stadium use.

And, best of all, you could build horseshoe-style, overlooking the St. Johns toward the District, similar to San Jose's MLS Avaya Stadium, giving every single seat a stunning river view that no other Jacksonville sporting facility provides. You could even front the stadium with the riverwalk, providing an interesting, if obstructed, view in for pedestrians, boaters, those across the river at the District, etc.

And, if we're thinking long term, this is the type of location and stadium that the MLS absolutely eats up. Urban. Unique. Soon-to-be adjacent to "mass" transit, dining, hotel, entertainment. And that's gotta be our end-game with any thinking we do about a soccer stadium. We can hope, but we can't put all of our eggs into the Jags staying in the city forever.

If we can find a franchisee willing to build in exchange for that parcel of land, who says no?

With the flex field being built behind the south end zone of Everbank, I wonder if the current practice fields used by the Jags could be utilized as space for a stadium. I heard that rumored as a potential stadium site not long after the Armada's first season ended.

[KenFSU]

^Only problem is that the new flex field is intended to allow for practice during inclement weather, not replace the existing practice fields.

Punting, for example, wouldn't be possible with the 80' clearance at Daily's Place.