I saw that the Mayor has a "major sports announcement" set for today at 1:30 PM. Anyone have an idea what it might be about? First thing that came to my mind was him referencing soccer last week but this seems to just be an event that will be held next year. Maybe another large soccer event?
http://www.coj.net/mayor/itinerary/all-events/major-sports-announcement.aspx
yup
evidently something involving the Philadelphia Union.
Philadelphia Union playing an exhibition game each of the next three years.
QuoteMAYOR BROWN ANNOUNCES MLS EXHIBITION MATCH AT EVERBANK FIELD
Philadelphia Union agrees to play exhibition matches in Jacksonville
JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Dec. 11, 2012 â€" Major League Soccer will be coming to EverBank Field for at least the next three years as Mayor Alvin Brown announced an agreement with Philadelphia Union to host an annual exhibition match each February.
On Feb. 15, 2013, the Union will face another MLS team, to be announced in the near future, starting at 7:30 p.m. There will be a free youth clinic at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are on sale at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena box office and online at Ticketmaster.com.
“Jacksonville has shown a strong interest in soccer. Just ask the 45,000 fans who broke a Southeast attendance record last May for the US Men’s National Team match at EverBank Field,†said Mayor Brown. “The city’s partnership with Philadelphia Union poses an incredible opportunity to expand our portfolio of events and create an unforgettable experience that enlivens our Downtown and strengthens our heartbeat as a city.â€
One of the younger franchises in the MLS, Philadelphia was awarded Major League Soccer's 16th team on February 28th, 2008. The combination of extensive grassroots support spearheaded by the Sons of Ben and a public-private partnership between Philadelphia Union, the State of Pennsylvania, Delaware County and the City of Chester enabled the construction of a state-of-the-art soccer stadium and convinced MLS officials that the Philadelphia region deserved a soccer team.
“We are excited to play in front of the people of Jacksonville and look forward to establishing a long-term relationship with the city of Jacksonville and its fans,†said Nick Sakiewicz, CEO & Operating Partner of Philadelphia Union.
Jacksonville’s own Sea Best Seafood will be the presenting sponsor of the event for all three years.
“Sea Best Seafood is proud to help bring this event to Jacksonville,†said Mark Frisch, Sea Best Seafood Executive Vice President. “Jacksonville has shown that it supports soccer and we look forward to this becoming a long-term partnership with Major League Soccer. I encourage all of my fellow business leaders to support this event and continue to support soccer in our city."
hmmmm, MLS friendly. I dunno.
Yeah, kind of "meh" but this could be a dress rehearsal for our city potentially getting a team in the future.
I am sure SMG/Comcast had a role in the Philly team getting down here.
they participate in the disney preseason thing, so basically they are just adding a game onto this.
Oh, ok. It is appropriate that the thread title is "major"
Awesome news. I'll be attending the matches.
Who wants to start the SE Chapter of the Sons of Ben with me?
http://sonsofben.com/ (http://sonsofben.com/)
Almost like the Jags to London for 4 years.......but only exibition. I hope they provide decent matchups - either way, I'll be there as any night event at EverBank makes for a good time.
This is pretty cool. Nice that we're seeing more and more soccer activity here.
Quote from: PeeJayEss on December 11, 2012, 02:26:42 PM
Who wants to start the SE Chapter of the Sons of Ben with me?
http://sonsofben.com/ (http://sonsofben.com/)
Maybe if you buy me a shirt and scarf.
Someone finally announced last week that they'll be playing the Montreal Impact...
The TU indicated that the crowd was ~8k - that's a good showing for preseason & 2 teams that few knew anything about. They also said that a comparable game in Orlando drew ~1k last week....
Couple that with the 2 National Team games & there's really nothing left to prove - right? When do we get our new expansion team? ;)
I'm not a soccer fan at all BUT if Jax was able to get an MLS team and the ticket prices weren't too bad, I'd by season tickets to support the team. It would be at least something to do while waiting for the Jags season to start up again.
Quote from: blizz01 on February 16, 2013, 10:02:53 AM
The TU indicated that the crowd was ~8k - that's a good showing for preseason & 2 teams that few knew anything about. They also said that a comparable game in Orlando drew ~1k last week....
Couple that with the 2 National Team games & there's really nothing left to prove - right? When do we get our new expansion team? ;)
I know right! Orlando, kick rocks!!! ;D
Next to getting off our collective arse's and actually building 'THE NATIONAL BIRTHPLACE OF THE NEGRO LEAGUES MUSEUM' there are still a few areas where Jacksonville could lay a claim to fame.
I was hoping for a 'Jacksonville Grand Prix' auto race announcement, or maybe our very own NASCAR track.... At the very least maybe we could talk 'Wild Adventures' into a satellite park and they could sponsor a sporting event, 'The Running of the Lions in Jacksonville!'. We could lay claim to being the 'International Home Of Competitive XPOGO' stunt pogo stick teams. Futbol actually called FUTBOL might be a way to get someones attention. Could we talk the NBA into accepting the Giants as the newest expansion franchise? How about just tell the MLS that we'll create the national home for the sport? Maybe we could pioneer a totally new sport like 'Drag racing -in- Drag!' or host the 'International Redneck Olympics.' How about a world KART rally? We could close off some downtown streets on a Sunday and fire up some real intercontinental Go-Kart competition, becoming the 'Le Mans Grand Prix d'Endurance,' of the little race circuit. Probably our best chance at interstellar fame and fortune is to adopt Gilli-danda, a game that was called 'Pee-Wee' in the United States and is all but lost to history. We could build the Gilli-danda/Pee-Wee hall of fame, have our own completive Gilli-danda/Pee-Wee leagues, and hold the Gilli-danda/Pee-Wee 'Super-World Series-Cup-Bowl'. Hell we might even have to expand our stadiums just to contain the crowds. Then of course there is the almost lost sport of 'Soap-Box-Derby', and that lovely hill from Beaver Street down to Water Street... a natural race course.
Any of the 'above' would be a 'MAJOR SPORTS ANNOUNCEMENT' but just another exhibition game in a sport that struggles for attention in this country doesn't excite me.
Sorry you feel that way, Ock. Luckily your opinion is a minority one.
I'm just surprised you haven't yet figured out a way to turn this into a thread about trains or streetcars. But I guess there's still time ;)
Quote from: Adam W on February 16, 2013, 11:07:52 AM
Sorry you feel that way, Ock. Luckily your opinion is a minority one.
I'm just surprised you haven't yet figured out a way to turn this into a thread about trains or streetcars. But I guess there's still time ;)
I'll try harder next time Adam! Actually it would be pretty cool if it were an announcement that we are going to get a team, or even a regular season game... but really, a meaningless exhibition game? Pee-Wee is more exciting to me then that.
Maybe you missed these lines?
QuoteFutbol actually called FUTBOL might be a way to get someones attention. How about just tell the MLS that we'll create the national home for the sport?
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-STeHyIAgEQs/SCEYCpoPCqI/AAAAAAAAFDw/1-e7iskdRpA/s800/RED%2520DEVIL%2520BEATS%2520PLANE.jpg)
For the record (so as not to disappoint you) there WERE some races held by the Cincinnati and Lake Erie Interurban Railway and some early aircraft in June of 1930, the interurban won at just under 100 MPH. Later the cars would top 100, I believe it was near Dayton.
Quote from: Ocklawaha on February 16, 2013, 12:00:56 PM
Quote from: Adam W on February 16, 2013, 11:07:52 AM
Sorry you feel that way, Ock. Luckily your opinion is a minority one.
I'm just surprised you haven't yet figured out a way to turn this into a thread about trains or streetcars. But I guess there's still time ;)
I'll try harder next time Adam! Actually it would be pretty cool if it were an announcement that we are going to get a team, or even a regular season game... but really, a meaningless exhibition game? Pee-Wee is more exciting to me then that.
Maybe you missed these lines?
QuoteFutbol actually called FUTBOL might be a way to get someones attention. How about just tell the MLS that we'll create the national home for the sport?
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-STeHyIAgEQs/SCEYCpoPCqI/AAAAAAAAFDw/1-e7iskdRpA/s800/RED%2520DEVIL%2520BEATS%2520PLANE.jpg)
Thanks, Ock. I knew you wouldn't continue to disappoint!
Maybe they are just exhibition games, but they're baby steps. And I think the great turnout (well-above-average, to say the least) is something to get pretty excited about. Maybe Orlando will get a team before Jax - but I think the level of interest shown for these two international matches should raise some eyebrows. And the MLS exhibition games will be the real test.
Quote from: stephendare on February 16, 2013, 12:10:05 PM
What are our best sports locally?
Well we produce some of the best skaters, golfers and surfers in the world.
We also seem to do fairly will in minor league baseball, and a couple of football stars.
Wouldnt it be nice to see Marty Ramos get as much funding for Kona from the City of Jacksonville as Baseball does?
Golf is pretty well funded. Millions of dollars via the tourism group.
I don't believe that our surfing community has ever been recognized or funded in any way.
Im with Ock a bit on this.
Its nice to see events coming, especially for all the fans, but why not start in the places that we excel?
Well, Florida is one of the best states for football as a general rule. But I would also say soccer is one of the sports that Jax does quite well. We actually have two teams that have competed successfully on the
national stage:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynch%27s_Irish_Pub_F.C. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynch%27s_Irish_Pub_F.C.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacksonville_United (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacksonville_United)
Quote from: stephendare on February 16, 2013, 12:10:05 PM
What are our best sports locally?
Well we produce some of the best skaters, golfers and surfers in the world.
We also seem to do fairly will in minor league baseball, and a couple of football stars.
Wouldnt it be nice to see Marty Ramos get as much funding for Kona from the City of Jacksonville as Baseball does?
Golf is pretty well funded. Millions of dollars via the tourism group.
I don't believe that our surfing community has ever been recognized or funded in any way.
Im with Ock a bit on this.
Its nice to see events coming, especially for all the fans, but why not start in the places that we excel?
Surfing is at the top of Jacksonvilles great sports stars.
An artificial wave, surf park would do very well DT, particularly since the North Florida area contains probably the largest amount of
surfers on the Atlantic east coast. And one of the highest in the world.
That park could accommodate other water activities too.
Quote from: blizz01 on February 16, 2013, 10:02:53 AM
The TU indicated that the crowd was ~8k - that's a good showing for preseason & 2 teams that few knew anything about. They also said that a comparable game in Orlando drew ~1k last week....
Couple that with the 2 National Team games & there's really nothing left to prove - right? When do we get our new expansion team? ;)
I was there last night. I don't believe the 8k number at all. It was cold, and turned out to be a fun thing to do on a night with not much else going on. Not sure I would go back next year.
Didnt it end in a 0-0 tie? sorry but.... yawwwwwn... :)
It wasn't all a yawn. It seemed neither team (or their reserves, as was the case with L'Impact) was quite over their large brawl during regular season play. There was some dodgy refing, but it was overall a good event. I'll be glad to go next year, too.
I hope turnout increases over the next few years. I do wonder if the some fans (especially those taking families) had to decide between last week's USWNT match and the MLS exhibition--that and the "cold" could have negatively affected attendance a bit.
if you want more scoring, coem to the stadium tomorrow for America's oldest sport....lacrosse!
hell, I can't stand to really watch MLS regular season, couldn't imagine watching a friendly
Quote from: JaxByDefault on February 16, 2013, 06:22:12 PM
It wasn't all a yawn. It seemed neither team (or their reserves, as was the case with L'Impact) was quite over their large brawl during regular season play. There was some dodgy refing, but it was overall a good event. I'll be glad to go next year, too.
I hope turnout increases over the next few years. I do wonder if the some fans (especially those taking families) had to decide between last week's USWNT match and the MLS exhibition--that and the "cold" could have negatively affected attendance a bit.
I was one of the ones who chose the national team game over the friendly (though I didn't get to go). Friday I was at the UNF baseball home opener, and the JU-UNF basketball game was at the same time; I expect those attracted a lot of college-age sports fans who might otherwise have been interested in soccer.
I think if the word "Major" wasn't in the title of this topic thread some of these comments would be different. If they'd said just "the national team and MLS have noticed the obvious demand for soccer in Jacksonville and have scheduled more games here for the enjoyment of local fans, and these have all turned out to be wildly successful for their level", this would be seen as pretty impressive.
It's looking increasingly like soccer is one of the things we do well. Two record-setting national games and a successful MLS exhibition in the space of eight months is really cool. To put the friendly in context, Philadelphia draws about 18,000 at home for games that count; their previous friendly in Orlando, against Orlando's own team, drew 1,000. We should expect to see more soccer here and it will probably continue to do well.
Quote from: tufsu1 on February 16, 2013, 07:14:31 PM
if you want more scoring, coem to the stadium tomorrow for America's oldest sport....lacrosse!
Watched a bit of this on tv earlier. There was what,
maybe 60 people in attendance? The two teams and their assorted staff and hangers-on probably outnumbered the fans.
I was there Friday night and although the game did not provide much excitement, there was a good crowd. I talked to some people that came down from Philly to watch the team in Orlando and Jax and they were really surprised by the amount of people in attendance for the exhibition against Montreal. I don't know how realistic us ever getting an MLS would be but I could see us getting an NASL squad in the next few years.
I was really hoping we would grab one of the us qualifiers but they all went to soccer specific venues.
^And there's the rub. Any pro soccer in Jax will be affected by our lack of an appropriate venue. The 'Bank's too big and there's not much smaller. I think MLS could do well here but it's out of the question until we get a strong ownership group with a plan for a soccer-specific stadium.
^ Yeah, there are only three teams in the MLS without soccer-specific stadiums (Los Angeles, Seattle, and New England), and I believe at least two of those teams are in discussions to build one. Jacksonville would need to commit to building a 20,000 seat soccer specific stadium (average price tag: $100 million), and the MLS would need to express interest in the Southeast before we'd even have a prayer. With soccer increasing in popularity by the year, and so many of our peer cities in Florida building or planning to build soccer specific stadiums (Orlando, Tampa, Fort Lauderdale), it's probably something to start at least preliminarily thinking about. As copper mentioned above, the NASL would be a good stepping stone toward eventually landing an MLS team. Of all of the major sports leagues out there, I actually think that the MLS would be the one addition the market could realistically support without completely cannibalizing the Jags. I believe league average for season tickets is around $22 per game, and 15 home games per season. Sounds doable to me.
P.S. Just for fun, where would you guys build our soccer specific stadium?
Quote from: funwithteeth on February 17, 2013, 03:35:35 PM
Quote from: tufsu1 on February 16, 2013, 07:14:31 PM
if you want more scoring, coem to the stadium tomorrow for America's oldest sport....lacrosse!
Watched a bit of this on tv earlier. There was what, maybe 60 people in attendance? The two teams and their assorted staff and hangers-on probably outnumbered the fans.
yeah...well I know at least 10 people that were there, so 60 seems a bit low :)
Quote from: KenFSU on February 17, 2013, 08:17:36 PM
P.S. Just for fun, where would you guys build our soccer specific stadium?
At UNF or JU...so it could also be used for football
I'd do a soccer-specific stadium that could double as an outdoor concert venue and be used for marquee amateur soccer, high school football, rugby, etc. I'd definitely put it in the urban core, preferably on the river in the stadium district, the shipyards site, the old courthouse, maybe Brooklyn or the old southside generator site.
I give the mayor credit, he at least is putting the feelers out there.
Regardless of the judgments on the actuality of how "major" the announcement might be, I tend to agree that to test the waters on sports commitments in the city, you need to see how well it plays.
45k for a friendly is nothing to sneeze at and it behooves the city fathers to at least see what the market is/can be.
But I also agreed with Stephen, there are other sports by which there are opportunities to promote Jacksonville. But I think the mayor right now is more focused on getting revenue and exposure into the largest civic assets.
Quote from: KenFSU on February 17, 2013, 08:17:36 PM
^ Yeah, there are only three teams in the MLS without soccer-specific stadiums (Los Angeles, Seattle, and New England), and I believe at least two of those teams are in discussions to build one. Jacksonville would need to commit to building a 20,000 seat soccer specific stadium (average price tag: $100 million), and the MLS would need to express interest in the Southeast before we'd even have a prayer. With soccer increasing in popularity by the year, and so many of our peer cities in Florida building or planning to build soccer specific stadiums (Orlando, Tampa, Fort Lauderdale), it's probably something to start at least preliminarily thinking about. As copper mentioned above, the NASL would be a good stepping stone toward eventually landing an MLS team. Of all of the major sports leagues out there, I actually think that the MLS would be the one addition the market could realistically support without completely cannibalizing the Jags. I believe league average for season tickets is around $22 per game, and 15 home games per season. Sounds doable to me.
P.S. Just for fun, where would you guys build our soccer specific stadium?
Actually DC, New England, Portland, Seattle, Vancouver and San Jose all don't have soccer-specific stadiums! (LA has a really good one that is shared by two teams). So it's not like it's
that much of a hurdle - though I can't see a professional team playing in Everbank Field.
I like that spot across the river from the stadium - I think it used to a JEA site or something? Other than that, anywhere in the general vicinity of downtown would be a plus, I think. Near the water, too.
Are the FC Jax Destroyers still around?
While ever bank is big, how about just using only the first 20 rows, all around, or where ever would be good. no need to build a new stadium.
QuoteAre the FC Jax Destroyers still around?
Decided not to enter the PDL this year, don't know if they folded or going to another league.
Quote from: mbwright on February 18, 2013, 09:20:52 AM
While ever bank is big, how about just using only the first 20 rows, all around, or where ever would be good. no need to build a new stadium.
It's pretty much a requirement now for MLS. Orlando could play their games at the Citrus Bowl but they won't be getting a team until they get a soccer specific stadium.
Quote from: fsquid on February 18, 2013, 09:26:07 AM
QuoteAre the FC Jax Destroyers still around?
Decided not to enter the PDL this year, don't know if they folded or going to another league.
That's a shame. I hope they stick around and re-enter the league.
Quote from: mbwright on February 18, 2013, 09:20:52 AM
While ever bank is big, how about just using only the first 20 rows, all around, or where ever would be good. no need to build a new stadium.
Because that doesn't solve the design issues surrounding a football field. "Soccer-specific" doesn't mean "smaller," it has to do with sizing the field within regulation dimensions and positioning seating much closer to the boundaries, and other things somebody with more knowledge than me could explain, lol.
tax breaks for soccer teams and stadiums....woo hoo!
http://www2.tbo.com/news/sports/2013/feb/19/florida-considers-60-million-subsidy-to-build-mls-ar-638289/
Would be cool if we could get in on that. At least to have facilities for upper-tier minor soccer and concerts.