Altidore
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| Joined: 08 Jul 2013 |
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| 14 Apr 2014 04:44 PM |
Formal announcement is taking place on Wednesday at 5 ET at Ventanas in downtown Atlanta. Mayor Reed, Falcons owner Arthur Blank, and Commissioner Don Garber will be present.
The team will be owned by Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank. Atlanta is expected to begin play in 2017, the year the Falcons' new $1 billion stadium is slated to open. Garber says talks with Blank have been ongoing for several years now, and that the league was very impressed with Blank's ideas and updated stadium technology.
The stadium is expected to have the playing surface of Desso Grassmaster, a natural grass surface entertwined with artificial fibres. While the grass is growing, the roots intertwine with the artificial fibres. The designers claim this anchors the field to create a solid, even structure with good drainage and 'playing comfort'. The stadium is also expected to have advanced technology to downsize for a soccer layout, similar to the one in Vancouver at BC Place.
This news of expansion could be the fatal blow to the 2nd tier NASL, which claims it wants to rival MLS as the top league of soccer in America. The NASL's biggest markets, New York, and Atlanta are now rivaled by new MLS expansion clubs in those regions, with their next two biggest markets San Antonio and Minnesota competing for the final 24th spot.
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Altidore
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| Joined: 08 Jul 2013 |
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| 14 Apr 2014 04:47 PM |
| Other stadiums around the world to use Desso Grassmaster's hybrid grass setup are Wembley Stadium, St. James' Park, Goodison Park, Emirates Stadium, Anfield, Villa Park, Old Trafford, White Hart Lane, San Siro, Stadium:mk, Mbombela Stadium, and Cardiff City Stadium. |
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| 14 Apr 2014 04:49 PM |
BC Place has had CRAZY renovations in the last few years. I went to a BC Lions (football) game, and there was a Whitecaps game just before, and it took them minutes to change. They also opened up the roof, and it was awesome!
ɪᴛ ᴀɪɴ'ᴛ ᴇᴀsʏ, ʙᴇɪɴɢ ᴀɴɪ |
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Altidore
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| Joined: 08 Jul 2013 |
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| 14 Apr 2014 04:50 PM |
| Blank's billion dollar stadium is expected to have even much better technology than BC Place has which is exciting. |
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| 14 Apr 2014 04:53 PM |
That should be exciting, considering I've seen it at BC Place live.
ɪᴛ ᴀɪɴ'ᴛ ᴇᴀsʏ, ʙᴇɪɴɢ ᴀɴɪ |
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Altidore
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| Joined: 08 Jul 2013 |
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| 14 Apr 2014 04:56 PM |
| Since the Eastern Conference currently outnumbers the Western Conference by 10 to 9, and the next 4 expansion teams are in the Eastern Conference, at least two teams from the East will go to the West. The expected candidates are Houston and Sporting Kansas City. |
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Altidore
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| Joined: 08 Jul 2013 |
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| 14 Apr 2014 05:02 PM |
Well we've finally done it by means of Atlanta and Orlando. Soccer is finally in the deep south. |
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| 14 Apr 2014 05:06 PM |
| How long till the MLS becomes as popular as "Serie A",or the Barclays. |
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Pazzini
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| Joined: 02 Jun 2011 |
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| 14 Apr 2014 05:08 PM |
| Garber getting things done fast now. That's 3 new teams in less than a year |
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Altidore
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| Joined: 08 Jul 2013 |
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| 14 Apr 2014 07:06 PM |
| Four new teams technically |
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| 14 Apr 2014 07:08 PM |
-insert hawks on this thread-
nm, thatd be a bad thing |
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