Under the Bridge

Team Name Leaked (?): Philadelphia Union

2009-05-07T08:09:00.006-04:00

Rumors are rampant on the interwebs that the Philadelphia MLS team name and crest have been leaked...Philadelphia Union. Possible scarf designs have also been sighted, one emblazoned with the Latin phrase "Invgite aut Perite" which some believe translates roughly to "Join or Die." A Google search did not provide much help, asking 'Did you mean, invite a pirate?' However, after reading a brief history about the Gadsen Flag and the symbolism of the snake, I believe it might mean "Unite and Conquer." Perhaps the Latin is mispelled.

An MLS.net screen cap also inadvertently displayed the Philadelphia Union logo (top right-hand corner) which has since been taken down and replaced with PHI 2010.

To further perpetuate the rumors, I received a Facebook email last night informing me that Bryan from the Sons of Ben changed the group name "Philadelphia MLS Fans" to "Philadelphia Union Fans."

The official announcement comes Monday at City Hall.

The 700 Level

Phinally Philly

Save the Date, May 11th: Get Your Morning Drink and March On With Those SOB's

2009-04-30T12:03:00.005-04:00

The Sons of Ben, Philly MLS Supporter Group, are planning a Pre-Announcement Party at McGillin's Olde Ale House (13th and Drury) followed by a march to City Hall for the announcement of the team's name, logo, and colors.

Way back in January of 2007, a handful of local soccer fans met each other for the first time for lunch. The spot? McGillin’s. Now 28 months and 3,700+ more fans later, the Sons of Ben invite you to join them to celebrate the announcement of the team’s name, logo, and colors at the same 13th and Drury location.

I can't applaud the SOB's enough for their continued support and downright dedicated members without whom this Phila MLS team would have an extremely difficult time attracting new fans and attention. This could be a must attend.

May 11th Announcement Party

Goal.com Interviews Dave Debusschere, Newly Appointed Executive VP of MLS Phila.

2009-04-22T14:09:00.004-04:00

Here are a few choice quotes:

I’m from Saskatchewan, Canada. I’m a hockey guy by history, I guess you could say. Eleven years ago I moved to Philadelphia with my wife, who I met at Colgate University and she had soccer enter my life. She was on the varsity soccer team and I played hockey. Her family are all soccer nuts and I basically transitioned into one from her influence.

First of all, just look at Philly as a sports town. It is one of, if not the best sports town in the entire country, that is well known.

The other teams that have been the expansion teams the last few years, Toronto and Seattle, have done really well, and we plan on selling out the stadium just like them. Philly area fans can outdo Toronto and Seattle fans, I have no doubt in my mind.

It has become very clear, that regardless what the name is, we are going to have to build that brand. It’s going to be great no matter what it is, it doesn’t matter to me. The analogy for me is you think of the [NHL team Philadelphia] Flyers. What the heck is a Flyer? They were formed in 1967, but look today, look at how far they’ve come. That’s what we’re going to have to do, and I’m ok with that. It’s part of the fun. We’re going to be original and have something we can build.

(full interview here)

h/t: Another Delco Guy in South Jersey

Tom Veit Named President of Keystone Sports and Entertainment

2009-04-14T22:30:00.005-04:00

From MLS Philly 2010:

CHESTER, PA (April 14, 2009) –Major League Soccer Philadelphia 2010 today named Thomas Veit as President of Keystone Sports and Entertainment, the ownership group of MLS Philadelphia 2010. Veit is an accomplished sports and entertainment veteran and will oversee all business matters relating to the new Philadelphia Major League Soccer team and the under-construction stadium in Chester, Pa.

Veit and CEO Nick Sakiewicz will re-join forces after working in the MLS together with the Tampa Bay Mutiny.

Remember the XFL? Veit also served as VP/General Manager of the Orlando Rage, whose fanbase led the league in paid attendance. That alone is quite an impressive feat.

Veit has a very accomplished resume and appears to be an attendance/promotional marketing whiz. This should have quite an impact on ticket sales and brand awareness.

Now if we only knew what the name of the team is going to be...

UPDATE: More Front Office Hires/Promotions

Dave Debusschere, 34 - promoted to Executive VP of MLS Philadelphia in addition to being CFO

Rob Smith, 48 - promoted to Vice President of Soccer Development & Relations from his role as Director of Operations & Community Relations

Rob Parker, 35 - MLS Philadelphia’s Vice President of Corporate Sales & Service

Mike Quarino, 30 - MLS Philadelphia’s Director of Sales, responsible for all of MLS Philadelphia’s ticket programs and fan service initiatives

MLS Philly 2010

BigSoccer Interviews Philly MLS CEO Nick Sakiewicz

2009-04-03T00:32:00.002-04:00

Part 1: here

Part 2: here

Local Grads in the MLS

2009-03-31T20:15:00.005-04:00

The newly formed MLS expansion team Vancouver Whitecaps FC have signed defender Jeff Parke to a one-year contract. The Chester County native played collegiate soccer for the Drexel Dragons. He also played for the highly competitive youth club F.C. Delco.

From Our Sports Central:

Born in Abington, Pennsylvania, but was raised in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, Parke played collegiate soccer at Drexel University in Philadelphia from 2000 to 2003. In his freshman year with the Dragons, he was named to the America East All-Conference First Team and All-Rookie Team. In his senior year, Parke received the Donald Yonker MVP Award.

Philly Soccer and Sports Illustrated Go Way Back

2009-03-29T10:31:00.006-04:00

I was searching "Philadelphia soccer" on Ebay and came across this throwback Philadelphia Atoms jersey. The description revealed some interesting information:

The Philadelphia Atoms were a soccer team based out of Philadelphia that played in the North American Soccer League (NASL). They played from 1973 to 1976, at Veterans Stadium (1973-75) and Franklin Field (1976). The Atoms were founded by Philadelphia construction mogul Thomas McCloskey in 1973 at the urging of Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Tornado owner Lamar Hunt. Playing a largely American line-up, they won the NASL title in their first year of existence, ironically by defeating Hunt’s Dallas club 2-0. After this championship match, Philadelphia goalkeeper and Delaware Valley native Bob Rigby became the first soccer player to be featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

Local Grads in the MLS

2009-03-24T11:10:00.004-04:00

Two Penn Quakers logged some time in their respective MLS opening games on Thursday night. Danny Cepero is the starting goalkeeper for the NY Red Bulls. Alex Grendi is a midfielder for the defending champs Columbus Crew.

Fun Fact #1:

Danny Cepero became the first goalkeeper in MLS history to score a goal when he netted an 81-yard free kick last season against the Columbus Crew...in his MLS debut.

Fun Fact #2:

Cepero found his way into that starting lineup because the Red Bulls' starting keeper and Delaware County native Jon Conway was handed the first ever MLS suspension for performance-enhancing drugs.

Penn Athletics

Philadelphia Women's Pro Soccer Take 2

2009-03-17T12:56:00.004-04:00

About six years ago the Philadelphia Charge played their last game at Villanova for the now defunct Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA). You might remember Heather Mitts played for the Charge, the better half of Eagles backup QB A.J. Feeley.

Come 2010, the men's Philly MLS will share their new home with Philly Women's Professional Soccer (WPS). From the Philadelphia Business Journal:

Womens Professional Soccer's board of governors officially approved awarding its eighth franchise to the Philadelphia ownership group on Tuesday.

The Philadelphia Women’s Pro Soccer team, led by David Halstead and Matthew Driver, will begin play in the 2010 WPS Season.

To learn more about Philadelphia Women's Professional Soccer check out the official site:

http://wpsphilly2010.com/

Take a Load Off Fanny...

2009-03-17T11:14:00.008-04:00

It's official! Load-bearing wood pylons have been driven into the ground at the stadium construction site.

From the Delco Daily Times:

CHESTER — For the die-hard soccer fans who have been pilgrimaging to the site of the planned Major League Soccer (MLS) stadium in Chester on weekends to watch construction get under way, a big milestone came last week when contractors drove the first large, weight-bearing wood piles into the ground.

FC Barcelona, Comcast-Spectacor Potential Investors in Philly MLS

2009-03-16T10:33:00.006-04:00

Like the rest of us, Jay Sugarman, the franchise majority owner and CEO of iStar Financial, is feeling the effects of this terrible economy. Since February 2008, the share price of iStar has dropped over 90%:

Shares in the company were valued at $20.19 on the day Philadelphia was awarded an MLS franchise in February 2008, but the stock closed at $1.78 last Thursday. He has pulled more than $20 million out of the market since November 2006 and acquired 600,000 shares of iStar in the last six months, but the precipitous decline in stock price has cost him more than $38 million since February 2008.

Unlike the rest of us, Jay can afford to lose a cool $38 mil and not want to jump off the Bridge that looms above his latest financial endeavor. Are dwindling funds forcing Sugarman to seek addtional monetary resources, possibly from FC Barcelona?

Nick Sakiewicz, MLS Philly CEO, seems to be downplaying this speculation saying, "Sugarman’s net worth extends far beyond his shares in iStar, and the team’s effort to raise additional capital is part of an effort to find someone who brings sports, entertainment or soccer expertise to the table." FC Barcelona is a wildly popular and successful Spanish club so whatever the motives may be, this definitely can't hurt. It could bring more football (soccer) credibility to Philly MLS in terms of team operation and the overall experience for spectators.

Speaking of specta-cors, Philly's own Comcast-Spectacor might be interested in dropping a few bucks into this project Under The Bridge (shameless plug):

Comcast-Spectacor is also in discussions with the club to provide it with $7 million in debt as part of an agreement that would see the facility operator manage the stadium upon completion, according to sources who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the discussions.

MLS Commissioner Don Garber doesn't appear to be concerned about the effect of a poor economy on team expenses and the ability for Philly to succeed:

The fact that the team has secured more than 6,000 season-ticket deposits and two sponsors a year before kicking off indicates the strength of the market and the organization Jay has put together in Philly. I have absolutely no concern about their ability to be successful.

Damn Right.

Sports Business Journal via Sons of Ben

The Philadelphia Something or Others

2009-03-14T14:29:00.005-04:00

Looks like we'll have to wait until sometime in April to find out what the name of our team will be.

From the Daily Times:

CHESTER — Major League Soccer officials say they will be keeping lips sealed until mid-April about the name of the team slated to play in the planned Chester waterfront stadium.

That’s about a month later than when team owners had originally said they would be revealing the results of a January contest to name the team.

Nick Sakiewicz, CEO and operating partner of MLS Philadelphia 2010, said Tuesday the company needs the extra time to “fine tune” the team’s logo and colors, which will all be released at the same time.

Get to Know Your Rival Supporters

2009-03-12T11:54:00.010-04:00

"Barra Brava Supporters' Club"
DC United Supporters Group

For a list of all Major League Soccer fan support groups and their websites check out:
MLS Phoenix Rising.

I'm Down for Some Hooliganism

2009-03-11T19:07:00.003-04:00

I imagine our stadium will sound 10x's cooler than this...

It's Gettin' Hot in Here

2009-03-11T10:47:00.007-04:00

New "heat mapping" technology is being installed at all MLS stadiums for the upcoming season. From ft.com:

The technology, developed by an Israeli acquisition, was really designed for sports programming and is known as Sport Vu.

In soccer, the cameras act as sensors to produce heat maps of areas of the field that a player covers, statistics are produced for touches and time on the ball and 3D scenes can be rendered from the perspective of any player on the pitch. The equipment is being installed at all Major League Soccer venues in the US for the coming season.

(seen @mlsrumors)

Meet the Owners

2009-03-10T22:26:00.006-04:00

Keystone Sports and Entertainment, LLC

Jay Sugarman: Chairman and CEO of iStar Financial

Nick Sakiewicz: CEO and Operating Partner

Christopher and Robert Buccini, David Pollin: Buccini/Pollin Group

James Nevels: Chairman of the Swarthmore Group

William Doran: Philadelphia attorney

You'll Never Walk Alone

2009-03-10T16:02:00.001-04:00