Since these all strike me as points of interest, and since I don't want to post them separately, I thought I'd ball up the business-side news out of Salt Lake City/St. Louis, Kansas City, and San Jose all in one go.
The latter two can be dispatched with fairly quickly: the news out of both San Jose and Kansas City read quite positively.
To begin with the one that surprised me most, Sports Illustrated reports that money-men in San Jose are very close to clearing the way to build a stadium that would bring MLS back to San Jose.
The word from Kansas City is just as swell. While we'd all likely be best served by ignoring the taller talk coming from the new owners for the Kansas City Wizards, On Goal LLC - "Our vision was to not just be a pro sport in Kansas City, but be the pro sport in Kansas City." - they're at least taking the operations to a new, and more serious level by spending what it takes to get there. Another item appeared today on a $2 million training facility On Goal is building for the Wizards. Good stuff.
It's probably a good thing that the news in both those locales is so cheery, because things still look like dogshit run through a blender in Salt Lake City, where officials on the state level and across several municipalities are scrambling to keep Real Salt Lake from leaving Utah (and another one). With all those people rowing in the same direction, one would think things will pan out. But a wager on the optimist position seems the height of folly given how long this ugly wrangle has taken. Still, I wish the RSL fans and players tons of luck; I know I'd like to see them playing in Salt Lake City by 2010....
...though, if I'm being totally honest, I'd be just as happy to see them in St. Louis. It's the native Midwesterner in me, I suppose. And, judging from a report in today's St. Louis Post-Dispatch, things are coming together quickly over there. So, RSL people and Utah pols better get their asses in gear if they want to keep RSL local.
All things being equal, I'd rather both cities have MLS franchises, of course. And, for some reason I can't explain, I think they might.
(#########)
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