Columbus Crew sent an email to season ticket holders to “save the date” telling them that 2018 season ticket sales would begin on August 10.
deMause is highly critical of the MLS financial model, calls it a ‘Ponzi Scheme’
If Garber’s long-term strategy for the league doesn’t exactly make sense, the endless cycle of expansion does: If you can’t make money either of the old-fashioned or sustainable ways, you might as well recruit a new batch of suckers to boost your bottom line in the short run. It’s a marginally more respectable version of the same business model that the owners of the American Basketball Association—not the original one, but the 1999 minor league that inherited the red-white-and-blue ball and little else—happened upon when it decided to start issuing franchises to anyone with a $10,000 check, with predictably chaotic results.
Lobbyist Richard Suttle presents letter from Garber/MLS indicating he is an authorized lobbyist
As we know, Richard Suttle was registered to lobby on MLS’ behalf in Austin in August. Here’s the letter from Don Garber authorizing him to do so. Letter careful not to mention #CrewSC/relocation by name. (h/t to @knaas, who obtained it via records request)
Precourt welcomes Pedro Santos on Twitter – pays $2.3M transfer fee
Anthony Precourt tweets “Welcome to our club, Pedro! #CrewSC” – Link to Tweet
“The deal won’t come cheap, though. It was announced by Columbus on Tuesday that the team has acquired Santos for a club record transfer fee, bringing the 29-year-old on board from Portuguese side SC Braga for a reported $2.3 million.”
Richard Suttle sends email to Austin City Council & Mayor citing NY times article about MLS expansion
Most of Suttle’s prompts drew no public response from council members. On Aug. 8, he emailed council members and Mayor Steve Adler a New York Times article about MLS expansion and disclosed, “I represent Major League Soccer. What is not mentioned in these articles is that Austin is a candidate for MLS. I will be contacting you soon to discuss the opportunity for our city.”
USL announces return to Austin
The United Soccer League, one of the most prominent Division II leagues in the world, announced on Wednesday the league would return to Austin, Texas for the 2019 season. Circuit of The Americas Chairman Bobby Epstein will lead the organization after taking majority ownership in the club, and a new soccer-specific venue at the Circuit of The Americas has been approved by the USL to become the club’s new home.
The Aztex also plan to change their name (see also Sep 1, 2017 trademark application)
Richard Suttle clarifies to Austin city council difference between MLS and USL
Later on Aug. 9, Suttle wrote to council members: “Although today’s announcement about soccer at COTA is exciting for our city, it is not the project I would like to visit with you about. I represent Major League Soccer … MLS is the top-tier league in the U.S. We have an unbelievable opportunity.”
Suttle said Tuesday he was making a delineation between the Division 2 USL and MLS.
“Many people were confused about the levels of (U.S.) soccer. I needed to clear that up,” he added Wednesday. “Our city has never had a major league team, and there is a learning curve to the benefits.”
Austin Mayor Pro Tem replies to Suttle, mentioning his email from July
The next day, council member Kathie Tovo emailed Suttle and said, “I got that article from you back in July, but I didn’t connect all the dots there. I look forward to learning more.”
San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg prioritizes MLS over AAA baseball
“Nirenberg says he’ll proudly support a local minor baseball team but his priority for sports franchises is securing a major league soccer team.
“We have a soccer fandom and a media market that rivals any in the southern United States,” Nirenberg added.
San Antonio is one of 12 cities being eyed by Major League Soccer for a potential new team. The city currently has a minor league soccer team that plays at Toyota Field.”
Crew announces Acura “Performance Showcase” is forthcoming
It’s announced that Crew players visit Acura in Marysville for “Performance Showcase.”
Season tickets for 2018 go on sale
Columbus Crew sent an email to season ticket holders advertising 2018 season tickets were available for purchase.
Lobbyist de Young hired by MLS
Lobbyist Eric de Young files paperwork that he is lobbying for a new stadium and practice facility in Austin, Texas, on behalf of MLS. Reports are filed quarterly, the actual lobby may have begun as much as three months earlier.
de Young Lobbyist (PDF)
Lobbyist Robinson hired by MLS
Lobbyist Kelan Robinson files paperwork that he is lobbying for a new stadium and practice facility in Austin, Texas, on behalf of MLS. Reports are filed quarterly, the actual lobby may have begun as much as three months earlier.
Robinson Lobbyist (PDF)
Lobbyist Morrow hired by MLS
Lobbyist Amanda Morrow files paperwork that she is lobbying for a new stadium and practice facility in Austin, Texas, on behalf of MLS. Reports are filed quarterly, the actual lobby may have begun as much as three months earlier.
Morrow Lobbyist (PDF)
Lobbyist Neslund hired by MLS
Lobbyist Melissa Neslund files paperwork that she is lobbying for a new stadium and practice facility in Austin, Texas, on behalf of MLS. Reports are filed quarterly, the actual lobby may have begun as much as three months earlier.
MLS trademarks “Austin Athletic”
AUSTIN ATHLETIC
Goods and ServicesIC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038. G & S: fitted plastic films known as skins for covering and providing a scratch proof barrier or protection for electronic devices, namely, MP3 players, mobile telephones, smart telephones, tablets, laptop, and wireless speakers; computer and video game software and programs; magnets; sunglasses, pre-recorded DVDs in the field of soccer; downloadable image files containing artwork, text, audio, video, games, internet weblinks in the field of soccer; downloadable video clips from soccer games via mobile communication devices; computer keyboards; mouse pads; computer memory devices; blank USB flash drives.
IC 016. US 002 005 022 023 029 037 038 050. G & S: posters; decals; trading cards; stickers; bumper stickers; printed paper signs; printed media guides relating to a professional soccer team; souvenir soccer programs; yearbooks in the field of soccer; printed event admission tickets; calendars; paper mats for beer glasses; photo prints; magazines featuring information in the field of soccer; paper hangtags; pencils; notebooks; binders
IC 025. US 022 039. G & S: t-shirts; fleece tops; jerseys; hats; caps; visors; beanies; shorts; pants, sweat suits; jackets; hooded sweatshirts; scarves, gloves, socks, headbands, wristbands, ponchos, baby bibs not made of paper, infant and toddler clothing, namely, one-piece clothing, overalls, socks, and dresses; sleepwear, loungewear, slippers
IC 028. US 022 023 038 050. G & S: toy figurines; soccer ball bags; soccer balls; plush toys; puzzles; toy foam novelty items, namely, foam heads and fingers; foosball tables and figurines; golf accessories, namely, golf balls, divot repair tools, bag tags, ball markers, tees, gloves; Christmas tree ornaments; building blocks toys; game tables, tailgating games, namely, bag toss games, washer game in the nature of a target game, tumbler towers in the nature of a stackable tumbling game, and game tables for tailgates; : fitted plastic films known as skins for covering and providing a scratch proof barrier or protection for electronic devices, namely, gaming devices, namely, hand-held video gaming devices and video game consoles
IC 041. US 100 101 107. G & S: Entertainment services, namely, soccer exhibitions rendered live in a stadium, and through the media of television and radio and via the internet; provision of entertainment in the nature of non-downloadable pre-recorded film clips from soccer games, presented via mobile communication devices; provision of information in the field of soccer via the internet and mobile devices
Standard Characters Claimed.
MLS files for trademark of “Austin FC”
Word Mark AUSTIN FC
Goods and ServicesIC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038. G & S: fitted plastic films known as skins for covering and providing a scratch proof barrier or protection for electronic devices, namely, MP3 players, mobile telephones, smart telephones, tablets, laptop, and wireless speakers; computer and video game software and programs; magnets; sunglasses, pre-recorded DVDs in the field of soccer; downloadable image files containing artwork, text, audio, video, games, internet weblinks in the field of soccer; downloadable video clips from soccer games via mobile communication devices; computer keyboards; mouse pads; computer memory devices; blank USB flash drives
IC 016. US 002 005 022 023 029 037 038 050. G & S: posters; decals; trading cards; stickers; bumper stickers; printed paper signs; printed media guides relating to a professional soccer team; souvenir soccer programs; yearbooks in the field of soccer; printed event admission tickets; calendars; paper mats for beer glasses; photo prints; magazines featuring information in the field of soccer; paper hangtags; pencils; notebooks; binders
IC 025. US 022 039. G & S: t-shirts; fleece tops; jerseys; hats; caps; visors; beanies; shorts; pants, sweat suits; jackets; hooded sweatshirts; scarves, gloves, socks, headbands, wristbands, ponchos, baby bibs not made of paper, infant and toddler clothing, namely, one-piece clothing, overalls, socks, and dresses; sleepwear, loungewear, slippers
IC 028. US 022 023 038 050. G & S: toy figurines; soccer ball bags; soccer balls; plush toys; puzzles; toy foam novelty items, namely, foam heads and fingers; foosball tables and figurines; golf accessories, namely, golf balls, divot repair tools, bag tags, ball markers, tees, gloves; Christmas tree ornaments; building blocks toys; game tables, tailgating games, namely, bag toss games, washer game in the nature of a target game, tumbler towers in the nature of a stackable tumbling game, and game tables for tailgates; : fitted plastic films known as skins for covering and providing a scratch proof barrier or protection for electronic devices, namely, gaming devices, namely, hand-held video gaming devices and video game consoles
IC 041. US 100 101 107. G & S: Entertainment services, namely, soccer exhibitions rendered live in a stadium, and through the media of television and radio and via the internet; provision of entertainment in the nature of non-downloadable pre-recorded film clips from soccer games, presented via mobile communication devices; provision of information in the field of soccer via the internet and mobile devices
Standard Characters Claimed
Domain “mls2atx.com” registered privately w GoDaddy
Domain Information
Domain: mls2atx.com
Registrar: GoDaddy.com, LLC
Registration Date: 2017-08-18
Expiration Date: 2019-08-18
Updated Date: 2017-10-09
Status: clientDeleteProhibited
clientRenewProhibited
clientTransferProhibited
clientUpdateProhibited
Name Servers:
ns1.bluehost.com
ns2.bluehost.com
Domain “mlstoatx.com” registered privately w GoDaddy
Domain Information
Domain: mlstoatx.com
Registrar: GoDaddy.com, LLC
Registration Date: 2017-08-18
Expiration Date: 2019-08-18
Updated Date: 2017-08-18
Status: clientDeleteProhibited
clientRenewProhibited
clientTransferProhibited
clientUpdateProhibited
Name Servers:
ns19.domaincontrol.com
ns20.domaincontrol.com
Kevin Lyttle says MLS told him ATX would NOT jump the line for expansion
“MLS reiterated to me today that Austin will NOT jump anybody on that 12-city expansion bid list (teams 25 through 28).” Link to Tweet
“What’s left unsaid, however, is the possibility of a relocation to Austin.” Link to Tweet
Kevin Lyttle story on Austin trademarks filed by MLS
“Major League Soccer registered trademarks this month on two possible names for a potential Austin franchise, but on Wednesday, a league official tamped down any special significance area fans might attach to the move.”
Andy Loughnane dodges questions about stadium survey results, and says season ticket sales are down
“We’re nearing the finish line on our preliminary findings resulting from the marketplace survey,” he said. “It’s been an exhaustive study and period of analysis. There are other simultaneous efforts being made in concert with respect to critical, interesting questions within that study”
When asked if something may be released for public consumption, Loughnane demurred.
“We will advance in a thoughtful and thorough manner when the time comes,” he said. “There is significant analysis that lies ahead and as I said, MAPFRE Stadium is the home of Crew SC.”
“Along with the decrease in attendance from 2016 — 12 percent — season ticket memberships dropped by 15 percent.”