Tobias C

You guys are all correct but dont underestimate Garbers focus on media market size.

The reality is MLS has plenty of suitors for expansion teams in bigger markets. Also Cincinnati isnt a huge market and the Crew kind of got the state covered as one territory with their central location (similar to the Blue Jackets). Theres absolutely room for another MLS team in Ohio, but its definitely not a pressing need or desire for the league office and board. Not saying FCC doesnt deserve a team because they do, but they absolutely arent a priority for MLS and MLS can demand anything of them and string them along. FCC is the eastern version of Sacramento Republic. Theyre in the same boat and are even more prepared for MLS then Cincy. Solid financial backing, solid fanbase with consistent sold out games (about 11,000 capacity). They already have their stadium plans drawn up, land owned and prepped for construction. Theyre literally just waiting for the go ahead from the league. MLS uses them as a pawn to get other expansion bids to be more proactive. Im afraid Cincy might fall into this category.

Holy crap. This game was unforgivable. I was willing to give Gregg til the end of May or so to prove he could turn this team around from 2016. We havent been bad but weve been terribly inconsistent and I think its the fault of Gregg, his system, and player selections. Theres not enough indication of progress or that things can get better. I think we have talented players. Its the system thats failing them. Playing attractive soccer and dominating possession doesnt mean crap though if we can never hang on to a win. The risk isnt justifying the reward nowadays. If Gregg doesnt field a good lineup and perform well next game......then i think he doesnt have the answers and we need to move on.

Yeah they havent said much about it but thats at least what ive read on Twitter. In other speculative news, Club Tijuana has supposedly offered 1.5 million for Ola Kamara. Im not opposed to selling but we need more money than that. Hes a vital player who we dont have a good replacement for.....and after the league keeps whatever percentage of the transfer fee they take.....it may barely cover the costs of acquiring a good new striker.

Affuls been out on paternity leave. I think he might be back in training already though....so i could see him playing against Toronto.

Cleveland Foresters sounds legit and is culturally/historically relevant. I like the name of the old 1870s baseball team, Cleveland Forest City. Stealing the name for a new team that isnt even baseball might be disrespectful to baseball history though. Cleveland Foresters is cool though. Sounds very similar to Portland Timbers but nobody could accuse us of jocking their style since its Cleveland history.

Yeah that would be a cool spot between those two buildings but it definitely isnt big enough to get a full size field and stands surrounding most of it. That area is a good location though, and a partnership with CSU could be beneficial. I wonder if Krenzler Field could just be rebuilt on the same land but rotated to be parallel to Chester as opposed to 18th St and just relocate the baseball field. I think that would probably provide sufficient space. I think you would need no less than 500x400 ft plot of land for a 2nd or 3rd division size stadium.

I would definitely prefer starting in USL D3 and possibly moving up to the main league. Ive heard rumors that Peter Wilt (whos involved in the creation of a possible competing D3 league) is advising the Cleveland ownership group and that would make me think they might stay away from the USL/MLS network and opt for this other new league with maybe eventual NASL potential. Im not a fan of that as i see NASL as a sinking ship.

Ive been hearing rumors on some soccer forums about a possible ownership group looking to start a team here and build a stadium, specifically division 3, although I think the right owner with the money to invest could handle division 2 requirements. Havent heard anything about it being in USL or something else. If this happens, it might not bode well for AFC Cleveland. I would love to see a potential ownership group partner with or acquire them and move them up to USL, maintaining this championship winning teams identity. Regardless it got me thinking about stadiums. Im not from Cleveland and dont know the land/real estate/development scene well. What are places that could be viable for a soccer specific stadium, in an urban setting with other things to do within walking distance? Some of the riverfront land looks interesting in areas like the flats, Ohio City, Tremont based off a quick glance from google maps but i dont know about current or future uses/plans for anything in Cleveland. I am a supporter of Cleveland sports teams and want to see professional soccer succeed here. I think the USLs Louisville City is a solid example to aspire too.

Also....has there been any stadium talk around Columbus? Figure people on this site would be hip to any planning or development rumors or news more than anywhere else. I keep coming across conversations about lackluster attendance for the Crew and how do we cure that.... Theres so many factors at play really. Winning makes people more interested but theres only so many people who are all of sudden going to show up to games because the teams awesome all of a sudden....who arent already attending at least occasionally. Big name signings can help attract soccer fans who just arent MLS fans but I dont think thats a worthwhile investment for just that reason. Those people arent a large enough segment of the market to justify spending millions of dollars in player wages and transfer fees on. What we need to be doing is creating new soccer fans. Theres plenty of sports fans ripe for the picking, we just need to learn how to lure them in. Obviously the juggernaut that is OSU is major sports competition as far as attention goes but that should not be insurmountable. The problem is were not one of the hot new teams joining the league at the current or future peak of its hype and popularity. We are MLS 1.0. People just view us as some minor league team akin to the Columbus Clippers but more expensive, in which case why not just go spend that money at baseball game and have just as much fun more affordably. We have to figure out how to deliver more of a MAJOR league experience so the perception changes. At this point, i think the missing piece, and its a tremendous piece, is a new stadium. Its how we can reinvent the image of this team. The brand/badge revision was a popular success with fans but probably had no effect on the casual public. A modern pro stadium with great amenities, design, accessibility, and atmosphere will resonate with everybody and anybody though. Look at Sporting Kansas City to see how such a reinvention via a rebranding and new stadium can lift a team up. Has there been any talk of a stadium lately? Obviously the team doesnt speak about anything until they are well and ready too and thats understandable. Just curious if anybody has heard anything from the rumor mill/grapevine whathaveyou.

This has been an interesting season so far. Its been far from perfect but theres a lot of promising things happening. We brought in a lot of good young players this year. For once we had what I would consider a successful draft. Niko Hansen is already a solid contributor. From what little ive seen of him, Abubakar looks very capable as well. Then theres homegrown Crognale. I knew we would be signing him from his performances with Maryland. Most people knew he had potential, nobody knew he would hit the ground running the way he has. Lastly, Artur has been a freakin revelation and we absolutely must buy him at the end of his loan. Dude is legitimately the future of this club. At first I thought the whole big Ghanaian contingent on the team was a neat thing. Unfortunately Abu and Mensah havent delivered as well as we probably hoped for. I expected Abu to claim Tchanis starting role but he hasnt shown well and instead Artur grabbed the brass ring. Mensah was a strange signing in my opinion. He hadnt made many appearances at his last few clubs and wasnt a top choice defender for Ghana. When i heard he would be a DP i didnt think too much of it because i figured most of that money was just his transfer fee and not his salary....and Gregg needed to make sure his defense was solid with Sauro on the shelf. It was obviously a panic purchase which I understand but damn was a big fluke. Dude is on 840k a year. Highest paid defender in the league now (excluding GK Howard). Crognale has performed better with zero professional experience for 1/10 the price. I dont hold it against Gregg though. Our D was abysmal last year and he dsperately had to shore it up and you couldnt count on Crognale being so ready, so soon. Hopefully both Abu and Mensah can adjust to the team and league within the next month or two otherwise ill be wishing for their release. Another swing and miss has been the Tchani for Manneh trade. The writing was on the wall for Tchani as it was obvious he was trade bait since he went from being a starter to not seeing the field at all. I was fine with this as I thought it was a good position for us to upgrade at. I definitely feel like we got the bad end of the deal. Vancouver got Tchani, whos been a useful asset for them, and a boatload of allocation money, and we got Manneh who had sunk down the depth chart and was out of favor in Vancouver. Hes only now getting some playing time with our busy schedule but it feels like Greggs hesitant with him. Hes a good asset to have on the roster, as he will push for Finlays role on the team but I dont think hes any better than Finlay. He may have a higher ceiling than Finlay being only 22 i think but he doesnt seem to be progressing that well for already being a pro for a few years. Dukas seems to be a bust. Gregg seemed high on him initially but seems to have changed his mind as Duka has barely seen the field this season. He was brought in as depth for Higuain who was fighting through injury most of last season. Hes looking fairly dispensable at this point. That brings me to Higuain. Over the offseason I was hoping to god we would either find a new talented playmaker in their prime, to replace him immediately....or at least find a young dude with big potential (like Artur) to be his understudy and possible successor if Pipa were to fail to regain his old form this season. We can at least temporarily put that on hold though. Higuains been a stud so far this season. It seems the magics back. And while the Crew should definitely be actively searching for good candidates for the future as hes 32 and not getting any younger....were probably okay in the short term. I would like to see Martinez get any available minutes if Higuain is rested or out injured or anything though, as opposed to Duka. I think he has some potential. Lastly, Meram is on a f'ing roll. I wouldnt say MVP candidate yet, but All-Star team candidate, for sure. When i heard we were going to spend TAM on Trapp and Meram to give them substantial raises I thought it was a little excessive for the level of their prior performances. Im eating crow now. Both have earned their raises this season with performances exceeding at least my expectations, especially hat trick hero, Meram. A few positions I would like to see us address in the summer window are in the attack. I would like to see us make a DP, or at least TAM level upgrade at right winger. I dont want to see Finlay go due to his long standing tenure here, but I think Manneh is just about as capable and Hansen will get there soon, too. So somebody is dispensable. I just think both Finlay and Manneh are both very one dimensional players. Theyre fast but not reliable for much more than that. Finlay is a tireless worker at least. Manneh, not so much. Im personally kind of hoping we keep Manneh moving along to another team in exchange for maybe a decent backup striker more in the mold of a target forward. Thats another spot i would like an upgrade at. Ola Kamara is doing great and looks to probably be able to replicate last seasons success this year. Jahn looked servicable with 5 or 6 goals last year but im not comfortable with him being the only real go-to option if Kamara is on the shelf for any amount of time. Hes acceptable as an occasional sub and maybe even a starter against open cup competition, but if Ola was out of commission for a season, i would not have faith in Jahn to lead the line all year. It would be good to have like a Will Bruin or Alan Gordon on hand. And as I mentioned we could use a better backup #10 option. Dukas insufficient and Martinez while having some potential is still quite young and raw. I wish we could swap out Duka for someone like Harry Shipp maybe. A solidly capable playmaker, whos still young-ish and will tolerate not starting, but who I could tolerate getting a run of games if Pipa was out. Okay im done with that rant.

I lived and worked in Sandusky several years ago and I absolutely loved it. Tourism basically ensures the cities future and it is basically the commercial center of North-Central Ohio. Downtown is revitalizing at a crazy rate and is really starting to have a, dare I say, cosmopolitan vibe for being a small rust belt city. There's still plenty of urban problems that are commonplace in the region such as poverty, unemployment, and crime in Sandusky but the city really is coming back in a big way. When I lived there I had a downtown apartment with a view of the State Theater out the front of my building and the lake out of the back. It was excellent. I could honestly see myself retiring in Sandusky someday, especially if things continue the way they are.

C-Dawg, I share your exact sentiments on the Marina District. I was personally a fan of Dillins plans for it but that ships sailed. I understand why some people like the idea of a park there as it would be an awesome natural green space for residents there. With that said it's just too prime of land to not develop into something major. If they go with the current plan, it won't have any kind of positive symbiotic effect on the adjacent business corridors or neighborhoods. On the other hand, I'm also not confident a huge urban infill like you and i envision would take off, and I would be afraid it might sit largely vacant for a bit. Downtown Toledo is prospering and progressing nicely but not at such a staggering rate that the energy is flowing into neighboring areas quite yet though. I would also be afraid that it could distract from development efforts in the downtown core which is more crucial in my opinion. It's just kind of a crappy scenario. I kind of wish we could just sit on the land for a little longer til the right idea with the right person to execute it comes along. That won't happen though as our city has a tendency toward short-sightedness sometimes and is dying to just get someone, indeed ANYONE, down there paying the taxes.

I don't get out to Spring Meadows often but it seems to be keeping up okay. Stores go out of business occasionally but seem to be replaced with other popular stores, and there's lots of new external restaurants like ChikFilA, Starbucks, Panda express, and others popping up so it's doing okay. From the time it was proposed, I thought Fallen Timbers was a bad idea. They thought it would thrive off the growth in that end of the county but while being near a lot of booming suburban residential growth, it still manages to feel like it's in the middle of the countryside. Anymore it really just exists as a quicker, uncrowded alternative to Franklin Park. They didn't design it well though. As a "lifestyle center" outdoor mall thing, Levis Commons is more aesthetic, feels more like a dense, vibrant little downtown where FT feels really open and wide and drab. I think the main full service restaurants at FT are Granite City, PF Changs, and Tilted Kilt.....if they're all still there. Franklin Park is really the only mall the city needs in this day and age. It keeps up with renovations and additions and is always packed.

The majority of the park will still remain, probably like 60 or 70% of it if I had to guess, though it's being redesigned. I agree that it's not asthetically up to par and it's poor planning to allow such valuable (economically as well as civil-wise) property be wasted on car parking as opposed to mixed use development or public space. It does have a little bit of storefront space at the corner though which I belive will be a Panera Bread. That's better than nothing I guess.

I kinda hope this doesn't get built because I can't see it being successful. The casino is an island unto itself. I get the logic that there's nothing to do around the casino and that other related businesses could thrive off each other in close proximity........but it won't happen there in that industrial no-man's land over there. Downtown Toledo, of course it would work, but not over on the outskirts of Rossford/East Toledo. People will just stay in the casino for everything. Nobody's going to walk across Miami St all the way back into this development. The casino isn't designed with pedestrian orientation with the streetfront, so nobodies ever going to walk between the places. They'll be lucky to get a few people eating dinner over there before they get in their car and drive across the street to park in the casino garage. Goodluck to them but I just don't see it working.

That was such prime real estate that i really wished it could of been developed in some kind of grand manner, but urban parkland is also valuable and Im fine with this choice as well. I dont think it will be much of a development catalyst as some of the politicians like the mayor and councilman hope it will be for East Toledo. It will get some downtown residents probably but I cant see it having any major impact on anything. With that said, the East Side deserves an asset like this. They dont have a big park with trails and such.

Is the Great Lakes Terminal warehouse building used for anything anymore? That building is huge. I was just being nosey the other day, driving around down there and I love the feel down there. Theres already valuable landmarks down there like the Oliver House and its restaurants and bars, as well as MLK/Central Terminal....a few other good food spots like San Marcos and Original Sub Shop.....and the upcoming Middlegrounds Park. I noticed somebody had an art studio in a nondescript building and I know different buildings down there have hosted Artomatic 419 events. So much potential that im confident will be realized much sooner than later.

Thats kinda cool. I remember hearing the Mud Hens wanted to include a "Dave and Busters" type of place in the Hensville project. That never happened and I thought it would have been cool there. I suppose its not too late though. They could put one in the ground floor of the Berdan Building, across the street from the stadium.

I think the same thing about Andersons and Churchills. Good quality, local stores. Im surprised neither has expressed interest but maybe theyre just holding out to gauge the downtown market a bit more.

I like the concept of the Promedica store. I dont really know if it gets much business but it at least helps nourish an underserved area. I dont think its really the type of store to attract people with money or anything though (such as Whole Foods at Westgate). The city has been pursuing the idea of a grocery store at the ESM. There was talk of a Luckys eyeing the location (similar to Trader Joes i think) but i havent heard anything about that lately. A small positive development in the neighborhood though is the owner of The Blarney on Monroe, is opening up a little deli store next door so that will definitely be desirable for folks around there. I also like the idea behind the park next door too. Its small so its not really a place where people will go to "enjoy the outdoors" but it more serves as an outdoor, neighborhood gathering place for things like movie nights, etc...little fun community things. The concentration of homeless people is because its literally across the street from the soup kitchen. The new Middlegrounds metropark on the river will be attractive to new residents downtown looking for a green space to go jogging and such. The biggest thing recently has been the Mud Hens investments. The restaurants and bars they just made by the stadium called Hensville. Im particular excited with what their doing with the old Keybank building at the corner of Madison and Superior. Theyre repurposing it into a more intimate size music/performance venue, something thats lacking in Toledo. We have large venues like Huntington Center where big name country and classic rock artists come through, and we have local bars where local bands play, but we dont have like a comfortable size hall that can host several hundred to a couple thousand. We have theaters like the Stranahan and the Valentine is downtown (a great place) but not the kind of places new artists play. Headliners still exists but never looks like anythings going on and is in a crappy location. Think like St Andrews, the Fillmore, or Majestic in Detroit.....the Agora or Beachland in Cleveland....or Newport in Columbus. The new venue downtown will be the kind of place.

I dont know what they intend to do with the Cherry St corridor but i hope whatever it is, is well thought out. I would hate to see them just build a bunch of new townhouses or mixed use streetfront buildings, because although that would be nice, i dont think it would take off. Theres demand for residential options as well as entertainment options downtown but if they arent in close proximity to the existing, thriving spots....i think its too soon. I want to see investment poured into the CBD/Arena District still since the only thriving spots are those adjacent to Fifth Third Field / the Warehouse District. The intersection of Huron & Madison is basically the heart of the city and the 3 out of the 4 huge, tall, historic buildings on the corner are empty. Also the Fiberglas Tower doesnt seem to be coming along very quick. Its the tallest building in the city and its in a prime spot to be a catalyst for surrounding development and investment. I really feel like its essential for the downtown core to be robust before anyone attempts projects on the periphery of downtown. I dont even know that the Promedica grocery on Madison will do much for growth Uptown. At least not yet. The same for the neighboring Uptown Green park or whatever its called. Its basically just a hangout for homeless folks which i doubt was the intended purpose. It just sucks because i know all the people behind these projects hearts are in the right place but the timing just seems off. As far as Uptown goes, i feel like it needs to become a more cohesive and dense entertainment district (Adams St) with more restaurants and bars before anything else has a hope of making it. At least in the case of Promedica, i think their mission with the grocery store was less about expediting the gentrification process of Uptown, than it was about giving central Toledo a good, healthy grocery option since the only decent grocery is all the way up at Bancroft and Cherry, effectively making downtown a food desert for low income people with limited transportation options. Luckily, Promedica has more money than they know what to do with, so sustaining this store should be nothing to them. As far as necessary amenties to attract residents to downtown goes, we really need 2 or 3 things in my opinion. First and foremost, a quality grocery store, which the Erie Street Market would be perfect for. Next, a pharmacy/corner store like a Walgreens, CVS, etc for quick essentials and it should go in an existing building, not a suburban style new construction. And third, a good fitness center....which I could envision our great benefactor, Promedica blessing us with.

I live in Toledo and im super excited. I held off on paying for MLS Live this season just because i was waiting til i had some more money, and bam!....out of nowhere Crew announces the deal with Buckeye. Couldnt have been better timing for me! Between the Crew TV deal, and the inaugural season of Toledo United beginning soon, being a soccer fan just got a lot better in Northwest Ohio this season.

I wonder what will happen when we dust off the yellow kits a few times. Blow teams out of the water like 5 - 0.

Not a terrible start, but we definitely have work to do. With that said. The game was a disappointment, but the Pipa bike was decent consolation. Goal of the week for sure.