MikeInCanton

MLS has higher attendance numbers than NBA and NHL so I don't know what you mean by not major league. https://www.statista.com/statistics/207458/per-game-attendance-of-major-us-sports-leagues/ I appreciate the sentiment, but this is misleading. MLS attendance is higher than the NBA and NHL, but that's mostly due to the restrictions of hockey rinks and basketball courts - if it were practical to build 35k seat NHL/NBA arenas, they would certainly exist. Additionally, there is the issue of ticket prices. The average MLS ticket is ~$40, while the NHL and NBA are at least double that in most cases. There's also TV ratings. MLS ratings are awful. Like 250k per match awful. That's worse than just about everything else broadcast by ESPN. If MLS and USMNT matches weren't sold as a bundle, the matches would be shown on CBS Sports Net or maybe even broadcast over YouTube.

I agree with everything here. Unfortunately, I will not be living in Canton until I finish my degree this coming school year. That's part of the frustration, really.

"We're so retarded we think this is art." - Mike Polk This is what I'm talking about: completely unnecessary. This is a vanity project by the leaders of the city. They want to spend $1m on a huge LED screen!

Yes, they do. Frequently. Throwing money at things is the easiest way to not care while trying to give the impression that you do.

It would be pretty unusual for a project like this to spark a revitalization; usually they're just something done on the fringes of an on-going revitalization. The way the city leadership talks about it, one may get the impression this thing will be the Canton version of "The Bean" in Chicago, sparking a flood of visitors (and a subsequent renewal of downtown). That's just not going to happen. They'll build it, and hardly anyone will care after a year. I don't have a problem with doing something with Market Square - it is, as it stands, in need of refurbishment. My issues are with the proposed designs and the $5.5m pricetag. Design-wise, for example, why does downtown need a permanent stage and video screen? People are only downtown en masse 6 or 7 times a year. A space for a temporary stage and video screen would be more appropriate and most definitely cheaper. And I sort of shudder when I think of what sort of "sculpture" they plan to install. I may come off as overly pessimistic, but I have no reason to not be. The city is run by people who don't really seem to care about it, and frivolous projects like this just highlight that fact.

Canton officials: Market Square will ‘reintroduce Canton to the outside region’ By Kelly Byer Posted Jul 30, 2018 at 9:37 PM Updated Jul 30, 2018 at 11:06 PM CANTON City Council authorized officials to enter any contracts needed to complete Market Square by the NFL’s centennial in September 2020. Monday’s vote put a years-long process into action. Plans for the grassy lot began in earnest with a 2013 downtown development plan. That plan was incorporated into the city’s comprehensive plan, which recommended ways Canton should focus its resources. City leaders and community members have seen variations of conceptual designs the past several years, and City Council approved the one proposed in July 2016 by the Columbus-based MKSK firm. “We waited because we didn’t have have funding to do it,” Mayor Thomas Bernabei told the council during a finance committee meeting Monday. http://www.cantonrep.com/news/20180730/canton-officials-market-square-will-reintroduce-canton-to-outside-region

Yes, but I'm not sure if the fountain is still in play. More recently they've only mentioned a "sculpture".

I'm having trouble grasping this Market Square project. Are the city leaders so out of touch that they actually believe spending $5.5m on a block in the middle of downtown is going "reintroduce the city to the region"? It's not going to do jack. Canton's reputation doesn't hinge on one downtown parcel, but it's aging population, decaying inner ring, lack of quality education, high violent crime rate, and low property values. This project doesn't do anything but allow the leaders to say they did something, even if it's a big waste of money.

The actual draft was in the Auditorium Theatre. They had the fan festivities outside

I mean exactly what I said. The HOF game last year was played on August 3rd. That's 11+ months ago. Nothing has been built since then. IIRC, the foundation was there, and even if it wasn't, it was definitely there in September. So, nothing has been built since 2017 in late July or early August or laid down since late August or early September (10 months without any activity). The hotel should be well on its way, the east side of the stadium should be complete, and at least one other building should show signs of construction. They want to hold the draft there in APRIL for the 100th anniversary but the convention center/arena is nothing more than a drawing - this ain't happening unless they think they can convince the NFL to hold it outdoors at the stadium. Ohio in April? Risky, and I would say, very unlikely.

Not sure what is going on but nothing has been built for a full year.

Was at the stadium last night for the concert with my family. There is absolutely nothing going on there constructionwise. The stadium is still incomplete, which is just baffling.

60 and 130 passed. Seems like half the council is ready to approve the stadium now and the other half wants more data. I'd give a favorable outcome for Columbus a 10% chance.

Ketterer isn't starting, is he? After watching that USOC shootout, I'm positive there are some local high school GKs with more ability.

Saw several HS playoff games there, including a soul-crushing missed XP in OT by Massillon vs. Warren Harding in 2000 or 2001. Large crowd for that one. Rivaled the Massillon vs. McKinley games that use to fill Fawcett. I still don't think I've heard more obscenities in my life than I did walking back to the car

Seems like lost potential. Maybe they could leave the bit of the stands that's dug into the hill and let it grow over. After awhile it might look cool. Maybe make it part of a park or something.

I do not believe MLS can legally (because of a contract) approve a relocation to Sacramento, even if they wanted to. If Precourt wants to sell the Crew to a local group in Columbus and join the Sacramento team, then more power to him. But he bought the Crew with the intention of moving them to Austin. He wants this. He wants it so bad he's willing to build his stadium with his own money (despite citing this as a problem in Columbus) on a former chemical dump site with inadequate transportation infrastructure miles from downtown Austin (another issue cited against Columbus: he wanted a downtown stadium). Precourt is a liar and a scumbag. Why anyone would want to do business with him is beyond me.

MLS owns the team. By their own words, Precourt is simply the "operator/investor". It is ultimately up to the league to shoot down the move. The biggest issue MLS may have with the lawsuit is their books being exposed to the public. The league really does not want that to happen.

It's amusing that PSV thinks they'll shuttle in half the capacity of the stadium for each and every game. 10,000 from shuttles. Does he realize how many shuttles that is?

I'm pretty sure Garber has a personal vendetta against the Crew and will do absolutely everything in his power to not get in the way of the move. I think the best chance the Crew have is for the lawsuit to becoming threateningly real. I believe that will nudge the league toward saying 'forget it' before they're forced to hand over the books to discovery. Above all else, the league does not want their financials exposed.

At this point, it looks like there are 3 ways the Crew will be saved: 1. Ohio wins a lawsuit against MLS/PSV 2. Austin decides to sell the land wanted for the stadium to a developer 3. Divine intervention

Depends on the person. In my experience, people used to the suburbs don't really think about walkability that way. They want to park as close as possible. If not, someplace cheap, and they're usually willing to park as far as a 3/4 mile away for free instead of paying $20+ to park near the stadium/arena.

Given the lawsuit, they'd have to provide some pretty solid evidence for why that's the case and why a group of multi-millionaires does not = 1 billionaire.

FC Cincy

I don't think there's any chance it's dismissed. I can't stop thinking about how hilarious it would be if after all of this PSV has to sell to local ownership and MLS ends up with 2 teams within 2.5 hours of Columbus.