Sources Say Portland's In-As I correctly surmised (without so much as a contact in PDX), that little $15 million shortfall wasn't enough to kill the Portland bid. The boys from Oregon are in, and I'm very happy for it. I think the trifecta rivalry that Vancouver, Seattle, and Portland will bring to MLS is a huge plus for the league. It's very possible that the league's thinking followed the same lines, though the strength of the bids and the stadium setups were obviously the first concerns.
The Oregonian: Sources: MLS bringing soccer team to Portland
Puerto Rico Islanders in MLS?-In an effort to stay on the expansion tip before I wander into stadium territory, a thought occured to me last night after the Puerto Rico Islanders beat Cruz Azul 2-0 in San Juan; how soon until we hear that Puerto Rico is an expansion candidate? Garber intimated today at the Vancouver expansion announcement that the league will award two new franchises for 2012 (another year of expansion talk, yea!); although the usual suspects of St. Louis, Montreal, Miami, etc. will certainly be in the mix, why wouldn't Puerto Rico also be a player?
DC United Supporters Rally for PG Stadium-After abandoning the idea of ever building a soccer stadium in DC, United have moved on to Prince George's County, and have enlisted their supporters to aid in the cause. Hoping to give lawmakers in the Maryland county a sense of the support United has, Kevin Payne and company laid it out for their rabid fans; show up in Annapolis and help us get things moving. Below is a video of the rally, which included (in the reports I saw) about sixty supporters.
Chester Stadium Gets Pilings-On the surface, pilings being driven for the new Philadelphia franchise's (give us something to call them already!) Chester, PA stadium is pretty boring stuff. For Philly MLS fans and those of us excited to see another team in then I-95 corridor, though, it's pretty exciting. The Sons of Ben, still prominent and still getting in the local papers, must be doing somersaults. In fact, they are, and here's the proof:
Delco Times: Stadium Springs to Life on Chester Waterfront
And because stadium renderings are always fun to look at, here's one of the Chester Stadium (I have no idea if it will actually look this way, but this pops up in Google Image Search for "Chester stadium")
