Baltimore Blast future

[Nightman]

Since the Blast lost to the Missouri Comets in the MISL championship game 2 in the mini game tiebreaker, the United Soccer Leagues pulled the plug on the league, most of the teams are going to the Premier Arena Soccer League.  Baltimore has not made a statement about their future whether they are moving to thePASL or folding.  if they do the latter it will be the end of about 33 years of indoor soccer at the Arena, I remember the early 80s when it was a hot ticket and you practically had to but them in advance or else get shut out.  There was an east-west rivalry with the San Diego Suckers who usually had the upper hand in the original MISL Championship Series.  I remember Stan "the Magician" Stakovic and goalie Keith Voh Eron. and the greatest coach of all in local history Kenny Cooper.  The silence is deafening form management and I wish they would make a decision soon.

[Free Agent]

Time to stick an NBA team in there.

[Nightman]

Time to stick an NBA team in there.

No NBA team would come near that dump of an Arena.   The place is like an old car that had been fixed up too many times, might as well replace with something new.  One proposal I heard was to rebuild part of the Convention Center with an 18,000 seat arena funded jointly with the Construction company and a restaurant meal tax which is okay, just as long as it's the Baltimore area and not statewide.  Or just put out more scratch off lottery games, benefitting the Maryland Stadium Authority, worked for both stadiums in the Camden Yards Complex.   The other rumor is they may build an arena near that Complex, but its unclear.  As long as the Baltimore Arena is the only place in town, get used to lingerie and indoor football.  Otherwise you need a new venue for minor league hockey about the NHL or NBA, Ted Leonsis will do the same thing that Peter Angelos did for years to the baseball fans of DC, or what Jack Kent Cooke tried to block the NFL to Charm City. 

 

The only way to get private funding is if someone like Steve Biscotti or Kevin Plank of UnderArmor becomes a sugar daddy which is highly unlikely.

 

[Free Agent]

No NBA team would come near that dump of an Arena.   The place is like an old car that had been fixed up too many times, might as well replace with something new.  One proposal I heard was to rebuild part of the Convention Center with an 18,000 seat arena funded jointly with the Construction company and a restaurant meal tax which is okay, just as long as it's the Baltimore area and not statewide.  Or just put out more scratch off lottery games, benefitting the Maryland Stadium Authority, worked for both stadiums in the Camden Yards Complex.   The other rumor is they may build an arena near that Complex, but its unclear.  As long as the Baltimore Arena is the only place in town, get used to lingerie and indoor football.  Otherwise you need a new venue for minor league hockey about the NHL or NBA, Ted Leonsis will do the same thing that Peter Angelos did for years to the baseball fans of DC, or what Jack Kent Cooke tried to block the NFL to Charm City. 

 

The only way to get private funding is if someone like Steve Biscotti or Kevin Plank of UnderArmor becomes a sugar daddy which is highly unlikely.

 

 

It was more of a pipe dream, but yeah agreed.

 

An UA sponsorship would be very cool though.

[NFLfan123]

It was more of a pipe dream, but yeah agreed.

 

An UA sponsorship would be very cool though.

check ur PMs

[Nightman]

If they build a new arena Under Amour should get the naming rights, if not them then Aerotek, both are highly successful Baltimore area businesses.  Bisciotti built the latter from his own garage as a high tech staffing company and made over $1 million in his first year.

[bpytnjr58]

Time to stick an NBA team in there.

Tried it once....did not work. That arena is in a bad location and it is way too small for the NBA or the NHL and forget about minor league hockey...I went to many Skipjacks games on nights where there were less than two thousand in attendance.

[Cville-Raven]

I personally don't care for basketball whatsoever and would much rather have a hockey team but to each his own. But it probably wont ever happen being how bad 1st mariner is and I haven't heard anyhting about a new arena in years.

[Nightman]

I personally don't care for basketball whatsoever and would much rather have a hockey team but to each his own. But it probably wont ever happen being how bad 1st mariner is and I haven't heard anyhting about a new arena in years.

Had Baltimore stuck with old Memorial Stadium and didn't replace it with M&T, I doubt there would be a Baltimore Ravens today.  I remember hearing on the radio after USFL lawsuit decision came in, that the only way to get the NFL back is to build a new stadium.  Same goes for indoor sports.   I saw the PASL business model and 24 teams in a league won't stay stable for more than a year.  If the current Blast team folds, they might get a replacement via relocation in a year.

You might not like basketball, but if indoor soccer is gone, the Arena ought to look into a D League team run and perhaps owned by the Wizards.   About hockey, I belong to a Facebook group brining Minor League Hockey back to Baltimore and we kick around some ideas, USHL Junior League, Federal Hockey League which is the Class A level, rumors that the Caps would put an ECHL team in town.  One of the reasons that hockey failed here was the Blast had priority over the weekend dates and it was tough for them to draw many fans on a weeknight.  The highest level of the sport here was the WHA Blades which would have never worked, because they were owned by the league and they were created just to finish out the Michigan Stags season. they only won 2 games out of 20 and folded at the end.

 

[Cville-Raven]

Had Baltimore stuck with old Memorial Stadium and didn't replace it with M&T, I doubt there would be a Baltimore Ravens today. I remember hearing on the radio after USFL lawsuit decision came in, that the only way to get the NFL back is to build a new stadium. Same goes for indoor sports. I saw the PASL business model and 24 teams in a league won't stay stable for more than a year. If the current Blast team folds, they might get a replacement via relocation in a year.

You might not like basketball, but if indoor soccer is gone, the Arena ought to look into a D League team run and perhaps owned by the Wizards. About hockey, I belong to a Facebook group brining Minor League Hockey back to Baltimore and we kick around some ideas, USHL Junior League, Federal Hockey League which is the Class A level, rumors that the Caps would put an ECHL team in town. One of the reasons that hockey failed here was the Blast had priority over the weekend dates and it was tough for them to draw many fans on a weeknight. The highest level of the sport here was the WHA Blades which would have never worked, because they were owned by the league and they were created just to finish out the Michigan Stags season. they only won 2 games out of 20 and folded at the end.

yeah, a hockey team would definitely need the weekends. I do wonder what they will do if the blast do indeed fold(which would be a shame btw).

[The Raven]

I don't watch the Blast often and I barely follow them, but I remember watching a few of their championship games in the mid 2000s. They have a lot of history and have been a very relevant team. They have too much history and success for them to pull the plug. I'm not a big soccer guy, but I have a lot of respect for the sport and I'd be disappointed if they pulled the plug on the Blast.

[Nightman]

I don't watch the Blast often and I barely follow them, but I remember watching a few of their championship games in the mid 2000s. They have a lot of history and have been a very relevant team. They have too much history and success for them to pull the plug. I'm not a big soccer guy, but I have a lot of respect for the sport and I'd be disappointed if they pulled the plug on the Blast.

To sum it up, I would like owner Ed Hale to make a statement on  whether they are going to continue or fold.  I would like an answer ASAP.  The Blast had an honor roll of several players in Baltimore indoor soccer history, the only outside the organization was Earl Foreman founder and two time commissioner of the first MISL who owned part of the Eagles, was co-owner of the Bullets at one time and also owned the original ABA Washington Caps-Virginia Squires.  He was a DC Lawyer.

 

If hockey is to come back to the Baltimore Arena, they have to improve the ice surface when they had the hockey classic most of the players said it was terrible.  The best bet if they want a team would be the USHL Juniors league where they don't have to pay the players which keeps the ticket prices around $15.    I still like the idea of the Wizards owning a D League team in Charm City, the only drawback is they had a CBA team and IBL team that folded in years past.

 

[Nightman]

Finally there was an announcement today the Blast are leaving the defunct USL/MISL league and are negotiating to join the PASL teams in new league.  The best thing would be to merge with them and start a league with a new name.  About a new arena, I'm not holding my breath, but the Blast should be one tenant and effort to find another winter one after it opens. 

 

Here is a link to the Sun story:http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/soccer/bal-in-hopes-to-become-more-relevant-blast-breaks-away-from-major-indoor-soccer-league-20140402,0,7866996.story
 

[Purple Punishment]

Tried it once....did not work. That arena is in a bad location and it is way too small for the NBA or the NHL and forget about minor league hockey...I went to many Skipjacks games on nights where there were less than two thousand in attendance.

God I miss the Skipjacks. I have a puck from a game I went to when I was 8. Slap shot into the glass. My aunts boyfriend knocked in the glass and got him to toss the puck over. I remember Dominos bringing me pizza to my seat too. Oh how life has sped up and local support is next to nothing. I dated a Blast Cheerleader before, that's how I showed my support lol!!!

[George70]

Had Baltimore stuck with old Memorial Stadium and didn't replace it with M&T, I doubt there would be a Baltimore Ravens today.  I remember hearing on the radio after USFL lawsuit decision came in, that the only way to get the NFL back is to build a new stadium.  Same goes for indoor sports.   I saw the PASL business model and 24 teams in a league won't stay stable for more than a year.  If the current Blast team folds, they might get a replacement via relocation in a year.

You might not like basketball, but if indoor soccer is gone, the Arena ought to look into a D League team run and perhaps owned by the Wizards.   About hockey, I belong to a Facebook group brining Minor League Hockey back to Baltimore and we kick around some ideas, USHL Junior League, Federal Hockey League which is the Class A level, rumors that the Caps would put an ECHL team in town.  One of the reasons that hockey failed here was the Blast had priority over the weekend dates and it was tough for them to draw many fans on a weeknight.  The highest level of the sport here was the WHA Blades which would have never worked, because they were owned by the league and they were created just to finish out the Michigan Stags season. they only won 2 games out of 20 and folded at the end.

 

 

Nightman, I will be sure to look this group up on Facebook, and maybe try to join.  The idea of minor league hockey in Baltimore seems interesting to me.  As for the Blast, I hope the club continues in one league or another.

[Nightman]

As a public service here is the Facebook group if you haven't found it by now

:https://www.facebook.com/groups/231443620288276/

 

And the Clippers fight song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAs6yxtG7AU

 

[Nightman]

It looks like there are negotiations between the Missouri Comets, San Diego Sockers and Baltimore Blast to partner with the PASL teams to form a new league that may include all of the old MISL version 3.0 franchises.    The new league will have around 20 teams.  Only bad news for Blast fans are that the players contract have expired.   So I think there will be indoor soccer at the arena for the 34th consecutive year.

http://www.kansascity.com/2014/04/12/4956170/comets-break-from-misl-and-will.html

 

[George70]

As a public service here is the Facebook group if you haven't found it by now

:https://www.facebook.com/groups/231443620288276/

 

And the Clippers fight song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAs6yxtG7AU

 

 

Thanks, Nightman.  I'll friend them and join tomorrow - at the earliest.

[Nightman]

All 6 former MISL teams are joining the PASL in forming a new league, negations will be in Baltimore around May 16-18, with a press conference on the 19th.  The Blast are going try and sign those players whose contracts have expired.  Looks pretty good for either indoor or arena soccer next season at the Baltimore Arena.

[Nightman]

Its official, the MISL and PASL teams have combined to form the Major Arena Soccer League. Coast to coast and with three teams in Mexico. They will be playing a 20 game season and will be spilt into four divisions The league will have 24 teams. They are trying to get a TV deal, but my feeling is that not all of them will survive and they will have 18 teams in 2015-16.