Forget Sacramento, Now It Is Elk Grove v Motown For MLS Team
July 24, 2013 | Elk Grove Mayor Gary Davis has big plans for the city. One of those big ideas has been his attempts to land a Major Le...
https://www.elkgrovenews.net/2013/07/forget-sacramento-now-it-is-elk-grove-v.html
July 24, 2013 |
Elk Grove Mayor Gary Davis has big plans for the city. One of those big ideas has been his attempts to land a Major League Soccer (MLS) team.
Elk Grove Mayor Gary Davis has big plans for the city. One of those big ideas has been his attempts to land a Major League Soccer (MLS) team.
Even though Sacramento has the jump on Elk Grove by landing a lower tier professional team who will begin play next year, Davis is undeterred.
In a press release issued last week on the occasion of the naming of the Sacramento soccer club, Davis said "I am excited about the prospect of the Sacramento Republic Division III USL team feeding into a Division I MLS team in Elk Grove."
Aside from Sacramento's progress in bring a MLS team, Elk Grove efforts might have been delivered another blow when a plan revealed this morning that a Toronto-based Triple Properties is willing to ante up big, and we do mean big, for a proposed development to attract a MLS team to downtown Detroit.
According to a story published this morning by Crain's Business Detroit, Steve Apostolopoulos, co-founder and managing director of Triple Properties is proposing a "$1 billion development would include a 275,000-square-foot retail complex with high-end retailers and food courts, 1 million square feet of residential space including two towers, and 1.3 million square feet of office space and parking."
Can Sacramento, much less Elk Grove compete against this proposal?
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| CBD reports "Triple Properties Inc. is seeking to acquire the five current justice properties, including the half-built jail site, plus the former Detroit Police Department headquarters at 1300 Beaubien St" |
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3 comments
All we need are feel-good sound bites to carry into the next election.
Elk Grove vs. bankrupt Detroit? Perhaps someone here should be reading the tea leaves?? Davis is absolutely crazy if he believes two MLS entities can survive being in such close proximity. I did see Davis on the news over the weekend saying something about "two out of three huddles to complete our transaction have been met". I only got the tail end of the piece on channel 3, but it did raise some concerns. What were the other two pieces? Do the remaining council members know what he is up to? Is he selling our souls? Is there any checks/balances going on with this Davis-inspired; poorly advised plan? Perhaps the city should save our tax dollars so they can provide salary raises; block grants; and multiple new vehicles for our police dept. The way these guys are spending money is becoming troublesome.
Interestingly, MLS Commissioner Don Garber who met with Mayor Davis earlier this year was interviewed earlier this month.
http://bloom.bg/12hkodv
During the course of the interview the commissioner talked about immediate expansion plans in New York, Texas, Miami, Atlanta and Orlando. No mention of Sacramento, much less Elk Grove. Garber did say MLS is looking at smaller markets down the road. Sacramento, aided by Keven Johnson's leadership has a much better chance of getting a team.
Mayor Davis' comments last week either show a tremendous amount of hubris or outright ignorance. I can only imagine the snickers he generated in Sacramento City Hall.
This things is beginning to look like a way to funnel some money to Fabian Nunez so the mayor can cull favor with higher ups in his party.
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