Vince Fiduccia’s Blog

A WORLD CLASS EVENT FOR CHARM CITY

Posted 10 months, 11 days ago
by Vince Fiduccia

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In just over two months (July 24) Chelsea FC and AC Milan will play at M&T Bank Stadium in a world class event. Yes, it’s an exhibition match or friendly as they call it in soccer, but for Baltimore and the area it’s huge.  These are two of the most storied club teams in the world with superstars dotting both rosters and big time owners.

 

Chelsea, owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, became the fifth English team to win back-to-back league championships since the World War II, in addition to winning an FA Cup 2007 and two league cups in 2005 and 2007.  The Blues, as the West London team is known, has a payroll equal to the Yankees in baseball. 

AC Milan has won 18 officially recognized international titles; the club has won what is today known as the UEFA Cup seven times.  As far as Italian competitions are concerned, Milan is the second most successful club with 17 league titles.  Their owner is Italian entrepreneur, media mogul and current Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.  

Add two rosters filled with international superstars and what I hear is going to be a very large crowd, and it will be a special night in downtown Baltimore.  What makes it even better is so many people will be coming from out of town and infusing downtown with badly needed tourist dollars.  Plus, it will give casual fans a chance to experience the passion and pageantry of international soccer.  The purple palace will be rocking with singing and chants. 

For this area, it could be the start of something great.  No, don’t get any illusions soccer fans; we are not getting an MLS team.  DC United, although still searching for a new stadium, is not moving to Baltimore or Timonium.  Nor will we be getting an expansion franchise.  Philly, New York, and Baltimore mean no MLS for Baltimore.  But what it does mean for the city is that we could get this type of event on a regular basis–two international sides in an annual late July game or the United playing a regular season or international exhibition in Baltimore every year.

Maybe next year it’s Manchester United vs. Real Madrid or The United versus an English Premier League team in an exhibition.  This could become a yearly tradition that brings big time soccer into the area.  In time, the city could set up a festival with kids’ soccer games and clinics.  

But for this year, it will be a fun night with a chance to break out the tailgate equipment or have a few at the neighborhood pubs prior to the start of the Ravens season.  Enjoy soccer fans, and even if you are not a fan of the beautiful game, come anyway; I guarantee you will have a good time. 

Tags:

ac milan, chelsea fc, dc united, fa cup, manchester united, mls, Ravens, real madrid, roman abramovich, silvio berlusconi, uefa cup

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4 Responses to “A WORLD CLASS EVENT FOR CHARM CITY”

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   Christopher Stoner Says:
   May 11th, 2009 at 9:37 pm
   

   Great thoughts here, really looking forward to the match…

   Only point I will slightly disagree with is the idea that Baltimore could not compete for an MLS team… I know that there are 4-6 cities in North American with potential ownership in place that are preceived as the likely next waive of MLS expansion…. but that does not mean we could not obtain a team.

   Blast owner Ed Hale wanted to build the new Arena in his Canton Crossing community… if he was able to obtain the necessary funding, and work in conjunction with the MSA… perhaps a new soccer/lax only stadium could be built there?

   Obviously, you could only build such a stadium if you definitively knew you could obtain a team… and based on the current expansion fee, it would take the real heavyweights of the city to be involved.

   I think even the Blast drew around 7,500 per game this year… which by reading your bio, is a credit to you.

   If you can get 7,500 to go see the Blast at the horrible Arena… you could probably get 15,000 to go to a new soccer specific stadium to see an MLS team… would the corporate community buy skyboxes?

   Ehh… idk, but that is an open-ended question… with no definitive answer either way.

   Lastly, I think the MLS would love the idea of teams in Baltimore, DC, Philly, and NY… less travel costs.. proximity could build rivals…

   
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   Rick Crabbe Says:
   May 12th, 2009 at 9:25 am
   

   Great article, Vince. I was a fan of the Bandits and still am of the Blast.

   I am looking forward to the match. I have two seats in 516. I have seen international friendlies in DC and I agree that I think this game will be a boost to downtown.

   You speak about DC United earlier. Do you know of their status? I know that recently that stadium deals in D.C. and P.G. County fell through.

   I am curious as to how M&T will translate for soccer. I remember when the stadium was built and reading somewhere that the venue might not be suitable for MLS because Mr. Modell wanted the seating bowl closer to the field.

   Rick,

   VF EDIT: I do not have an answer for you. I believe it is still stuck in the state and local government circles. M &T is excellent for this type of game, but too big for an MLS side. Most MLS teams are going to smaller venues 20,000 to 30,000.

   
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   Tuesday Morning’s Crabs and Beer | Glenn Clark’s Blog | WNST Says:
   May 12th, 2009 at 10:40 am
   

   [...] Vince Fiduccia says with MLS not coming anytime soon, Chelsea-AC Milan best chance to see soccer [...]

   
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   John K Says:
   May 12th, 2009 at 11:43 am
   

   Are they going to take up the ****** artificial surface and put down a real pitch for this match?
   VF Edit: John, I don’t think so. Giant Stadium and the new stadium in Seattle have hosted these matches before.