TL;DR: Man with too much time on his hands goes deep down the rabbit hole on a concept this sub already didn’t seem that enthusiastic about. If you really want to skip ahead, CTRL+F “verdict” and it’ll get you there. Two days ago,
u/MrPhillyj2wns made a post
asking whether USL should launch a D1 league in order to compete in Concacaf. From the top voted replies, it appears this made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move.
But I’ve been at home for eight weeks and I am terribly, terribly bored.
So, I present to you this overview of what the USL pyramid might look like if Jake Edwards got a head of steam and attempted to establish a USSF-sanctioned first division.
This is by no means an endorsement of such a proposal or even a suggestion that USL SHOULD do such a thing. It is merely an examination of whether they COULD. Welcome to the
Thunderdome USL Premiership
First, there are some base-level assumptions we must make in this exercise, because it makes me feel more scientific and not like a guy who wrote this on Sunday while watching the Belarusian Premier League (Go BATE Borisov!).
- All D1 teams must comply with known USSF requirements for D1 leagues (more on that later).
- MLS, not liking this move, will immediately remove all directly-owned affiliate clubs from the USL structure (this does not include hybrid ownerships, like San Antonio FC – NYCFC). This removes all MLS2 teams but will not affect Colorado Springs, Reno, RGVFC and San Antonio.
- The USL will attempt to maintain both the USL Championship and USL League One, with an eventual mind toward creating the pro/rel paradise that is promised in Relegations 3:16.
- All of my research regarding facility size and ownership net worth is correct – this is probably the biggest leap of faith we have to make, since googling “NAME net worth” and “CITY richest people” doesn’t seem guaranteed to return accurate results.
- The most a club can increase its available seating capacity to meet D1 requirements in a current stadium is no more than 1,500 seats (10% of the required 15,000). If they need to add more, they’ll need a new facility.
- Let’s pretend that people are VERY willing to sell. It’s commonly acknowledged that the USL is a more financially feasible route to owning a soccer club than in MLS (c.f. MLS-Charlotte’s reported $325 million expansion fee) and the USSF has some very strict requirements for D1 sanctioning. It becomes pretty apparent when googling a lot of team’s owners that this requirement isn’t met, so let’s assume everyone that can’t sells to people who meet the requirements.
(Known) USSF D1 league requirements: - League must have 12 teams to apply and 14 teams by year three
- Majority owner must have a net worth of $40 million, and the ownership group must have a total net worth of $70 million. The value of an owned stadium is not considered when calculating this value.
- Must have teams located in the Eastern, Central and Pacific time zones
- 75% of league’s teams must be based in markets with at a metro population of at least 1 million people.
- All league stadiums must have a capacity of at least 15,000
The ideal club candidate for the USL Premiership will meet the population and capacity requirements in its current ground, which will have a grass playing surface. Of the USL Championship’s 27 independent/hybrid affiliate clubs, I did not find one club that meets all these criteria as they currently stand.
Regarding turf fields, the USSF does not have a formal policy regarding the ideal playing surface but it is generally acknowledged that grass is superior to turf. 6 of 26 MLS stadiums utilize turf, or roughly 23% of stadiums. We’ll hold a similar restriction for our top flight, so 2-3 of our top flight clubs can have turf fields. Seem fair?
Capacity is going to be the biggest issue, since the disparity between current requirements for the second-tier (5,000) and the first tier (15,000) is a pretty massive gap. Nice club you have there, triple your capacity and you’re onto something. As a result, I have taken the liberty of relocating certain (read: nearly all) clubs to new grounds, trying my utmost to keep those clubs in their current markets and –importantly--, ensure they play on grass surfaces.
So, let’s do a case-by-case evaluation and see if we can put together 12-14 teams that meet the potential requirements, because what else do you have to do?
For each club’s breakdown, anything that represents a chance from what is currently true will be underlined.
Candidate: Birmingham Legion FC Location (Metro population): Birmingham, Ala. (1,151,801)
Time zone: Central
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Legion Field (FieldTurf, 71,594)
Potential owner: Stephens Family (reported net worth $4 billion)
Notes: Birmingham has a pretty strong candidacy. Having ditched the 5,000-seater BBVA Field for Legion Field, which sits 2.4 miles away, they’ve tapped into the city’s soccer history. Legion Field hosted portions of both the men’s and women’s tournaments at the 1996 Olympics, including a 3-1 U.S. loss to Argentina that saw 83,183 pack the house. The Harbert family seemed like strong ownership contenders, but since the death of matriarch Marguerite Harbert in 2015, it’s unclear where the wealth in the family is concentrated, so the Stephens seem like a better candidate. The only real knock that I can think of is that we really want to avoid having clubs play on turf, so I’d say they’re on the bubble of our platonic ideal USL Prem.
Candidate: Charleston Battery Location (Metro population): Charleston, S.C. (713,000)
Time zone: Eastern
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Johnson Hagood Stadium (Grass, ~14,700)
Potential owner: Anita Zucker (reported net worth $3 billion)
Notes: Charleston’s candidacy isn’t looking great. Already disadvantaged due to its undersized metro population, a move across the Cooper River to Johnson Hagood Stadium is cutting it close in terms of capacity. The stadium, home to The Citadel’s football team, used to seat 21,000, before 9,300 seats on the eastern grandstand were torn down in 2017 to deal with lead paint that had been used in their construction. Renovation plans include adding 3,000 seats back in, which could hit 15,000 if they bumped it to 3,300, but throw in a required sale by HCFC, LLC (led by content-creation platform founder Rob Salvatore) to chemical magnate Anita Zucker, and you’ll see there’s a lot of ifs and ands in this proposal.
Candidate: Charlotte Independence Location (Metro population): Charlotte, N.C. (2,569, 213)
Time zone: Eastern
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Jerry Richardson Stadium (Turf, 15,314)
Potential owner: James Goodnight (reported net worth $9.1 billion)
Notes: Charlotte ticks a lot of the boxes. A move from the Sportsplex at Matthews to UNC-Charlotte’s Jerry Richardson stadium meets capacity requirements, but puts them on to the dreaded turf. Regrettably, nearby American Legion Memorial Stadium only seats 10,500, despite a grass playing surface. With a sizeable metro population (sixth-largest in the USL Championship) and a possible owner in software billionaire James Goodnight, you’ve got some options here. The biggest problem likely lies in direct competition for market share against a much better-funded MLS Charlotte side due to join the league in 2021.
Candidate: Hartford Athletic Location (Metro population): Hartford, Conn. (1,214,295)
Time zone: Eastern
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Pratt & Whitney Stadium (Grass, 38,066)
Potential owner: Ray Dalio (reported net worth $18.4 billion)
Notes: Okay, I cheated a bit here, having to relocate Hartford to Pratt & Whitney Stadium, which is technically in East Hartford, Conn. I don’t know enough about the area to know if there’s some kind of massive beef between the two cities, but the club has history there, having played seven games in 2019 while Dillon Stadium underwent renovations. If the group of local businessmen that currently own the club manage to attract Dalio to the table, we’re on to something.
Candidate: Indy Eleven Location (Metro population): Indianapolis, Ind. (2,048,703)
Time zone: Eastern
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Lucas Oil Stadium (Turf, 62,421)
Potential owner: Jim Irsay (reported net worth of $3 billion)
Notes: Indy Eleven are a club that are SO CLOSE to being an ideal candidate – if it weren’t for Lucas Oil Stadium’s turf playing surface. Still, there’s a lot to like in this bid. I’m not going to lie, I have no idea what current owner and founder Ersal Ozdemir is worth,
but it seems like there might be cause for concern. A sale to Irsay, who also owns the NFL Indianapolis (nee Baltimore) Colts, seems likely to keep the franchise there, rather than make a half-mile move to 14,230 capacity Victory Field where the AAA Indianapolis Indians play and expand from there.
Candidate: Louisville City FC Location (Metro population): Louisville, Ky. (1,297,310)
Time zone: Eastern
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Lynn Family Stadium (Grass, 14,000, possibly expandable to 20,000)
Potential owner: Wayne Hughes (reported net worth $2.8 billion)
Notes: I’m stretching things a bit here. Lynn Family stadium is currently listed as having 11,700 capacity that’s expandable to 14,000, but they’ve said that the ground could hold as many as 20,000 with additional construction, which might be enough to grant them a temporary waiver from USSF. If the stadium is a no-go, then there’s always Cardinal Stadium, home to the University of Louisville’s football team, which seats 65,000 but is turf. Either way, it seems like a sale to someone like Public Storage founder Wayne Hughes will be necessary to ensure the club has enough capital.
Candidate: Memphis 901 FC Location (Metro population): Memphis, Tenn. (1,348,260)
Time zone: Central
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Liberty Bowl Stadium (Turf, 58,325)
Potential owner: Fred Smith (reported net worth $3 billion)
Notes: Unfortunately for Memphis, AutoZone Park’s 10,000 seats won’t cut it at the D1 level. With its urban location, it would likely prove tough to renovate, as well. Liberty Bowl Stadium more than meets the need, but will involve the use of the dreaded turf. As far as an owner goes, FedEx founder Fred Smith seems like a good local option.
Candidate: Miami FC, “The” Location (Metro population): Miami, Fla. (6,158,824)
Time zone: Eastern
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Riccardo Silva Stadium (FieldTurf, 20,000)
Potential owner: Riccardo Silva (reported net worth $1 billion)
Notes: Well, well, well, Silva might get his wish for top-flight soccer, after all. He’s got the money, he’s got the metro, and his ground has the capacity. There is the nagging issue of the turf, though. Hard Rock Stadium might present a solution, including a capacity of 64,767 and a grass playing surface. It is worth noting, however, that this is the first profile where I didn’t have to find a new potential owner for a club.
Candidate: North Carolina FC Location (Metro population): Durham, N.C. (1,214,516 in The Triangle)
Time zone: Eastern
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Carter-Finley Stadium (Grass/Turf, 57,583)
Potential owner: Steve Malik (precise net worth unknown) / Dennis Gillings (reported net worth of $1.7 billion)
Notes: We have our first “relocation” in North Carolina FC, who were forced to trade Cary’s 10,000-seat WakeMed Soccer Park for Carter-Finley Stadium in Durham, home of the NC State Wolfpack and 57,583 of their closest friends. The move is a whopping 3.1 miles, thanks to the close-knit hub that exists between Cary, Durham and Raleigh. Carter-Finley might be my favorite of the stadium moves in this exercise. The field is grass, but the sidelines are artificial turf. Weird, right? Either way, it was good enough for Juventus to play a friendly against Chivas de Guadalajara there in 2011. Maybe the move would be pushed for by new owner and medical magnate Dennis Gillings, whose British roots might inspire him to get involved in the Beautiful Game. Straight up, though, I couldn’t find a net worth for current owner Steve Malik, though he did sell his company MedFusion for $91 million in 2010, then bought it back for an undisclosed amount and sold it again for $43 million last November. I don’t know if Malik has the juice to meet D1 requirements, but I suspect he’s close.
Candidate: Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC Location (Metro population): Pittsburgh, Penn. (2,362,453)
Time zone: Eastern
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Heinz Field (Grass, 64,450)
Potential owner: Henry Hillman (reported net worth $2.5 billion)
Notes: I don’t know a ton about the Riverhounds, but this move in particular feels like depriving a pretty blue-collar club from its roots. Highmark Stadium is a no-go from a seating perspective, but the Steelers’ home stadium at Heinz Field would more than meet the requirements and have a grass surface that was large enough to be sanctioned for a FIFA friendly between the U.S. WNT and Costa Rica in 2015. As for an owner, Tuffy Shallenberger (first ballot owner name HOF) doesn’t seem to fit the USSF bill, but legendary Pittsburgh industrialist Henry Hillman might. I’m sure you’re asking, why not the Rooney Family, if they’ll play at Heinz Field? I’ll tell you: I honestly can’t seem to pin down a value for the family. The Steelers are valued at a little over a billion and rumors persist that Dan Rooney is worth $500 million, but I’m not sure. I guess the Rooneys would work too, but it’s a definite departure from an owner in Shallenberger who was described by one journalist as a guy who “wears boots, jeans, a sweater and a trucker hat.”
Candidate: Saint Louis FC Location (Metro population): St. Louis, Mo. (2,807,338)
Time zone: Central
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Busch Stadium (Grass, 45,494)
Potential owner: William DeWitt Jr. (reported net worth $4 billion)
Notes: Saint Louis has some weirdness in making the jump to D1. Current CEO Jim Kavanaugh is an owner of the MLS side that will begin play in 2022. The club’s current ground at West Community Stadium isn’t big enough, but perhaps a timely sale to Cardinals owner William DeWitt Jr. could see the club playing games at Busch Stadium, which has a well established history of hosting other sports like hockey, college football and soccer (most recently a U.S. WNT friendly against New Zealand in 2019). The competition with another MLS franchise wouldn’t be ideal, like Charlotte, but with a big enough population and cross marketing from the Cardinals, maybe there’s a winner here.
Wacko idea: If Busch doesn’t pan out, send them to The Dome. Sure, it’s a 60k turf closed-in stadium, but we can go for that retro NASL feel and pay homage to our nation’s soccer history.
Candidate: Tampa Bay Rowdies Location (Metro population): Tampa, Fla. (3,068,511)
Time zone: Eastern
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Raymond James Stadium (Grass, 65,518)
Potential owner: Edward DeBartolo Jr. (reported net worth $3 billion)
Notes: This one makes me sad. Despite having never been there, I see Al Lang Stadium as an iconic part of the Rowdies experience. Current owner Bill Edwards proposed an expansion to 18,000 seats in 2016, but the move seems to have stalled out. Frustrated with the city’s lack of action, Edwards sells to one-time San Francisco 49ers owner Edward DeBartolo Jr., who uses his old NFL connections to secure a cushy lease at the home of the Buccaneers in Ray Jay, the site of a 3-1 thrashing of Antigua and Barbuda during the United States’ 2014 World Cup Qualifying campaign.
Breather. Hey, we finished the Eastern Conference teams. Why are you still reading this? Why am I still writing it? Time is a meaningless construct in 2020 my friends, we are adrift in the void, fueled only by brief flashes of what once was and what may yet still be. Candidate: Austin Bold FC Location (Metro population): Austin, Texas (2,168,316)
Time zone: Central
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Darrel K Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium (FieldTurf, 95,594)
Potential owner: Michael Dell (reported net worth of $32.3 billion)
Notes: Anthony Precourt’s Austin FC has some unexpected competition and it comes in the form of tech magnate Michael Dell. Dell, were he to buy the club, would be one of the richest owners on our list and could flash his cash in the new first division. Would he have enough to convince Darrel K Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium (I’m not kidding, that’s its actual name) to go back to a grass surface, like it did from ’96-’08? That’s between Dell and nearly 100,000 UT football fans, but everything can be had for the right price.
Candidate: Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC Location (Metro population): Colorado Springs, Colo. (738,939)
Time zone: Mountain
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Falcon Stadium (FieldTurf, 46,692)
Potential owner: Charles Ergen (reported net worth $10.8 billion)
Notes: Welcome to Colorado Springs. We have hurdles. For the first time in 12 candidates, we’re back below the desired 1 million metro population mark. Colorado Springs actually plans to build a $35 million, 8,000 seat venue downtown that will be perfect for soccer, but in our timeline that’s 7,000 seats short. Enter Falcon Stadium, home of the Air Force Academy Falcons football team. Seems perfect except for the turf, right? Well, the tricky thing is that Falcon Stadium is technically on an active military base and is (I believe) government property. Challenges to getting in and out of the ground aside, the military tends to have a pretty grim view of government property being used by for-profit enterprises. Maybe Charles Ergen, founder and chairman of Dish Network, would be able to grease the right wheels, but you can go ahead and throw this into the “doubtful” category. It’s a shame, too. 6,035 feet of elevation is one hell of a home-field advantage.
Candidate: El Paso Locomotive FC Location: El Paso, Texas
Time zone: Mountain
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Sun Bowl (FieldTurf, 51,500)
Potential owner: Paul Foster (reported net worth $1.7 billion)
Notes: God bless Texas. When compiling this list, I found so many of the theoretical stadium replacements were nearly serviceable by high school football fields. That’s insane, right? Anyway, Locomotive don’t have to settle for one of those, they’ve got the Sun Bowl, which had its capacity reduced in 2001 to a paltry 51,500 (from 52,000) specifically to accommodate soccer. Sure, it’s a turf surface, but what does new owner Paul Foster (who is only the 1,477th wealthiest man in the world, per Forbes) care, he’s got a team in a top league.
Side note: Did you know that the Sun Bowl college football game is officially, through sponsorship, the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl? Why is it not the Frosted Flakes Sun Bowl? Why is the cereal mascot the promotional name of the football game? What are you doing, Kellogg’s?
Candidate: Las Vegas Lights FC Location: Las Vegas, Nev. (2,227,053)
Time zone: Pacific
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Allegiant Stadium (Grass, 61,000)
Potential owner: Sheldon Adelson (reported net worth $37.7 billion)
Notes: Sin City. You had to know that the club that once signed Freddy Adu because “why not” was going to go all out in our flashy hypothetical proposal. Thanks to my narrative control of this whole thing, they have. Adelson is the second-richest owner in the league and has decided to do everything first class. That includes using the new Raiders stadium in nearby unincorporated Paradise, Nevada, and spending boatloads on high profile transfers. Zlatan is coming back to the U.S., confirmed.
Candidate: New Mexico United Location: Albuquerque, N.M.
Time zone: Mountain
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Isotopes Park – officially Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park (Grass, 13,500 – 15,000 with expansion)
Potential owner: Maloof Family (reported net worth $1 billion)
Notes: New Mexico from its inception went deep on the community vibe, and I’ve tried to replicate that in this bid. The home field of Rio Grande Cr---I’m not typing out the whole thing—Isotopes Park falls just within the expansion rules we set to make it to 15,000 (weird, right?) and they’ve found a great local ownership group in the Lebanese-American Maloof (formerly Maalouf) family from Las Vegas. The only thing to worry about would be the metro population, but overall, this could be one of the gems of USL Prem.
Candidate: Oklahoma City Energy FC Location: Oklahoma City, Okla. (1,396,445)
Time zone: Central
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark (Grass, 13,066)
Potential owner: Harold Hamm (reported net worth $14.2 billion)
Notes: There’s a bright golden haze on the meadow and it says it’s time to change stadiums and owners to make it to D1. A sale to oil magnate Harold Hamm would give the club the finances it needs, but Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark (home of the OKC Dodgers) actually falls outside of the boundary of what would meet capacity if 1,500 seats were added. Could the club pull off a move to Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma – home of the Oklahoma Sooners? Maybe, but at 20 miles, this would be a reach.
Candidate: Orange County SC Location: Irvine, Calif. (3,176, 000 in Orange County)
Time zone: Pacific
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Angels Stadium of Anaheim (Grass, 43,250)
Potential owner: Arte Moreno (reported net worth $3.3 billion)
Notes: You’ll never convince me that Rangers didn’t choose to partner with Orange County based primarily on its name. Either way, a sale to MLB Angels owner Arte Moreno produces a fruitful partnership, with the owner choosing to play his newest club out of the existing Angels stadium in OC. Another baseball conversion, sure, but with a metro population of over 3 million and the closest thing this hypothetical league has to an LA market, who’s complaining?
Candidate: Phoenix Rising FC Location: Phoenix, Ariz. (4,857,962)
Time zone: Arizona
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): State Farm Stadium (Grass, 63,400)
Potential owner: Ernest Garcia II (reported net worth $5.7 billion)
Notes: We’re keeping it local with new owner and used car guru Ernest Garcia II. His dad owned a liquor store and he dropped out of college, which is making me feel amazing about my life choices right now. Casino Arizona Field is great, but State Farm Stadium is a grass surface that hosted the 2019 Gold Cup semifinal, so it’s a clear winner. Throw in Phoenix’s massive metro population and this one looks like a lock.
Candidate: Reno 1868 FC Location: Reno, Nev. (425,417)
Time zone: Pacific
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Mackay Stadium (FieldTurf, 30,000)
Potential owner: Nancy Walton Laurie (reported net worth $7.1 billion)
Notes: The Biggest Little City on Earth has some serious barriers to overcome, thanks to its low metro population. A sale to Walmart heiress Nancy Walton Laurie and 1.6 mile-move to Mackay Stadium to split space with the University of Nevada, Reno makes this bid competitive, but the turf surface is another knock against it.
Candidate: Rio Grande Valley FC Location: Edinburg, Texas (900,304)
Time zone: Central
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): McAllen Memorial Stadium (FieldTurf, 13,500 – 15,000 with expansion)
Potential owner: Alice Louise Walton (reported net worth $45 billion)
Notes: Yes, I have a second straight Walmart heiress on the list. She was the first thing that popped up when I googled “McAllen Texas richest people.” The family rivalry has spurred Walton to buy a club as well, moving them 10 miles to McAllen Memorial Stadium which, as I alluded to earlier, is a straight up high school football stadium with a full color scoreboard. Toss in an additional 1,500 seats and you’ve met the minimum, despite the turf playing surface.
Candidate: San Antonio FC Location: San Antonio, Texas (2,550,960)
Time zone: Central
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Alamodome (FieldTurf, 64,000)
Potential owner: Red McCombs (reported net worth $1.6 billion)
Notes: I wanted to keep SAFC in the Spurs family, since the franchise is valued at $1.8 billion. That said, I didn’t let the Rooneys own the Riverhounds based on the Steelers’ value and it felt wrong to change the rules, so bring on Clear Channel co-founder Red McCombs. Toyota Field isn’t viable in the first division, but for the Alamodome, which was built in 1993 in hopes of attracting an NFL franchise (and never did), San Antonio can finally claim having *a* national football league team in its town (contingent on your definition of football). Now if only we could do something about that turf…
Candidate: San Diego Loyal SC Location: San Diego, Calif. (3,317,749)
Time zone: Pacific
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): SDCCU Stadium (formerly Qualcomm) (Grass, 70,561)
Potential owner: Phil Mickelson (reported net worth $91 million)
Notes: Yes, golf’s Phil Mickelson. The existing ownership group didn’t seem to have the wherewithal to meet requirements, and Phil seemed to slot right in. As an athlete himself, he might be interesting in the new challenges of a top flight soccer team. Toss in a move to the former home of the chargers and you might have a basis for tremendous community support.
Candidate: FC Tulsa Location: Tulsa, Okla. (991,561)
Time zone: Central
Stadium (playing surface, capacity): Skelly Field at H.A. Chapman Stadium (FieldTurf, 30,000)
Potential owner: George Kaiser ($10 billion)
Notes: I’m a fan of FC Tulsa’s rebrand, but if they want to make the first division, more changes are necessary. A sale to Tulsa native and one of the 100 richest men in the world George Kaiser means that funding is guaranteed. A move to Chapman Stadium would provide the necessary seats, despite the turf field. While the undersize population might be an issue at first glance, it’s hard to imagine U.S. Soccer not granting a waiver over a less than a 10k miss from the mark.
And that’s it! You made it. Those are all of the independent/hybrid affiliates in the USL Championship, which means that it’s time for our…
VERDICT: As an expert who has studied this issue for almost an entire day now, I am prepared to pronounce which USL Championships could be most ‘ready” for a jump to the USL Prem. A reminder that of the 27 clubs surveyed, 0 of them met our ideal criteria (proper ownership $, metro population, 15,000+ stadium with grass field).
Two of them, however, met almost all of those criteria: Indy Eleven and Miami FC. Those two clubs may use up two of our three available turf fields right from the outset, but the other factors they hit (particularly Silva’s ownership of Miami) makes them difficult, if not impossible to ignore for the top flight.
But who fill in the rest of the slots? Meet the entire 14-team USL Premier League:
Hartford Athletic Indy Eleven Louisville City FC Miami FC North Carolina FC Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC Tampa Bay Rowdies Saint Louis FC San Antonio FC New Mexico United Phoenix Rising FC Las Vegas Lights FC Orange County SC San Diego Loyal SC Now, I shall provide my expert rationale for each club’s inclusion/exclusion, which can be roughly broken down into four categories.
Firm “yes” Hartford Athletic: It’s a good market size with a solid stadium. With a decent investor and good community support, you’ve got potential here.
Indy Eleven: The turf at Lucas Oil Stadium is no reason to turn down a 62,421 venue and a metro population of over 2 million.
Louisville City FC: Why doesn’t the 2017 & 2018 USL Cup champion deserve a crack at the top flight? They have the market size, and with a bit of expansion have the stadium at their own SSS. LCFC, you’re in.
Miami FC, “The”: Our other blue-chip recruit on the basis of ownership value, market size and stadium capacity. Yes, that field is turf, but how could you snub Silva’s chance to claim victory as the first division 1 club soccer team to play in Miami?
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC: Pittsburgh sacrificed a lot to be here (according to my arbitrary calculations). Their market size and the potential boon of soccer at Heinz Field is an important inclusion to the league.
Saint Louis FC: Willie hears your “Busch League” jokes, Willie don’t care. A huge market size, combined with the absence of an NFL franchise creates opportunity. Competition with the MLS side, sure, but St. Louis has serious soccer history and we’re willing to bet it can support two clubs.
Tampa Bay Rowdies: With a huge population and a massive stadium waiting nearby, Tampa Bay seems like too good of an opportunity to pass up for the USL Prem.
Las Vegas Lights FC: Ostentatious, massive and well-financed, Las Vegas Lights FC is everything that the USL Premier League would need to assert that it didn’t intend to play second fiddle to MLS. Players will need to be kept on a short leash, but this is a hard market to pass up on.
Phoenix Rising FC: Huge population, big grass field available nearby and a solid history of success in recent years. No brainer.
San Diego Loyal SC: New club? Yes, massive population in a market that recently lost an absolutely huge sports presence? Also yes. This could be the USL Prem’s Seattle.
Cautious “yes” New Mexico United: You have to take a chance on New Mexico United. The club set the league on fire with its social media presence and its weight in the community when it entered the league last season. The market may be slightly under USSF’s desired 1 million, but fervent support (and the ability to continue to use Isotopes Park) shouldn’t be discounted.
North Carolina FC: Carter-Finley’s mixed grass/turf surface is a barrier, to be sure, but the 57,000+ seats it offers (and being enough to offset other fully-turf offerings) is enough to put it in the black.
Orange County SC: It’s a top-tier club playing in a MLB stadium. I know it seems
unlikely that USSF would approve something like that, but believe me when I say
“it could happen.” Orange County is a massive market and California likely needs two clubs in the top flight.
San Antonio FC: Our third and only voluntary inclusion to the turf fields in the first division, we’re counting on San Antonio’s size and massive potential stadium to see it through.
Cautious “no” Birmingham Legion FC: The town has solid soccer history and a huge potential venue, but the turf playing surface puts it on the outside looking in.
Memphis 901 FC: Like Birmingham, not much to dislike here outside of the turf playing surface at the larger playing venue.
Austin Bold FC: See the other two above.
FC Tulsa: Everything’s just a little bit off with this one. Market’s slightly too small, stadium has turf. Just not enough to put it over the top.
Firm “no” Charleston Battery: Small metro and a small potential new stadium? It’s tough to say yes to the risk.
Charlotte Independence: A small new stadium and the possibility of having to compete with an organization that just paid over $300 million to join MLS means it’s best for this club to remain in the USL Championship.
Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC: When a club’s best chance to meet a capacity requirement is to host games at a venue controlled by the military, that doesn’t speak well to a club’s chances.
El Paso Locomotive FC: An undersized market and a turf field that meets capacity requirements is the death knell for this one.
Oklahoma City Energy FC: Having to expand a baseball field to meet requirements is a bad start. Having to potentially play 20 miles away from your main market is even worse.
Reno 1868 FC: Population nearly a half-million short of the federation’s requirements AND a turf field at the hypothetical new stadium makes impossible to say yes to this bid.
Rio Grande Valley FC: All the seat expansions in the world can’t hide the fact that McAllen Memorial Stadium is a high school stadium through and through.
Here’s who’s left in the 11-team Championship:
Birmingham Legion FC Charleston Battery Charlotte Independence Memphis 901 FC Austin Bold FC Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC El Paso Locomotive FC Oklahoma City Energy FC Reno 1868 FC Rio Grande Valley FC FC Tulsa With MLS folding the six affiliates it has in USL League One, the league is a little bit thin (especially considering USSF’s requirements for 8 teams for lower level leagues), but seems definitely able to expand up to the necessary numbers with Edwards’ allusions to five new additions this year:
Chattanooga Red Wolves SC Forward Madison FC Greenville Triumph SC Union Omaha Richmond Kickers South Georgia Tormenta FC Tucson Format of Assorted Leagues – This (like everything in this post) is pure conjecture on my part, but here are my thoughts on how these leagues might function in a first year while waiting for additional expansion.
USL Premier – We’ll steal from the 12-team Scottish Premiership. Each club plays the other 11 clubs 3 times, with either one or two home matches against each side. When each club has played 33 matches, the top six and bottom six separate, with every club playing an additional five matches (against each other team in its group). The top club wins the league. The bottom club is automatically relegated. The second-bottom club will enter a two-legged playoff against someone (see below) from the championship playoffs.
USL Championship -- 11 clubs is a challenge to schedule for. How about every club plays everyone else three times (either one or two home matches against each side)? Top four clubs make the playoffs, which are decided by two-legged playoffs. The winner automatically goes up. I need feedback on the second part – is it better to have the runner-up from the playoffs face the second-bottom club from the Premiership, or should the winner of the third-place match-up get the chance to face them to keep drama going in both playoff series? As for relegation, we can clearly only send down the last place club while the third division is so small.
USL League One – While the league is so small, it doesn’t seem reasonable to have the clubs play as many matches as the higher divisions. Each club could play the other six clubs four times – twice at home and twice away – for a very equitable 24-match regular season, which would help restrict costs and still provide a chance to determine a clear winner. Whoever finishes top of the table goes up.
And there you have it, a hypothetical look at how the USL could build a D1 league right now. All it would take is a new stadium for almost the entire league and new owners for all but one of the 27 clubs, who wouldn’t feel that their property would be massively devalued if they got relegated.
Well that’s our show. I’m curious to see what you think of all of this, especially anything that you think I may have overlooked (I’m sure there’s plenty). Anyway, I hope you’re all staying safe and well.
submitted by Suddenly all sorts of people who dropped contact after the March 11, 2011 Fukushima terror attack are trying to contact the White Dragon Society (WDS) through this writer. These include a top Yakuza assassin, a senior MI6 operative, an NSA representative, a representative from a new CIA faction, and others. They, together with our regular contacts, all agree that something big is coming.
The most colourful character to renew contact was a Mr. K, who was introduced to this writer years ago by Japanese military intelligence as the top assassin for the Yamaguchi-gumi mutual protection syndicate (this was before it splintered into three factions). The diminutive and serene-looking Mr. K says his job consists of chopping peoples’ fingers off, one knuckle at a time, until he extracts the information he needs. He then wraps the bodies in lead and dumps them in the ocean, something Takamasa Kawase of Japanese military intelligence independently confirmed. Mr. K also says that he has done work for the Mitsubishi banking conglomerate (presumably helping them locate missing funds).
It was an associate of Mr. K, the daughter of former Yamaguchi No. 2 boss Masaru Takumi, who insisted on meeting this writer on March 10, 2011 to set my mobile alarm to ring at exactly 11:00 AM on March 11, 2011, the day of the nuclear and tsunami terror attack on Japan.
Trucks were also spotted bringing large amounts of emergency relief supplies to the Yagamaguchi-gumi’s headquarters in the days before the January 17, 1995 Kobe earthquake, according to Kobe residents who live near their headquarters. As a result, their gang was far faster than the central government to provide relief supplies to quake-stricken residents of Kobe.
Now Mr. K says his group has become “spiritual in nature” and that starting in late October,
the world will experience “earthquakes, storms, and other disasters” that will result in a large drop in the world’s population before “a happy new era” begins. Mr. K was evasive about details, but did say something could happen in Japan just before the October 22nd Japanese general election that Asian secret society sources say will result in the ouster of Khazarian slave Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Japanese gangsters have told this writer on numerous occasion that they get billions of dollars in payments from the Khazarian-controlled Bank of Japan in return for acting as their enforcers. It is clear they have been told to do all they can to keep Khazarian proxies like Abe in power, under threat of new attacks on Japan with earthquake weapons.
The WDS conveyed a message via Mr. K and others that should the P2 Freemasons and their bosses in Zug, Switzerland try another stunt like Fukushima, there would be serious retaliation. There are three nuclear weapons that have been placed in top Khazarian power spots by the Gnostic Illuminati with the purpose of reminding them that mass destruction is a two-way street, Illuminati sources say. It has also been recommended to the U.S. military that they physically occupy the Bank of Japan and round up the people distributing its money to gangsters. They know exactly who they are and where they are. Crown Prince Naruhito is ready to point out all of them if asked, say sources in the Three Legged Crow secret society.
In any case, Mr. K is not the only person predicting that something unusual is about to happen. The world’s media, for example, have taken note of U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent hints of ominous things to come.
Pentagon sources explain that, “After the Las Vegas massacre and an Israeli ambush that killed 4 U.S. special forces troops in Niger, [White House Chief of Staff General John] Kelly summoned the Joint Chiefs of Staff and combatant commanders to the White House on October 5 to bring all hands on deck to back Trump against the NFL, Antifa, the deep state, and the cabal.” The source continued by noting, “Even NSA boss Admiral Mike Rogers and Pacific Commander-in-Chief Admiral Harry Harris were invited, as Trump said cryptically that this is ‘the calm before the storm.’” The “storm” would take place in the form of mass arrests, the issuance of a new currency, and the launch of a global currency reset, the source said.
“‘Calm before the storm’ means the swamp is about to be cleaned out and they are all scared sh#tless, so we better take a picture,” a CIA source confirmed.
The mass killing operation in Las Vegas and the accompanying corporate media BS storm about a single, now-dead killer being responsible was a fatal mistake by the Khazarian mafia, many sources agree. The Internet is full of videos showing that multiple shooters were involved, and calls for comprehensive revenge are being made. By promoting this obvious lie, the FBI, nominally in charge of the Las Vegas investigation, has made itself a target of the U.S. military and other agencies.
It has already been leaked all over the Internet by insiders that casino mogul Sheldon Adelson and former Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff were planning to make a fortune by using this incident as an excuse to make metal detectors manufactured by a company they own mandatory at all concerts, bus terminals, etc. Instead, both men are now hunted, if not already dead.
A different CIA source says that Las Vegas is run by the Chicago Mob and that even honchos like Adelson and Chertoff are just front men for the Italians. “It is Florentine nobility running the Chicago Outfit and the remnant of the Jewish Mafia. The Chicago Outfit is involved in weapons, drugs, and human trafficking across the U.S.-Mexican border. John DiFronzo is a top boss of the Chicago Outfit along with his brother Peter DiFronzo,” this source says. In other words, it is the fascist P2 Freemasons who were ultimately behind the Las Vegas Gladio-style operation. The FBI is a P2 subsidiary and you can expect tanks at their headquarters soon.
Another Khazarian power center that is under attack is their control of academia. “To improve meritocracy to make America great again, the Jewish bastion Harvard University is under a Department of Justice probe for overrepresentation of Jews and helping mediocre Jews like [Trump son-in-law] Jared Kushner steal admissions from more qualified whites and Asians,” the Pentagon sources say.
Also, “Hollywood and the Democrats are reeling as the New York Times was ordered to do a hit piece on a fellow Jew, the serial sexual predator film producer and major Hillary and Obama fundraiser Harvey Weinstein,” the sources say. Of course, the New York Times story…
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/05/us/harvey-weinstein-harassment-allegations.html …is just the tip of the iceberg, and you can be sure much worse revelations about murder, rape, pedophilia, and human sacrifice rampant in Hollywood will come out.
Donald Trump himself is clearly being pulled at by opposing forces. While some CIA and Pentagon sources portray him as a hero who will “drain the swamp,” other CIA sources say he is “drugged and blackmailed.” A clearly visible sign of a split in the U.S. government came last week when the CIA, speaking on the record, contradicted Trump’s statements about North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un being a madman. The CIA made it clear that if a war was started on the Korean Peninsula, it would not be started by the North.
http://edition.cnn.com/2017/10/05/politics/cia-kim-jong-un-intelligence-profile/index.html Now that the campaign to use North Korea as an excuse to start World War 3 is being undermined, the Khazarians are trying to reignite tensions with Iran as an excuse to start their Gog-versus-Magog end-times war. However, Pentagon sources say the Iran thing is not going to happen either.
The big reason for the rise in tension in the U.S. is that the Washington D.C. Corporation—not to be confused with the Republic of the United States of America—missed a payment deadline that came due on September 30th, its fiscal year end, say MI6 sources. The U.S. government’s budget had a $1 trillion shortfall and the situation has reached the point that, by its own estimates, its net worth is minus $65 trillion.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-10-06/us-government-lost-nearly-1-trillion-fy2017-again The MI6 sources say that when the payment deadline was missed, an extension was granted that lasts until October 17th. However, previous reports say that an extension was granted until December 15th, so it is not wise to fixate on a particular date. It is clear that this year is proving to be especially difficult for the U.S. corporate government to find money to keep its operations going.
Another reason the Khazarians are flirting with real bankruptcy and loss of power this time is the demise of their petrodollar. Saudi Arabian King Salman (or perhaps his body double) made the first-ever visit by a reigning Saudi monarch to Russia last week. The Saudis agreed to buy arms from Russia and reached many other deals, according to various press releases. Furthermore, the Saudis also talked about the possibility of ending the petrodollar by selling their oil for currencies other than the U.S. dollar, Pentagon sources say. This led the U.S. military to issue a veiled threat to the Saudis by suspending all military exercises with the Saudis and their allies.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-10-06/one-day-after-historic-saudi-russian-summit-us-suspends-military-exercises-arab-alli The Pentagon still needs Saudi oil to run its machines and Saudi money to pay its salaries, and thus will not allow the complete death of the petrodollar until a comprehensive global financial reset is in place, Pentagon sources explain.
Another sign seen last week that something big was about to happen was a fire burning on the roof of the New York Federal Reserve Building.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-10-07/fire-breaks-out-roof-new-york-fed If you want, you can believe the Fed’s story that a generator caught on fire, but a good guess is that they were burning evidence before the U.S. military makes their long-overdue move to occupy that criminal institution.
This autumn we have a real chance to permanently end criminal Khazarian rule of the planet. If you are in a position personally to take action, please do so.
Currently Nobody Speak the Trials of Free Speech is available on Netflix.
Background: Directed by Brian Knappenberger, the same person who did The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz in 2014, which also landed a spot in Adam's top ten list. It is a documentary about the Gawker vs Hulk Hogan case involving his sex tape.
tl;dr The movie is actually more interesting and reasonable if they had removed the Gawker and Trump aspects of the film. Otherwise, it feels like either an uncomfortable propaganda or a badly founded rantings of a teenager.
I haven't let the movie settle in my mind completely after watching it a few hours ago, but I can describe my initial feeling on the film as flat, despicable, and disingenuous. My expectations after seeing the film's trailer did not betray my reactions to it.
I had biases against Gawker, not in the sense that they were conflicting against my own views, but because the practices and tendencies, and especially the attitude of Nick Denton, is simply disgusting and my impression with the corporation has been very low. As a result, every time Nick Denton had appeared in an interview, I had doubts of his words, and every word he spoke cemented my opinion of him further.
Obviously, it was not the film maker's intention to show any of the people he interviewed as bad or good, which I give the credit to the director to treat the case with minimal biases, but what ever you think about the people who appears in the film will not be reverted. If you think Nick is a negative ten million dollar net-worth piece of shit, it is likely this documentary will fail to persuade you to the other side. I suppose this is a failure on the film if it intended to convince its audience to see the case differently, however, I think its true failure is how it was presented, because the moral standing of the film is less of an issue than how jumbled up it was.
The one of the problems of the movie is this, the message on the tin is weak and flawed. The overall message of the film is that Freedom of press is under a threat by billionaires such as Peter Thiel, and this message is a starting point to present this issue. Unfortunately, the Gawker case is not an evidence for its premise but a mere tangent. The reason why I call the message weak is that its thesis is strung up and reaching, almost like a conspiracy theory. It opens up with the Gawkers case and catches up the audience out of the loop, revealing the details of the case and the events and players involved and what not; this subject covers about 60% of the movie and is like reading the sparknotes of a book without the analysis portion.
One of the largest criticism brought up about the premise of the movie is that it shows Gawker as a Martyr or a victim of the BIG AND EVIL ESTABLISHMENTS, but that claim is only true in thick lens and on the surface. The documentary presents Hulk Hogan case to be unfair and deceitful, with secret intentions behind it. On the other hand, Gawker is presented to be, by the words of the founder, a muck racking, fearless, and admittedly harsh, news outlet, often taking pride in getting celebrities upset and having a bad standing with the subjects of their articles. Peter Thiel gets the worst rap on the movie, which admittedly is founded in truth, citing his eccentric personality, radical ideology, and underlying political motivation. The film maker never interrupts to put his biases in the film, and only the subjects of the interview helps to mold the audience's view of them. Framing the subjects like so can be easily intemperate the court case as a dark dawning of the death of the 1st amendment. Unfortunately, the connection of this court case, billionaire killing off free speech, and President Trump is barely stemmed together.
Here is the argument and reasoning of the film: Gawker is sued by Hulk Hogan > Hulk Hogan's case was funded by Peter Thiel > Peter Thiel has been at odds with Gawker in many instances > Peter Thiel supports Trump > Trump had said he will open up libel laws > Strict libels laws allow harsher punishment for libel > A harsh punishment for libel can harm free speech > Conclusion: Gawker being sued weakens free speech.
But that reasoning is not nuanced. The film never mentioned why Hulk Hogan won, how Gawker had broken laws previous to this, the hypocrisy of Gawker during the Fappening, why Peter Thiel didn't sue Gawker for past negative articles, how Gawker defines something as news worthy, what Trump has done so far to justify the fears of an authoritarian rule, the cause of distrust in media and the "Fake News" sentiment, the value of keeping Gawker, the opinion of the public during the court case, or Peter Thiel's thoughts on the matter. In fact Peter Thiel is strangely absent in the film, or anyone else who opposed Gawker. These questions and details can easily destroy the argument of the film, but it ignores it. The entire movie is a claim with no flavor or substance, giving the impression that this documentary had avoided objectivity. It sounds like my sophomore year rants on facebook except with a budget.
Luckily, this movie is worth watching for a chunk of their film. During the middle of the film, the movie shifts focus on the Sheldon Adelson story. This part of the film is what the focus and premise should have built on. It is a story of a Billionaire casino owner's son-in-law threatening the existence the Las Vegas Review Journal, the result of which got numerous journalist resigning in order to uphold their integrity. It was far more engaging and convincing than the situation Gawker had introduced. But it angers me how this press who had self sacrificed their own success in the industry is compared to a moral irresponsible gossip writers in Gawker. If the film only had this story in focus, I would have no doubts on the state of free speech, but because Gawker is such a terrible example of the press I can't defend the press from the threat of free speech.
I also felt uncomfortable. I don't like to describe something as propaganda, especially since this film is independently made, but the way it is edited and produced feels manufactured and emotionally manipulative. It is clear that this is an anti-Trump film, nothing really makes something a villain than an authoritarian rule, but the presentation of its views are something most people are familiar with. It doesn't seem that different than any other media that shows Trump in a negative light. In fact it is pretty generic how the film concludes; showing a montage of brave protesters, the violence from Trump supporters, some intimidating footage of Trump, and a child showing support for the cause.
That might be the worst crime of the film, it is nothing too special. You can watch a google Gawker and get the information off easily there, or watch numerous videos on youtube on the subjects making the same claim about Donald Trump. There are no surprises in the documentary, again, your opinion of the subject is likely stay the same after watching it, not a lot of obscure info about the case unless you were not familiar with the Gawker situation, and the reflection about the state of free speech is shallow.
Adam has said that documentaries don't have to be true in order to be good, it just has to be a good film, regarding the film "CatFish". By that measure, this documentary is not worth watching. It crosses the same paths as anyone else, it leaves every stone unturned, it adds nothing to the table, and it subverts no expectations.
submitted by One thing that I always like to point out is that a significant portion of the world's economy consists of people selling others the illusion of a method to escape poverty. Capitalism isn't very efficient, as people in a capitalist system end up spending a large portion of their time simply moving money back and forth and expecting to come on top. If the legal system is underfunded, capitalism consists of outright fraud, when the legal system is healthy, capitalism consists of swindles, where people are fooled into taking decisions that go against their own best interest.
To make my case, we can look at a number of billionaires and the origins of their wealth. Ty Warner, worth 2.6 billion dollar, made his fortune by selling Beanie babies, which were bought by white trash who expected them to turn into collectors items. He purposefully limited the supply and used hype to make people pay ridiculous sums of money for them.
The 9th richest person in the world, is Sheldon Adelson, who earned most of his wealth from his casinos. In casinos, poor people play games to imagine for a moment how it would feel to be financially independent. Lui Che Woo is the second richest man in Asia, and also operates gambling houses. Johann Graf, Pansy Ho and James Packer are other examples.
More insidious perhaps are those who made their fortune through multilevel marketing. These people make a fortune by convincing others that they can earn large amounts of money by selling their product, even though in reality they tend to lose money. Richard Rogers, the son of Mary Kay is a prominent example of a man who became a billionaire through this type of scam. Another example is Richard Devos, whose company Amway practices MLM, leading him to an estimated net worth of 5.1 billion dollar. Two more examples are Arthur L. Williams, Jr. and Kenny Troutt.
Now, what all these scams have in common is that they serve as taxes on peasants who seek to escape their enslavement. The correct response to that is for the peasants to start their own scams. If you don't like a company, simply figure out how you can rob it blind. Large corporations are vulnerable, because their activities become increasingly faceless and routine. Your responsibility lies in figuring out the holes from which the money leaks.
submitted by The ten richest people in the world have an all out. Who come out on top?
Contenders.
1 Bill Gates - Microsoft 78.6 B [all net worths are in usd]
2 Carlos Slim Helu - Telecommunications 71.6 B
3 Warren Buffett - Berkshire Hathaway 64.6 B
4 Amancio Ortega - Retail [self made] 64.3 B
5 Larry Ellison - Oracel 52.00 B
6 Charles Koch - Mining/Textiels 41.4 B
7 David Koch [brother to Charles] 41.4 B
8 Christy Walton - Wal-Mart 37.4 B
9 Sheldon Adelson - Casinos 36.1 B
10 Bernard Arnault - LVMH 35.8 B
Scenario.
All fighters agree to meet on a deserted island in one years time to compete in a battle to the death. Last man/woman standing acquires the fortunes and assets of the fallen. The fighters must be present on the island, and no other people are allowed to interfere or will be present. They will be allowed to bring with them whatever single item they develop in the one year prep time.
submitted by Sheldon Adelson was the founder and CEO of Las Vegas Sands, one of the world’s largest casino operations. With a net worth of $35B+, the Boston-born business magnate was an active philanthropist and had gained notoriety in recent decades as a kingmaker for the US Republican Party and the Israeli political scene. Despite having developed a vast casino empire. He was still waiting to obtain operating rights. Adelson is planning to erect a casino resort complex costing more than $10 billion. As of 2020, Sheldon Adelson’s net worth is roughly $30.2 billion, making him one of the richest investors and entrepreneurs in the world. Billionaire Sheldon Adelson, a casino mogul and Republican party megadonor, died on Monday at age 87. The American tycoon boasted a net worth of a staggering $30 billion at the time of his death. Adelson's massive fortune is mostly a reflection of his role as CEO of casino giant Las Vegas Sands, and while his name is synonymous with the gambling ... Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire casino magnate and Republican donor, died on January 11 at the age of 87. Adelson, who was chairman and majority shareholder of the world's largest casino operator,... Sheldon Adelson’s name often appeared in the global casino news as he was a key figure in the industry. A philanthropist, passionate backer of the Republican Party, and talented businessman, Adelson became a prominent person not only in the gambling sector but also in the political world. Expertise: Commercial Gaming, Entertainment, Politics. Sheldon Adelson, the founder and chairman of Las Vegas Sands, remains the world’s richest casino billionaire, his estimated net worth at $26.8... American casino magnate, Sheldon Gary Adelson, has a net worth of $31.4 billion in August 2019. Currently the 8th wealthiest American and 16th wealthiest person in the world, Adelson vastly increased his net worth upon the initial public offering of Las Vegas Sands in December 2004. He is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Las Vegas Sands Corp., the parent company of Venetian Macao Limited which operates The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino and the Sands Expo and Convention Center. His ... Sheldon Adelson, the CEO and chairman of casino company Las Vegas Sands, died at age 87 on January 11, 2021. He owned more than half of the $14 billion (sales) gambling empire, which has casinos ... His fortune was estimated at $29.8 billion by Forbes magazine in 2019, but reached a zenith of $40.8 billion in 2014, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, making him the 28th richest... Sheldon Adelson's net worth at the time of his death was $35 billion He bought the Sands Hotel and Casino in 1988 for $128 million Adelson died at age 87 Monday from complications linked to cancer...
Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube. Who is Sheldon Adelson? Casino Magnate & GOP Mega-Donor ... Sheldon Adelson Meet The Press NBC News - Duration: 3:59. NBC News 12,139 views. 3:59. Life Is Worth Losing - Dumb Americans ... He's a Hong Kong business magnate, investor, and philanthropist.According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, as of 16 April 2014 he is the richest person i... He's an American business magnate and philanthropist.He's the co-founder and chairman emeritus of Nike, Inc.He has an estimated net worth of US$25.5 billion.... Ever wondered what it's like to live the billionaire lifestyle on Monaco? Travel writer Jonathan Thompson tries to live the high life with a big boat, fast c... Back from vacation! Sheldon Adelson's chariot for high rollers! At Boston Logan for just an hour (notice this speed demon uses the entire runway to land!), ... How much is Sheldon Adelson Net Worth?We'll see in this video.Watch till the end and you can see what is Today's SURPRICE!If you have idea for the next video... $20 million to a SuperPAC against Hillary, $5 million to Trump’s inauguration festivities, and now another $30 million to a SuperPAC dedicated to re-electing... Learn the proper way to say and pronounce the name Sheldon Adelson English. Sheldon Adelson USA Forbes List of Billionaires Net Worth House Richest Man. Pron...
