decide how to utilize their vote on any issue. Much like a corporate board, they would go around the room and ask how their position, “Yes, No, I abstain.”
❺ With the New York Cosmos organization, what is preventing them from becoming the 20th MLS Team? What do they need to do? DC: They have to submit a formal application for a Major League Soccer team. It would have to be reviewed by our board and voted upon. Before they get there, I think the Cosmos and certainly all of us in MLS are in agreement that we need to continue to work hard at developing a plan for a stadium before anyone can move forward with plans for an expansion team in the New York market. We are working closely with the Mayor’s office and other government entities to explore the various options in the five boroughs for a stadium. Right now, we don’t have a location but we believe Queens would be a successful location for a MLS expansion team.
❺ Just to be clear, the New York Cosmos organization have yet to submit a formal application and a franchise fee has not been set? DC: Correct. Closing statements: We are firm believers that having a second team in the metropolitan NY-area specifically east of the Hudson River would provide a great rivalry for the Red Bulls. The Red Bulls support that decision to move forward with a second New York team. Following my interview with Dan Courtemanche, I contacted both the New York Cosmos and New York Mets organizations in an attempt to obtain an official statement from both parties. For the New York Cosmos organization, I sent them a transcript of this interview and asked if there’s anything they would want to address or comment on. I was informed by a staff member that they’ll try to have an official statement for me before this article is published. A few days after my interview, May 5, 2011 to be exact, the New York Mets announced that they were going to host an inaugural soccer match between Ecuador and Greece on Tuesday, June 8, 2011. I contacted the New York Mets and submitted these questions: Have the Wilpon family formally submitted an application to Major League Soccer? Is the Greece-Ecuador match a test to evaluate the possibility of having a soccer team play at Citi Field during a future MLS season? Is the Wilpon family seriously competing to obtain the rights of becoming the 20th MLS team? Have the Wilpon Family engaged in any conversation with the New York Cosmos organization on the possibility of becoming an ownership partner? I wasn’t given an official statement from the New York Mets organization. However, I was given this response, “Really don’t want to comment on much of what you asked for. We are trying to have different events, concerts at Citi and this is just one of those events.”
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