Here's a version of this week's print column.

If you build it, and if you’re granted a franchise, what will you call the team?

Andd does all the hoopla surrounding the building of a stadium in the struggling city of Chester make economic sense?

Actually, we’re getting a little ahead of ourselves.

Right now there is no team. Hence, there is no stadium. At least not yet.
But organizers are expecting that to change any time. They expect Major League Soccer will in fact grant its 16th expansion franchise to the city of Chester.
Yep, the city that once boasted, “What Chester Makes, Makes Chester,” is about to “make” a little history. They will become the first major league sport in the region to actually play its games outside the city limits.

Yes, Harold Katz once threatened to pick up the Sixers and jump across the Delaware River to Camden. Instead the Wachovia Center was built, and the Sixers have been playing mostly lousy basketball there ever since.

Of course, when Ed Snider decided to build a new playpen for Eric Lindros and the Flyers, along with the Sixers, he didn’t go hat-in-hand to his pals in City Hall or Harrisburg. He reached into his own wallet, lined up the financing and built what would be the CoreStates Center, which would become the First Union Center, and now, the Wachovia Center. Of course, it didn’t hurt that he was given the land where the crumbling JFK Stadium sat.

But it was the last time one of these shrines to our professional athletes was built without a sizable infusion of public funds. Jeff Lurie got a ton of public money when he constructed Lincoln Financial Field. So did the group that owns the Phillies when they envisioned Citizens Bank Park.

Now a group headed by New York financier Jay Sugarman, along with Swarthmore businessman James Nevels, and the Buccini/Pollin Group are looking to plop a stadium down along the waterfront in the shadow of the Commodore Barry Bridge. And yes, they have their hand out. They have sought — and are getting — a big chunk of public funds. Delaware County is on board, putting up $30 million of the $115 million price tag. In exchange, it will own the land and run the stadium through a still-to-be-enacted sports authority.

The state, after no small amount of haggling, also got on board. Gov. Ed Rendell and Sen. Dominic Pileggi came to the waterfront amid much fanfare a couple of weeks ago bearing gifts, in the form of $47 million in state funds.

It should be noted that, this newspaper not withstanding, news of all this public money being used to build a stadium and lure a Major League Soccer franchise to Chester is not being greeted without a few calls of “foul.”

Very simply, not everyone believes this is a good idea. It is not an unreasonable argument. Even when you consider that the stadium is simply one part of a $500 million development, including retail outlets, bars and restaurants, offices, apartments and townhouses envisioned by the developers, not everyone is sold on this being an economic juggernaut. Or even something that will provide momentum to what appears to be an economic turnaround in the city.

One of those would be Rick Eckstein. He’s a Villanova University professor who maintains that in most instances, stadium projects simply don’t deliver the economic benefits that were promised when government agencies reached into the public till and forked over the funds to build them.

On the other hand would be Pileggi and Nick Sakiewicz. Pileggi sees the stadium project as more evidence of the city’s turnaround. As the former mayor, he knows something about where the city has been, and more importantly where it’s going.
Sakiewicz points out that in job creation alone, the project would be welcome news in an area that still struggles economically.

In the meantime, all of this is a bit premature. That’s because, before we build the stadium, and the massive project along the river, it would be nice if we had a team.
There’s still no word from Major League Soccer. Most people believe we are merely talking about when, not if, an announcement is made.

There is, however, this from the Sons of Ben. That is the group of soccer fanatics who have been pushing for more than a year to draw an MLS franchise to the Philadelphia area.

Last week, I recounted how I half in jest suggested that the team (if it becomes reality) honor its home town and several of the industrial icons that put the muscle in that “What Chester Makes” label by calling it the Chester Sun.

That didn’t fly too well with the region’s soccer fans.

So I’ll give it another try. Why not play off one of the world’s most famous soccer outfits? Yes, the local team could be called Chester United. Eat your heart out, Manchester. Actually, the idea of something unifying the city and region is not a bad idea.

No, I don’t expect it to happen. Yes, I realize that even though the team’s games will be played in Chester, the team undoubtedly will have Philadelphia in its moniker.

I got more than 100 responses to my call for suggestions.

The overwhelming favorite is some version of Philadelphia Athletic, or Philadelphia Independence, or Philadelphia Athletic FC. I’ve learned that FC is big with these soccer types. That’s right. They call it football.

So, if you build it, will they come? Not sure yet. But they certainly will argue about the merits of whether they should be doing it in the first place. And what to call the team should they go ahead and build it anyhow.

Philip E. Heron is editor of the Daily Times. Call him at (610) 622-8818. E-mail him at editor@delcotimes.com. To visit his daily blog, the Heron’s Nest, go to www3.allaroundphilly.com/blogs/delcotimes/philh/blog.html.