Las Vegas, Minneapolis and Sacramento due to make MLS bids
http://www.espnfc.us/major-league-so...ansion-meeting
Any front runners? I can see the league getting excited over a Vegas team, but Sacramento has also been doing very well in the USL - both on and off the field. I see Minneapolis as the outlier, but maybe there's more to their story? Presentations are supposed to be tomorrow, so hopefully some info trickling out soon.
The front runner in terms of locality would be Minnesoeta considering the league wanting to expand to the midwest.
The front runner for Orlando City blueprint would be Sacramento... growing fan base, great attendances for USLpro team, and an ownership group that is expanding.
Vegas... I got nothing
I'm guessing Minnesota is the most likely. Two strong ownership groups vying for the bid, league wants midwest and it is a massive tv market.
The NASL bids won't get anywhere with the animosity between all the divisions of soccer. MLS wants to show either you come in with a fresh bid or USL Pro team. It seems like MLS is trying to encourage prospective clubs to join USL over NASL as that seems to be the avenue to eventually getting an MLS franchise.
Wow, 2 different bids coming in from Minneapolis - both heavyweights. On one side you have the Vikings owner, who wants the team to play in the new stadium they're getting soon. Other bid is from the local NASL franchise owner, the owner the Timberwolves and the owners of the Twins, who want to build a soccer-specific stadium downtown.
http://www.startribune.com/sports/283256621.html
Looks like the Sacramento bid is also coming from the local USL team owner (Preki's team).Originally Posted by Initial B
http://fox40.com/2014/11/19/sac-lead...-in-big-apple/
Last edited by WestStandGeoff; 11-20-2014 at 12:25 AM.
The franchise will go to the Vikings owner. I also think that the 24th franchise will go to Sacramento. *That* should light a fire under Miami's bid to get their act together, and at the same time will indicate to the other prospective owners that MLS isn't done expanding yet.
And if San Antonio, reading into any snub of the Minnesota NASL bid, leaves NASL to join USL Pro in order to get recognised as a possible MLS expansion location, then you'll know that any pretext of MLS coexisting with NASL just got thrown out the window. NASL will have to help the CSA build a Canadian division under their banner or that league won't be around in another 10 years.
Minnesota will probably be the first out of this grouping to get a franchise (Sacramento coming in later).
The only thing I would hope for in terms of USL teams moving up, don't expand any more.
In regards to the thread about the TFC USL team coming in, their expansion is almost like two Rabbits (11 new teams in 2015!).
I make that point to relate to both MLS and USL. MLS should cap teams at a certain point for at least 5 years (if not longer) just to let the market set itself up and acclimatize itself to the new landscape.
Both leagues need to set markets and they stay in them to make sure they are stable.
Toronto FC,#CMNT & #CWNT, Scotland, Heart of Midlothian FC, Tottenham Hotspur FC
"The Harder the Struggle, The Greater the Reward" - @OsoJ92AWAY DAYS - CHICAGO August 2017, MONTREAL March 2018
No keep them going....more teams, means more open try outs, means greater possibility of me living my pro soccer dream!!! lol
But on a serious note, USL will continue to expand into the small markets....while the MLS captures all the big markets like the rest of NA sports league. To me i'm more worried about the structure of the league.
That was the point I was trying to put forward but I guess my written english isn't that good, lol.
I wasn't saying stop completely but take breaks. Expand too fast and you'll end up losing in the long run (see, Tampa Bay and original Miami MLS teams)
Toronto FC,#CMNT & #CWNT, Scotland, Heart of Midlothian FC, Tottenham Hotspur FC
"The Harder the Struggle, The Greater the Reward" - @OsoJ92AWAY DAYS - CHICAGO August 2017, MONTREAL March 2018
as they should. every potential bidding city should understand that having a SSS, an ownership group and a dedicated fanbase will only sweeten the deal for MLS expansion. who would you rather reward a franchise to? a city with a track record of success, or one that promises they're gonna be awesome?
i had a more valid point, but i'm pretty drunk right now.
Both Minnesota United and the San Antonio Scorpions have had good turnouts this season, as has the Indy Eleven. But it looks like MLS is just politely listening to what they have to say and have no intention of raising them to the MLS level. Once the pattern has been established that they'll only raise USL Pro teams, I wouldn't be surprised if some of those teams choose to join USL Pro, further weakening NASL. Once 2016 rolls around and NASL still doesn't have a team on the west coast and/or fewer than 12 teams, then the USSF will be forced to pull the plug on that league and it will lose sanctioning.
Did I hear the Soccer Don right on the SotL address? Larry Tannenbaum is on the expansion committee that heard the bids?! Talk about the blind leading the blind...
Minnesota is a soccer hotbed in the US, as is St. Louis, which is why I'm a little surprised that there's nothing on that front.
a ha ha heh he hoo.. ha
it just goes to whomever pays the most money
yup pretty much.
I would hate for a team in Minnesota to play in another NFL stadium. MLS needs to get back to Soccer Specific Stadiums. I am not a fan of over sized stadiums.
Also how much teams can MLS take? If they reached 32 teams (it almost looks like they are heading that way) I would love to see a MLS Premiership 16 club league, with a MLS 2nd division, also with 16 clubs with promotion and relegation, it would be great, but I just don't see MLS ever going that route (and would MLS division 2 actually be a weaker league then say the MLS premiership? or could MLS 2nd division end up just as strong or even stronger then the MLS Premiership? I only see the lower division being not as good as the higher division if a lower salary cap is required for the lower division). Anyways im sure none of this would matter as I only see them continuing with the North American sports formats with regional divisions, un-even schedules and followed by playoffs. The way MLS is growing tho worries me, and makes me wonder if I will still like the League in another 10 years?
Last edited by james; 12-22-2014 at 01:05 AM.
Im liking the playoffs more now that supporters shield champ wins home field adv.
in football, home field 'should' be a huge advantage.
A 32-team MLS is about the largest the league could get and still have every team play every other team in the league at least once during the season and have a few meaningful home-and-away matches with nearby teams to create rivalries. I've given this a lot of thought (maybe too much) and see eight 4-team divisions in two conferences, with teams playing intra-conference home-and-away series and inter-conference home or away series, alternating each year. It would look just like a Champion's League table that the eurosnobs are all familiar with. It would also look just like the NFL standings and the playoffs would use the same format as the NFL - 12 teams with the top team in each division and two wild-card teams per conference. Top two seeds in each conference would get byes from the play-in round, followed by home-and-away matches leading up to the MLS Cup at the highest seed's home field (then in a warm neutral site once the TV ratings improve).
As for what teams would be in which divisions, I could see the following breakdown (assuming NASL eventually folds):
EASTERN CONFERENCE:
North Division: New England, Montreal, Toronto, Columbus (or Ottawa?)
Metro Division: NYRB, NYCFC, Philadelphia, DCU
Southeast Division: Atlanta, Orlando, Miami, Carolina (or Nashville? Or New Orleans?)
Central Division: Minnesota, Chicago, Indianapolis, St Louis (or Memphis?)
WESTERN CONFERENCE:
Mid-West Division: Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Kansas City (or Oklahoma City?)
Mountain Division: Salt Lake, Colorado, Las Vegas, Phoenix (or SKC?)
Californian Division: LAG, LAFC, San Jose, Sacramento (or Las Vegas?)
Cascadia Division: Portland, Seattle, Vancouver, Edmonton (or Sacramento?)
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