MLS seeks two expansion teams by 2011

[mednus]

TORONTO -- Major League Soccer Board of Governors approved expanding by two teams by 2011, MLS Commissioner Don Garber announced following Thursday's Board of Governors meeting in Toronto. At the meeting, Commissioner Garber provided updates on prospective expansion markets throughout the U.S. and Canada. Markets reviewed during today's meeting included (in alphabetical order) Atlanta, Las Vegas, Montreal, a second team in the New York area, Ottawa, Portland, St. Louis and Vancouver.
In conjunction with prospective Canadian expansion, MLS officials will work with Toronto FC owners Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, as well as potential expansion candidates, to develop national commercial revenue streams to support expansion into Canada.
MLS officials will issue specific details on the expansion application process within the next seven days.



http://web.mlsnet.com/news/mls_news...._mls&fext=.jsp

[TFCREDNWHITE]

Its gonna be Vancouver and Montreal!

Garber knows that he has BIG problems in the good ol' USA...Its gonna be 2 Canadian Franchises...It will give the league a little more of a North American appeal and more solid footing when looking abroad. There are way toooo many teams in the states that have BIG time problems! Van and Mtl are next..

[Sonny Cheeba]

i don't really think it matters.... if expansion is being done by taking a USL team that is already popular, then an American team has the same good chance as Van and Mtl

so i wouldn't be to surprised if portland is chosen over vancouver.

[King Jeff]

I think St. Louis and either Montreal or Vancouver would the two top choices. The 'other' Canadian city would be a back-up plan in case St. Louis can't get its act together.

[profit89]

St.Louis and Montreal

[James17930]

I don't really understand the problem with St. L. Garber said at his State of the League address that their main problem is that they 'don't have a principle owner in place.'

Seems odd. So it's just a big group of many investors right now, but MLS wants one of them to step out in front, take the reins and say 'I'm the principle owner?'

If that's all it is, why are they having so much difficulty? Everyone seems to want it so badly you'd think they'd be willing to make it happen.

[S_D]

It'll be whoever can bring in the $$$$

If Mtl and Vancouver coming in can convince the Canadian networks to cough up cash for broadcasting rights and have owners with deeper pockets > than what two extra U.S. teams bring in (ESPN Local Broadcasting) then the Canadian cities will be looking good.

[King Jeff]

I just noticed that Miami didn't even make the shortlist. That's a bit of a surprise, isn't it?

[devioustrevor]

I just noticed that Miami didn't even make the shortlist. That's a bit of a surprise, isn't it?

How so? Miami already failed once and the stadium they played in back then is in the process of being torn down.

[Vindaloo]

I really don't see where people get they get the idea that Portland has a chance in hell of getting in before Van, Mont, or anyone else for that matter.

Their owner Merritt Paulson said he'll pay for the $40m expansion fee but the city is on the hook for $55m. This will pay for a refurb of the current - BASEBALL STADIUM - into a soccer stadium. Then the city HAS TO build another baseball stadium for the baseball team that got vacated. I don't think they even know where that will be yet. Jeez, this is just what MLS is looking for???

Their owner has got money but not that much if he can only pay for the expansion fee. This is similar to St Louis where both cities will have rich owners but not billionaire owners(like MLS is looking for) and just have public tax dollars as back up.

Vancouver and Montreal both have facilities in place with backup plans to expand in Montreal, or have a temporary world class facility in BC Place built for 2011 for the Caps. They are still in talks with the Port to build their already planned stadium paid in full by their owner, Kerfoot.

Van and Mont both have rich owners with both securing planned backup investors. Gillett for Montreal and Steve Nash and his business investor group. No tax dollars involved, unlike US based teams.

[Broadview]

Two Canadian expansion teams would be great just for the sake of watching certain bloggers explode.

[NF-FC]

Two Canadian expansion teams would be great just for the sake of watching certain bloggers explode.

[kitchener-TFC]

Did anyone else catch the Canadian cities Garber mentioned as possible expansions? I heard Montreal, Vancouver and........OTTAWA!

[NF-FC]

ya ottawa has been floating around for a month or two. apparently Melnyk is interested in MLS, but he wants to build a stadium in Kanata (boooooooo) next to the arena

[Oldtimer]

How so? Miami already failed once and the stadium they played in back then is in the process of being torn down.

Miami's latino population is primarily Cuban, not South American. Baseball is their sport.

[mednus]

Check out this FOX sports article.

http://msn.foxsports.com/soccer/stor...minent-for-MLS

it almost makes one drunk with joy!!

[twistedchinaman]

I just noticed that Miami didn't even make the shortlist. That's a bit of a surprise, isn't it?

That's a good thing. Miami and Tampa both FAILED.

Montreal and Portland, I'd put money on that.

[twistedchinaman]

If it wasn't so macabre...oh to hell with it, LOLZ!

[Dirk Diggler]

I just hope that Ottawa isn't granted a franchise. It is probably unfair to them but their sporting history and their population figures just don't add up. The only way a small city like Ottawa can make a case for deserving a franchise is if they had a great history of fans who supported their pro teams....unfortunately that's not the case. In addition, if the stadium is indeed built in Kanata, there will be absolutely no one going to watch the games. Hockey is the king in Ottawa and the Senator fans are constantly complaining about how far the stadium is from the city proper. Even if they have a lot of hardcore soccer fans, there is going to be basically no casuals coming to the game. No way can you fill a stadium like that. The only other stadium development being talked about is the refurbishment of Frank Clair stadium. Unfortunately that is almost certainly going to be used by the new CFL franchise and that will (and should) negate any MLS franchises from playing in the stadium.

[rocker]

yeah I'd love to see more Canadian teams but Ottawa I dunno ... i'd rather see Edmonton than Ottawa, since Edmonton has had decent attendances in the past for soccer in that cavernous stadium.

[Vindaloo]

This is going around the net tonight about a press conference tomorrow in Vancouver. It could just be Steve Nash and his business group's investment in WFC with Kerfoot being announced for the expansion bid. Apparently it's at the Pan Pacific Hotel.

MEDIA ADVISORY
Attn: Editors
For Immediate Release: July 24, 2008
VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC TO ANNOUNCE FUTURE PLANS
VANCOUVER, BC - Vancouver Whitecaps FC will be making a major announcement about the future of soccer in Vancouver and British Columbia.

When: Friday, July 25, 2008
Time: 11:00 a.m.

[manic.street.preacher]

^^seems like van will be next, but i would looove to see montreal get it, oh the rivalry

[ilikemusic]

My money is on Montreal for 2011 and Vancouver once their stadium actually starts being built.

[Keystone FC]

I really don't see where people get they get the idea that Portland has a chance in hell of getting in before Van, Mont, or anyone else for that matter.

Their owner Merritt Paulson said he'll pay for the $40m expansion fee but the city is on the hook for $55m. This will pay for a refurb of the current - BASEBALL STADIUM - into a soccer stadium. Then the city HAS TO build another baseball stadium for the baseball team that got vacated. I don't think they even know where that will be yet. Jeez, this is just what MLS is looking for???

Their owner has got money but not that much if he can only pay for the expansion fee. This is similar to St Louis where both cities will have rich owners but not billionaire owners(like MLS is looking for) and just have public tax dollars as back up.

Vancouver and Montreal both have facilities in place with backup plans to expand in Montreal, or have a temporary world class facility in BC Place built for 2011 for the Caps. They are still in talks with the Port to build their already planned stadium paid in full by their owner, Kerfoot.

Van and Mont both have rich owners with both securing planned backup investors. Gillett for Montreal and Steve Nash and his business investor group. No tax dollars involved, unlike US based teams.

DING, DING, DING....We have a winner!

Better yet...would you want this:



Or This:

[RealG-TFC]

I would take Ottawa over any US expansion though. They did draw well at the U20 World Cup.

[Vindaloo]

DING, DING, DING....We have a winner!

Better yet...would you want this:



Or This:

What amazes me is that the $55m that taxpayers in Portland will have to shell out, only $20m will go to renovate that baseball stadium(PGE Park) into a SSS. That's right, completely overhaul a baseball park into some sort of football stadium. The rest of the $35m goes to making a new baseball stadium.

Vancouver is putting in $200-300m to completely transform BC Place into a a stadium that will be a soccer friendly design that will be more intimate than something like Qwest Field in Seattle. But their intended goal is still to build a $100m, 2-tiers on 3 stands, football specific stadium for WFC right on the water, built with private money.

[Mark in Ottawa]

Mr. Saputo made a good comment during the all star game. Admitting a USL team would not put an undo strain on the talent pool in the existing MLS as they have a squad of players under contract already. Those players would be available to the MLS teams to sign to replace any players moving over to play in Montreal.

Mr. Saputo said he figured he would only need 4 or 5 existing MLS players to add to the Montreal team to make his franchise competative.

His stadium is soccer specific and built for easy expansion so I wouldn't bet against them getting an MLS invite sooner than later.

[TFCREDNWHITE]

Its going to be Vancouver and Montreal! Very Nice I like it a lot!!!

[Canary Canuck]

The bid everyone keeps forgetting about is Vegas. It's a questionable place to put a team but one thing we've learned from Garber is that money talks and Vegas has the ownership backing that bids like Portland, St. Louis and Miami currently do not. From what's been revealed the ownership group is a bunch of Vegas billionaires who want to build a 500 million dollar retractable roof SSS on or near the strip.

I agree with the above poster that Portland is a long shot. I just don't see the city footing that big of a bill. Miami needs investors but I think it could work if they market to the right communities. They'd probably need to sign a few haitians, Costa Ricans etc. Atlanta is the worst sports town in North America and the south is football country. With all that said I think the best American option might be NY2. I subscribe to the theory that a team actually in New York rather than Jersey will be supported by New Yorkers. It will even help the Red Bulls with the ensuing rivalry. This was a strong case written by MLS Rumors as to why NY2 makes sense.

1. New York City is Different. New York City is an urban, densely populated, mostly car less city. In other words many New Yorkers who live in NYC proper DO NOT OWN A CAR OR DRIVE. This is key to understanding why asking them to make their way to New Jersey is a non-starter. Most New Yorkers thinking of New Jersey as "far". Naming the team that Red Bull bought, New York does not make it so, for that very reason. They might as well be playing in Harrisburg, PA, or on the Moon for that matter. They'd be just as irrelevant as they are now to most of the CITY of New York. This is why RBNY is mostly ignored by the sporting press and off the radar for most fans of the sport in New York City.

2. The Original Plan. Two teams in the New York area was in the original plan for MLS, just as Philadelphia and St Louis was. This explains why the Commissioner, Don Garber has said the same with regards to New York "2" as he has with Philadelphia and St Louis: "It's not a matter of if, but a matter of when." Some see NY2 as Don Garber's pet project, but in reality the plans for a team and derby rival to MetroStars/RedBulls was laid out before a ball was ever kicked.

3. Identity. Because of point #1, the bulk of the people a team in New York City proper would draw from would never have identified with Red Bull New York. The reason as was mentioned above, is cultural. New York is a cosmopolitan, urban, get on the subway/take a train, city. Put a team on the 7 line and you will need to build a 30,000 seat stadium for it. Put it in New Jersey and well.....you see the result. New Yorkers will never identify with something which reeks of New Jersey from the location down to the way the team has historically been promoted as suburban family fun.

4. Economics/Population Density. New York City has been called by Don Garber, MLS's largest untapped market. Why? See point #3 above. With such a large market to draw from MLS would be foolish to pass it up in favor of some other expansion candidates. We have seen very little in the way of New York area soccer fans interested in MLS BECAUSE MLS is not in New York City yet, not the reverse. The same could have been said about Toronto prior to MLS coming. You saw an excellent and vocally pro-USA crowd at the USA vs Argentina match at Giants Stadium but those same people who made up the nearly 80,000 who attended that match either do not know about Red Bull New York or care about Red Bull New York for the simple face that its not in New York. Does this sound small or provincial to you? Perhaps it does, until you realize just how densely packed the city is. At nearly 19 million people New York City to put this in perspective, if New York City were a country in Europe and if it qualified in Euro2008 would be the 7th most populous country in the tournament with a population greater than that of Holland. That's a lot of people. A lot of people with a lot of dollars who currently don't care about MLS. For this reason, contrary to the conventional wisdom of many who can not see past the end of their nose, the 2nd team in the New York Metro area would not "split Red Bull NY's" fanbase. It would likely actually add to their attendance during derby matches with the New York City based team. Likewise, in a derby people would be forced to chose a side and we suspect many New Jersey fans of the sport would throw in their lot with Red Bull.

5. The Borough Boys. Just as Philadelphia and the constant talk about it being in MLS for over a decade eventually spawned a grassroots group of rowdies to drum up support in every corner of the city, then nation, then globe, the constant talk of NY2 has spawned a similar band of brothers known as the Borough Boys. They are in the mold of Philadelphia's Sons Of Ben in that they are fan advocates for MLS in their city and will in the days ahead be increasing their visibility to put the focus on the fact that New York City needs MLS and MLS needs New York City to be truly the league many imagine it to become in the next decade. MLS has the road map, New York City has the interest and money to support the team, the Borough Boys are a catalyst.

Apparently the Mets are interested in buying in and building an SSS across the street from their new baseball stadium.

However, I'm rooting for Van City and the L'imp Act to get in!

[Keystone FC]

Canary Canuck - The bid everyone keeps forgetting about is Vegas. It's a questionable place to put a team but one thing we've learned from Garber is that money talks and Vegas has the ownership backing that bids like Portland, St. Louis and Miami currently do not. From what's been revealed the ownership group is a bunch of Vegas billionaires who want to build a 500 million dollar retractable roof SSS on or near the strip.

Who? I've never heard of any soccer investors in LV. I have heard that LV was considered and that they approached Garber, but I see it more like Ottawa's bid. Plus, I've never seen or heard of LV being a soccer hotbed (excuse the pun). If they do get a team the stands will be filled with supporters of the opposing club and people who couldn't get tickets to Sigfried & Roy. I don't see a huge fan base for a team in LV even though the town is growing leaps and bounds.