Toronto is off and running. San Jose is well on the way for 2008 and Seattle is in the hole for 2009 as Major League Soccer's 15th club.
Who will get the next expansion franchise in MLS? That was the primary topic at Commissioner Don Garber's annual State of the League address on Friday as Garber gave a detailed rundown on possibilities of new teams for the relatively near future.
"Our near-term goal is to have 16 teams in this league, with an announcement on that 16th team by the end of the year," Garber said. "If we are unable to finalize that 16th team by Jan. 31, 2008, then we will likely make a decision to play with 15 teams in 2009."
Garber added that MLS also has a goal of expanding to 18 teams by 2010 or 2011.
"We don't want to expand for expansion's sake," Garber said. "We're not in any rush to expand. We're going to wait for the right plan, right market, right owners and the right facility."
In alphabetical order, Garber gave an update on expansion possibilities in Atlanta, Las Vegas, Miami, Philadelphia, Montreal, New York (a second club), Portland, St. Louis and Vancouver.
During follow-up questioning, Garber did allow that MLS would be more likely to focus initially on Philadelphia and/or St. Louis for the 16th club if issues are resolved with those candidates by the end of December. Philadelphia needs to finalize its funding package while St. Louis needs to finalize the ownership group.
"A lot is going to happen over the next several weeks to make the ultimate push to finalize one or two of those deals," Garber said.
Asked if MLS would consider awarding clubs to both Philadelphia and St. Louis if both cities resolve their respective issues by the end of December, Garber replied: "That's a good question. We have not contemplated that yet."
While touching on the rousing first year in Toronto, the new stadium plans for San Jose and the fact that Seattle has already exceeded 5,000 season tickets in its first three days, Garber expressed optimism that the next round of clubs will have equally grand success stories.
Here's the list of expansion possibilities and a thumbnail glimpse of what the Commissioner had to say about each situation:
Atlanta. MLS officials have spent time over the last several months with the Atlanta Falcons and owner Arthur Blank. Discussions have focused on the possibility of having a soccer-specific stadium. The league would ideally like to have a club south of Washington, D.C. sometime soon and Atlanta's growing Hispanic population has caught the eye of MLS.
Las Vegas. This fast-growing city is looking to burst onto the professional sports scene. The concept there is to have an indoor soccer stadium that would be used as a multi-used entertainment venue. Officials from MLS are encouraged there is support from both the private and public sector in Las Vegas for such a facility.
Miami. Preliminary discussions have taken place with regard to funding for a soccer stadium in Miami. Although the league wasn't successful in Ft. Lauderdale, there is optimism that a Miami venue would bring out a huge fan base geared for soccer.
Philadelphia. Negotiations with the city of Chester, Delaware County and the state of Pennsylvania have been ongoing for a year. The stadium would exist on the waterfront in Chester. MLS is waiting to see if $40 million in funding from the state will materialize in December.
Montreal. A market MLS has looked at since the league's inception, Montreal would provide a potential Canada rivalry with Toronto that could give the league added flavor.
New York. MLS has long sought having a second team in New York. The league looks at the success it has had with Chivas USA and the Galaxy in the Los Angeles area and believes two New York teams in separate stadiums would fly in the nation's largest market. Discussions have taken place with the Wilpon family and the New York Mets. The proposed facility would be based in Queens near Shea Stadium and have multi-use, year-round opportunities.
Portland. With Seattle on board, Portland would provide for a Northwest rivalry. Preliminary discussions have focused on trying to make appropriate modifications at PGE Park, home of the Portland Timbers.
St. Louis. The potential ownership group is led by attorney Jeff Cooper. He has been able to put a package together for a soccer stadium with the city of Collinsville, Ill., located eight miles east of St. Louis. MLS is impressed by the rich soccer tradition in St. Louis.
Vancouver. Greg Kerfoot, owner of the Vancouver Whitecaps, is trying to arrange for the building of a stadium on the waterfront in downtown Vancouver. The concept is for a privately financed stadium. Kerfoot just needs approval to put the stadium at that proposed site.Robert Falkoff is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
