MLS Expansion - NFL's Atlanta Falcons owner still interested in MLS side

Although Atlanta is seldom mentioned as one of the front-runners for a MLS side, Arthur Blank, the owner of the NFL's Atlanta Falcons, is still very interested in bringing a team to the city. It would also seem that the league is just as interested, calling Atlanta 'a "tremendous" potential market that would expand the league's footprint into the Southeast.'

But just like so many other expansion cities, before Blank can see another professional team into Atlanta, he needs to come up with a stadium plan. His group has looked at 'about six' metro-Atlanta counties as possible home sites, however they have not narrowed it down. Another possible way of reading this is that no city has stepped up to offer the group a good public-private funding plan for a stadium.

As far as what the group would like to see in a complex, they would like "an 80-acre to 100-acre site could contain an MLS stadium, parking lots and soccer fields for local leagues and regional tournaments." This description points to a suburban stadium instead of something closer to downtown. They also imagine that the earliest such a complex could open in 2012.

So what does MLS think of Atlanta? They like it:

"We believe Atlanta can be a tremendous market for a Major League Soccer team," said Dan Courtemanche, the league's senior vice president of marketing and communications. "First and foremost, it's a very diverse market ... and clearly a strong market for soccer participation. ... And Arthur Blank's group is a tremendous group, no question there. We think they would be a perfect group to expand the MLS presence south of Washington, D.C."

Having a team in the Deep South is something that needs to happen and Atlanta is the obvious choice. However, any team playing there will need to do something about the heat, both during the games and during practice (look how hard Dallas gets hit every August for more on this).

One other interesting point, when talking about other possible expansion cities, Courtemanche names the regular crew however he places a little disclaimer in front of Miami, saying that the city is interested "to a lesser degree" then others. I guess they still cannot find a good ownership group for the area.

So where to place Atlanta is the list of possible expansion city? I would say that at this point, they are below the likes of St. Louis, Vancouver, Portland and New York, on par with Montreal and above Las Vegas, Ottawa, San Diego and Miami.

MLS Expansion - Garber hints at more then 18 teams for MLS

MLS commissioner Don Garber thinks the league could grow beyond the 18 teams saying, "our sense is that we could have quite a few more than that." This is the most direct indication yet as to the future expansion plans for the league.

Originally it appeared like MLS would hold off on expanded past 16 teams in order to allow the local (US & Canada) talent pool to grow. However, with the relaxing of rules on foreign-born players and the ever increasing interest in investing in the league, Garber seems to be heading in a new direction.

This is good news for soccer fans in St. Louis, Portland, Vancouver, Las Vegas, Montreal, New York City, Atlanta and Miami as it looks like they will not have to fight it out for the final two spots. However, it could be bad for the overall quality of the league unless this increased expansion also corresponds to a large increase in player salaries. Simple put, there are not enough solid players out there willing to earn less then $100,000 to make a league of 22+ teams worth watching.

By the way, it is worth noting that Garber made these comments in Montreal at the inaugural game of Saputo Stadium, the new home of the Montreal Impact.

MLS Expansion - No Miami team means no Miami stadium

Miami Mayor Manny Diaz is trying to brunt a lawsuit that would force a public vote on his $3 billion city/county project that includes baseball and soccer stadiums at the current site of the Orange Bowl. Although the $100 million for the soccer stadium is not getting much notice (compared to the $525 million baseball stadium), Diaz wanted made a definitive statement designed to defend the plan.

He says that the city will not build the stadium unless MLS assures him that they will get an expansion team. He added that it has not happened yet, "but they're very interested."

This should come as no surprise since building a stadium for a team that might not come would be a very stupid move and it will be very interesting to see how this plays out.

With Philadelphia all but there in terms of getting a team, it appears the race now turns to St. Louis vs. Miami for spot 17. Both offer really promising opportunities for the league, but is MLS ready to make a choice on the next expansion side so soon?

In the past league reps have said they would pause a little while after expanding to 16 teams, but it appears that if they want either of these deals, they will need to change their stance on this issue. In addition, they have also said they want to hold the league to 18 teams, so with a number of options out there for additional teams (Las Vegas, Portland, Vancouver, Montreal, New York, Atlanta, etc.), landing one of those last two spots might be even harder then getting a stadium deal.

MLS Expansion - Two stadium options in Miami

These are boom times for the league in Miami as they now have a second offer for a stadium, rent-free. Florida International University has offered MLS the use of their soon-to-be completed 18,000-seat stadium for free (blue arrow on the map). The new facility 'is being built with soccer in mind, and he made sure the venue would comply with all of the league's and FIFA's requirements in regards to field size, locker rooms and media work areas' and is about 8-miles from downtown Miami The FIU stadium will be finished in September, which means that if the league wanted to expand into the area, they could do so starting as early as the 2009 season.

The draw back to this whole scenario of course is the lack of revenue the team would earn from actually owning a stadium. It would be a better situation then that of teams like San Jose and Houston, but it still is not the ideal model.

MLS is still working with the city of Miami to build a new $100m, 25,000 stadium to be build on the site of the Orange Bowl (green arrow on the map). The terms of that deal have the investors in a new franchise putting up half the money and then owning the stadium. Obviously a better financial situation. However, with any Orange Bowl stadium at least 2-years away, if the league wanted to get into the area sooner, FIU gives them a great option.

Even if they do not land a MLS club, FIU is hoping that future Gold Cups and MLS combines might make their way to the new location.

With so much interest coming out of the Miami area, it is hard to imagine the area is long for a club.

MLS Expansion - Governor's $50m letter might not be enough to land a team for Philadelphia

A year ago, former Philadelphia Mayor and current Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell sent the leader of the Philadelphia MLS group a letter pledging $50 million in state money to help build a stadium, but with no official action yet to happen on any of the points, MLS is not overly impressed.

In the letter, Rendell said the state will give:
"$20 million in savings achieved through low-interest, long-term loans from the Pennsylvania Economic Development Funding Authority.

$15 million from the state capital budget, contingent upon approval by the legislature.

$10 million in a grant from the Delaware River Port Authority."

The other $5m will go to small loans and other grants.

I'm sure it is good to have the support of the governor, however without anything official, this letter is just ink on paper. MLS said previously that they would make a decision on the 16th expansion team by the end of January. If they hold true to this deadline, which is not something MLS is really known for, then the state is pretty much in do or die time. If nothing happens in the next few days, it would appear that the Philadelphia bid is DOA for now.

Which turns the spot light back to St. Louis with a spill over to Montreal and Miami.

MLS Expansion - Miami Mayor pushing hard for a soccer stadium

With the vote on a $2.9 billion funding package that includes money for a soccer stadium less then a week away, Miami Mayor Manny Diaz is pushing hard to make it happen. The crux of the debate revolves around what the city will do with the site of the current Orange Bowl (which will be torn down next month).

Those in favor of this package want to place a baseball stadium on the site, along with a multilevel, 6,000-car parking garage. The only problem is the city does not think the baseball stadium alone will be enough for them to break even on the project, thus enters the soccer stadium.

Mayor Diaz says they need 25 additional events each year for the city to recoup their money, and what do you know, that is just about the total number of home games a MLS team plays each season. The total amount the city is willing to put forward to build the new soccer stadium is $100 million.

What is most interesting about this to me is the lack of a known ownership group for a Miami MLS expansion team. Is Miami going to do what San Antonio did in their bid to land an America football team and build a stadium under the hopes that the league will come to them or could it be that the rumor of a Boca Juniors move into the area is closer to reality then it appears?

As far as this proposal, it looks like it is tied to the baseball stadium. If the Marlines get a deal, the soccer stadium will happen, which would surely propel Miami towards the top of the MLS expansion list. That propulsion will only increase if Boca Juniors is thrown into the mix.

MLS Expansion - Is a team in Miami just a few votes away?

The idea of moving back into Florida might make a few MLS fans a bit squeamish as it didn't go so well the first time around, but if a few votes workout, it might just happen.

The City of Miami is looking into funding a new soccer and baseball stadium on the current sight of the historic Orange Bowl (which will be torn down) as part of a multibillion-dollar proposal put forth by Mayor Manny Diaz.

As far as the soccer stadium, it would cost $100 million and seat 25,000. The proposal calls for the cost to be divided between the city and MLS (or whomever owns a new Miami team). However, the main reason the city is interested in building the soccer stadium is to provide an additional funding source for a 6,000-car parking garage they will need to build for a baseball stadium as Diaz said they need 25 additional events annually for the garage to break even.

This whole proposal, which includes many, many things not related to these stadiums, faces its first vote today as the Miami commissioners decide whether to move the multilayered plan forward. If they do, they will begin to review major pieces of the plan next Tuesday. As part of the funding plan, the city will not float bonds to pay for any of this, so it will not face voter approval (how happy is Don Garber to hear that?).

If this does happen and the city votes for a soccer stadium, it is pretty safe to say MLS will show up soon after and that might not be a frightening as it sounds.

Back when the Miami Fusion were in the league (1998-2001) they had some weak attendance numbers, but was in large part due to them playing at Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, some 26-miles away. If a new team went into the Orange Bowl site, they would be in the heart of the city, about a mile from downtown. This does not mean they will be a success, but it does provide them with a better chance then playing in Ft. Lauderdale.

As with any proposal that involves public money, who knows what might happen, but it does seem like the mayor is pushing hard for this. I don't have a clue if this is a good thing in the long run for the people of Miami, but if you are a soccer fan in the area, you are probably happy to see this taking place.

But how does this influence the possible expansion of the league into St. Louis or Philadelphia? I don't think it has any affect on the league in the next couple months as no ownership group has officially stepped forward and a final decision on the funding might not be known for some time. However, Miami would provide a very temping pick for the next round of expansion, especailly if the league put in $50 million towards building the facility, which makes the competition for the 17th and 18th teams that much more intense.

One final thing, some people have suggested calling the new soccer stadium the Orange Bowl, which seems like a fantastic idea to me.

MLS Expansion - The Vegas odds

The Las Vegas Sun offers up their odds for the 13 cities often mentioned in MLS expansion talks. They are looking at things in a 'how does Vegas' fit in kind of way, but they don't seem to let the homer symptom overly influence their thought process. Anyway, here are their odds:

Atlanta: 100-1
Cleveland: 60-1
Las Vegas: 10-1
Miami: 35-1
Milwaukee: 75-1
New York: 8-1
Philadelphia: 6-1
Phoenix: 20-1
Portland, Ore.: 40-1
San Diego: 100-1
Seattle: 3-2
St. Louis: 4-1
Vancouver: 70-1

They have a lot more information on the reasons behind these odds, so if you have a moment, you really should read the article.

As far as my thoughts on the odds, they look pretty much like they should, however I think St. Louis has better odds then Seattle. That said, it really doesn't matter much because both those cities would be my top 2 as well.

The New York odds seem a little high, but that might have to do with the article speculating not just on the 15th and 16th MLS clubs but also on the 17th and 18th. Fred Wilpon, an owner of baseball's New York Mets, is interested, but since the plan that seems to be out there calls for a soccer stadium to be built on the current site of Shea Stadium, they will need to wait till 2009 before they could even begin building such a project (that is when the new baseball stadium will open). That said, MLS wants a derby in New York and if there is a chance to have a stadium in the city, they will hold out for it.

It does seem like the Vegas odds are also a bit kind, but maybe they have some inside information (or maybe they are just hearing more about it and thinking it might come true). I would put their odds more at 20-1 with Miami and Portland a little bit behind them. The Miami bid really depends on Boca Juniors. If the club fully gets behind a bid, chances are good for them. As far as Portland, Seattle has very much climbed over them in the current race, but there is a good group of fans in the area and a Northwest derby would be a solid outing. Also, they already have a stadium that, with some improvements, could host games for the first few years.

The Phoenix option is very interesting and I'm guessing the reason heat was not listed in the piece is due to the talk of a stadium with a retractable-roof. There are two good groups going after this bid and both have good pedigrees. It might not have the glitz of a Vegas or the history of St. Louis, but they do draw some good crowds for big games. The problem is, most of those games involve Mexico and as has been proven in many other locations, international match draws don't always mean good local match draws. Still, I agree that they are the city most likely to surprise.

As far as the rest, I think Milwaukee has a slightly better chance then suggested while Cleveland has a little worse. Atlanta should be doing better but no local money seems interested, so their bid looks to be stalled. Philadelphia is probably the city MLS most wants to get into so if the stadium deal moves forward, it should happen. Vancouver seems like a natural fit, however with all the development issues that have been kicked up ahead of the 2010 Olympics, getting a stadium might be a little difficult. San Diego to me seems to be the longest shot due to stadium situations.

What do you think?

MLS Expansion - Boca Juniors USA

One of the great clubs of South America is interested in expanding into MLS. Boca Juniors would like to establish a franchise in the US to start play next season with New York, Miami, Los Angeles and Arizona as areas of interest.

Orlando Salvestrini, the marketing director of Boca, said, “talks are advanced” in relation to the possibility of this happening. Also, this new team would look at interchanging players between the US and their main club in Argentina, meaning that more big name Argentine players could end up in MLS and if they perform anything like Guillermo Barros Schelotto with the Columbus Crew, that will be a fantastic thing.

As far as a home location, the article mentions Boca building a '20,000 capacity stadium either in New York or Miami, resembling their legendary Bombonera stadium', which seems to suggest that these two locations are the most likely places for any MLS club.

New York has been getting a lot of talk of late, so maybe this has been the plan all along, however, a return to Miami, with strong money and a good team backing it, could really be a great PR move by the league. As far as LA or Arizona, does LA really need another club and with Phoenix already stuffed full with professional sports teams (relative to their size), do they really want to fight it out?