Entering the post-Beckham era ,the MLS has some exciting new possibilities and as always expansion is one of them. In the past few months, we have seen the plan for New York 2 clearly laid out and it looks like will definitely be happening. Don Garber has the team playing in 300 million dollar playpen that will be his crowning achievement. The "team to eventually be" will be starting in 2016 and we have no idea if this will the Cosmos or some other team. There are rumors that Manchester City's deep pocket ownership is looking to invest in the expansion opportunity. If that's the case someone should explain to them how a salary cap works and DP slots. The fact that this team won't start to play until 2016 has raised some eyebrows. Why so late? It is obvious that the league has been admitting a new team to it almost every year in recent times and a three year gap does seem like a long time because of this. The newest revelation has come from Orlando City's ownership claiming that they are closing in on a stadium deal and want to be in MLS in 2015. This seems to be like news to MLS who has probed the market but have not made any explicit statements about this expansion. I praise the nerve of Orlando City in stating their goals to enter the MLS and pursuing the stadium they desperately need. In my opinion, as long as the ownership group is there and the stadium is in place Don Garber will admit any viable market the league has probed. There is nothing stopping me from believing that Orlando City could sneak in before New York 2 or possibly come in at the same time. I can already hear the groans of expansion drafts. Why not capitalize on this opportunity to place a team in the south, in a market that was not readily thought of before, and expand the league to 21 teams by 2015 or 2016.
The game of soccer is as
popular as ever in America and any city that has the market and is
willing to invest in a stadium should be consideration. We see the
demand flowing out across the country for pro soccer and the lower
divisions are placing more teams than ever in their ranks. USL PRO will
be adding a team in Phoenix and Sacramento while NASL is adding teams
in Ottawa, Northern Virginia and bringing the Cosmos back. These
markets are also potential MLS markets and some are almost certain to
come into the league when expansion is complete. Each of the leagues
are have record attendance numbers and it shows that the game is taking
hold like it never has before. The fact of the matter is that soccer
markets are ripe for the picking in the US right now. We must tread
lightly on expanding too fast but we should also look at the unique
opportunity in front of us to add more teams into this league.
| Proposed NY2 Stadium |
