Looks like FC Cincinnati was trying to get creative with MLS rules and bring Fabian Johnson back to the states. I'd love to see RSL try to get someone like Johnson https://sports.yahoo.com/news/mcint...nson-fc-cincinnati-fell-though-232741388.html
Knowing our fans and how much they appreciate Lennon they would say he should be benched for Herrera and sit behind Plata
Lots of rumors right now about an imminent announcement out of Columbus. Rumor is that Jimmy Haslam (CEO of Flying J and owner of the Cleveland Browns) will be granted an expansion team which will take on the Crew history, branding, and roster. Precourt will take his franchise to Austin and have to create a new roster there. See the #SaveTheCrew hashtag on twitter.
Official announcement is supposed to happen at 4:15 ET, so basically in 20 minutes we should have a full report. If the rumors are true, this is a big win for CBus. Edit: Announcement has been pushed to 5:00 pm ET. Columbus Partnership’s Alex Fischer says to expect an announcement on the Crew today at 5 p.m. #SaveTHECrew #soccer #columbus ⚽️— Lu Ann Stoia (@StoiaLu) October 12, 2018
Update and more details on the Columbus Partnership pursuing purchasing the team. http://www.espn.com/soccer/major-le...negotiations-with-mls-to-buy-columbus-crew-sc
I’m friggin ecstatic! Cincinnati vs Columbus will be one of the best rivalries in American soccer. I’m thinking of scheduling my annual trip home to Cincy during the first Hell Is Real Derby. This was the outcome that I thought would happen. Anthony Precourt wasn’t nearly ready to actually move the team and MLS didn’t want to actually go to court in Ohio.
Mixed feels about this. First, I’m happy for the Crew fans. There needs to be a team in Columbus. Second, Haslam is one of the worst owners in pro sports and I’m not sure his coming into MLS is good for MLS. In other news Phoenix is almost certain to get the next expansion franchise.
There is no end in sight when it comes to expansion. MLS needs the flow of expansion fees to fund the league. And as long as there are wealthy individuals out there looking to become an "investor/operator" MLS is willing to oblige.
MLS doesnt need the fees to fund the league at all. Teams are plenty well off now. The fees pay prior owners for thier shriking piece of the overall MLS pie. If you think MLS is actually in financial stress, then you are too quick to lap up thier negociation arguments against the players union.
Whaaaaat? MLS isn't being completely honest? I see what you are saying though. Here is an article I dug up today. https://www.forbes.com/sites/chriss...e-soccers-most-valuable-teams-2/#7f0e38ebb815 Another recent criticism of the league is that it's leaning on expansion fees to get by, though that one doesn't hold up quite so well. While recent expansion fees have certainly helped to off-set team capital calls to the league, that's only because the league's owners have agreed to reinvest the entirety of expansion money into MLS operations. Commissioner Garber repudiates the notion in no uncertain terms: “Anybody who thinks that expansion fees are funding the league is ignorant.”
The Adiddas contract with MLS pays each team over $5 million a year, though some of that is in uniforms and equipment. That value alone basically covers the salary cap. New teams have to pay expantions fees in part to reimburse existing teams for that $ amount shrinking per team with the new team joining. You factor in that most teams have 30+ sponsors. Before we even talk about ticket sales, the league is definately healthy. Esspecially when other soccer leagues pull less fans at lower ticket prices to thier stadiums and can pay players more than we are. Teams sift out stadium income from the club itself in many cases to make the club appear unprofitable. They do this because they can consider the stadium as a seperate company. Lastly, some teams might be currently spending well past thier income due to building up infustructure. MLS is slowly becoming the most developed league in the world. Not just a few teams, but league wide teams have new training centers and academies. As Don Garber states in that article, anyone who believes the expansion fees are needed is ignorant. And really it was NASL hype that really pushed the narritive. The Save The Crew movement did alot to prove thier club's likely profitabiliy while being called the leagues bottom feeder in many "metrics." And some billionaire is about to buy them with those metrics. You dont become a billionaire by being stupid. The league has 11+ other billionaires trying to get in. Its profitable.
At this point, expansion fees wouldn’t be to reimburse the current owners but rather to buy a share of the MLS and SUM at the current market rate. Either way, MLS doesn’t rely on expansion fees and they’re not stopping at 28 either
Two quasi-independent leagues a la MLB of 40 teams (20 teams per league). That's where it will end up.
Nah The NFL influence on the league will put us into a 32 team format, I think. From there it will either be 4 divisions of 8 or 8 divisions of 4. Half in one conference, half in the other
^^^This is where I think MLS is going but 40 is "possible". We're kind of in a weird time with sports raking in lots of TV money but viewership going down. MLS is also attached to SUM so who the hell knows. All I can say with a lot of confidence is that the Crew being saved as an expansion team pretty much blows the 28-team "limit" out of the water. St. Louis is back in the race with the owners of Enterprise Rent-a-Car and a stadium plan, Phoenix is a huge western market with a wealthy owner and a stadium plan, Las Vegas could slide into the race and there's always Sacramento. I think 30 by 2026 is very likely and 30-32 after the World Cup is almost certain.
8 divisions of 4 with the division winner getting a playoff birth. Top two division winners get a first round bye, the other two division leaders play a home game against the top two "wild cards" (next best records). Scheduling a 34 game season with 4 divisions: Play everyone in your division 3 times with it alternating each year for who has the 2 home games (12 games) Play everyone else in your conference once with it alternating each year who hosts (12 games) Play everyone in two of the opposite conference divisions, rotating each year (8 games) Play the team that finished in the same spot in their division as you in the two divisions you don't match up with (2 games) WEST FCD LAFC SKC POR SEA RSL LAG VAN MIN HOU CLR SJ SAC PHX LV StL EAST ATL NYRB NYCFC PHI CLB DCU MON NE TFC CHI ORL NSH MIA CIN ??? ??? I wouldn't want to be in charge of figuring out how that actually plays out logistically/scheduling wise, but it would be fun. It's also pretty hard cutting up teams into 4 team divisions. I just tried doing it and keep getting stuck.
Better idea, but given the size of the cities that could support MLS franchises as opposed to those that can support an NFL franchise, I would tend more towards the 40 team number.
What are those cities? In my above post I listed the list of teams that I could come up with and only got to 30.
You forgot Austin ('cuz it looks like Precourt will be getting his way and move his team there, but without players, etc.), San Antonio, San Diego, Detroit, Raleigh/Durham, etc. Basically any city that has at one time or another wanted a MLS franchise and made a presentation to the MLS expansion committee. But, like you also pointed out, the influence of the NFL on the league will probably shut things down around 32 teams since the NFL manages a 32-team league without much problem. So get ready for a Desert division with RSL, Colorado, Las Vegas and Phoenix.
I think 30 is coming really soon. I'd venture to guess that we might have three conferences at that point. East NYCFC RBNY TOR MTL NE DC PHI ATL ORL MIA Central CIN CLB CHI MIN SKC STL NASH AUSTIN DAL HOU West COL RSL LAFG LAG SJ SEA POR VAN PHX LV/SAC I don't want to figure out a schedule for that right now. I do think it would be cool to go to an AFC/NFC or AL/NL type situation once they get to 30/32 teams.