Um, he always says this to create urgency/scarcity. He said it is likely the last one, until after the Cup. (Unless a REALLY good bid comes in, of course.....)
Again if you read the article on Goal.com, which features an interview with the Commissioner, it appears they are serious about pausing till after the 2026 World Cup. This in part may relate to the fact they don't want to over expand and lower the values of the clubs. Also they see 32 clubs as the standard for league size for North American sports leagues, with this in mind they want to drive the expansion fees north of $600M for the final two spots. They also would have a breaking point for revenue sharing when the pie becomes too small to add any valve to the clubs. https://www.goal.com/en-us/news/par...limax-as-charlotte/1hgc18qw6k84m1elzxf1dzw0tx
I don't think you understand what he's saying.. This isn't the first time that Garber said they were done expanding at least for a period of time and then, almost immediately, began expanding again. There isn't any particular reason to believe Garber that this time he's serious.
Phoenix and Vegas for sure, if they got the deep pockets. Detroit doesn't seem to be serious. Indy, I'm not sure about the money there..... But they still will go to 40 if they got the money in line. Soccer can still grow in popularity. Baseball has peaked, NFL is matured. Don't know about Basketball or hockey. 120 years ago the top sports were Boxing and Horse Racing. Baseball and Football were minor things then.
I brought up Vegas because you said that it was going to slow down not stop. I brought up Vegas because as soon as they get a stadium worked out which they're working on, I believe shortly after they're in. The only thing that the league is waiting on is Las Vegas. Why would they pursue a stadium like that if they were not willing to pay whatever the expansion fee will be? I think to think that it slows down drastically after the rate it has been going is wrong. I think the only way it does slow down is because the league wants it to, not because there's no owners willing to pay whatever the price is.
Well, except that we have to assume The Don is going to overdo his success. Not an irrational expectation. Everybody keeps doing what works until ti's too late. What works for MLS is about to cease to work. With 47 billion teams, roughly 30 billion have no reasonable chance to win a championship. We have another bubble economy that is about to burst. We have a new model to figure out for streaming/broadcasting. This billionaire club is about to run up against reality, and the rest of us will have to figure out how to develop Our Dear Sport while they panic.
I could get behind 36 for Championship (and 40 for USL League One). Due to travel issues, I still recommend 4 conferences. Basically, West/East make up the Western Conference and North/South make up the Eastern Conference. USL Championship West: El Paso Locomotive Las Vegas Lights New Mexico United Phoenix Rising San Diego Loyal SC Reno 1861 Oakland Santa Barbara [Expansion] Riverside/Inland Empire [Expansion] East: Oklahoma City Energy FC Tulsa Roughnecks San Antonio FC Memphis 901 FC Louisville City FC Des Moines Indy Eleven Cleveland [Expansion] Milwaukee [Expansion] North: Hartford Athletic Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC Grand Rapids Buffalo Rhode Island Rochester Rhinos [Promoted] Hampton Roads [Expansion] Baltimore [Expansion] Detroit [Expansion] South: Birmingham Legion FC Charleston Battery Raleigh FC (North Carolina FC) Tampa Bay Rowdies Fort Lauderdale Strikers (Miami FC) Jacksonville Greenville Triumph [Promoted] Chattanooga Red Wolves [Promoted] New Orleans [Expansion] USL League One: West: Colorado Springs Switchbacks LA Galaxy 2 Orange County SC Portland Timbers 2 Tacoma Defiance Real Monarchs FC Sacramento Republic FC 2 FC Tucson Fresno [Expansion] Boise [Expansion] East: Saint Louis FC Austin Bold FC Rio Grande Valley Toros FC Chicago USL Forward Madison FC North Texas SC Toronto FC 2 Dayton [Expansion] Corpus Christi [Expansion] Little Rock [Expansion] North: Loudon United FC New York Red Bulls 2 Philadelphia Union 2 Queensboro FC NE Revolution 2 Richmond Kickers Harrisburg FC [Expansion] Syracuse [Expansion] Worcester [Expansion] Staten Island Expansion] South: Charlotte Independence Atlanta United 2 Inter Miami FC 2 South Georgia Tormenta Orlando City 2 Greensboro [Expansion] Asheville [Expansion] Cape Coral [Expansion] Bradenton [Expansion] Wilmington [Expansion]
I will say I think it depends on the endgame. If 32 is where they envision stopping, then I get a pause for a couple reasons. One, wait till closer to the WC to try and maximize the last two expansion fees. Two, to try and make sure the most favored/biggest markets get the last two teams (gotta be Detroit/Phoenix). If the end game is 36-40, then it does not matter, there are plenty of seats left, and as soon as there are good bids, then cities are in. Though perhaps waiting until closer to 2026 will still jack the price up. Personally, I think it is 36-40. They have already breached the schedule barrier of not playing every team every year. Once you are willing to do that, why stop? I'd expect a NFL/MLB type of schedule to be the end product with interconference games rare or none at all. Another factor may be that by expanding so rapidly (at least 1 team per year from 2017-2022 for a total of 10), they may have run thru all of the really good bids. Me, I think Garber is trying to sell scarcity to drive the price up. He loses zip by doing it, especially if no other bids are close to crossing the line.
Seth Klarman, the prospective Vegas owner, is the founder of Baupost, a hedge fund. He's a famous value investor. So either this is a bit out of character for him as an investment, or it says something about the perceived value of MLS franchises.
One positive to their being a break could be cleaning up/improving some of the lingering situations in the league. 1. Last year got new ownership in Chicago & Columbus. The Crew stadium seems on track, training complex is more muddled since they are still playing at Mapfre. Chicago got out of Bridgeview but a permanent home would be nice 2. NYCFC. Get them a place to call their own. I hate that both New York teams are really minor league teams of larger corporate conglomerates (Red Bull more than Citeh). It goes against the identity of the Big Apple. Citeh in Yankee stadium only reinforces it. 3. Get existing projects across the line. Some roadblocks in Miami & Nashville. Cincy, Austin, Columbus, & Lockhart all looking good. Ditto Sac. Minor hiccup in St. Louis. 4. Would love for someone to move OUT of a pointy-ball stadium instead of into one. More Minnesotas and Orlandos & less Charlottes & Chicagos. Still, hopefully Chicago is temporary. Only other candidates seem to be NE and Vancouver.
IDK if Charlotte and Chicago are comparable, NE and Chicago are more of an equal comparison in that both teams going to be playing in NFL venues with hopes to build a stadium for themselves in the long term. Both Boston and Chicago will prove to be much more difficult to build in than Charlotte will be, and the Charlotte team is planning to have it's new stadium within this decade. https://www.wbtv.com/2019/12/19/is-...ium-could-look-like-is-it-worth-it-taxpayers/ It's been hinted that the money that the city set aside was spoken for to help secure the bid but it has also not been voted/approved at this time. The most recent updates also lend credit to the idea that the city is negotiating the new stadium with Tepper already, and he has already spoken on paying for BoA renovations out of pocket. "This is one big ball of yarn and we can't let them get untied," Dodson says of @CharlotteMLS and @Panthers negotiations with owner David Tepper. On stadium, Dodson says discussion will be long-term, keeping MLS and NFL teams in Charlotte beyond 2030— Erik Spanberg (@CBJspanberg) January 15, 2020 Charlotte is going to be in the NFL venue to start but the HQ and new stadium are both being integrated into larger redevelopment that will connect the sites and upgrade Charlotte's downtown area. https://www.wcnc.com/article/entert...ment/275-46b95f3d-9af9-4473-96a8-340c8507bcf7
You know...after all the hand wringing and angst going on here during those dark, cold, snowy Vadim Demidov-led days of early 2017... ...to the point where some posters were openly questioning whether we should have been granted a team at all... ...this brings a smile to my face and a tear to my eye. ...and perhaps provides a cautionary tale, as well.
Charlotte feels more like Atlanta, IMO. Maybe that’s my own bias, but I have higher hopes for Charlotte than Chicago Fire.
I think you misunderstood the article. Charlotte's soccer team will always play in the NFL stadium whether it be Bank of America or a new NFL stadium. However, a new NFL stadium isn't even being discussed yet. The money is for the soccer team, but a SSS, hasn't been mentioned.
I understood it to mean a team playing in a stadium it can't fill out (or create a passionate atmosphere in). Or a reference to them playing in a stadium that was not built with the team in mind, although BoA was built with soccer in mind (according to the Panthers site, before Tepper & MLS were a thing). Seattle and Atlanta were not named so I did not think it was a reference to the team not playing in a SSS. My point was that Charlotte isn't similar to Chicago or NE but more like ATL. A new stadium seems more promising in CLT than Boston or Chicago, it will just be one that can be converted into a more intimate setting for MLS games rather than SS or just an NFL stadium.
Will Las Vegas get a Major League Soccer team? ⚽️ @chrisredreports explains why there's a renewed push in 2020. MORE: https://t.co/3QrLcOGbjD pic.twitter.com/bZuKVrGGEi— FOX5 Las Vegas (@FOX5Vegas) January 20, 2020
I'd put Vegas as 98% certain with Phoenix trailing slightly. San Diego could knock Phoenix out for now, but it would have to come together quickly and with big money, kind of like Nashville and Charlotte.
Warm weather cities are warmly welcomed. How many are needed for MLS to go to the fifa calendar (also include domed stadiums)?