Commissioner Garber will be appearing on BigSoccer shortly to answer questions from you. To keep things sane, we've opened this thread so you can submit your (well thought out and reasoned) questions in advance. We'll pick ten to give to the commish. Watch this space for his appearance. Ok ... post away ...
What conditions/situations would need to exist in order for MLS to go from the current single entity structire to a franchise system as seen in MLB,NFL, etc.?
One question in many parts: How seriously is MLS persuing the "academy" concept? Is what Chicago and RBNY have now the ideal, or are you going to try to encourage teams to build true academies in the style of Boca Juniors, Barcelona or West Ham? And if so, will these be funded by the league or directly by the teams?
What information can you provide in regards to the MFL/MLS tournament (CONCACAF Champions League?) next summer?
How do you explain a 'salary cap' and reported maximum salaries when so many clubs are clearly well over the cap while others are far under? How does this structure meet the league's stated goals of team parity?
Regardless of the rumored "Beckham Exception", are there plans to increase the salary cap so that MLS can be at least competitive with lower-tier European leagues like Denmark and Norway?
If USL teams already had a stadium in place, would you be willing to reduce or even waive altogether the expansion fee? The USL team is taking a big financial risk by moving into MLS; it seems to make sense to help them out in return for MLS gaining access to a pre-established fanbase (and in some cases, a regional presence in parts of the country where MLS doesn't yet exist).
It is certainly great news that a Canadian team, Toronto FC, will enter the league next year. What is the current ruling with regards to how American players will count on their roster? Will their numbers be limited? Or can they realistically comprise the whole team? Thanks and great work with Toronto.
Pres. Farish, at the recent press conference at Rowan University, stated that budget issues are causing some difficulties for South Jersey MLS to come to fruition. Could you provide any update on negotiations and funding options for the proposed expansion franchise in Glassboro?
How important is getting a team on the I-35 corridor in Texas? What do you think of Austin as opposed to San Antonio?
How far away are we from finding out the status of the "youth player rights" system that was referenced at all-star time? Is there anything that you can tell us on that front?
Don, Three points to pose one question: 1) Many have brought light to a crowded schedule the MLS season and playoffs and US Open Cup face. 2) Many are currently unhappy about the playoff design. 3) Finally, lots of soccer 'traditionalists' or 'purists' believe a single table without playoffs is the only way to appropriately create buzz in the regular season and fairly crown a champion. The question: If you accept these as true, or even true in part, what do you think about the possibility of ... 1) Scrapping the MLS playoffs 2) Crowning the MLS regular season league champion (MLS Cup Winner) 3) Entering the four top clubs into the Quarterfinals of a redesigned US Open Cup More Info: The US Open Cup would be going on underneath the MLS season without the inclusion of MLS teams. Following the season's end, the Cup would be scheduled to be entering the Quarterfinals, where the top four MLS clubs would meet the top four clubs from lower divisions who have made it that far? Some rationale: This way, it means more exposure for the David v Goliath aspect of the tournament - the televised quarterfinals matches would all include an underdog - perhaps even the semis and final. It also provides both the purists and those of us who love the playoff-style competitions with reasons to cheer and celebrate. It also reduces the cramped schedule of matches.
What will be the conference structure with 13 teams? Will 4 teams from the East and 4 teams from the West conference make the playoffs, or will it be the top 8 teams in the league?
Can I buy you a drink? You've done a great job keeping a d-1 soccer league in the US alive. Stay the course.
My question to Garber is why is all interaction with fans of a pre picked question format and never a talk to the people format? I would love to see a roundtable with Don Garber and small group of fans representative of the fan populous at an event such as MLS cup. I don't mean this as critical, thank you for taking the time to listen to us fans.
The Commissioner has hosted roundtables. I have attended one. This format was selected by BigSoccer, not MLS, to keep things manageable both for our servers and the Commisioner's time.
Question. I live in one of the larger non MLS media markets. How do you intend to capitate soccer fans and sell your product in places that do not currently have a team?
Garber and Gazidis have done this at the Supporters Summit at 5 of the 6 MLS Cups that I have attended.
What is the status of the proposed new competition between MLS teams and those from Mexico? Will this be replacing the CONCACAF Champions Cup or simply being in addition to it? Will teams outside of the U.S. and Mexico participate in the new competition?
Given the recent antics following the Rocky Mountain Cup match in Salt Lake City this past weekend, what is your opinion on the various cup competitions that have been established by supporters groups to create/foster rivalries among MLS teams? What is MLS doing to feed the passion that these rivalries seem to be generating?
Dear Commissioner Garber, Much has been made over your comments that in the future you would like to see MLS play a schedule in line with the "FIFA Calendar." Would you please state for the record, once and for all, that this means simply not scheduling league games on official FIFA international fixture dates, and does NOT mean playing through the winter in the northern part of the continent roughly parallel to the NHL and NBA schedules? Also, with the recent flap over the possible sale of certain players during the playoff run, why does MLS and its clubs not make "for the record" definitive statements like this, to nip the crazy conspiracy rumors in the bud: "In recent weeks the Revolution and MLS have received offers for Clint Dempsey, Taylor Twellman and Shalrie Joseph. While we are very pleased to see our players recognized by overseas clubs, we have decided that no sales shall take place until the Revolution season is over. We recognize the commitment to our fans, and every club's priority is to win MLS Cup. To sell any of these players now would certainly jeopardize the Revolution's ability to win MLS Cup and would not be fair to our fans." You don't need to make a comment about the amount of money being offered, nor do you need to discuss under what circumstances you might sell one or all of them. Who are we kidding, there is a good likelihood that at least some will be sold. But you are not committing to anything that can hang you later. This makes the point clear--these guys are here until the end of the year, and just like any off-season, there are bound to be changes, but we'll figure out that at the time. Thanks for your time.