Wow we are getting big.It's nice to know though. http://www.tsn.ca/soccer/news_story/?ID=223036&hubname=soccer Hey soccer haters keep your jealousy in check duh
So with SJ and Seattle being 14 and 15, I say we go with Vancouver, Montreal, and St. Louis. The fan base in Canada has been tremendous so far, so I say we give them two of the last three spots.
I hope we go with Montreal, Philly and St Louis. Montreal's new stadium is expandable to 17,000 according to the original plans I believe, however the minimum should be 18,000 so they are a ways away if they want to get in. Then a few more years down the road, MLS should tell FIFA to screw itself and top the league off with Vancouver and Miami.
I could imagine a Las Vegas team - not only is there ample room to expand (I mean, come on, they ARE in the middle of a desert if you think about it), but its billed as the entertainment capital of the world. People flock there to spend money, not to mention the local economy of the residents who live and work there. I can think of no place else that has such a plethora of potential investors than Vegas. Potential team names are through the roof as well. I can already see the team kit colors: dark red (like what Portugal Nats wear) and honey yellow.
one minor drawback... we play our league during the summer, and in vegas it's like 115 degrees during the day and cools down to about 100 at midnight [for the euros that use centigrade: 46/38] ...at least it's a dry heat Edit: just read the MLSnet page and they mentioned that Las Vegas' plans are to build an indoor stadium for multiuse. But at least they would have it indoors. hopefully they could put grass in rather than some turf but.... well, i suppose i'm getting way ahead of things.....
Some people on BS have this notion that FIFA will not accept MLS expanding beyond 18 teams... Which is kind of funny as FIFA just want leagues to have something like 34 regular games a season (Which you get when 18 teams play each other home and away). 24 teams in two conferences where you just play the other conference teams once would mean 34 games as well so there is plenty of opportunities to expand. But then FIFA have never managed to get England, Italy or Spain to adopt a 18 team league system anyway so no one really cares.
Just so you don't get all tied in knots about a Vegas team, check out This thread. It has answers to even the dumbest questions. And no, it's not 115/100 all summer - you're thinking of Death Valley.
or Phoenix where it's at least 100 all summer. I remember heading back to my hotel late at night one summer. The temperature on the sign at the hotel was 101 and it was 11PM! Vegas does get sufficiently hot though, but I know it's been discussed in the other thread way too much. I like the idea of a team in Atlanta though. Areas in the south proved they could have a team during the USMNT games 2 years ago.
Philly or St. Louis should get the next team. I think the league gets better when we put more teams in closer proximity to one another to help facilitate away fans traveling, which would hopefully fuel rivalries and spark excitement. KC to St. Louis - 4 hour drive KC to Denver - 9 hour drive...a little far, but about 100 of our supporters went for this year's game. From what I understand, Philly is a train-ride away from NY/NJ ...rambling now. just my 2 cents.
Is anybody else concerned that such rapid expansion is going to spread the talent pool too thin? The quality of play in the league has risen over the course of the last decade but there has been very limited expansion. I'm not sure adding so many teams in a 5 year span is a good idea. Is there really enough quality to go around without a noticable drop in the level on onfield play? Just my two cents........
Yes. This is a huge country with well over a quarter of a billion people, and literally thousands of colleges, many with soccer programs. The problem is that MLS is spending all its time worrying about paying the guys on the top, instead of spending enough to bring in young talent to develop. I think Randolph was one of the bright spots of the Galaxy's season, but they are paying him less than $18,000 per year. How many quality soccer players left soccer to make triple the money somewhere else?
Vegas would be sweet, they could have a side-business gambling on the results around the MLS, like they do at the race track. Gambling on soccer results is quite normal in Europe
I agree with you on Philly, but I'm hoping against St Louis. I know everyone thinks they have grass root support there but the cities population has been shrinking for a long time. I brought up Atlanta, but I should've mentioned I think it should be considered after Seattle(now a lock for good reason) and Philly.
As a St. Louisian I can honestly say that St. Louis is gaining population and is having a renaissance downtown http://www.urbanstl.com/viewtopic.php?t=24&sid=e1028a15c760936aa402c7a4a5ec270c We love soccer like we do baseball. People hoping against St. Louis sickens me, our love/passion for the game and the history of the game in St. Louis goes back to the 1800's. NO CITY deserves a team more than St. Louis
That would be sweet ... a casino/sports venue!! Although, I would not like to sit in the sun in vegas to watch a game. That heat is brutal.
As an ex-Chicagoan, I am cheering on the St. Louis efforts. Knowing what the Cubs/Cardinals rivalry is like, a Fire v. St. Louis rivalry would be a natural. And I assume that KC/St Louis would be a good one too. And besides, since the proposed park is on the Illinois side of the river, the Chicago crowd could be counted upon to give St. Louis unending stick about not being able to get into MLS without Illinois' help.
Nobody that lives in Vegas steps outside during the day, unless they are running out to the car to start the AC. But I think I read somewhere that those investors were talking about making a domed sports complex/stadium, with artificial climate. Not sure where i read that though... short term memory ain't what it used to be
ABSOLUTELY NOT There is more,much more , than enough talent. MLS just needs to raise its salaries to increase the talent pool. Revenues look better and better. There has never been a talent pool problem only a revenue problem. SSS, DPs like Bechham and rising TV ratings will take care of that.
Are you serious about there being a surplus of talent. How many games this year did they Galaxy play good soccer? I saw Spurs play Arsenal at WHL this year. Seeing that in person almost ruined me for life on the MLS. The MLS lacks so much in terms of talent it is a joke. Kyle Martino couldn't score to save his life, Nat Jaqua (an MLS champion) looked like a complete dufus out there. I love Chris Albright but I don't think he should be a top 3 player on your squad at the highest level of soccer in any country. However, he has been that for us the last couple of years. You think that is quality enough soccer? I sure as heck don't.
hmm... an MLS team in Las Vegas... This means the Galaxy would play there at least once a season... an organized event that would draw all of the Riot Squad to a place where the alcohol is free and the party never stops... I'm just sayin'... We may never see them again...
Nonsense. We in the Riot Squad eschew liquor and games of chance Yeah, we'd burn the place down. (if we ever actually made it to the game)