Don Garber said today that 3 of the 4 expansion franchises are "already spoken for."

Guys there's been over 2000 responses so I realize there's probably an answer in their somewhere, but I haven't been following and that's a lot of responses on a variety of topics to sift through. So can I get a summary, who do we think the 3 teams are?

Orlando
Beckham FC
???

 

Yup, I really hope nobody makes the red bulls NYR, that would just be confusing. I wonder if CTY or CFC would suffice for NYCFC as well.

 

Atlanta is the last one you're looking for, Arthur blank has the cash, apparent desire and stadium plan to be part of the league.

the MLS franchise would play at his new falcons stadium in set up seen here:



seats about 27k,offices and locker rooms would be provided, but the turf that was at first meant to be grass may be field turf.

this is the next closest bid besides the ones you mentioned.

 

Cool thanks.

 

pittsburgh has a little something going with its new D3 stadium, otherwise you're on the money.

 

Pittsburgh has nothing going - with regards to MLS.

 

Seems like a real dogfight for #24 with no particular leader at this point. It would also be a lot easier on the league if that team was west/midwest.

 

It's almost as if the league knew there was no obvious 24th team and gave themselves a few years to see how things shake out, while also making their future intentions clear... oh.

 

As a new Austinite - moved here in March - I don't see anything but an overwhelming amount of Univ. of Texas stuff here, and the Cowboys and Rangers, which strikes me as odd given Houston is closer than Dallas.
The Spurs are on the radio here, but I don't see a lot of swag around town nor have I met anyone who is a Spurs fanatic.

 

Indianapolis would be interesting.

I understand the importance of media markets, I think we focus a bit too much on them. People often undervalue what good support does for your the image. Full seats and good atmosphere make the overall product easier to sell, it looks better on TV.

 

Maybe we will have three New York teams, New York Cosmos as team #24.

 

Doubtful, they'll probably spend themselves to nonexistence before that happens.

 

Possible, but doubtful for a number of reasons:

-NYCFC will want a significant amount of time to cement their position, in fact they(and NYRB) may permanently deny any possible move by the Cosmos.
-3 teams in NY too redundant given the significant gaps elsewhere in the country.
-by that point there will be an oversaturation of teams in the east which will interfere with broadcasting and scheduling to a detrimental degree.

 

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/lat...e-a-500m-deal-to-sponser-David-Beckham-s-club
Looks like they will have the funds to go after some BIG name players. If it doesn't work in Miami with this ownership, it will NEVER work in Miami. Beckham's name and connections and Claure's money, they are going to be just fine. I just hope that their SSS is built sooner than later (2016 or 2017 not 2020 or 2021).

 

I think you are selling Indianapolis short. The argument you're making makes sense, but applies to smaller markets than Indianapolis. We're not talking about New Orleans or Jacksonville here. No one resorts to those arguments for San Antonio, which is the 36th TV market and 31st metropolitan area. Indianapolis is the 26th largest TV market, well above for example Kansas City. And unlike San Antonio it would be the only pro soccer team in the entire state.

 

Odd that the $500 Million valuation of the sponsorship/broadcast/partner package is only listed in the Title. Not a single mention in the body of the article.

2 other facts of note:

Interesting, though I notice there is no mention of MLS anywhere, nor any details of the team itself.

and

This contradicts the idea that they would play in the 23,000 seat FIU stadium.

 

You can safely disregard anything written in the Daily Star... They just make it up as they go along

 

Indeed. The Star is not regarded as reputable in the slightest, they quite literally make stuff up to an even greater extent than mainstream journalism.

 

You cant trust the English media too much--but now this:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...eBron-James-role-new-Miami-MLS-franchise.html

It would make sense that Lebron might want to go into business with Becks. Looks like besides the bromance there were also some serious power lunches happening between them to discuss potential investment/ownership in the club.

Becks-Claure-Lebron ownership trinity, and overall team sponsorship by either Fox or Time Warner seems like things are shaping up nicely.

I wouldn't be surprised if next Tropicana got in contact with Becks about being a shirt sponsor. Perfect family friendly brand and associated with Florida Orange juice....

 

This…one new team is something of a crap shoot here. It would likely take sellouts and waiting lists for both teams before the league and the teams would consider an unprecedented third.

Dark horses should likely include the perennials…

San Diego - hard to see a finished league without this soccer hotbed
St. Louis - see above
Phoenix - the league almost certainly wants a team in the non-Texas Southwest
Carolina - that second team in the South could logically go somewhere in this vicinity

No rumblings from any of these sites but expansion efforts have flown under the radar before. And once again nothing sacred about this 24 number. In my opinion if 25 or 26 comes together sooner than expected the league will gladly modify its expansion timetable. The big decision will be for the 28-32 range and whether MLS wants to fully replicate the other major sports leagues in this part of the world. Can't see why not.

And any discussion of LeBron has to factor in his decision making on staying in Miami. If he for sake of argument returns to Cleveland it's almost certainly to permanent relocate to and live in Akron. Interesting guy, Akron vs. Miami/LA/New York. Hometown Ohio has its pull apparently...

 

I agree, this make sense to me too! LeBron James is the biggest superstar athlete in Miami and with his involvement in this Beckham backed team only bring more legitimacy to this new MLS club in this city. To be honest, I'm very surprised by the amount of media coverage on this possible MLS team to Miami. Just yesterday Brazil played Honduras at Sun Life Stadium, 71,000 plus fans showed up just 5,000 short of full capacity. This morning all the local news media is all over that story and they are tying it into Beckham's MLS bid to bring a team to Miami. Adding LeBron's name to this mix will only insure more local media attention and also National as well as International attention. One thing is for sure, this Beckham backed team has seen more unintentional marketing already before they are even officially announced and that's more marketing than Horowitz done for the Miami Fusion in their entire 4 seasons in the region. Form a local standpoint, which is the most important standpoint for reasons of the viability and longevity of a future MLS team in this region, I can't see MLS failing this time around in South Florida. We've all learned valuable lessons from the mistakes of the pass and the future looks very promising for MLS in Miami. Without Beckham's involvement and the media attention that comes with that, I don't think any of this would work or even be possible!

 

I hope to GOD that this thread doesn't turn into a over blown discussion about LeBron James decision to stay in Miami or not, he isn't going anywhere point blank! Now with that said and out of the way, it's been reported that LeBron has invited the Beckham's for dinner over at his house in Miami and there has been some dialog between the two of them, so a LeBron involvement is a smart move and a strong possibility regardless if he is a Miami Heat player or not.