News: Canada Ripe for major league expansion and MLS.

I think that these cities could have teams, especially since Canada soccer should be on another level by then internationally. I don't want 6 Canadian teams in my league, though, and there wouldn't be room for them anyways. Maybe you can have your own league by then.

 

I saw that report on CTV News last night and thought it was interesting as well.

If it was up to me to put three new MLS teams in Canada (and God forbid if it ever comes to that! ), here's where I would put them, or even consider:

Edmonton - too easy. Some still remember the Drillers (both outdoor and indoor). A new stadium wouldn't even be needed, really.
Ottawa - kinda dicey on this one, since they'll have a NASL team in 2014 when Lansdowne Park is finishing redevelopment.
Winnipeg - Not sure if anyone still remembers the old CSL Fury there. Not even sure if the Blue Bombers would share their new digs with them.
Hamilton - Maybe, and that's a huge maybe. Gotta be some people who remember the old Hamilton Steelers.
Halifax - nah, too small a market.
Regina - ditto, but if they could make the Roughriders work as a community-owned team...
Calgary - no way, and don't even get me started with the Calgary Boomers.
Québec City - would make for a natural rival for the Impact, but they'd need a stadium first.

 

That's assuming that Major League Soccer even exists by 2035, and that's never a certainty.

 

YOUR league? You own MLS?

 

This discussion in the context of MLS makes little sense.

to the extent that Canadian cities will grow, so will American ones. There are already many large US markets with no significant soccer presence, and the growth of soccer generally, in addition to economic factors, will make those more attractive way before the largest remaining Canadian city enters the equation(either Ottawa or Edmonton).

In my opinion the MLS takes up too much room in our 3 major cities for an alternate D1 to be possible. And they make way to much money for them to consider switching in any meaningful way.

But in the context of a Canadian league of some kind there is more hope, but mainly at the D2 level. With interest in soccer rising and population growth plus immigration, better teams in all the cities discussed above should be possible, even in the next 5-10 years.

 

This report (I actually went through the report itself, not just the articles about the report) focused a lot on economics and almost totally ignored the human factor.

Sure, a Kitchener-Waterloo of 750 000 would have the economic potential for a CFL team. Winnipeg does it today. That ignores the level of interest in the CFL in the area (substantial but much lower than out west) and the fact that CFL fans in KW already make the short drive to Toronto or Hamilton to cheer on the team they already support.

The same problem arises when someone says, "Hey, Calgary, Edmonton, and Ottawa will all have 1.5 million people. Clearly MLS would thrive there." Assuming MLS wanted to expand/relocate and would entertain Canadian bids, a case could perhaps be made for Edmonton given the soccer history in the city. Ottawa would be a much longer stretch and Calgary as a city doesn't seem to have any meaningful interest in soccer.

 

If we ever got up to six Canadian MLS sides, there is a certain element of the US soccer community that would want to kick us out and form our own league.

 

There would also be a certain element of the Canadian soccer community that would want us to withdraw and form our own league. I doubt, however, that either MLS itself or the billionaire Canadian owners would be in these camps.