This is the chat URL: http://dynamic.espn.go.com/espn/chat/chatESPN?event_id=2590 Another notable quotes regarding expansion and stadia: When asked is there is any plan of expanding to Canada or Mexico: Sachin
this is what bugs me, I hope this never happens. I've mentioned it on other threads, this is SOCCER (FOOTBALL), we have a league, Mexico has a league, and if Canada can't get a league, then too fricken bad, league's are for one country each.
Why does that have to be the case? The Champion's League is just that - a league. Because all a league represents is an organized competition. That league has about 20 countries in it. I'd have zero problem if MLS wanted to go Canadian. They won't be going to Mexico because there's already a very big league there.
ughh hey buddy, the champion's league is a fancy name for a champions cup in any other continent. When I say "league" I mean domestic, every country has (should have) one league. Oh dear god don't bring canada into MLS. This is Soccer, not Baseball or Hockey.
the champions league is not a league.. it is just the name of the tournament.... it is an international tournament... but is not a league... it is like calling the world cup a league....
Yeah, it isn't a "league", they just use that word right. League - tournament - who cares. The same core teams are in it EVERY year. Point being that the CL is the premier competition for clubs in Europe - and it involves playing teams from other countries.
Yeah, so. Sometimes soccer "purisits" are way too pure for their own good. And this is one of them. Chill out. If there is one thing that hampers the sport's growth it is people who want so desperately to be elitist about the sport. If there is a city in Canada that will build a stadium and support a team - bring them in. I imagine our good commish feels the same way and is only restricted from such a search by FIFA's guidelines which would not support such a move.
because those are good teams and they qualify as that.... but not because theyy belong to that league or anything like that... they won the pirvilege to participate (and the money of course...)
That means on election day, some city has a bond election that is flexible enough to include a soccer stadium deal. It's probably part of someone's parks bond election. Or an economic development corporation floating a bond. But you do know that MLS has been negotiating with two cities somewhere in DFW to build one. Everyone's been told that for months. The parties are literally sworn to secrecy, so it's not surprise that we didn't hear about it.
Re: Re: Dallas??? OK. Still, I'd think the voters would want to know that they're agreeing to build a stadium. Seems like it's taking secrecy a bit far to have voters agree on something, then have the city say "With the money you just agreed on, we're going to build a stadium in your back yard." Seems ripe for a political disaster to me.
Re: Re: Re: Dallas??? Heh, legislation... proclamation... enunciation..?.. maybe our water bills will go up because Dallas' legislative 'power' passed a vote. "Hey, that there democracy is a krazy thing!"
What makes American soccer so special?... the only difference between Canada and the US is that we hosted a World Cup which served to jump start MLS... Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal would make much better "soccer cities" than Dallas and KC...
oh lord, typical Chicago fan. You can call me a purist all you want. There is much more of a difference between Canada and the U.S. whether you like it or not, we are 2 seperate countries. MLS is America's league, like EPL is England's league and Serie A is Italy's.
not that i want candian teams in mls, but it has happened before, take for instance the welsh teams playing in england. technically when it comes to soccer they are 2 distinct countries, and fifa allows that, and they would allow the old firm to play in the epl too. But hopefully we won't need canadian teams, it's not doing to well with other sports, they can't afford teh salaries with such high taxes up there, and plus they have to pay everybody in american so its even more expensive.
Some towns are strong sports towns (i.e. Cleveland, New York) and some are not (i.e. Phoenix, Charlotte). In most major US sports they tend to have attendance problems in those cities. I can't pinpoint the exact reasons, but I can tell which cities to stay away from. Also, watch the "away attendance" patterns and you can see that teams from those cities tend not to be big draws, despite being bit cities. MLS needs to stay away from cities with fickle tastes and fairweather fans. It's hard enough to contrive a profitable league as it is, and wasting resources in a historically fickle market simply isn't a mistake that MLS can afford to make. IMHO, having Canadian teams fits that model. For whatever reason US cities don't get enthused about hosting Canadian teams. Eventually, the Canadian cities fans decide that they don't care to support their team. Maybe 20 years from now, but at least for the next two World Cup cycles, no Canadian teams in MLS. It might not be such a bad idea to add a Mexican expansion team, but I don't think that'll happen either. What might be a great option would be for a US expansion team to be put forward by a committed Mexican Owner/Investor. I dunno if there are any that would be interested, but if so it would likely gain some support at away games and probably more hispanic media coverage for MLS as well. -Tron
NO to Canadians teams in MLS. Let's be sure a U.S. city celebrates the championships. Let Canada have their own league or play in the A-League. Also, one of MLS's stated goals is to develop American players and U.S. National team players. MLS and the US Natl Team program work together hand in hand to develop U.S. players. It is a clear and singular relationship. A Canadian owner would not want to spend money on a dual MLS/U.S National Team project/program/event. MLS is not just a soccer league, it is THE U.S. Soccer First Division League.
typical Dallas idiot... there wasn't a problem in NASL... games in Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal were ALWAYS much better supported than the small crowds in Dallas... funny how MLS is NOT DENYING that expansion to Canada is a possibility... Canada made it to the '86 WC over the US... US made it in '90 then hosted in '94... our soccer histories are not so different... oh, lord... Dallasites never filled the Cotton Bowl for the WC and can't get a crowd for MLS... or an owner... if somebody in Canada can do this...
YOU MUST BE JOKING! We need MLS teams in Canada like we need a case of the syph. Back to the Dallas stadium talk...
Let's hope Canada gets their own league with their own domestic champion. That would be lots of fun for North American soccer fans who will then have three regional leagues that we can follow. And it will also strengthen the CONCACAF champions league. I think this is the appropriate context for rivalries with Canadian teams, not in MLS. - Paul
De acuerdo. I'm not anti-Canadian (at least not in the context of this discussion). We have our own problems and we don't need Canada adding to them. We owe Canadian soccer nothing. But I'm pulling for the rouge et blanc to really emerge. Canada is every bit the natural rival that Mexico is.
Charlotte?!?!? Look, Charlotte has this rivalry thing with Atlanta and Raleigh (we don't give a s***.) So when I tell you that you're, um, misinformed about Charlotte, I'm not defending my town. It's 150 miles away. Charlotte is a fine sports town. If you're referring to the Hornets leaving, pm me, and I'll tell you what the problem was there. The short version is, they were the best supported team in the NBA for, like, a decade, but they have one of the most distasteful owners in sports (which is obviously an impressive feat.) It's bad enough when the players are on trial for rape, when an owner is in the dock, that won't work.
serious, here... 10 teams... then 12 teams... then 10 teams... one owner (Anschutz) who owns over half the teams in the league... another owner (Hunt) who owns 2 teams and no owner in Dallas... the league has LOST 250 MILLION dollars in the last 7 years... sorry to have to say this, but I'm much more worried about the Anschutz situation at Qwest than increases in attendance, media coverage, etc... because this league is in such a precarious position that if it loses "St.Phil" the league could easily go out of business... no matter how you slice it, MLS is at the mercy of less than a handful of incredibly wealthy men (3, really) who could eventually get sick of losing $$$... ANYONE in the US or Canada who could add to those numbers should receive full attention from Garber and Co...