http://www.latimes.com/sports/socce...,903753.story?coll=la-headlines-sports-soccer not much, a Q&A with graber, here it is- Q: Tim Leiweke [AEG president] is on record as saying the league will expand by two teams this year. What are the candidate cities and what is the most likely scenario? A: I think what Tim said is that we would expand. I think we've qualified it by saying that we're going to work this year to try to announce expansion by the end of our season. We've got many cities that have expressed interest. In Cleveland, the potential investor there is close to finalizing a deal to purchase property for a potential stadium. We've made progress in Houston. We've made lots of progress in Tulsa and Oklahoma City. look at the first part of his answer- what the hell does that mean????? jeez this is not good. it was a simple question asked, the answer in the past has been 'we will announce two teams by the end of this year' now he is giving out this kind of BS response. where's bill o'reilly to yell at him to stop 'spinning'- this should be a NO SPIN ZONE! one again, they have never said try to announce expansion by the end of our season before, this is not good.
good news in Cleveland though. They put this off so long its not a big suprise they're putting it off again. MLS Expansion in 2006?
the only surprise is that anyone's surprised. they need I/Os, stadiums, money and grass roots involvement. not easy to come by in this country. as soon as they get it, i suspect they'll announce it. but if they don't have it, what can they announce? they can only expand if all the elements are in place and not a moment sooner.
who cares when they announce the expansion teams. just so long as they're in good markets and have good solid non-horrorwitz like investors who.. i dunno. market their team and stuff.
I don't think Garber was backtracking in his interview with the LA Times. What Garber said this week to Grahame Jones is consistent with what he was saying earlier this year in public: Tim Leiweke, speaking at the Honda Symposium back in October 2002: "within the next 365 days the league will announce that it will be adding two more teams." http://www.soccergamenight.com/mls/news2002/october/1008leiwkek.htm The KC Star reporting on a Wizard's function back in March 2003: "Garber said the goal is to announce the addition of two teams by the end of this season and have those clubs operational by the beginning of the 2005 season" http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/soccer/mls/kansas_city_wizards/5270436.htm Note that the KC article doesn't say that MLS "will" expand in 2005. It states that MLS' "goal" is to expand in 2005.
I'm not sure what you're so upset about. Do you want to "force" MLS to expand before they're ready and everythings in place? Just let them do it on their own timeframe, so they can do it properly. They're obviously "working on it". Also, should we consider those 4 cities the "final 4"?
Exactly. People like to imagine that Garber said this, or promised that. Truth is, he said (on an ESPN Chat: http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/chatESPN?event_id=2590) " We hope to announce definitivly what our expansion timing is within the next 365 days." In the LA Times story he says: "...we're going to work this year to try to announce expansion by the end of our season." Which sounds like pretty much the same thing he said in the ESPN Chat quote. Not, MLS will expand by two teams in 2005. Not, MLS WILL announce 2005 expansion by Fall 2003. No. MLS "hope(s)" to announce by Fall 2003 what it's expansion plans are. This, of course, grew on these boards into a lead pipe cinch promise to expand by two teams in 2005. MLS, as usual, is to blame for over-hyping it's expansion city list. Most the teams MLS execs have mention as possible 2005 expansion cities are clearly not realistic candidates (at least not by 2005). IMO, 2005 expansion for MLS is a 50-50 proposition. And there's precious little room for error: Rochester has to start its stadium this year; Tulsa or OKC has to do the same. OR, the NFL owners in Philly, Houston or Seattle have to have a change of heart. If one or more of these things fails to materialize in the next 5 months, expansion in 2005 will not happen.
I want the MLS owners to expand to my city ASAP. However I do understand why the current MLS owners are insisting that expansion team owners build soccer specific stadiums. They don't want to see a repeat of what happened to the MLS teams in Florida. I'd rather the league be patient and see the expansion teams be successful than impatient and see the expansion teams fold.
I have said it a million times, but i will say it again......the mls does this every two years...they have been doing it since first and only round of expansion. every two years they say they will expand in two years, but when that time comes they just push it off and say it will be two years later. This will make the 5 time they have done it. The mls will stay at 10 teams until it crashes.
Until it crashes!!!!!!!!!!! C'mon dude knock it off!!! I would rather we not expand and have every current team, have a soccer specific stadium. What would you rather have. Soccer in OKC or see the deals for a stadium for NYC DC and Chicago finalized and begun? I would take the latter every single time. So would anyone on here who has a brain!!
I think there still will be an expansion. Garber was covering his backside in case for some reason there isn't. Officials like this give non-straightforward answers all the time. I wouldn't sweat it.
Men and woman of the post come on where have you been? We will be expanding in 2001 two new teams. No we lost two teams. 2002 We will be adding two new teams. No teams. We will be spreading the soccer footprint to Winston-Salem maybe Philly or maybe Move up and A League team like the Rhino's. Did that happen lets look nope. We will be adding two new teams in 2003 and adding new investors? Are there two new teams now no and do we have new investors come on and smell the dog poop we will get new teams ans new investors some day until than just try to support the 10 teams we have now and don't get your hopes up and aways wait to here what the big man promises at the all- star game. At least we will not here we are getting two new teams in 2004 we skip that year and now it's 2005. New teams in 2011 and we expand by one and lose teams in smaller markets. Have a nice day and stay away from the crack pipe.
Blunders continue … MLS looking for new markets, new I/O's Yet ? some of the existing markets are falling apart, like a cheap Singapore suit.. lets face it …the Fusion days look better and better… soccer, credibility, controversy, attendance ..was all, much better and more fun. The knowledged old timer Cosmos/Striker/Rowdies fan, and the Hispanics are not coming out in droves to watch MLS … poor quality, limited talent (1 or 2 max per team, max) poor format, poor entertainment, poor credibility, and poor management are part of the reasons . A league where a 40 yo (god love him) is the top player ??? Paying attention to the Colorado game where the locals mention that there were 3,000 not 7,500 as announced, takes me back to the debate on the attendance… where still !!! MLS and some novice fans believe that 10,000 was poor attendance at Lockhart in a 21,000 SSS.. or in MLS for matter of fact ??? 10,000 fan markets are not many, specially if you add the SSS in the formula well ! I remember the days It was rocking ..DC-Fusion 15,000 .. ahhhhhhhhhhh !!!!!!!!!!!! So in MLS ? it is better to have 8,000 fans, (fudged up attendance) in the seats in a 70K stadium.. than 10,000. ? in a cheap of the cheapest venues,called LockhartSSS.. with such poor understanding and knowledge from MLS .. and some novice fans ! expansion not only looks and sounds ridiculous.. but it is a dream… in the next couple years… even !if “expansion” comes about… some other existing markets will have to pay their dues.. be moved or “contracted” Some of us will be old men before we see a 16 team MLS 10 teams with 8 team playoffs .. is a joke keep dreaming
I just heard on the ticket the LA vs KC game that Tim Lewicki WAS SPEAKING ON THE PLAN FOR THE NEXT 5 YEARS. Expansion to 16 teams NY, LA TO PLAY AT THE HD center. Ohio, Ok and some other cities. And a another owner. I believe when I see.