I think there are enough markets to fill here before we look to our socialist neighbor to the north. any canadian team would cry poor because of the weak canadian dollar and high taxes, as they have in all sports in which canadian teams coexist with American teams, and then they would scream for more "equitable" revenue sharing, and dilute the already thin revenue stream from American teams. Screw canada.
My dream.... WESTERN CONFERENCE: Pacific Division: Los Angeles Galaxy San Francisco Earthquakes Seattle Sounders Portland Timbers CD Chivas USA Central Division: FC Dallas Colorado Rapids Real Salt Lake Houston Eagles Kansas City Wizards EASTERN CONFERENCE: Atlantic Division: DC United New England Revolution New Jersey Metros Philadelphia Athletic New York Cosmos* Midwest Division: Rochester Rhinos Miami Fusion Dynamo Detroit Chicago Fire Columbus Crew * Please don't bother to remind me that the name is owned by some schmuck who hasn't sold it yet. This is MY dream, and I'll use it if I want to! Four games vs. division rivals = 16 Two games vs. other division in same conference = 10 One game vs. other conference = 10 36-game schedule. Top eight teams in each conference make playoffs. Playoff format: Within each conference, two groups of four teams, seeded by regular-season finish. Group A: Seeds 1,4,6,8. Group B: Seeds 2,3,5,7. The higher seed hosts each game, and the only tiebreaker within the group is higher seed. The two group winners play in the Conference Final, to be hosted by higher seed. Conference Final winners play in MLS Cup Final.
If MLS has to have divisions, this is the way to do it. You nailed the way to handle regular season & playoff games -- geographical grouping saves each team some money on travel expenses. You could quibble with Houston vs. San Antonio or Miami vs. Atlanta, Carolina or Tampa Bay. But, every other franchise selection is reasonable -- I like the idea of having a franchise in New York City & we certainly can dream that the legendary name "Cosmos" will become available -- even if the going price is $1,000,000 or whatever.
I assume you know that the American dollar has depreciated by about 25% over the last three years on the foreign exchange.
Yeah, I just included Miami because it was in the post by MLS3 that I used as a template. Maybe now, I'd take out Miami and add in a Minnesota team. I'm also not thrilled with having Rochester in that division, but there really wasn't another team in the Eastern Conference that I'd want to exclude from the Atlantic. Yeah, I think that a real NY vs. NJ derby would be a cool thing, and something that MLS could do when no other league really could, or has been able to do. In the NBA and NHL, for example, the New York teams were so much better-established than their New Jersey counterparts that the NJ teams began at a disadvantage, from the standpoint of building a local fan base. MLS would be somewhat the opposite of that.
You know (I've said this before), I don't know if soccer will ever take off in the NYC metro area unless there's a team in 1 of the 5 boroughs -- probably you'd want it in Queens or Brooklyn. I think that there was an olden days basketball team called the New York "Renaissance" or, for short, "Rens." That might be a do-able substitute for the preferable monicker "Cosmos." I also liked "Athletic" for Philadelphia -- a nod to the old Connie Mack-era "Athletics." . There certainly do seem to be several midwestern cities that would be better sites for expansion in view of the failure of the Mutiny (should have worked out) and the Fusion. What happened in Florida was that a major investor pulled out and MLS decided to consolidate to make finances more manageable for the remaining I/Os -- even so the Fusion & the Mutiny just weren't drawing well. Maybe, it was a management problem. Minneapolis (one of the more successful NASL franchises) might well be a better choice than going anywhere in the Southeast -- and St. Louis (soccer tradition), Toronto (if MLS goes Canadian) & Indianapolis (very similar demographics to Columbus) would seem to be good alternatives. Would really like to see Portland get a team (I lived there for a while & followed the Timbers), but there's no I/O in sight. Sadly, a great potential deep-pockets local I/O -- Phil Knight -- seems more interested in financing another local professional franchise (the Univeristy of Oregon) than owning a pro soccer franchise. Vancouver (if MLS decides to go Canadian) would be a pretty darn good substitute and San Diego is another option if Portland doesn't work out. Still like the idea of a single table as an alternative, but I don't see how it can work without promotion/relegation -- which has to be a pipe dream because of all the money being sunk in MLS by the various I/Os. But, I like pro/rel for two reasons. First, it would clear out the deadwood (cases in point -- the Arizona Cardinals and the recently renamed Montreal Expos). Second, it's a way of maintaining fan interest in teams that are having a miserable season. O.K, o.k., o.k., already. That's my pro/rel diatribe. It won't happen again. I promise.
I believe the league should focus on getting teams in nyc proper st. louis,houston and other parts of the southwest for the next round of expansion. We do not even know if the Quakes are going to survive in SJ so move them to oklahoma where I believe they have a sss being built? NYC will love having a real team to call their own(they don't like to share) and St. Louis will appreciate (I believe) a team that harks back to the soccer tradition that is in the city. Once we get those teams in we can think about a return to fla or the pacific nw and rochester
I thought he main problem in Tampa was the stadium deal. It just cost too much. I'd like to see another team in the Tampa area. Many of the league's teams train there in the Spring, so the league gets lots of free publicity there. At least I assume they do this every year, like baseball does. DCU played South Florida with a capacity crowd last year, although in a small place, for instance. Also, the national soccer academy complex is in Bradenton, so there is coverage of that, too. I saw a DCU/Metrostars preseason scrimage there last year. Actually, it is a multisport complex, but soccer is pretty big at that complex, because of the Nats. At least Tampa would be a better place, IMO, than some other random big city that doesn't have any connection to MLS or the Nats, like Atlanta, St Louis, Indianapolis, etc. Those places might work, too, but I think Tampa is worth another shot in the first 20 teams anyway. Other than Tampa, I think MLS is most likely to work in the following places in order of likelihood of success, IMO: Toronto (SSS, plus Canadian Men's National Team) Rochester (SSS, owner, and at least 10K fans already) San Antonio (pro-SSS, possibly Mexican club affiliation) Houston (good stadium already at U of H, poss Mexican affiliation) Philly (great rivalry location between DCU and Metros) Seattle (decent ownership possibilities) Montreal (lots of fans for A-league team) Portland (fans, tradition) Raleigh (good local university soccer, not much pro sports) I'd avoid Atlanta and St. Louis for awhile because of they are overloaded with other sports. An MLS team would just be a blip on the radar. I've known enough sports fans from Atlanta that I'm sure there would be a strong anti-soccer crowd there, too. All the baseball and Nascar fans would be vocal against it there, and there are a lot of them. Seattle, Philly, and Houston could work in spite of their crowded pro sports, IMO.
I'll agree with Atlanta, but not St. Louis. In St. Louis they have MLB, NHL and NFL. But again the two biggest issues there is venue and no apparent ownership group. But then again, the whole thing in Salt Lake, pretty much came in under the radar.
Yes, here in St. Louis we have other sports, but they are extremely well supported, and St. Louis has a great soccer tradition (go see "Game of Their Lives") and still produces large numbers of great players (as well as nationally known announcers). And with the huge influx of Bosnians, the sport is only getting more popular (PSG recently signed a Bosnian guy from St. Louis). The lack of a large outdoor venue is the real problem. Stupid dome on our football stadium.
Here is my idea. It's a dream, but if I was in charge this would be my masterplan. Boston Minutemen (former N.E.) Metrostars Chicago Fire Colombus Crew D.C. United Kansas City Wizards F.C. Dallas 96 Colorado Rapids S.F. Earthquakes L.A. Galaxy 05' ReAL SLC 05' C.D. Chivas USA 06' Rochester Rhinos 06' Rio San Antonio 07' Seattle Sounders 07' House of Roses (Portland) 09' New York Cosmos 09' Pennsylvania Athletic 10' Detroit (Racing, City, Dynamo) 10' Nashville Knights --20 team one table league --38 Game Full Season --Home and Away vs. every team --8 Team playoff Highlights-- More games that matter. See every player in the league at home. More home dates to create SSS revenue.