I’d say that based on recent news we are due for a third NY team. This time it will be the Cosmos. Thrice in a lifetime they always say.
Id be more bullish on NYC3 if NYC2 was not playing in a baseball stadium. I think demographically, they could. Getting the city on board? Thats a different can of worms. I like STL's chances for 28. Thats Garber's last golden goose. It provides him with closure on a city hes wanted since arguably expansion slot 10. After that, its whatever city gets their stuff lined up out of Detroit, San Diego, and Sacramento.......and maybe Phoenix/Vegas.
I think STL looks in the lead. Sac & PHX still with a shot. League wants Det at some point but I am not sure they are must-have. Holding out hope for SA or Tampa somehow. No way stopping at 28, however. I would guess #28 gets announced before March (league will want them to come in with Austin in 2021) and #29/#30 before the end of the year if they are ready. 32 (or more) by 2026. Best guess: #28 = STL, #29 = PHX, #30 SAC, #31 SA, #32 DET. SD best bet to jump someone, followed by Vegas, Indy, and then the SE bids.
I think PHX or SAC will come before STL only because they JUST added FCC in the midwest, and the mid west is really more eastern conference.
same. The midwest would be officially locked in with a team in STL. I think the Southeast kinda feels that way too now with Nashville, Austin, and Miami coming on. The gods are pointing out west again once STL comes on board IMO. Sac, Phoenix, Vegas all loom large. But hey, Charlotte, Raleigh, and Indy keep managing to keep themselves in the news, so who knows.
I have St Louis as the near term favorite, if they get it done in the next year or two. After that, Charlotte. The new owner of the Panthers expressed interest in MLS just after buying the team. That may hint that other NFL/MLS owners suggested he consider it. Tampa Rowdies are owned by the guys that own the Rays. Their short term need is a new stadium for the Rays. I haven't followed the Ybor stadium saga, but I think once they figure a replacement stadium for the Ray's, they may turn their attention to MLS, so maybe 5 years plus. I think if Detroit or Sacramento were going to get in, it'd be done by now. That leaves Phoenix a the dark horse.
My user name suggests I’m a fan of St. Louis getting in next. But it’s been that way since Seattle was picked over Jeff Cooper’s plan in St. Louis. Seattle was the right choice by the way. Cooper never had the money to be an MLS owner. He didn’t even make it a year in the NASL.
Point of correction here.. Cooper never made it a game in NASL.. He sold the Athletic/Athletica to the British suckers.. I mean... brothers before the season even started.
You are correct. That’s why I said he did not make it a year. IIRC he sold the team to the suckers or brothers without disclosing this info. I didn’t get that specific. But that is what is was alluding with my post.
He tried twice. 2008 was Seattle and 2009 was Philly. I admit I forgot about the second bid by his group - St. Louis Soccer United. That second bid was Philly over them so you’re right.
ACSTL's downfall was not reflective of whether Cooper had the money to be an MLS owner. ACSTL failed because the Vaid brothers were victims of embezzlement. It had absolutely nothing to do with Cooper's wealth or the wealth of Cooper's investment group. Absolutely nothing. Cooper's MLS investors were not Cooper's ACSTL investors. It frustrates me to see how little people understand what actually happened with Cooper's bid. In late 2007, Cooper definitely had enough money to be an MLS owner by 2007 MLS standards. St. Louis and Philly were the only legitimate bids at the time. Understandably, MLS went with the Number 4 market. Makes sense. At that time, Cooper was definitely looking good to get the next team. MLS was delaying because they really wanted a downtown stadium. There were areas being explored north of Laclede's Landing and south of Ameren. While this was all going on, the economy crashed. Jay Sugarman, owner of the Philly expansion team saw his shares of stock in iStar fall to less than $0.50/share. The Union almost went belly-up before ever taking the field. Rightly, this scared MLS and the wealth needed to own a team skyrocketed. Cooper didn't have that kind of money. In short, did Cooper have the money necessary to own an MLS team? Pre-2008? Most definitely Post-2008? Definitely not. So, if you remember, Philly's bid hinged on a state vote. They got their vote and were awarded a team. Had that vote not gone their way, St. Louis would have been given a team. As things changed bringing us up to today, MLS would have to have found additional investors to keep them afloat. But Cooper had the money (by MLS standards at the time) and if Philly didn't get the vote, STL would have taken their place.
Part of the problem is that Cooper's investors wanted to remain silent until a team was awarded. I always hated that.