With MLS well into its fourth season, SI's Grant Wahl
writes that "three years of administrative malaise is enough
reason for MLS owners to dispense with excuses and show"
league Commissioner Doug Logan "the door." Wahl cites
shrinking attendance numbers and "stagnant" TV ratings and
notes that MLS has "reportedly lost" $100M in its four
years. In addition, Logan "has presided over the sale of
only one of the three league-owned franchises," the Clash,
while the Burn and Mutiny remain unsold. One league exec,
who referred to Logan's role in helping to "orchestrate" the
departure of MLS Deputy Commissioner Sunil Gulati earlier
this year: "The league was successful the first year because
there was a good plan and Doug let other people do their
jobs. Then he decided he knew more than the experts, and
since then we've been on a downhill slide." Another exec
said the league "has done horribly in the media ever since
Doug announced that we'd draw 20,000 people a game before
the season began two years ago." Wahl floats '94 World Cup
organizer Alan Rothenberg as a potential replacement for
Logan and calls him "the only administrator who has made
soccer work in America." Wahl: "But for the league to grow,
it needs its own David Stern, a leader with a financial and
marketing vision who produces results and leaves the soccer
part to the experts" (SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, 6/14 issue).
