MLS Commissioner Don Garber on Thursday said that the next round of expansion, which would "bring the league up to 28 teams, would be done sometime in the mid-2020s and would be the last such decisions the league would make over the next 10 years," according to Alexander Abnos of SI.com (4/21). Garber said St. Louis and Sacramento are "front-runners" for the next round of expansion, which could occur as soon as '20. He said that other candidates, "in priority order," were Detroit, San Diego, San Antonio, Austin and Cincinnati. Garber: "What held us back in St. Louis for 20 years is we never had a viable stadium. Now we're talking to a group of investors and we're able to capitalize on the Rams [having] left. So there is a site where it's ready. ... St. Louis is a very, very high potential market, and one of the things that makes it more strategic for us is its proximity to Kansas City" (AP, 4/21). USL club Austin Aztex officials said that they are "not disappointed to be sixth" on Garber’s wish list of expansion candidates. In Austin, Kevin Lyttle notes Circuit of the Americas Chair and Aztex investor Bobby Epstein and Aztex CEO Rene van de Zande "have repeatedly said they do not expect a third MLS team in Texas for at least five or six years." The Aztex have "taken a one-year hiatus" from the USL while they "try to build a stadium." Van de Zande said that all things considered, his group is "happy to remain in the MLS conversation" (AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 4/22).
OUTSIDE LOOKING IN: In Indianapolis, Phil Friend notes Garber did not mention the city as a possible expansion market even though the NASL Indy Eleven "just began their third season and have led the league in attendance each of their first two campaigns." A spokesperson for the club said that it is "happy with its situation in the NASL." But Friend notes when the Eleven franchise came into existence, former team president Peter Wilt said that the goal "was to eventually reach MLS" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 4/22). In Las Vegas, Kira Terry notes the city "doesn't seem to even be in the running for a team in the latest round of expansion." Las Vegas "submitted a bid for a MLS franchise" for the '17 or '18 expansion last year, but it was "shot down by the league" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 4/22).
EXAMINING THE CANDIDATES: SI.com's Brian Straus prior to Garber's remarks noted MLS intends to "convene an expansion committee of four-to-six owners who will assess the options this year and make recommendations concerning when and how to proceed." None of the candidates "is as far along" as USL club Sacramento Republic FC, but as that club has "demonstrated, the expansion landscape is volatile." Sacramento was "nowhere close to the conversation three years ago," but just about every concern the league "once had about this unexpected expansion candidate has been resolved." Meanwhile, Straus wrote St. Louis is the "best bet for team No. 26." The city’s "long-term love affair with soccer is well known," but plenty "still needs to happen." Straus also identified Detroit and San Antonio as the "best of the rest" of the possible expansion markets. MLS has "had conversations with potential owners in Detroit, although they remain unidentified." There is also "no question San Antonio wants to be part of MLS." But there are "two significant issues with San Antonio." One is that it is "only the 32nd-largest media market in the U.S.," and the other is that Toyota Field "isn’t the sort of stadium MLS is looking for." Straus noted Charlotte, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Las Vegas and Phoenix are "unmentioned, but worth watching" (SI.com, 4/20).
OTHER ISSUES: Garber said of the process of forming an expansion franchise in Miami, "It's going to happen. If it doesn't happen, it would surprise us." He added, "Their investor, should we close, is going to be a real guy. I'm very confident and bullish." Meanwhile, Garber said that LAFC "'needs to get moving fast' on a stadium deal if they hope to start playing in it" in '18. He added that the stadium's planning is "in the very advanced stages," but "getting the actual construction started has been the issue." Garber said of soccer's worth, "The market for professional soccer in this country is $3.2 billion. We are a $1 billion industry. So we have $2 billion to grow into." He said of the U.S. men's national team's failure to qualify for the Olympics, "It hurt. ... I think at the youth level, we're just not good enough" (SI.com, 4/21).
