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Don Garber Addresses MLS Expansion, Confident League Will Continue To Grow

MLS Commissioner Don Garber prior to the league’s SuperDraft on Friday discussed a variety of topics, saying the league is "still on the rise," according to Alicia DelGallo of the ORLANDO SENTINEL. He said, "The opportunity for us to be bigger, better, stronger, to get deeper in our communities to have better academies to develop our players, to be a league of choice, if you will. We’ve got a lot to do to achieve that." Garber also "mentioned more than once the need for continued and enhanced media coverage, positive and critical, to fuel league interest" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 1/14).

AROUND WE GO: Garber said that he "remains hopeful that plans for a new soccer stadium in St. Louis will move forward, even after a proposal to ask voters to approve" $80M in public funding was "dropped" last week. Garber said the dropping of the funding proposal "surprised us a bit." Meanwhile, ESPN FC's Jeff Carlisle noted Garber "sounded more confident when the subject turned to the possibility of San Diego getting an expansion team." Garber said, "There is a good group that's come together. ... It would be a great MLS city." Referencing the Chargers' recent move from San Diego to L.A., Garber added, "MLS has a better chance of succeeding in markets when a big major league team leaves" (ESPNFC.com, 1/14).

WELCOME TO MIAMI: Garber said he is "confident" David Beckham's proposed Miami MLS club will be the league's 24th team. Garber: "We’ll continue to work hard on finalizing a deal there. There are a lot of moving parts, but we are making progress. We need that team to get announced before we make any decisions going forward. We’ve got all hands on deck" (MIAMI HERALD, 1/14).

SOCCER BY THE STRIP: In Las Vegas, Ed Graney noted the City Council earlier this month voted 5-2 to pay Inner Circle Sports up to $80,000 to "help develop a campaign that might land Las Vegas an MLS franchise." Graney: "Is this latest attempt really about what’s best for the town or simply bruised egos around City Hall?" The city made a "strong push for the NFL stadium to be built downtown, an unsuccessful campaign but one that was a reasonable goal that it should have pursued." But the "infatuation with landing the MLS isn’t." Graney: "Who's buying all the tickets? ... Where are all these soccer fans coming from?" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 1/15).

TEAMING UP: In Nashville, Jacob Steimer reported the two groups "vying to bring" MLS to the city -- USL club Nashville SC and the Nashville MLS Organizing Committee -- "are in merger talks." Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp. CEO Butch Spyridon, a member of the Nashville MLS Organizing Committee, "confirmed" that the groups have "held discussions about a potential deal." However, it is "unclear if a deal would be structured as a buyout" of Nashville SC or as "more of a merger." The Nashville MLS Organizing Committee is led by Nashville businessmen Bill Hagerty and Will Alexander (BIZJOURNALS.com, 1/13).

TOO COSTLY? In Charlotte, Steve Harrison in a front-page piece noted the city is being considered for MLS expansion, and a proposal presented to Mecklenburg County commissioners in closed session last week "calls for the city and county to each spend" $50M toward a $150M million stadium just outside of uptown. Charlotte's early proposal -- which has "not been discussed publicly -- would require taxpayers to spend more than has been spent to benefit other recent MLS franchises," including teams in L.A., Miami and Orlando (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 1/14). A CHARLOTTE OBSERVER editorial stated it is having a hard time "identifying the return" from $100M the city and county would spend toward a $150M MLS stadium. The economic benefits of an MLS team also are "iffy at best." The editorial: "Having an MLS franchise would be fun for Charlotteans, but it also needs to be a good deal. This one isn’t" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 1/15).

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