A decade ago, MLS faced a future that was anything but secure. The 2001 season produced the league’s lowest regular-season TV ratings ever. The league contracted and shed the Tampa Bay Mutiny and Miami Fusion franchises early in 2002, leaving the league with 10 clubs and three owners — Phil Anschutz, the Kraft family and the Hunt family. And those owners were beginning to grumble about the money they were using to keep the league afloat.
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Tampa Bay Mutiny, circa 2001
Photo by: Getty Images |
Fast forward to 2012, as the league kicks off its 17th season, and you’ll find an MLS on much more secure footing, with several positives to highlight. Among them:
■ Montreal paid $40 million to become the league’s 19th club and makes its debut this season. This comes on the back of MLS welcoming clubs in Portland and Vancouver in 2011. A potential New York expansion team could go for as much as $100 million.
■ This season, 15 of 19 clubs will be playing in stadiums built with soccer in mind. In 2002, only one club played in a soccer-specific stadium.
■ In 2011, MLS set a record for average attendance at 17,844 fans per game, with a record 87 sellouts during the regular season. Ten clubs averaged more than 17,000 fans per game. In comparison, attendance for 2001 averaged 14,961.
■ A decade ago, the league’s national TV agreements were barter arrangements and MLS covered all production costs. Now, MLS receives a rights fee from its TV partners with production costs covered. The Los Angeles Galaxy has its own multimillion-dollar agreement with Time Warner Cable.
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Seattle Sounders, circa 2011
Photo by: Getty Images |
■ In 2001, the league did not allow teams to sell jersey sponsorships. That changed in 2006 when MLS gave teams the go-ahead to add that lucrative category. Today, all but three MLS clubs have such sponsorships, with the latest being a five-year deal between the Columbus Crew and Perio (Barbasol) that was announced in February.
— Staff reports
