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MLS (Official Thread)

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TooTallMenardo said:
If Beckham's club can be called Miami Vice, whatever the new club's location... Power Rangers.
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I'm surprised MLS is keeping it in L.A. rather than moving the team to Minneapolis or Atlanta, after the league re-sells the team to someone in those respective cities.

Although, the league would've just added an expansion team again in LA in the future anyhow.
 
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My guess is Garber is feeling the heat of not having a pro/rel system that the rest of the world has adopted. And we're getting damn near the amount of teams where it would make sense to see an MLS 1, MLS 2 split (divisions below stay the same with potential to be promoted).
 
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I personally question the need for two teams in the LA and NYC markets. Are the Galaxy and Red Bulls consistently drawing crowds that would indicate more demand? I know the demographics might support it, but does attendance? This is a legit question, btw, I really don't know how MLS performs attendance-wise outside of a few markets.
 
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scarletmike said:
I personally question the need for two teams in the LA and NYC markets. Are the Galaxy and Red Bulls consistently drawing crowds that would indicate more demand? I know the demographics might support it, but does attendance? This is a legit question, btw, I really don't know how MLS performs attendance-wise outside of a few markets.
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Not at all.
 
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So then why bother? Surely they know one of the franchises is losing money, if not both in that kind of situation. Is it just because the status quo in most other sports is for large markets to have two teams? I'd love to know why they want two teams in those markets and feel it is viable. At best they're getting a small group that has the interest in soccer and financial ability to follow and attend games of two teams with minimal different crowds for each. At worst, they've divided a market that was already small into two, tanking both franchises. I don't buy any kind of marketing/interest driver point, because these multi-team markets are ethnically diverse and have demographics that you might stereotypically expect to see strong support for the sport, yet aren't driving strong support for one team (or two already, plus a USL Pro team, for LA) as is.

I guess my point is that, like others, I'd rather see a franchise go to a city without one, or moving up another USL Pro team with strong support like what happened with Orlando City.
 
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Regional rivalries seem to be all the rage in (North) American soccer...over the years the Chicago/Columbus/Kansas City, LA/San Jose, Vancouver/Portland/Seattle, and New England/NY rivalries have been good for the sport, and Toronto/Montreal/Vancouver could take hold in Canada as well. But like all of you I seriously doubt there will be enough strong support for 2 teams in any American city, espeically if one of the teams struggles like Chivas has. I don't get it, I know there are more people there, but if anything they have a hell of a lot more choices of what to do with their time and how to spend their money...whereas smaller markets that can draw a fan base and build a stadium and can offer a reasonably priced soccer ticket I would think would have a competitive advantage.
 
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The thing about relegation is, and why MLS might shy away from it for a little bit (not forever), lets say the Columbus Crew invests again and builds a new stadium near the Arena District/Huntington Park/Downtown. And then the Crew gets relegated.

It might not push the stadium build if someone like New England has a chance to get relegated and they've just invested $80-$200 million in a stadium.

But it's not to say there won't ever be relegation, because it probably will happen.
 
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BVistahC said:
The thing about relegation is, and why MLS might shy away from it for a little bit (not forever), lets say the Columbus Crew invests again and builds a new stadium near the Arena District/Huntington Park/Downtown. And then the Crew gets relegated.

It might not push the stadium build if someone like New England has a chance to get relegated and they've just invested $80-$200 million in a stadium.

But it's not to say there won't ever be relegation, because it probably will happen.
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My theory on the pro/rel system is based only off of the rate at which the MLS is expanding. They seemed really reluctant to choose a 20th MLS franchise (finally selecting Montreal), and now they are making it rain with news of a new franchise every 3 months? Something doesn't add up.
 
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Some places (like Scotland) only relegate one club at a time. That might work here, but they'd have to set up a lower league that was competing for a chance to move up, and I don't see how new MLS franchises helps them do that. If anything they should be trying to create a viable League 1 if they were trying to do that.
 
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Bucklion said:
Some places (like Scotland) only relegate one club at a time. That might work here, but they'd have to set up a lower league that was competing for a chance to move up, and I don't see how new MLS franchises helps them do that. If anything they should be trying to create a viable League 1 if they were trying to do that.
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Come up with the formula (how many teams get promoted/relegated, how many teams in each division, schedules, etc), and then at the end of the season, the top 14-16 clubs (I don't think we're anywhere close to the end of the wave of expansion in the MLS) will find themselves in the newly formed MLS 1 division. Everyone 16 or below is in the MLS 2 division, with the prospect of being promoted at the end of the next season. The split would make for some SERIOUSLY good entertainment in the Lamar Hunt US Open. Granted, the clubs finishing 16th-last won't be too happy with the newly formed divisions, but it's got to begin somewhere right? (if it ever begins...)

But I agree, I don't think they would necessarily need 3 promotions and 3 relegated teams like the Barclays, Liga BBVA, Serie A, and Bundesliga does. One or two would be pretty ideal. At least to start with.
 
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