The wait is finally over Philadelphia, Major League Soccer is coming to your city.
MLS has chosen Philadelphia to become the league’s 16th franchise, sources told SBI on Wednesday night. The announcement is set for next Thursday.
Philadelphia beat out St. Louis for the right to join the league, helped in no small part by the state of Pennsylvania’s decision to approve $47 million in state funding for a proposed $115 million stadium in Chester, Pa.
The Philadelphia team is slated to begin play in 2010.
So why Philadelphia instead of St. Louis? The St. Louis expansion drive slowed in recent months as efforts to attract big-money investors proved difficult while Philly’s push for public stadium funding provided the final boost for the efforts.
Don’t fret St. Louis, there is always being No. 17. The city’s chances for eventually joining MLS look good and a city with as much soccer history and love for the sport as St. Louis will surely make its way into the league sooner rather than later.
As most SBI readers know, I have long considered Philadelphia as the ideal candidate for expansion. Not only because of the area’s soccer history, but also for the rivalries that will be instantly created with D.C. United and the Red Bulls. The fact that fans of two established MLS teams will be able to drive two hours to an opposing team’s stadium is invaluable for cultivating the sort of fan connection that will help MLS grow.
What do you think of this decision? Did you like Philly as a candidate? Are you upset St. Louis lost out? Was there another city you had in mind? Share your thoughts below.
ugh to philly.
now MLS gets to taste what the rest of the country all knows – Philly fans are *!&@*&!(@*@$*@!) and *!)(#!)$@(*@ and also !*$!*!)#!ers.
I would like to see the next team in St. Lou. They appreciate their teams and support them.
And Maybe even another trip to Miami would be a way to go. If they use Gallindo as their centerpiece of course . . . .
Tony in Quakeland:
That would be too many teams. The league is going to have to transform into a US/South America/Africa league to fill all of these rosters.
Congrats to Philly. This will actually make the SOB less annoying.
I know this seems like a long shot, but I really hope Atlanta is next. Soccer fans in the South are dying for an MLS team…
I am disappointed that my wife’s ancestral homeland, St Louis, did not get a franchise, although it would be stunning if they don’t get number 17 (or 18 with a pair of cities).
The conspiracy theories are looking a little too hard. It was obvious that MLS wanted Philly (market size, rivalries, prestige, etc.) and was simply going to wait until they had the deal. Anyone who is shocked at the announcement simply wasn’t paying attention.
St Louis is next…
Congrats Philly. I’m looking forward to some good east coast rivalries.
Congrats to Philly, grew up and learned to play in that city. Well deserved for an awesome soccer city!
I’ve said it before, as a Philly area resident and a Red Bulls’ season ticket holder, I have a tough decision to make. The history of idiocy of the front offices of Metro and now Red Bull will figure in big time when I make my decision. A new coach and a new direction every season has not been a recipe for success. I guess I will give it 2 more years as a season ticket holder. Will there be success in Metro/Red Bull Land? If not, I’m gone.
Bien hecho, Filadelfia!! (Spanglish spelling)
Great news! I’ve been waiting for this day for a while now. I am looking forward to sitting in that beautiful new stadium under the Commodore Barry bridge in 2010.
Good luck to St. Louis going forward. A great soccer city with a good stadium plan…they deserve an MLS team.
oh man here we go…Miami? STL, Vancouver, Portland, heck Montreal should all be ahead of Miami.
Congrats Philly. Ben would be proud. Hopefully St. Louis is next in line. It’s a Missouri Derby!
The second “Philly” in my post should read “Jersey”. Oops
Don’t forget Miami. Good news for Philadelphia soccer fans I hope Miami will get a expansion team in 2011.
If fans for other Philly sports are any indication, we could have a monster on our hands. They booed Santa Claus. Prepare for American hooliganism.
I’m a transplant from an area with no MLS team and now living in Philly, but I used to live in Philly and work for RBNY, so this could present an interesting dilemma.
Bring it on! Roadtrip!!
Congrats to the SOBs. I look forward to a great rivalry.
Good for Philly, rivalry will be sweet for those in the area and for the league in general.
That said, if Philly get a stadium before NYRB (I know it’s seen some progress) I’m going to p**p myself. Go Bulls!
I am disappointed that St Louis did not get the team. I hope that Philly will support this team as passionately as they do the Eagles. That would make for some great atmosphere at games.
This is awesome news for my scumbag south jersey friends (no offense to south jersey people–my personal friends down there actually are scumbags).
It will be nice to finally have a team close enough so that I can make it to every single away game there.
And the next franchise shouldn’t even be a discussion…it should be St. Louis. It’s undebateable.
Good for them. It’s time to update http://www.phillysucks.com
Way to go Philly, a good addition to the league. For the St. Louis fans, sorry I understand the history and tradition there, but you lost out on a MLS franchise when RSL got stadium funding. There are other cities with funding, planning, and fans that are also waiting for a team. I actually hope that MLS stops the expansion for a couple years to allow the league to adjust to 4 new teams in 4 years, with the current player restrictions and MLS tight fisted control of teams, we are reaching towards the bottom of the US talent pool.
Doug:
Market size? Why would MLS have ever been so interested in St. Louis in the first place if they are concerned about the market size? It’s not like it has changed. I think I would lean more towards the investment issue.
rocky:
Uh….Miami? Miami should be next? It could be great? Yeah, it’s a shame they don’t give Miami a chance. They should be next on the list. I have to go because I can’t type and laugh this hard at the same time. Thanks for the laughs!
To St. Louis:
If the only problem in getting franchise is truly finding investors then why not follow a Barcelona/Green Bay Packer and get, say, 60,000 people in the area to ante up $1000, (which would initially raise $60,000,000) to be members, then, say $100/year member dues (which would raise $6,000,000/year)? You wouldn’t have to wait for a deep pockets investor, the team would be owned by the fans. If soccer is as popular in St. Louis as is commonly claimed, I think that finding 60,000 people who want to partially own a a local soccer team might not be too far of a stretch. Has this been considered?
The only reason St. Louis does not have a team is because of market size. It’s not as big as Philly or Seattle, so the league wants to go there. I don’t blame them. Good for those cities.
As for investors, the investors are there. MLS wants as deep of pockets as they can get, so they are pushing for more investors. I don’t really blame them there either. But if MLS wanted to award St Louis a team today, the investment money is there.
As for the stadium deal, this is something that is unclear. How long before the city says enough, and pulls the deal. The stadium and everything else is a go – as long as MLS gives the ok.
Congrats to Philly, though.
good for philly they def. deserve a team. Miami should be next im a huge supporter of the cause. their is a lot of rumbling about the matter here, so lets hope something happens because with the latino flavor in miami,it could be great.
Ok, major problem here. I’m from Philly and live in DC. I only root for DC b/c Philly had nothing. Now they do and I’m screwed. I can’t stand any of the other DC teams. Will this happen with United also? Oh no…
I live in the Philadelphia suburbs and I think this is great news. Philadelphia is home to the Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer Association, which represents nearly 200,000 players. I am quite sure that among these 200,000 youth players, quite a few will become MLS fans!
What happens with the St. Louis stadium approval now? With no team coming, will the locals change their mind on building the stadium. A lot of money and political clout has already been expended in StL. Has the MLS given StL any promises? Is the MLS assisting the local StL group in finding more investers? Or…is MLS using StL as a moving option for any current lacking MLS organizations? Several clubs need stadiums…. Somthing is fishy about this whole thing.
If you take funding out of the equation and I know thats the biggest driver between St Louis and Philly (St. Louis would have eventually made it happen)
I think there’s no comparison. St.Louis blows Philly away in soccer history and culture!!!!!
Doug:
St. Louis has everything in place? That’s a little hard to believe. MLS wanted a team there and I think they would have been the 14th team if they had everything in place.
“Are you upset St. Louis lost out?”
Hell yeah I’m upset St. Louis lost out! I gotta believe we’ll still get something done though. We’re the only other option with everything in place.
This is great news! I am a bit disappointed they won’t start play until 2010 though. I won’t even get into the whole Seattle discussion. However, if I’m Philly, why not seriously look to start a PDL or USL 2 team as a feeder team for 2010? Also, I would do the same for St. Louis. Get a PDL team going, get crazy fan support, show the league the city can more than support it…etc. etc.
why not in 2009 with Seattle… so its even teams
What happened to St. Louis?
Before San Jose, Seattle, and Philadelphia, St. Louis was a “lock” to be the next expansion team. What is it that changed so much that the league is now at sixteen teams, but St. Louis still doesn’t have a team. Did the group in St. Louis run into trouble? I never heard anything.
This has to be bad news for St. Louis because MLS has also stated in the past that after they got to sixteen teams that there would be a period of no expansion. Unless this is just another thing that the MLS likes to say, and then change shortly thereafter, St. Louis could be left out in the cold.
I feel bad for St. Louis but MLS should stick to their guns on this one and not allow any more expansion for an extended period. Just looking at the expansion of San Jose this year you can see that the league’s talent is being spread too thin. The situation is made even worse by the fact that so many players are leaving MLS.
I can’t wait for the time when we have as many teams as a standard league around the world, but if this is rushed and the league ends up fielding teams of 1996 quality, the league may find itself going in the wrong direction again. Survival should be first. If something were to happen to this league I don’t think you would ever see another one here.
From this point on if a city wants to join the league they should look at strengthening the league by moving one of the weak teams that seem to be a drag on MLS like they did with San Jose. I think we all know who would be first in line to be moved. A team should be able to attract a minimum of 10-12 thousand on average. I don’t think just building a stadium is sufficient to solve a team’s problems if they don’t have the support.
It’s great to have Seattle and Philadelphia in the league, finally. Based on tradition and support you would have expected them to have been amongst the first teams. How about the names? Sounders and Atoms? I never liked the Atoms, but I also hope it isn’t something corny like the Freedom that the women’s team went with.
Long live MLS!
I’m from philly and I love it! I wonder how many people drive up to New York for Red Bulls games from Philadelphia. Will this have a negative effect on Red Bulls ticket sales? I bought a NYRB ticket 4 pack last year, but will now hold out until the team in Philadelphia starts up.
Congrats, Philly…
I can’t wait to absolutely destroy this team, on the field and in the stands…
Vamos Metro!
Great; i’ll look forward to driving down there and being as obnoxious to them as they were to Revs supporters at the MLS cup.
i liiiiike
CONGRATS TO PHILLY… THE TIMES I HAVE BEEN THERE FOR SOCCER EVENTS IE; NSCAA CONVENTION/DRAFT HAVE BEEN TARRIFIC AND WELL RECEIVED. I ALSO THINK HAVING A MIND LIKE NICK.S. BEHIND IT ALL WILL HELP. HE KNOWS THE RIGHT PEOPLE IN THE BUSINESS TO START A FRONT OFFICE.
CHEERS!!!
With the momentum they gained during build-up to earning the team Philly (much to my chagrin) seemed a more natural choice as investors in an STL franchise seemed to thin out. Either way, the STL NEEDS to be in this league; the battle over I-55 (Chicago/STL) needs to happen. Closer road rivalries will give this league a real chance at survival and flourishing.
Either way, congrats to the SOB’s in Philly, as of today you’re no longer “1000 fans of nothing”.
Congratulations to Philadelphia, a city much deserving of an MLS franchise. For those that don’t know, Philadelphia, with its Lighthouse Soccer Club is an important part of soccer history in this country.
Welcome, Philly! Dallas promises to have at least one good defender available in the expansion draft by then.
😉
When you talk about the natural rivalries that adding Philly will set up don’t forget New England. Having four teams within driving distance on the East Coast will make for all four natural rivals,
I can see a “Liberty Cup” being awarded to one of four for being the top seed at the end of the regular season.
Good news! Philly seemed like an obvious choice. I still hope St Louis comes in the league too, they would instantly create good “driving-distance” rivalries with Chicago and KC.
Yes, this is cool.
while i will attend they can only be team 1B
DC forever go black & red
Love it. Not sure if I’ll follow them or not, but excited to see a team 2 hours away.
Congratulations to the Sons of Ben (et al) for this win. The DC/Philly/NYNJ triangle should be a great series of rivalries.
In other news, the sun will rise in the East… Just kidding, this seemed inevitable. Congrats to Philly!
Congrats to Chester/Philly. I will definitely try to make it to some games down there. Another stop for the I95 rivalry!