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Report: Man City owners the new favorites to buy MLS expansion team in NYC

The New York Cosmos had long been considered the favorites to ultimately become the ownership group to by a second New York team in Major League Soccer.

That may have changed.

According to a report from Bloomberg News, the owners of Manchester City have been identified as the new front-runners to be awarded the rights to buy the MLS expansion team in New York. The report put the cost of the franchise at $100 million, a new record for an MLS expansion team.

The team’s name would reportedly be New York City Football Club, with David Beckham having been contacted about a potential role with the new ownership group.

Manchester City is denying the report, and the club has released a short statement saying clearly “Manchester City are not buying an MLS club.”

If true, the development only adds more momentum to what seems like an inevitable move to New York City for MLS, with an expansion team expected to begin play in 2016 if MLS can succeed in completing the stadium project the league is working on in Queens.

Manchester City’s denial seems to pour cold water over this rumor, but it should be noted that City’s denial doesn’t necessarily mean that people who are part of City’s ownership group might not be involved in plans to buy the MLS New York expansion team.

What do you think of this development? Like the idea of big-money owners buying the second New York franchise in MLS? Still think the Cosmos have a chance to be MLS owners?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. I can’t imagine the MLS with more than 24 teams with a 34 game schedule. The reason is scheduling, it works out perfect to have two 12 team Conferences, with each playing all teams inter-conference for 22 games and playing each team in the other conference once for 12 games, this results in the 34 game schedule. I speculate that the jury is still out on the Chivas franchise. In a recent article in Soccer America, there was reference to the possiblity that league could buy-out Chivas’ ownership stake and dissolve the team. This would open the door for an expansion team in Orlando. Under this senario I can imagine the following:

    1) New York City FC is granted as the MLS 20th franchise to begin play in 2016.

    2) Chivas team interests are brought out and the team is dissolved. The league grants Orlando as the 19th team to replace the Chivas team. They begin play in 2016.

    Future expansion sites provided they have a SSS in place.
    #21 Minneapolis
    #22 St. Louis
    #23 Atlanta
    #24 San Diego

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  2. Some say stop at 20 because of FIFA. But we need more teams. 20 is too small for 300 million people even if MLS is the 5th major sports league. Id say the cap should stop at 24 by the end of the decade and stay for a while. the next 5 teams should be NYC2, Orlando, St.Louis, Atlanta and Minneapolis. Or Phoenix/Charlotte. Start the league in Feb and end in December. Cutdown on summer friendlies. 1week is enough and thats all in the summer. Maybe a week as well in January. Most big Euro clubs relax abroad during Winter. So 46 league matches, home and away. A few cup matches and the CCL. Have a team roster of 30. Increase the salary cap from the 3million as of now to say 5million within a decade. Start to reorganize a proper 2nd division. Recruit college players to fill the ranks. 12-16 teams should do well. Offee players more. Majority only go to Scandinavian clubs because they know they will get at least $200,000. MLS needs to move to shutdown that pipeline.

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  3. Exactly, chicago made a terrible mistake by not taking their time with their sss situation and even soldier field got better. Fire should have taken more time with their stadium situation and isn’t chicago home to the american soccer federation, which means chicago should have a top sss in the mls but they don’t.

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  4. I’m going to get crucified by Fire fans for this, but I think Chicago could easily support another MLS team if it were located in the city somewhere off an el line. The metro area is 8.5 million people. The Fire play in a suburb called Bridgeview and while it’s not an exurb, Chicago is the type of city where a lot of people just don’t drive to get places. If I drive myself from around Wrigley Field, it’s an hour or more and I can’t do much drinking when I get there. If I take one of the buses, I have to be on the bus 2.5 hours before the game and get back to the bar maybe two hours after the game is over. Public from my house would be two hours each way. My understanding is that the Fire were originally offered the parking lot across the street from US Cellular Field (where the White Sox play) for $1 and turned it down to go to Bridgeview. That location is walking distance from an el stop, a commuter train stop, just off the highway and borders many neighborhoods with large, soccer literate populations. The Fire could play in the burbs and City of Chicago FC could play for us city dwellers.

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  5. I think the team has to be the NY Cosmos. Having that brand name floating around but unattached to MLS is like if they formed a new baseball league but didn’t let the Yankees in it.

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    • More like expanding an existing baseball league to San Francisco and not calling them the Seals (the PCL team that Joe Dimaggio played for).

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  6. as a Cosmos fan I do not want the Cosmos in MLS. The MLS is a farce.If the Cosmos join MLS they lose their identity. They become part of that single entity crap. They will lose the appeal of their brand. American soccer fans for the most part are turned off by McMLS.

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    • The NY Cosmos don’t have much future if they don’t join MLS. Like it or not, MLS is the biggest soccer league in the US and will remain so for the foreseeable future. You are better off supporting the Cosmos in becoming an MLS team and growth of the league as a whole to the point where they are strong enough to abandon the single entity format. You are a fool if you believe single entity format is anything more than a means to an end.

      Oh, and BTW, your view of the American soccer fan are out of date. , Yes, American soccer fans of European soccer might not like MLS, but that is just one segment of the broader soccer fan base. Just like there are football fans who rather support college football over NFL and vice versa. There are plenty of forward thinking soccer fans in America who appreciate soccer in general and the MLS’s place in the soccer landscape.

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      • I am not sure that the owners would agree with you that the single entity format is a means to end. Insofar as forming a cartel in order to limit the competition your business faces is always a good idea if a society will let you get away with it, sure, it is a only a means to an end. However, I am not sure that in a hundred years you would ever be able to convince a business owner to voluntarily give up monopoly power.

    • So true Hal…… if the Cosmos joined MLS and ever actually played a game, they would be certain to lose their identity as a brand based on milking hazy memories that are older than most fans, a logo, smoke and mirrors and slick marketing. The Cosmos as of right now are the Kardashians of the soccer world…. famous for being famous.

      The day they stop being a marketing scheme and become a soccer club, meaning, have to actually put up, shut up and produce on the field is going to be a reality check.

      Guess I am in the minority of most American soccer fans, as I am appreciative of how far the league has come in a short time and support their efforts to grow the sport.

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      • “The Cosmos as of right now are the Kardashians of the soccer world…. famous for being famous.”

        You should copyright that phrase. Describes the situation perfectly. And I was a big Cosmos fan.

  7. $100million, yet, only 5% increase salary cap, no increase maxium salary, and no lowewring DPs from salary cap. $100 million coming to MLS (after taxes): should increase salary cap up to 15%, increase the maxium to 650k (its fair), lower DP at least 50% from salary cap, and give huge bonuses like Golden Boot gets 200k bonus without salary cap issues!

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  8. I don’t get it, people say that more than 20-24 teams is too much, why.Could I get some reasons. I believe this country can support 30 top teams. No other country having more than 20 is not a logical reason.

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    • I’m not sure we can get 20 teams that are appropriately attended, as it is.

      It’s worth pointing out that one incentive to keep adding teams is NASL-style expansion fees, which encouraged expansion of that league beyond good sense. Just because some money flashers can sign a check for an eyeball popping amount doesn’t mean it’s wise to risk the league by handing teams to them.

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    • It’s a short term vs. long term question. Short term – 24 teams in one top division. Long term – our country can do much more – I believe definitely more than 1 top division. We just need to have the vision.

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  9. Lol hopefully they develop youth better than City does, cause you can’t just spend like wild in the MLS. Count me among the doubters.

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  10. The Cosmos mustto be the next MLS franchise. There is no other club in the history of US soccer that has the history or the name recognition as the Cosmos. For a team that hasn’t played a competitive match in 28 years that’s impressive.

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  11. Why have two teams in NY when the one that is already there isn’t doing that well with fans, even though they sign name players and DPs? MLS has done best expanding in places like Seattle and Portland. The second LA team has not done well either.

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      • When has MLS ever had a team in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, or any number of cities? Why doesn’t the NFL have a team in NYC? Why did the Cosmos play in NYC? Blah blah blah.

      • Yeah people forget the Cosmos were only attended in the numbers people hold up, when they moved across the river to NJ. Until then it was 15K at Hofstra or whatever.

        People also forget the prohibitive costs associated with establishing a team in the city itself. The reason the Yankees can’t fill their new palace is the debt service requires ticket prices on a level normal people cannot afford. At some point it no longer makes financial sense. $300 million for a soccer stadium in MLS when the cookie cutters are 1/3 of that and the old expansion fees 1/10 of that seems strained and like a recipe for getting even rich owners in over their head. If you have to charge $50 a ticket to cover the mortgage, in a salary cap league, you will supress your attendance back down to RB levels or worse.

  12. 5years ago there was 13 teams, now itd 19. Quite a big jump but good steady growth. MLS has a chance at becoming the best soccer league outside Europe in 15years

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  13. Hm. Not sure what to think about this if it’s true. Like the purchase of the Metrostars by Red Bull, it’s appealing to look at the money and the deep pockets of the owners. But, like Red Bull, identity matters and I’m not wholly convinced about the owners.

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    • I think the US is big enough to (eventually) have more than one top division of 20 teams each – especially since Canadian teams are part of the mix. It could even have three, but that is quite a ways in the future. One advantage is that teams would not have to travel so far, and there would be more local rivalries.

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      • San Antonio would be a better market either city you mentioned except for NYC2. But 2 leagues with 16 teams each would be nice and an 8 or 4 team playoff at the end to be crowned USA champion. CCL spot for top 2 finishers in each leagues table. Or 20 teams in division 1 and make a division 2 with 12 teams pro and relegate 4 teams so more teams have a shot at being in division 1.

      • I love your 2nd idea but please no relegation. Its a total alien concept here. it would have to be introduced gradually

      • Actually, Cleveland deserves it more than anyone. It has a tremendously rich soccer history similar to areas like St. Louis. Our last pro team finished second in the league in their first year and won the league in their second year. As a result USL promoted the City Stars to the first division when a spot opened up due to MLS expansion with the Sounders. The promotion to the first division required the team to move to a larger stadium and that ended up being out in the suburbs at some stupid high school field, it was a death sentence caused by the powers that be in the league. They owe Cleveland for ruining the good thing we had.

  14. Without overtly stating it, I seems to me that the MLS is not real confident in the Cosmos ownership Group., It stand to reason that the MLS is and will entertain groups interested in a second franchise in New York City. The fact that the MLS is securing the new stadium and not an ownership group speaks to this. The record franchise fee is not really an indicator of the level of worth of MLS franchises overall, but a reflection that the New York franchise will come with a complete or partial ownership of a stadium.

    It is probably the ownership group who controls Man City is interested in the MLS franchise and NOT Man city itself. So it is easy for Man City FC to deny such interest, yet still be true, that the OWNERS of Man City are interested in the franchise.

    The fact that the franchise may be awarded to another group that includes David Beckham fits my theory that although the Cosmos have rejected an ownership association with Beckham, the Man City ownership group has not.

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    • why would beckham be apart of the ManCity group?

      imo, they would all be better if they teamed up with the cosmos but nyc and mls could certainly suport 3 ny teams!

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      • You wont have three MLS clubs in NY, also by looking at the name value, I can see both parties coming together. Also Beckham can buy into any group, except the NY2 team.

      • Beckham cannot but into the NY MLS as his partial MLS team ownership per his contract with the MLS, He can, however, but into any MLS team, including any NY team he chooses and is invited to do so by the team, which might be the case with the Man C. franchise.

  15. dont want another chivas. if the cosmos can get the money id rather have them win the ny2 spot. we’ve dodged barca miami and colorado arsenal. this situation may be different but im with man city, but if they use mls and ny2 to promote their own club im out.

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    • *edit*

      dont want another chivas. if the cosmos can get the money id rather have them win the ny2 spot. we’ve dodged barca miami and colorado arsenal. this situation may be different *with man city*, but if they use mls and ny2 to promote their own club im out.

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  16. if MLS has 24 teams it makes sense to have a 2nd NYC team and have the following cities Miami, Atlanta, MInneapolis, Charlotte, St. Louis, Orlando, Las Vegas, Phoenix compete for those 4 additional spots. MLS definitely needs Southeastern franchise and no morr Canadian teams. 3 is enough

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    • Actually, the MLS needs to expand in Canada to at least 2 more teams. When those new and existing franchises are stable and soccer is growing there, it will be the kernel for the NEW Canadian Soccer League of at least 10 teams. The MLS now free of the Canadian League who are not officially in the MLS, will allow the MLS to expand to other US cities.

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      • no way is Canada able to form its own league much less with 10 teams. The league would be worse than Ireland and Wales. The best Canuck talent would be in MLS. i say 3-4 Canuck teams but no more

      • Sorry but are you saying that mls needs more Canadian teams so that those teams can break away to form their own Canadian league. If so, that’s a horrible idea for mls.

      • Not Really. I do believe that Canada is the ONLY sovereign nation in FIFA that plays it’s Division 1 soccer in a foreign league, which is definitely NOT what FIFA wants. I do believe there will come a time when national instincts will want the formation of its own National League. This may not come soon, but I think it is bound to happen. FIFA is not like the International federations for Hockey or baseball and even basketball, which has tolerated inter-country Leagues as they were primarily founded by/for American interests, not so with FIFA.

      • Dude, you are incorrect. I believe there is a New Zealand team (Auckland FC) that plays in the A-League of Austrialia

  17. The sheiks should buy out the Cosmos if they are going for NY2 I would hate for a club to be in NY and not be called Cosmos.Also the next two expansion clubs after that should be Orlando and St Louis, with MLS bringIng another team to the south east after that to create a rivalry with Orlando, Atlanta maybe?

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      • While the Cosmos name meant a lot to me as a teenager growing up in the NY burbs — and I would love to see the return of that name — having a new team in New York City known as “City” or as City F.C. would also be kinda cool.

    • works for me. 21st probably will be Orlando. 22nd hopefully will be St. Louis. Maybe a 23rd can be Atlanta. 24th maybe Minneapolis or Phoenix? 25th being Ottawa? 26th being Charlotte. 27th being Miami? 28th being San Antonio? 29th being San Francisco? 30th being Las Vegas?

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      • If the league ever got to 30 teams, those would all be candidates. It’s gonna be a generation or two before there’s enough talent to make that viable.

      • Show me a league anywhere in the world that exist sover such a large geographical area. We could have four leagues at 20 teams each, and still not have teams packed as densely as tier 1 teams are everywhere else. To restrict a US league based on what makes sense in countries that are a percentage of its size would be absurd.

      • its possible within a decade if the salary cap was raised to $5-6 million within a decade and greater support from FIFA

      • You’re pulling #s out of your fantastical rear end. It’s gonna be quite a while before the cap hits $4 million much less 5 or 6.

        as for the stuff about money being enough to field talent — MLS has 8 international roster slots. Unless THAT changes, teams still have to find at least 16 Americans (or Canadians, if you’re the ‘Caps, the Impact or TFC) to have a bare minimum of 24. Mind you, the cap rules penalize teams that don’t carry at least 28 players, os really each team should aim for 20 domestic players. Where are they gonna come from?

      • Remember that MLS is a cartel just the NFL, so if the owners believe it is in their own interest to raise the cap, they will do it. If they believe that increasing the number of international roster slots is a good idea, they will do that as well. I can’t really see the player’s union being able to stop them from doing those two things if the owners believe that a higher cap and more foreign players enhance the value of their investment.

      • No,I’m giving facts, the MLS cap will be 2.8 million this year and will continue to go up by a small percentage till 2014, that is in the CBA. I also have listen to 2012 Winterfest Q&A Session with GM Garth Lagerwey. In which he said many owners suspect to have more money to spend, after 2014, when the contracts are up. He said this would be a huge boost for clubs in MLS.

      • That’s not at all true. MLS went from 10 teams to 19 in just a few years, was the talent pool watered down? No, the quality is far better now than it was in the first half of the 2000s. Why? This isn’t football or basketball or baseball, soccer is played in like 200 countries. The percentage of American players has dropped, while the total number of American players has increased. There is plenty of relatively inexpensive soccer talent in the world for MLS to tap into. I’m not saying they could go to 30-32 (the standard for US pro sports leagues) tomorrow, but MLS could add a new team every year or every second year and not only not dilute the talent pool, but keep increasing league quality.

    • Agreed. The Cosmos brand is about the only real pedigree and sense of history any soccer team in the US has. There are others, yes, but noone outside their local areas really knows teams like the “Rowdies”.

      I don’t care who owns NYC2 – but they better spend the dough and make them the Cosmos.

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      • The Cosmos played fake soccer for a few years with washed up stars in a league that went bankrupt. You can keep that “pedigree and history.”

      • When they did “beat top European sides?” In friendlies? Great, I’m real impressed. Cosmos and NASL were a failure while MLS has actually been part of making soccer a meaningful part of the American sports scene.

      • The NASL was not a failure where it really counts. It made soccer a recognized sport in the USA where prior to that soccer was effectively invisible. Prior to the NASL soccer was a dying sport played only by ethnic communities in a few big cities in the northeast and midwest. The NASL turned soccer into a mainstream national sport. Without the NASL, no one would have attempted to bring the World Cup to the USA, and MLS would never have come into existence in the first place. Show some respect.

      • They played to huge audiences (by comparison) at a time when the European Leagues were nothing like they are today. Diminish them as you like, but that says more about you than what they were: a real team that had global recognition.

      • ***There are others, yes, but noone outside their local areas really knows teams like the “Rowdies”.***

        Untrue. I’ve met people all over the USA and all over the world who know about the Rowdies. It’s not at the same level of recognition as the Cosmos brand, but it is definitely there. I’ve had conversations with Brits who know all about the Rowdies who couldn’t name a single MLS team, apart from “that outfit Beckham plays for”.

        Watch the “Once in a Lifetime” documentary; which team gets mentioned the most, after the Cosmos? It’s the Rowdies.

  18. It’s official. I hate the new NY team. Man City has easily surpassed Real Madrid and Chelsea as the most bloated conglomerate of a soccer club, one which by definition can never be greater than the sum of its parts. I can’t wait to see what this spawns.

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  19. One way or the other, the NYC2 team will be big money owners. Has to be that way for MLS and in order to succeed in NY. I still hope that the 2nd franchise is the Cosmos though, since they have a great brand and already have connections to both the community and to the history/tradition of soccer in NY.

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    • Wishful thinking. No rich Arab or European will be lining up to buy MLS clubs. That’s like buying a division 2 club in eastern Europe; it’s not flashy enough for them.

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      • Other leagues are not staying stagnant either you know that. Catch up with the Mexican league first (and don’t give me that we’re better than FMF. Win something in the region at club level before you can claim superiority). MLS is not the best league in the region.

      • MLS will be better then Liga MX, in a few short years. Liga MX will remain what they are, MLS is a media market and being realistic, will by pass Liga MX. However I do hope the Costa Rican and Honduras leagues grow, so we can have a better champions league. I have seen both leagues improve as well, so maybe in a couple of years, the CCL, would be not just Liga MX and MLS.

      • So where is this data that Mexican league will remain stagnant; they keep developing young talent who have won 2 of the last 4 Under 17 World Cups. Where do you think most of those kids play? Where are the Americans from those World Cups? Mexican league will keep growing just like MLS, but MLS has a long way to catch up because it is not developing players.

      • I don’t know, but many American Journalist have been saying that the MLS is only a couple years behind like Ives, and they stated this a few years ago. They should be about even now, just like at the LA Galaxy.

      • Liga MX is not miles ahead, people need to watch the league and stop basing CCL results. Liga MX is in mid season and MLS in its pre-season, a big difference. Also EPL buys players, MLS will do the same. Just because you develop players doesn’t mean shit, because as MLS grow, they will have a advantage in bringing in better players, that don’t want to play in a third world country.

    • You have no idea what your talking about. Back in the 90s the braves dominated the decade and almost every game was sold out. Afterwards the team became crap and naturally people stopped showing up. I hate the way people claim to know atlanta sports scene but have no idea what they are talking about. NHL in Atlanta is just dumb and was destined to fail, the hawks hadn’t been good since the late 80s, and the falcons sucked right on though the 80s and 90s with the only exception being the 98 super appearance and the vic era. I want anyone else to live in a town where no one of your sports teams have done anything productive in generations and see how many fans will stick around. The fans want to see a winner in this town plain and simple, not some money grabe by some rich k guy but then throws a crap product out there and expects us to buy it. Mls could work here but it has to be competitive

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    • If you bothered to pay attention, the Yankees were not selling out their playoff games this year. So by your logic, New York is a terrible sports town. Please.

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    • Atlanta is likely the worst sports town in the country among major cities. Right behind them is Miami. Yet these places are constantly brought up as MLS expansion sites. Why?

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  20. If this means Man City playing preseason games in NY. Im all for it.

    They could have loans and training stints and everything. Could use this as their feeder team. With a premier league team buying the franchise there are alot of possibilities.

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  21. What’s the benefit of having two MLS clubs in the same city (whether LA or NYC)? With soccer growing like mad in the US, it would seem like the league would benefit in the long run from having top-tier clubs as spread out as possible. What about cities like Miami or Atlanta or St. Louis?

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      • Yes, but Miami has failed once already(remember the Fusion people,) and doesn’t draw well in terms of sports, Atlanta is also a town where sports are a tough sell (see: NHL expansion and relocation, Atlanta.) I do however agree and hope that St. Louis gets a team at some point, they seem like they could be in the same vein as Portland and Seattle.

      • Comparing support for an MLS team to AC St Louis or the women’s league team in STL are not fair. St Louis would be an amazing location for an expansion team.

      • St. Louis was also effectively abandoned by its owners and left to be supported by the rest of the league. Not to mention that fact that Jeff Cooper threw the team together rather quickly just to get his hands on the market and do an end run around the USL’s territory rights. It was not the best of scenarios.

        There IS someone out there who can do it right in St. Louis, either in NASL or MLS.

      • Nobody like soccer down here unless its from another country. Come down and check out the MLS Disney, 100 people in the stands classic. Unless its the Rowdies vs Orlando FC of course.

    • New York is the media capital of the world and the largest market in the country, and similar things can e said for LA as well. Did you know that the borough of Queens has a population that is more than million more than Atlanta Miami and St Louis combined? Did you know that LA has 2 million more people than those 3?

      The best rivalries in the MLS and typically even abroad are derby type games, and a second team in new York and an improved chives team would mean more and more of those games. A second new York team is a smart business decision

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    • My thoughts would be that A. the MLS is thinking about the money they are not making across the board (tickets, merchandise, television, etc) by not having a team in the city limits of NYC, especially an area like Queens and B. I have never seen so many stark-mad soccer fans than since I started going my local American Outlaws bar in NYC and all of these nuts live in Queens (and also every other soccer-mad person from a different country). They are not ruling out these other places for future teams (hell, even my home state of Minnesota is in the running), but there is immediate money to be made in Queens because there is an enormous market there. They don’t have to gamble on this one, it’s ready and waiting.

      And truthfully, people can complain all they want but this is going to happen.

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      • Wow, too bad none of those passionate soccer crazed fans can be bothered getting on a train and coming to RBA to watch an actual MLS team that’s been around for 17 years and actually plays games right now in a beautiful new arena. Nah, guess they’d rather sit around and wait for some imaginary team that may exist at some undefined point in the future maybe. Well, that does sound “stark mad” at least.

        And while the NY2 site may be within the city limits of NYC, it sure ain’t “the city”. It’s the same inner suburb type locale as Harrison/Newark.

      • Queens has solid if not great subway access. Newark/Harrison requires another transfer, an NJ Transit or Path trip and leaving the state. From the Upper West Side it is unimaginably easier to get to CitiField than it is to get to RBA.

    • 2 words — market and money.
      NYC has virtually endless market potential especially with its international draw. MLS really wants to do something in Miami, but I think NYC was a safer/stronger/more lucrative option at this moment.

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    • They want another one in NY for the local derby and fan rivalry that they think will create a great soccer atmosphere. One small problem though, the red bulls atmosphere sucks in comparison to so many other markets across the country. They dont deserve it, but that hasnt stopped the powers that be from putting something in NY they dont deserve, like the space shuttle. I predict failure and I will enjoy it when it happens.

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      • Why don’t they deserve it? Why would you enjoy seeing them fail? That’s a pretty childish view if you’re an MLS fan. MLS fans need to support expansion and enjoy watching the league grow. Be it through local market rivalries or new markets. Of course you may just be a hater. In which case, both are on you.

      • I always have a great time in RB Arena period. You are pretty clueless on that one. It does disappoint when fans don’t show up though.

      • Deserves? Deserving means Business Plan/ Stadium/ Cash.
        I love Atlanta, lived there for years and I pay attention to what’s happening there – unfortunately there’s no big groundswell for a team there, certainly not like Philadelphia had. The league can’t go back to the days of nursing marginal operators along until they see the light at the end of the tunnel. Why should they?
        MLS and more particularly Don Garber, see New York City as an opportunity to capitalize on and multiply the leagues popularity – striking while the iron is hot. It’s a good strategy, if they capture the New York media market big things will happen and the ratings needle will start to move. After that the bandwagon will be rolling and everybody rides. I think we should contemplate a league with 28 or 30 teams.

    • First, you go where the ownership and the stadiums are: And Atlanta, St. Louis, Miami, Las Vegas and a host of other cities have been incomplete in those areas.

      Second, what the NW has shown is that local rivalries (be they within a city or within a region) can massively grow the game here in the US.

      I too would like to see soccer in the SE (it’s a desert right now). I’d like to see more in the mid-west. But bottom line: you put teams where they’ll succeed. And the first two requirements for success are the right stadium (size and location) and the right owners (big pockets, in it for the long hall, don’t see MLS as just another league).

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    • @Redneck

      There are currently Zero teams in New York. Hopefully with the news from Brooklyn there will be 2 (NYC FC and maybe the Cosmos in Brooklyn). Now wouldn’t that be great.

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      • Yes, but unlike the current MLS team with New York in it’s name (sorry RBNY, ) the Cosmos actually played in NY, before moving to the Swamp, like the Giants or the Jets ( I think, right?) Any way they will be playing in Long Island when they start up, whenever they start up.

      • Right so they played the majority of their existence in NJ like I said. And NY refers to the NY area, not necessarily NYC. RBNY obviously play in the NYC area.

  22. If they put money into developing soccer in New York and invest money into youth soccer in their area that would be great. I just don’t want a chivas situation where they have no clue what they are doing. City have done a great job at investing money at their eithad campus so hopefull they do the same at Queens. This is coming from a United fan too.

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  23. Will the owners be mad they can’t throw ridiculous amounts of money out there to be good right away? They need owners who love the game not love the money that it brings.

    However it would make it interesting. They should be financial partners and not owners.

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    • there will be a new rule by then that no team owner will oppose…excluding Americans from DP status. American players will only be able to count as much as 250k of the payroll. The rest is up to the owner. No owner will oppose that rule because it will be unpatriotic and because no owner believes US has a pool of top players to select from. NYFC will immediately get rossi, subotic, bradley, etc., along with 3 DPs including motherfreaking neymar

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      • Speaking of rules, why is David Beckham being linked to a potential relationship with any New York ownership.

        His contact parameters have been made public long ago and was even publicly referenced by Garber himself only a few weeks ago.

        Are we saying that his contract stipulations are no longer binding?

      • I am no expert but I think his contract gives him an option to a team not in new york. This was because the league was sure to find bidders. I do not believe that means he cannot negotiate independently with the new york bidders. This means he would probably forgo that contract option for the new york bid.

      • For soccer purposes Rossi and Subotic aren’t American. Also, the rest of what you say is pretty silly too.

      • Technically they wouldn’t take up an international spot on an MLS roster. I assumed that was more what he was getting it.

    • This is absolutely massive news. They have a scary amount of money and if this happens it will undoubtedly have a huge impact on football in the US. It will pull the MLS closer to the EPL and ultimately be a huge factor in growing the game in the states.

      Reply
      • Wow… What if Man city used NY2 to play their younger guys while on loan? They could use a chance to develop players behind their current superstars.

      • This means Cosmos may have missed chance to get MLS, 3 teams in NY is unlikely. Brookyln interest in team with new team in Queens. A triple trifecta is fun, a threesome is amazing better than twosome.

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