With Canadian reports suggesting that MLS could add multiple Canadian teams in the near future, we are left wondering just how serious MLS is about further expansion into Canada.
Montreal and Vancouver have long been linked with potential MLS expansion, and now reports are surfacing that a Steve Nash-led group is set to bid for a team in Vancouver, so the easy question is this: Is further MLS expansion into Canada a good idea or a bad idea?
It remains to be seen just how serious the Canadian expansion talk is. We are hearing about bids and interest but people in Cleveland and San Antonio can tell you all about seemingly strong MLS expansion bids falling flat.
Vancouver and Montreal do look like strong candidates though and they both appear to have the elements to make MLS consider them for the expansion slots after Seattle and Philadelphia join MLS in the next two years.
What do you think? Do you like the idea of multiple Canadian cities joining Toronto in MLS? Do you think MLS should focus on American cities? Is there enough talent in Canada to stock two, three or four MLS teams?
Share your thoughts on Canadian expansion below.
RobStyles,
The English Championship (1 step below the EPL) has a Welsh team (Cardiff City). They can get promoted and play in the EPL despite being from another country/FA. Monaco plays in France’s league, New Zealand has a team in Australia’s league, and I believe there are a few other examples of teams playing in the league of another country.
Wow. As a Canadian it is very tough to listen to some of these comments. Typically, we would just sit back and take it, eh?!
First off, anyone saying “hopefully the rest of Canada will support just like TFC” – do you realize how big Canada is? Do people in Boston support teams the same way people in LA do? They are both “Americans” right?
Second, Seattle will not do as a “Northwest team”. It isn’t that close. Great rivalry, but Vancouverites are not going to Seattle to support the former Sounders.
Third, Canada has 3 natural soccer markets: Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal. If you had to rank those in historical fan support for their soccer teams, Toronto would come last of the three. Montreal and Vancouver have rabid fan bases that would easily support these teams. 20K per game without blinking an eye.
Fourth, whoever said that Canada doesn’t even support its hockey teams is clearly on something. Try to get a ticket to the Leafs, Habs or ‘Nucks. They all have sellout streaks dating back many seasons.
Finally, look historically at the Blizzard, Manic and Whitecaps. All NASL teams and you will find the support still exists, even in the “village of Vancouver” who in 1979 had 100K people come out to the victory parade when they won the NASL Soccer Bowl. Think San Antonio, St. Louis or Atlanta would have that if they won?
Vancouver and Montreal can both more than support teams and will benefit the overall health and image of the league.
double p.s. You got a Metro/Fusion/Redbull fan since day 1 defending DC, lol! I did go to h.s. there though. Okay move Chivas then…but GROW and REPAIR the p.r. damage to the rest. Ronaldinho met here a few wks ago for future too. We are 60 percent Hispanic, 15 percent Haitian, Jamaican, Trinadian, Bahamian etc 25 percent African Amer. or European Amer. Bring on Becks or promote Miami FC as wished originally. FIU new SSS will be done soon out west, as well new Orange Bowl with view like TFCs!
Montreal>Vancouver imo…
STL>Portland>NYC
each team has its own rivalries as i’m sure a st louis team will help KC attendance and chicago (not that it needs a boost)
portland would be good for seattle and maybe even san jose
NYC-NJ games would be GREAT
Montreal-TFC games would be GREAT
but for overall teams in MLS, 20>22 and with 21 teams in the best position imo, one team would not make it…
for me it would be vancouver who gets the boot but nash is a beast so they are a lock…
THIS IS WHERE RELOCATION COMES IN… FOR CHIVAS unfortunately… I like the different point of view they bring to MLS and the great derby vs LA, but they are the most qualified to move – KC is getting a stadium and CBUS is doin pretty good.
Now the question is if Chivas retains their ownership and stuff… it must be dropped in order for them to move
p.s. 1.wherever steve nash wants! 2. miami…you owe us! 3. tampa if they want…you owe them 4. another usa city. That the supposedly wealthiest country in the world cant support x amount of teams, how sad. DO NOT move any others, grow them, spend the Jozy money on police instead of pyscho security, marketing p.r. staff at each team. DCunited post was intelligent, NOT too long. Im sure the rain out/black out was why no fans. If you knew MLS history, youd never say to move them. Respect4champs!!
Here’s what I think: If Canadians have the money for the franchise fee, let them have more franchises. They’ve done a good job so far with TFC and there’s a lot of passion for the game in Montreal and Vancouver. Since my team is RBNY, having a team in Montreal would create a new natural rivalry and a great place for road trips. (I went to college near the border with Quebec and I assure you that Montreal is like The Great Las Vegas of the North.) More Canadian MLS teams would also help the Canadian national team and that in turn would provide better competition for the US national team and help improve American players’ skill level. I honestly cannot see why more Canadian teams would be a problem in any way.
I have a way to solve the Expansion into Canada issue: Annex Cananda. See? It works.
Also, I don’t really think of Atlanta as primo MLS area. When I go to Silverbacks games, it’s a half full stadium with capacity of 4500. It’s a decent product right at a major interstate intersection 15 minutes north of downtown (45-an hour in traffic), and is set up very well for expansion (check their website for such a plan). At the same time, I think more media coverage would help. I can’t even find a story about a big game (like the ones vs. Pachuca and Indepidente (of Argentina) a coulple weeks ago in the local (county, not AJC) paper. Get a name like Arthur Blank behind it (not that he’s done a bang-up job with the falcons), and maybe it would help.
Also, we earned our reputation as a poor sports town for a reason. But put a quality (major) product on the field/floor/whatever, people show up.
If the teams are going to have the same level of support as Toronto, I am all for it. That being said, it is another step of making soccer more “Americanized”. By that I mean expanding outside of the country ala NBA, MLB, and NHL. Do any leagues in Europe or in any other country have teams outside of their own (ie. EPL does not have any teams from Scotland or Ireland)? I just see that as odd. But like I said earlier, if it benefits the MLS’ development I am for it.
Montreal, St. Louis, Portland, and Vancouver should get teams, eventually. Relocating KC and Chivas would be ideal, putting the league at 18 teams, but still reaching the most ready markets. The expansion teams should come slowly, so they do not dilute the quality of the league, at least not so fast that growth of the league cant keep up. Eventually other markets may be able to fight for teams 19 and 20, or leave MLS at 18 teams.
I wish they would just consider all Mexicans, Americans, and Canadians all “domestic.” Or at least the Canadians and Americans since the league has teams in both countries. That would solve the problem. That way it is fair for all teams, and could promote growth and exchange between the two countries (or three).
One more canadian team would be fine. Some posters are new to mls/soccer, obviously never lived where they are discussing. For the record, just watched the all star game, good crowd but white! The Fusion games were even more spirited. Miami has the largest world cup tv rating last 20 yrs and most diversity, selling out 70k of many countries. The traffic/sec. racism ruined Ft. Lauderdale SSS. Btw Hispanic is correct Latino is poor, a step above the n word. Many wont attend until its Fusion again!
To Ed Ho:
To your contention that more teams need to expand in the US to prop up TV ratings and salary… lemme give you some real facts, not assumptions:
Toronto FC has the #1 Local TV Ratings in MLS, even more than Beckham’s LA Galaxy. That means more viewers watch TFC than any other team, throughout the course of a season. (since MLS Primetime only occurs once a week for 2 teams)
TFC is the ONLY team in MLS, to have a TV Contract through a National broadcaster, TFC on CBC. No other team in the league has that large a television market to broadcast to.
So to challenge your theory, adding more Canadian teams will actually improve television ratings throughout MLS, not decrease it. More TV revenues will come in and salaries will increase.
To me, anymore west coast expansion would be dreadful. Vancouver is also a bad idea because there is no proof they can support a big soccer franchise. Secondly, they failed at having their 2nd pro sports team in the Grizzlies.
As far as rivalry goes, I don’t know how Vancouver can be a rival to Toronto.. besides sharing the same money, I can’t identify with them.
Lets forget the argument that more Canadian franchises will stretch thin the supply of talented Canadians. Even before MLS expanded to Canada, the best players in MLS were Canadian:
2-time MLS MVP Dwayne De Rosario, Toronto-native… Pat Onstad is from the Vancouver area… # 1 FC Dallas Defender Adrian Serioux is from Montreal.
On the contrary, US International Maurice Edu plays for Toronto, is being developed by Toronto and is getting playing time in Toronto. US National Team is benefiting from TFC’s deep pockets and ability to attract the best coaches and trainers.
Then we still haven’t consider all the Canadians in the English Premiership, Spanish La Liga & the Scandanavian first divisions. Most will retire within the next 8 years.
– Fulham (ex-Werder Bremen & Tottonham) Defender Paul Stalteri, from Toronto
– Deportivo in La Liga’s Julian De Guzman
– Canadian-born Dutch Mid-fielder & brother of Julian, John De Guzman is bornraised in Toronto, his whole family is still here, he`ll wanna come to MLS.
– Hutchinson, Edgar, the list goes on!
And even if the supply of talent is small…After Montreal’s defeat of TFC for the CONCACAF Champions League qualifier, the Impact already has enough talent now, to compete in MLS… So they have exceeded their quota of Canadian players. So TFC need not worry about talent stretching thin.
In fact, the only reason TFC can’t find is talent because all the Top Canadians in Vancouver and Montreal rather play at home, even if its for USL Teams!! Why play in MLS, if you have to go to the otherside of the country?
TFC doesn’t even have any players from the Wepst Coast, Martin Nash, brother of NBA MVP Steve Nash can be a force if he was in MLS, but he chooses to play for the USL Whitecaps cuz its close to home.
MLS isn’t the type of league, where ppl are willing to displace themselves extremely far away, to play for. Nash even said before, he`ll play for the MLS if MLS comes to him, its not like his salary will change.
If the expansion team can replicate what tfc is doing than that’s who deserves, regardless of what city it is..
As far as the guy who wants a team in cleveland because it would set up a battle of ohio with columbus.. i say yeah ok, columbus doesn’t even deserve a team because it’s so mismanaged and under-supported.
Alot of disinformation in the above posts. First of all there is a lot of canadian talent out there, Mo and Carver have traded away several quality canadian players (Pozniak, Serioux) who start elsewhere, they’ve settled on old english strikers and paid big dollar for them while quality canadian strikers are available (Gerba).
In addition, both TFC and Whitecaps have deep academy’s started, and are doing very well in PDL and CSL, along with national tournaments. Whitecaps residency has already gone to europe several times and will develop a lot of solid players in the future. So if you’re aiming for 2011 then I believe we’ll have some significant players ready to go in.
Finally the facilities are there or will be there. Seattle was approved to play in the huge quest field, and BC place after it’s renovation for olympics is going to be first rate until 2014 and the new waterfront whitecaps stadium comes to be ready. In addition the montreal stadium is good, and with another 25 million renovation it will be at the middle of what parks look like in states.
So facilities, quality of players is definitely up there. The question is do we want another 2 canadian teams? Well isn’t it obvious to all of us that this league is going to be 28-32 teams in about 15 years? And bearing in mind where the solid US soccer city markets are, I believe that would leave 28 US teams and at least 3 from Canada adding some heated rivalry. If the canadians are ready, sure let them in. Doesn’t mean we won’t get a whole whack more of american teams in the future either
I forgot to mention, if big media markets mean instant success then shouldn’t Chivas be thriving in LA as their second team?
Just for people saying Canada should get its own league… I don’t know many 3 team leagues let alone ones doing well. Montreal and Vancouver should have teams and Ottawa (and other canadian cities)should settle for a usl team with a strong youth development system for young canadian players. Since when did Eugene Melnyk become a soccer fan anyway?
As for these so called “big media markets” like New York. Let’s try to get the one they have operating in the black first. I truly believe that, as important as tv revenues are, this is a league that will live and die by stadium attendance for at least the next couple decades. If this weren’t the case then there wouldn’t be such urgency for teams to get their own stadiums. MLS should look more toward the NHL or even the CFL (which has a salary cap of a little over 5 million) rather than MLB or the NFL. Cities/communities that will support their team should be the primary targets. Not cities that offer the potential of strong media coverage. Montreal and Vancouver should definitely be admitted and I keep hearing St.Louis would strongly support a team. All I can say is god help us if Las Vegas gets a team.
As a follow up to my previous post, assuming the proper support is in place, I’d like to see the next teams in:
-NYC
-Montreal
-Vancouver
-St. Louis
-Portland
-San Antonio
And Chivas should move to San Diego
I want MLS to be as strong as possible, and if that means Canadian teams, then fine. If these potential clubs rival anything that Toronto FC has brought to the league, MLS will be better of for it.
Not totally sold on the idea. Vancouver would be a good rival for Seattle and Montreal would be a decent rival for TFC but it’s not all that exciting. Plus with the league rules the way they are with having mandatory amounts of Canadians they would basically be bringing in 2 teams to fill out the bottom of the table and most likely drag TFC further down with them since the player pool would be split up. The only was that changes is with youth academies but that would be a solid 5-10 years away given the rules for signing academy players (that need to change BTW)
Do you really think people will remain interested in teams that are doomed to suck for 5-10 years? See RBNY, KC & Columbus attendance for your answer to that.
St. Louis should be the next team. NY2 should be backburnered for at least another 10 years and Atlanta should be given a serious look.
MLS is NOT an American league anymore. It is recognized by FIFA as the top division of BOTH the US and Canada. I’m down 100% for Canadian expansion into Vancouver (especially) and Montreal. I don’t think Ottawa or any other Canadian cities can support a team.
I think Montreal and Vancouver are good ideas.
I would like to see Montreal and St Louis join the league in 2011 and maybe vancouver the year after
One more in Canada wouldn’t be too bad, especially if there’s support behind it. If it’s true that Steve Nash wants to own a club in Vancouver, I’m all for that.
People using national team game attendance as “proof” that a certain market needs an MLS team are being misguided. Just because the Ecuadorian (or whichever ethnic group) population come out to watch their national team play doesn’t mean they’ll come out for an MLS team. It just doesn’t work that way and it hasn’t worked that way. If that were true Chivas USA, FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo would sell out their games every time. Vancouver and Montreal would be a very welcome and needed addition to the league.
According to Wikipedia, in terms of metropolitan population, Vancouver has about 2.25 million, Portland 2.15, and San Antonio 1.94.
Right now Toronto sticks out like a sore thumb. I think at least one more Canadian team added to MLS would be a good idea. As long as the team draws well, it will create yet another instant “Superclasico” with TFC which will add excitement to the league.
I think MLS would do better in trying to add cities that will add immediate rivalries rather than simply expanding the footprint of the league into smaller markets. Adding Philly was a great step, adding a second New York team would heat things up even more.
Portland isn’t a huge market, but it would make for exciting rivalries with Seattle and Vancouver.
Excitement sells, and will bring more fans and money into the games. So while Canada and Portland might not initially bring in bigger TV contracts, the excitement they create should raise the value of the league as a whole.
You got to go based on metro areas for the largest cities.
Portland–Vancouver–Beaverton (that’s vancover in the US) has 2,175,113
San Antonio – 1,592,383
So you guys have a big city over there, but the metro area is no existent in SA.
1) Make the “domestic” distinction count for American and Canadian players, for all teams. Problem solved.
2) To anyone stating that Canadian clubs will prevent MLS from getting lucrative TV deals – get a grip. The Canadian clubs in the NHL are the only ones making money for the league, both from giant fanbases, as well as giant TV deals (Hockey Night in Canada, anyone?). The Raptors and Blue Jays also have paid TV deals.
3) The MLS is no longer solely about showcasing American talent – the expansion into Toronto should have made that clear two years ago. And what is wrong with that? Now we have a league that is starting to showcase North American talent, and considering the popularity of Toronto FC, the league is far better off for it.
4) I’m all for expanding to any city with a strong football fanbase. If that isn’t Montreal or Vancouver for the time being, so be it. All of these ignorant commenters saying intelligent things like “get your own league, Canada”, need to throw their computer out a window, however.
– Scott
All these (ok, a couple) people talking about how Portland is too small and then turning around and touting Vancouver and San Antonio just do not know what they’re talking about.
Portland is barely smaller than Vancouver, and its metro area (read: TV viewership) is bigger than San Antonio — although the actual city is much smaller. San Antonio has almost NO suburbs.
I think the MLS need to listen to independent supporters groups. If a city gets together a list of 15-20 thousand folks that join a supporters group then that city needs a team. Like others have said, right now we need butts in the seats. That makes for a good game day experience and make the game look much more exciting on TV. Right now butts in seats, after that let Promotion/Relegation decide who gets a top flight team, just al long as there are butts in the seats.
To that end, Motreal looks passionate/dedicated. Move KC there immediately. Next Vancover and Portland both have demonstrated a large support. Give them teams. Then look around for grassroots support. If the fans demonstrate they have numbers, the stadium, the ownership, everything else will fall into place. Just look at Philly. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but LET’S FOLLOW PHILLY’S EXAMPLE!!!!
Hincha Tim said “Portland is the 24th largest TV market in the country. You say its too small but suggest San Antonio which is the 37th, 3/4 of Portland’s size. Get a clue!”
Not sure how they come up with tv markets but I will say this San Antonio is twice the size of Portland. With over 1 million people in the city. So maybe the “TV Market” would not be a good use as far as determining support and viewers of soccer.
Also this is a hot topic!!!!
As for Ottawa, its a terrible idea, they cant find support for their football team or baseball team, i highly doubt soccer would draw anyone. Itd be a waste to send it there.
It shouldnt even be mentioned.
The only Canadian team I want to see is in Moose Jaw, SK. Call them Diefenbaker FC.
NOLA,
agreed, thats because they attempted to force the sport where its not wanted (the south) as opposed to where it is (Canada, northern and midwestern states).
as mentioned previously, dunno why people are against putting teams where there is financial and vocal support, regardless of country because inevitably both countries benefit
Funny, I was just thinking last night that Canada was fertile ground for an MLS team. Both Ottawa and Montreal would make good choices based on the immigrant population and Euro influence.
bob- Check attendance records, Montreal and Toronto have no problems filling their arenas, Vancouver, may be a little bit but not as much as all those teams they put in the south… hint hint… could it be because they only like football, nascar and maybe a bit of baseball?
I honestly think the mls needs to check its expansion before it over expands. i mean take a look at the nhl. they overexpanded too much and lost their major markets.
Who would go to soccer games in Atlanta and Carolinas? Expand it to Montreal and Vancouver where there would be at least 15000 each game. Or relocate red bulls and revolution to canada because these teams don’t have local support right now(9000 attendance is pathetic)
Montreal = Natural rival for Toronto.
Vancouver = Seattle rival.
Owners with deep pockets and stadiums in both places then bring it on.
Double the salary cap and Change the DP rule to 2 per team. Sit back and watch what happens.
I’ll agree with all the people saying yes to Montreal and Vancouver, but no to Ottawa. I live in Ottawa, and I’d love to have a soccer team, but I know it won’t get enough support. I’d like to see Montreal and Vancouver join MLS, while Ottawa (and maybe a Calgary/Edmonton team?) join USL.
However, I do have concerns over talent in Canada…it’s not that we don’t have the top end talent, such as De Rosario, it’s that we don’t have the depth. Not to mention most of our respectable players go to Europe. For the WCQ against St V+G, we had 5 players on the roster from MLS, out of 18.
Is further MLS expansion into Canada a good idea? Yes.
Is immediate MLS expansion into Canada a good idea? No.
Montreal and Vancouver seem to be very real, very viable expansion markets. The success of the Impact and Whitecaps certainly makes MLS take a look in those cities, and I don’t blame them.
But if MLS is serious about “growing the game” in the United States, the best way to do it is with United States teams. Let’s take a look at what’s available.
St. Louis has been angling for a team, and word is that the city is a soccer hotbed. Fine, bring ’em on. Ives keeps saying that he thinks that Chivas USA should move to San Diego. I was never quite sure why Los Angeles had two teams in the first place. If anyone gets two teams, it’s New York (more on that in a moment). I think San Diego would make a fine city for a pro soccer team and a better home for Chivas USA – give them their own stadium, their own city, their own fans. New York City has been mentioned as a possible site for a team. While I would normally question the viability of two MLS teams in one city, let’s face it: New Jersey != New York. There are loads of fans in the city proper that would be happy to come out to see a real home team play in a stadium that’s actually in the city. What, a team named New York could actually play in New York? Who knew?
Atlanta has been a city mentioned for MLS expansion, though less so than the above. I see this happening later rather than sooner, but it is a possibility. The Silverbacks can only draw a max of 4500 per game, but that’s the size of their stadium and the league they play in. Put a top-tier team with more exposure in Atlanta, and they could probably rival some of the other less-attended MLS teams.
Beyond that in the U.S., I really don’t see anything definitive at the moment. Portland has been mentioned, and while the Timbers may be successful, I’m wary of having them in MLS just yet. Las Vegas is frequently mentioned, but I honestly don’t see pro sports succeeding there in the near future. Vegas is a tourism city, not a life-long home. People go there for the gambling and other activities, not for pro sports. I have a hard time envisioning a return to Florida at all. They just don’t seem to do pro sports at all. Marlins, Rays, Lightning, Jaguars…they all struggle to fill seats (particularly in baseball, and they’re even the better teams this year!). The Rochester Rhinos have also been subjected to the rumor of moving up to MLS, but given their debt recent ownership change, among other things, I think they have enough problems to worry about in USL-1 before they can even dream of trying to move up.
Past then, and then we’re talking Canada again. Like I said, I have no problem with it, but not right now.
This is my personal expansion projection. Now, this doesn’t take into account anything like stadiums, ownership, etc. Just the cities that seem to be the most viable opportunities. I also try to keep with an even East-West expansion for every two teams to keep it even. And I don’t like FIFA’s rule about 18-20 teams in a league. This is the U.S.; we can manage.
15. Seattle (2009)
16. Philadelphia (2010)
17. St. Louis
18. New York
19. Atlanta
20. Vancouver
21. Montreal
22. Portland
Yeah, I know I said I didn’t think of Portland as wholly viable quite yet, but I needed someone to make it an even number, and I do think they’d make a pretty good candidate. I’ve also heard Detroit, Milwaukee, and Ottawa, but I really don’t know anything about those cities as soccer towns. My only thought is that if a city really is into soccer, they’d probably have a USL team by now. Just saying.
So there it is. Agree with me, disagree with me. I don’t care. I just kinda pulled all this out of my butt based on my own personal thoughts on it all…and doing it with minimal research and thought. Like I said: focus on U.S. expansion a bit more, but don’t leave Canada out in the cold, because they really would be good for the league.
Afterthought: I heard that Club America (MEX) is thinking about putting a team in the U.S. I am against this. Let’s make this our own league, and not Primera Division 2.0. Chivas USA is enough brand marketing, thanks.
I also want to make a quick general comment. Has there ever been ANY real sense in the awarding of teams, since the start? Remember that when MLS started, Houston and Chicago didn’t even have teams. Philly is a super sports town and huge city, and is just now getting a team. Meanwhile, MLS has gone to Salt Lake City, Kansas City, and Columbus, of all places.
The league has also spoken with a forked tongue on the SSS issue. Seems Philly had to have a SSS to get a team, but Seattle didn’t? And for that matter, SLC didn’t have anything for about 4 years.
Is there anyone out there who can defend the allocation decisions by MLS since its beginning?
Eh.
I’d rather see Portland and NYC first. And probably St. Louis too. NOT Miami though. THAT would be a mistake. So I think MLS’ priority should be:
1. Move Kansas City
2. Portland expansion (perhaps the former KC team)
3. NYC
4. St. Louis
5. Montreal (they have better attendance, a stadium that could easily be enlarged for MLS standards, and a legit supporters club here. I’ll take it.)
6. Vancouver
7. Miami (Although if David Beckham has any input, the deal will be done tonight.)
And that’s really all we should be thinking about right now. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
Atlanta? Atlanta doesnt sell out baseball or basketball playoff games! Atlanta is full of people who went to SEC schools and ONLY follow SEC football. Its a pretty terrible sports town otherwise.
Southeast is a tough sell. Ask Tampa. Even when Pibe was in his MLS prime, they couldnt draw 15k.
Also, ditto to the comment on Cleveland. Columbus doesnt have any other sports competition during the season and they struggle to get 14k in a beautiful stadium.
If frickin Canadians are gonna show up and take their teams seriously (as opposed to soccermoms dragging the kids to 1-2 games a year), let them do it.
I got high hopes for Philly and Seattle though.
Quote from Homey: Also, I don’t want a team in the Southeast just for geography reasons. I just don’t see that as a really good market, and Miami can’t draw anyone for their team right now. I’d hate to see another disaster. It’s more of a college football/Nascar area of the country, and without high numbers of immigrants in most areas.
Homey, I definitely agree with you that we should not locate a franchise based soley on a geographic reason. However, I believe that Florida would be a an ideal place for a franchise in the future. Speculation exists that Beckham’s interest in an ownership capacity was originally focused on New York but has now shifted to Miami. In most parts of florida’s urban areas such as Miami, Tampa, and Orlando, Florida contains a large carribean and latin population who follow soccer. In my oppinion, I believe that D Beckham would translate well in a market that is very trend driven and would bring a buzz to the area. In Miami, the spanish population is approximately 50% and the carribean population might add another 10% so you definitely have a good demographic to manage.
When USMNT played Ecuador in Tampa, the ticket counter had lines existing until half time of the game when finally it was announced that they had run out of tickets. Only 40k actually watched the game and the remaining fans did not enter the stadium. I believe many of the fans, myself included thought that they could just show up 10 minutes before game time and buy a ticket. However, surpisingly fans were left waiting outside as Landon scored a hat-trick.
For the olympic qualifiers in Tampa, no one knew about the tourney until after several Cuban players defected from the team which gave exposure from news and radio. This attention allowed for the third game to reach attendance of 15-18k. Poor planning, marketing, and exposure has affected the attendance and bottom lines of these events. It is a shame that promotions are not targeting more of the latin demographic which will bring a steady income streams for future owners.
My picks for expansion would be in this order. Seattle, PHilly, Miami, ST. Louis, Portland, San Antonio, San Diego, and Tampa/Orlando(a stadium built between the two on I-4 which reaches two markets.
NO NO NO, they can’t even support a sport they invented, hockey.
Expand in the states, San Antonio, St. Louis, ect.
Jdwag,
You have now posted two ignorant remarks concerning television markets. Portland is the 24th largest TV market in the country. You say its too small but suggest San Antonio which is the 37th, 3/4 of Portland’s size. Get a clue!
Portland’s TV market is bigger than KC’, Columbus’ and SLC’s.
Of course, the best way to settle the expansion issue would be a promotion/relegation system, letting teams settle wherever they deserve to be.
My top picks:
1. Montreal
2. St. Louis
3. New York (Call them the Cosmos)
4. Vancouver
No problem adding Montreal and Vancouver. They would be good markets. All others? Keep their Hockey.