Seven cities that have applied for Major League Soccer expansion teams were revealed on Monday afternoon. Here are the cities vying for the two expansion slots expected to be filled by 2011:
That’s the same seven cities identified this morning by a variety of reports. The most surprising omission is New York, which many believed would be a favorite for the next round of expansion, with New York Mets owner Fred Wilpon reportedly fronting a potential bid. You have to wonder if the recent struggles of the American economy forced the Mets to focus on their new baseball stadium and put plans for a soccer team on hold. Looks like all the soccer fans in Queens waiting for a team will have to wait a few more years.
Also absent from the list is Las Vegas, which always looked like a long shot and seemed less likely after reports surfaced that the prospective ownership group was looking into buying a piece of the Columbus Crew.
Now that this is the official list of candidates, which city do you think is the front-runner? Portland, St. Louis and Montreal are receiving the most buzz as being complete bids, but the FC Barcelona-backed bid for a Miami team shouldn’t be ignored.
With New York out of the mix, my picks to be chosen are Portland and Montreal, with Atlanta a long-shot I would put some money on if I could.
Here are the completely unofficial SBI odds on the seven expansion candidates:
- Portland…….3/1
- Montreal…….3/1
- St. Louis…….6/1
- Miami……….15/1
- Vancouver…..20/1
- Atlanta………25/1
- Ottawa………100/1
Share your thoughts on the expansion candidates below.