St. Louis fills a very real need for the league. In addition to St. Louis’ strong soccer tradition, a team here would also be a boon for the franchises in Kansas City and Chicago, which could really use a rival that’s in driving distance, and the league sees the absence of the NFL as another plus. Still, it will come at a steep price. The expansion fee is likely to be in the neighborhood of $100 million, plus whatever costs are involved in stadium construction.

The league currently has 20 teams and has four teams in the queue ready to start: Atlanta will begin play in 2017, Los Angeles FC, the second LA team, in 2018, and Minnesota and Miami at an unspecified date while stadium issues are finalized.

Meanwhile, the competition for one of the next set of spots has grown. Whereas before it was Sacramento and St. Louis and everyone else, the list of contenders now includes Detroit, San Antonio and, just last week, San Diego. All of the contenders have to be taken seriously because of their financial backing.

On April 27, Garber was in Detroit when Dan Gilbert, chairman of Quicken Loans and owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, announced in conjunction with Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores a $1 billion proposal for an MLS team and a multi-use stadium downtown. Detroit’s efforts hinge on the approval of the downtown construction project.