— Major League Soccer today revealed the timeline and criteria for their next phase of expansion to 28 teams. The details were shared by MLS Commissioner Don Garber during an afternoon media teleconference.

Commissioner Garber listed the 10 markets that have publicly declared an interest in an MLS expansion club: Charlotte, Cincinnati, Detroit, Nashville, Raleigh/Durham, Sacramento, St. Louis, San Antonio, San Diego and Tampa/St. Petersburg.

Any markets who desire consideration for expansion spots 25-28 must submit their expansion applications by January 31, 2017. Garber and the MLS expansion committee will review applications and conduct in-person meetings with potential expansion owners and officials from the prospective markets. Garber said meetings will take place during the first, second and possibly third quarters of 2017.

MLS will then announce the four expansion teams in phases. Teams 25 and 26 will be announced in the third quarter of 2017, to begin play in 2020. Teams 27 and 28 will be selected and announced at a later, yet to be determined date.

With Atlanta United FC and Minnesota United FC due to join MLS next year and Los Angeles FC in 2018, Garber said MLS remains steadfast in its desire to make Miami the 24th league member. The Miami effort, spearheaded by David Beckham, remains in stasis due to various political and financial impediments.

Steve Malik, owner of the newly rebranded North Carolina FC, announced last week his intention to bring an MLS expansion team to the Raleigh-Durham market. Malik said he and other local representatives have met with MLS executives over the past several months, meetings Garber acknowledged during today’s teleconference.

Garber also announced that the MLS expansion fee for teams 25 and 26 will be $150 million. The expansion fee for teams 27 and 28 will also be announced at a later date.

The MLS expansion committee consists of ownership representatives from five clubs, including , Andrew Hauptman (Chicago Fire), Jonathan Kraft (New England Revolution),Anthony Precourt (Columbus Crew SC), Phil Rawlins (Orlando City SC) and Jay Sugarman (Philadelphia Union).

In a press release, MLS relayed three key aspects that will considered when reviewing expansion candidates:

A committed local ownership group that has a passion for the sport, a deep belief in MLS and the resources to invest in the infrastructure to build the sport in their respective market;

A market that has a history of strong fan support for soccer matches and other sporting events, is located in a desirable geographic location and is attractive to corporate sponsors and television partners;

A comprehensive stadium plan that ensures the club will have a proper home for their fans and players while also serving as a destination for the sport in the community.

During today’s teleconference, Garber suggested that the expansion efforts of both Raleigh-Durham and Charlotte remain in their infancy. Garber did reveal that he had met with Marcus Smith regarding a possible Charlotte MLS effort. Smith is president and chief operating officer of NASCAR track owner Speedway Motorsports, Inc. and general manager of SMI-owned Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Still, Garber said he was well aware of the soccer tradition in the Triangle, specifically mentioning its long college soccer history and the Capital Area Soccer League (CASL).

In a club statement, North Carolina FC it “is excited about the next steps in this process set forth by MLS and is confident it will be able to meet the goal of bringing the highest level of men’s professional soccer to the Triangle (Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill).”