MLS expansion competitors struggle to stand out so far

Nashville helped its cause with a big Gold Cup crowd July 8.

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When the MLS’s submission deadline for its next four expansion spots passed Jan. 31, the league appeared to have an embarrassment of riches.

With 12 bidders, each offering attributes ranging from longtime sports ownership groups and ambitious stadium projects to new exposure to underserved soccer markets, the question at the time was which of the 12 would stand out, especially as the league looked to select the first two expansion cities later this year.

Seven months later, as the league’s full board of governors prepares to meet in Chicago later this week during its All-Star break, the question is which of the 12 are still standing.

Setbacks mainly tied to local political support and stadium projects have slowed the bidders’ progress, though MLS Deputy Commissioner Mark Abbott said the league has not been discouraged by the progress, or lack thereof in some cases, of the bids thus far.

“We knew that each market would have its own set of circumstances and issues to deal with, and we know stadium projects take a lot of effort,” said Abbott, who alongside Commissioner Don Garber, other MLS executives and a committee of five league owners has been overseeing expansion.

Abbott said that while the application process, unveiled Dec. 15 with a deadline of Jan. 31, might have appeared short, the league had been in touch with many of those markets for months and in some cases years, making clear what the league would be looking for in bids.

First Look podcast, with MLS expansion discussion beginning at the 16:35 mark:



Top priorities were a strong local ownership group with the ability to invest heavily in infrastructure, support from the local community including corporate sponsors and legislators, and a concrete stadium plan.

The latter two have proved to be trouble for many of the 12 bidders. Lack of local government support has sidelined the bids in both San Diego and St. Louis, two of the markets that many across the league thought were shoe-ins.

Efforts to persuade city officials in Charlotte, Detroit and Indianapolis of the merits of MLS expansion have yet to materialize.

Cincinnati and Nashville have moved quickly up the list, thanks to overwhelming local fan support in the last few months. But both groups are looking to strike public-private partnerships, and the amount of investment required of the local governments has not been fully determined yet, a potential pitfall.

Phoenix, Raleigh, San Antonio and Tampa Bay are not asking for public money for their stadiums, but other elements of their bids — size of their media or corporate markets, proximity to other MLS markets or the financial capacity of the ownership group to spend enough to field a competitive team — may raise questions.

Abbott said that at the league’s meetings this week, he and other executives will update the board on their findings and site visits so far.

MLS will continue to work with the groups and markets to firm up their applications, with “a lot of focus on the stadium plans,” Abbott said.

MLS is on track to announce its next two expansion teams this year, Abbott said, probably after its early December board of governors meeting. Those teams will be expected to be ready to play in 2020.

Announcement of the other two expansion teams is expected at some point during 2018. Abbott said the league will not open up the process to new applications.

Sacramento, long the front-runner for MLS expansion, is still the favorite to land one of those first two spots. With less than five months to go until the announcement, though, MLS is still waiting for that second favorite to appear.



