MLS expansion: League's radio silence bad sign for Detroit's 2020 bid

What are we waiting for?

Major League Soccer isn’t saying.

More than two months into the new year, Detroit, Cincinnati and Sacramento remain in limbo, as they seek an expansion MLS team for the 2020 season.

Cincinnati and Sacramento are apparently working to resolve issues with their respective bids. It’s unclear what, if anything, Detroit is doing to bolster its bid.

It's been radio silence since the MLS awarded Nashville a bid for 2020 in December. The league was expected to announce the second expansion team around that time. Instead, it backed off its timeline and has lacked transparency ever since.

Detroit's MLS effort is backed by three billionaires — Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores, Cleveland Cavaliers owner and Detroit businessman Dan Gilbert and the William Clay Ford family — who each have ownership experience in major professional sports leagues.

The Fords, who own the Detroit Loins, joined the Gilbert/Gores effort in November by offering up Ford Field as the home for a Detroit MLS team.

Dan Courtemanche, executive vice president of communications for MLS, responded to an interview request via email: “Apologies for the delayed response. Regarding expansion, Major League Soccer continues to have productive discussions with the other three finalists for the next team to be awarded during this round of expansion — Cincinnati, Detroit and Sacramento. We have not set a date for the announcement of the next expansion club.”

After being asked to speak by phone, Courtemanche chose to stick to his short email response, which revealed nothing.

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Based on the delay, Detroit appears to be destined for a third-place finish. That’s the only logical conclusion that can be made, considering Detroit has an existing stadium and the financial backing needed to satisfy MLS expansion committee concerns.

According to a Thursday report by the Sacramento Bee, Republic FC is in talks with multiple billionaires, who could lead that organization’s expansion effort. Sacramento’s bid was dealt a blow in December when billionaire Meg Whitman exited Republic FC’s ownership group.

“Sacramento’s path to MLS is clear,” Republic FC CEO and Chairman Kevin Nagle said in an emailed statement to the Bee recently. “We’ve proven the strength of our market, downtown stadium plan and local investor support. Now, our final task is to deliver a lead investor with the vision, credibility and wherewithal to put us over the top.”

Meanwhile, FC Cincinnati recently pitched an MLS venue on the site of a high school multi-purpose stadium, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. That plan would include constructing a new and improved replacement for Stargel Stadium nearby. The Enquirer reported that FC Cincinnati has proposed three stadium sites.

It appears that MLS is giving Cincinnati and Sacramento extra time to strengthen their bids. All the while, Detroit seems to be standing pat, making the path to expansion in 2020 contingent on Cincinnati and Sacramento failing to rectify their issues.

But, Detroit's effort includes proven ownership, an existing venue and the largest TV market among the three cities under consideration.

So why hasn't Detroit already been awarded a team?

Only MLS commissioner Don Garber knows, and he's not talking.

MLS has been pushing for soccer specific stadiums, and the pivot to Ford Field was viewed as a negative for Detroit, even though a site examination by architecture firm, Rossetti, concluded that the 65,000-seat stadium can easily be modified for MLS specifications.

Plus, Cincinnati and Sacramento have bigger question marks with their bids.

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Garber said he preferred a soccer specific stadium be built on the site of the failed Wayne County Jail on Gratiot. While Gilbert is expected to get the failed jail site, he and Gores decided that using an existing stadium made more sense than building a new one.

Pistons vice president Arn Tellem, who is a leader in the Detroit MLS expansion effort, declined an interview request from the Free Press before heading to Los Angeles for NBA All-Star weekend.

It’s possible when the 26th team is eventually awarded, MLS could also announce one of the 2022 teams as well. And perhaps that plan includes Detroit.

Even though they can afford it, it’s hard to imagine the Gilbert/Gores/Ford contingent being willing to pay more than the $150 million fee they would have been required to pay for 2020.

Especially if they lose out due to extra time.

Contact George Sipple: gsipple@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @georgesipple.