Expansion Rumors Megathread

Potential Charlotte names: https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/t...tes-mls-team-name/2BWQ2VJMJVHUFC3SR5FQVY2YYU/

My ranking:
  1. Charlotte Athletic FC
  2. Charlotte Crown FC
  3. All Carolina FC
  4. Charlotte FC
  5. Charlotte Town FC
  6. Charlotte Fortune FC
  7. Charlotte Monarchs FC
  8. Carolina Gliders FC
Any of the first five are digestable. Bottom three are oof.
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No passport check.
I thought you were arguing travel, and not administrative items. Soccer players are used to international travel quite a bit. And I don't think the added "travel time" due to a passport check is material at all.
 
why do they even bother teasing these announcements? it's pretty obvious what the announcement is. would be funny if garber announced "NO FRANCHISE!" and drops the mic and runs off cackling...
 
why do they even bother teasing these announcements? it's pretty obvious what the announcement is. would be funny if garber announced "NO FRANCHISE!" and drops the mic and runs off cackling...

this one is significant since he said "this will likely be our last announcement" .....of course if they actually stop expansion is another matter.
 
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From today's article on MLS website.

MLS will have 26 teams competing in 2020, with the inaugural seasons of Inter Miami CF and Nashville SC. In 2021 Austin FC and Charlotte will follow, before Sacramento Republic FC and St. Louis follow in 2022 to bring the league to 30 teams.​
So, this suggests that in 2021, Austin will join the Western Conference and Charlotte the Eastern. Then in 2022, Sacramento and St. Louis join the Western Conference, and Nashville moves to the Eastern.

Of course, that assumes that we stick with 2 conferences all the way through.
 
 
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The economics of keeping the league afloat through expansion fees really concerns me. I suppose they're expecting that the next TV contract will put them on more solid footing, but it's definitely concerning. 30 teams is far too many, but is this the only way for MLS to remain solvent?
 
The economics of keeping the league afloat through expansion fees really concerns me. I suppose they're expecting that the next TV contract will put them on more solid footing, but it's definitely concerning. 30 teams is far too many, but is this the only way for MLS to remain solvent?
I'm not sure it's completely about keeping the league afloat with expansion fees. I think regarding expansion, MLS has one goal in mind, have a broad group of "developed" clubs in key markets by the time WC 2026 rolls around and that's when things will really take off.

I think the incredibly escalating expansion fees is just a side product of that, mostly due to a couple of things:
  1. Americans love sports and rich Americans love owning sports franchises. This is really the only opportunity for those individuals to get into it without throwing out super absurd amounts of money (think NFL, NBA, etc.)
  2. The demand is there for these new clubs. Many markets are willing to pay for it and I think they see the return will eventually be there.
 
The economics of keeping the league afloat through expansion fees really concerns me. I suppose they're expecting that the next TV contract will put them on more solid footing, but it's definitely concerning. 30 teams is far too many, but is this the only way for MLS to remain solvent?
Current broadcast deal is peanuts compared to other major sports. If that doesn't get fixed, watch out.
 
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The economics of keeping the league afloat through expansion fees really concerns me. I suppose they're expecting that the next TV contract will put them on more solid footing, but it's definitely concerning. 30 teams is far too many, but is this the only way for MLS to remain solvent?
I don't really see the expansion rush as "keeping the league afloat" so much. I think the league, similar to the other big sports, have concluded that 30-32 (or maybe more) clubs gives them the best national footprint and greatest collective strength, and as soon as a group comes together that helps them achieve their objective, they are in.
Had they been desperate for expansion fees and not focused on strengthening the entire enterprise, they would have accepted the Wilf's reportedly higher fee in Minny and Sacramento would be approaching their 4th or 5th season in MLS already.
 
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I think the pyramid/ponzi scheme digs are fair, but not fully on target. The key difference is it is public knowledge how the league has been financing itself and that there is an upper limit to the number of franchises they can/will issue. Anybody buying in now knows they are doing so at the end of the expansion fee gravy train and will do more to subsidize it than benefit from it. Plus they are all super wealthy sophisticated investors with access to lots of professional advice.

None of which guarantees they won't make a bad bet or invest more with their hearts than their heads, because owning a team sounds like it would be cool and such. Bottom line is the people investing in the last few teams might be fools but they're not being defrauded.