North American Pro Soccer 2014

[TorinK92]

Double blow though for the Revs late on in regular time, they hit the crossbar in the 80th minute then lost Nguyen a minute later.

Could have been a much different story.

Kudos to the Galaxy though, glad to see Donovan go out on top.

[VictoriaGooner]

Congrats to LA for winning #FirstToFive MLS Cups. Good to see Donovan going out on a high....but wow did the Revs screw the pouch on that one! The drought continues for the Massachusetts club...

[FlyingLamprey]

An official statement from MLS Commissioner Don Garber:

So we're getting our 24 teams in time for 2020 it would seem, and we'll find out where pretty soon. The question is where: San Antonio, Minneapolis, Vegas, or Sacramento, with Indianapolis as a rumor floating around.

[MJWalker45]

I think Minneapolis, Indy or San Antonio would make the most sense. Las Vegas would have to play the majority of their games at night during summer. I don't know why they'd even consider it.

[tetris1983]

I think that Dayton, Ohio should have a Major League Soccer team, and I've got the perfect nickname and team colors for it:

Nickname: KRYTPON FACTORS

Team colors: orange, light green, gray

Team crest: late 1980s 'Krytpon Factor' K symbol

Stadium: Physical Ability Field

[patsox]

In fairness, the Revs were also #FirsttoFive.

Seriously though, that was a great game (if a gut-wrenching one). If that ball was inches lower on Bunbury's shot, or if the Revs were just a little quicker to react after the ball deflected off the keeper on the Mullins shot, we might be talking about the Revs winning. Unfortunately, I just think the better team won. It's a shame the Revs kind of didn't really show up until the second half. This Revs side had a ton of heart though, and they're a young team with another valuable year under their belts. Jermaine Jones will also be here for a full season next year. Here's hoping they can avoid that little losing streak they had in the middle of this season next year, and have the right to play for the cup on the turf of Gillette.

[PackerFan98]

I think Minneapolis makes the most sense with the new stadium being built for the Vikings.

[Digby]

Fills a geographic hole for MLS, too. I don't see the appeal in Las Vegas -- is there really a built-in soccer community there? -- Sacramento and San Antonio both have top-shelf minor-league teams but may be too close to existing teams.

[FlyingLamprey]

If they announce two teams for expansion, I can see Sacramento being one of them due to the similarities between them and Orlando (city not usually big with sports with a surprisingly large soccer fanbase), but if one team is announced for expansion then Sacramento's stock goes down. Vegas I can't see happening due to high temperatures in the desert that carry over into the night, with night games in the west also carrying the curse of no national TV exposure, not to mention that people are against sports in Vegas due to gambling and such. For San Antonio and Sacramento, location really hurts them; Sacramento is a 2 hour drive from San Jose (although it's different and far enough from the Bay Area to have its own fanbase, see also the GS Warriors and the Sacramento Kings), and San Antonio is 3 and 4 hours from Houston and Dallas respectively. Plus you also have to take into account the number of teams per state: adding a team in Sacramento would give California 4 teams while San Antonio would give Texas 3, and having 4 California teams to 2 Texas teams would likely not sit well with people. While San Antonio has the largest market, it'll most likely be Minnesota due to the new market (the closest team is Sporting KC and that's a good 6 hour drive.

A separate question, then, would be if the teams would carry the same names as their lower-tier equivalents (Orlando did with Orlando City but New York didn't with the Cosmos).

[MJWalker45]

A separate question, then, would be if the teams would carry the same names as their lower-tier equivalents (Orlando did with Orlando City but New York didn't with the Cosmos).

It all depends on who the ownership group that gets approved is. If it's San Antonio, the Scorpions will be the name that goes forward. They own the stadium and they are the ones talking to MLS. Atlanta is the only team I think that will have a brand new name when they come up, besides the Miami team when it finally gets it's act together. The Republic are the team in Sacramento and the crowds they are pulling in are very impressive. I think not bringing that name forward would be a mistake if they were awarded a team. Minnesota has a stadium and a full academy system and facilities. San Antonio is only now building up the academy but they do not own the complex that they train at. It's where we play our city league games during the weekends. They do have their own dedicated fields though.

[Digby]

NYCFC and New York Cosmos are completely different clubs. The Cosmos continue to play in the NASL.

[pcgd]

There are 2 Minnesota Groups going for a MLS team. The Vikings and the United. In theory if the Vikings get it, they'd have a new identity. Not saying the groups could come to an understanding afterwards but I don't believe the groups at this time are that close together.

BTW, there are no Indianapolis rumors.

[Gothamite]

Plus you also have to take into account the number of teams per state

Why?

NYCFC and New York Cosmos are completely different clubs. The Cosmos continue to play in the NASL.

Orlando City has the same name because the owners of that club were granted an MLS franchise. As Digby noted, that's not the same with the New York slot.

[FlyingLamprey]

Totally blanked on the Cosmos thing, my bad. Could've sworn I saw talks about Indianapolis trying to get a franchise, but I could be wrong there. As for teams per state, I figure that the league wouldn't want one state to have too many teams, as other leagues often try to keep a balance (4 in California and 3 in Texas in NBA, 3 California and 2 Texas in NFL), although I guess other leagues make my point moot (5 California to 2 Texas in MLB and 3 California to 1 Texas in NHL). So I guess state number could go either way depending on what the league feels.

[Gothamite]

Yeah, I don't see them as being particularly worried about their footprint. I can't imagine the league that added Seattle, Portland and Vancouver almost at once would care that Texas doesn't feel underrepresented.

Nobody cares about balancing out states; the NFL and NBA have those markets because those markets made sense at the time. And soon we'll have another California team in the NFL without a corresponding Texas team to "balance" it.

[zinman11121]

Dang, you guys really got me excited about the Indianapolis "rumor".... although it might be worth noting that if there were "rumors" about Indy, they did lead the NASL as an expansion club in average attendance (10,465), followed by Minnesota and San Antonio (9,234 and 6,909 respectively) per Wikipedia. I'd say if they are able to come to a new stadium agreement/play at Lucas Oil Stadium within the next 5 years, they could totally be in the MLS.

[pcgd]

There are people in Indy that want a MLS team, but they are fans. Until Jim Irsay, the Simons, or the Cooks want to own a soccer team, Indy isn't getting a MLS club. And I'm perfectly fine with that.

[FlyingLamprey]

Yeah, I don't see them as being particularly worried about their footprint. I can't imagine the league that added Seattle, Portland and Vancouver almost at once would care that Texas doesn't feel underrepresented.

Nobody cares about balancing out states; the NFL and NBA have those markets because those markets made sense at the time. And soon we'll have another California team in the NFL without a corresponding Texas team to "balance" it.

You make a good point with the Pacific Northwest. Guess they won't factor location in that regard then.

[schtee]

It's astounding that MLS will soon have more teams than any top-flight soccer league in the world. They could soon have as many teams as the "Big 4" leagues which is crazy considering the meager TV ratings.

I guess it comes down to two theories on growing a league:

1. Get as geographically diverse as possible. If every major city has a team then you sort of have nationwide interest

or

2. Concenrate on fewer teams but with more star players per team like how the Lakers and Celts fueled the NBA's growth in the 80s.

[Gothamite]

Well, I think there's a strategy in the middle - concentrate on major markets but also natural markets. While the NHL is chasing bigger markets that don't particularly want hockey, MLS expanded into one relatively small section of the continent, that just happened to be absolutely crazy about the sport.