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| by: Ben Rycroft | August 02, 2009 3:36 PM | comments: (0) |
Leave it to a business portal to break the biggest news coming out of MLS in the last few months.
When asked who the league might be looking at for its 19th and 20th teams in this interview with Forbes magazine, MLS commissioner Don Garber had this to say:
"Montreal is one of those, we're pretty focused on that 19th team, we've been in discussions with Montreal. We've got a great success in Canada. Toronto FC plays in a new stadium in downtown Toronto. Every game is sold out. 15,000 people on the waiting list for season tickets. Montreal will probably be a market that looks like that. And joining Vancouver which comes in '11 we'll have three teams in Canada. That's a market that's been in deep discussions with us. Not there yet on the 20th team."
That's as firm a confirmation as I have heard from either side on the Montreal-to-MLS discussions.
What's interesting and perhaps telling why the deal is not yet done, is during the last round of the MLS bid expansion, the league went to great lengths to build spectacle out of the suspense - which culminated in the Vancouver and Portland announcements. It generated interest from corporate partners in bid cities, as well as demonstrated to other MLS investors, the league was still going strong despite the recession.
It also ensured a big splash when the winning cities were announced. Vancouver secured 5,000 MLS season ticket deposits in their opening weekend and Portland has seen a 300 per cent increase in USL-1 season tickets sales this season (tickets that are given front of the line status when MLS season tickets go on sale).
Hell, the league went through all sorts of pomp and circumstance last week just to announce the site of next year's all-star game. It's Houston - for all five of you living outside of Texas who care.
So, it's odd when the commissioner lets any announcement casually drop - let alone the next round of expansion.
The Forbes interview reminds me of last year's Tour de Garber - where the commissioner went from bid-city-to-bid-city teasing media with 'Ottawa's a favourite'-like lines. In Ottawa's case, it had the local papers in a frenzy and put pressure on the government to come to a decision on stadium funding - something Saputo is waiting on right now.
It's clear Montreal is well on their way to being the next city to join MLS, however, 2011 is premature for a league that Garber says 'doesn't want to expand too fast.'
The 2009 MLS season is over two-thirds complete. That would give Saputo less than 20 months to secure provincial funding, expand Stade Saputo to at least 20,000 seats, ramp up a season ticket drive and scout and sign MLS quality players. Not to mention expanding their sponsor base. Even with the majority of the infrastructure (player and stadium) already there, 20 months isn't a lot of time.
I'd say, look for Garber and Montreal Impact owner Joey Saputo to play out a few more hands of poker, getting the Montreal media all-worked up (and pressuring Quebec to commit the $25 million for a stadium revamp), before 2012 is announced as the date for expansion.
As an aside, if they do decide to push ahead, and 2011 is the date set for Montreal's arrival, both the Whitecaps and the Impact need to start looking to secure Canadian talent from this country's limited pool now - those MLS domestic player rules are a bitch.
Cheers
Metro's Ben Rycroft writes about the Toronto Football Club and MLS in general.
Montagliani is either lying or completely inept. This is not the first anyone's heard, and definitely will not be the last. This runs much deeper than one current and one former CSL team.
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