The soccer news starts with the official announcement that Sacramento FC will join MLS in 2022. The league's 29th team leaves one spot open in the current round of expansion. Whether MLS stops at 30 teams is an open question, but that's the same number of teams in Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association. The NHL will be at 32 teams when Seattle begins play in the 2021-22 . . .
The render version of MLS
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Sep 25, 2019) US Soccer Players - If you subscribe to the right news feeds, you're probably aware of the plans to build a new stadium for the Columbus Crew in the Arena District of Ohio's capital city. New renderings of the building hit the internet on Tuesday to coincide with the team taking season-ticket deposits for the stadium's planned 2021 opening. The . . .
Another step forward for Austin FC
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Sep 11, 2019) US Soccer Players - On Monday in Austin, Texas, a group of luminaries from local government, soccer, and even Hollywood gathered for the groundbreaking ceremony of Austin FC's future home. The event marks the beginning of the construction process on a venue that seemed impossible as recently as 18 months ago. Back then, Austin FC didn't exist beyond a . . .
Nashville’s DP move
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Aug 28, 2019) US Soccer Players - FC Cincinnati is currently suffering through a painful MLS expansion season. They're dead last in the combined league table with a -37 goal differential. FCC has already changed course in year one, firing coach Alan Koch 11 games into the season. The club also hired a new general manager midseason to replace club president Jeff . . .
St Louis and MLS expectations
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Aug 21, 2019) US Soccer Players - Don Garber's whistle-stop expansion tour was in St Louis on Tuesday. The MLS commissioner announced that the city will be home to the newest addition to the ever-growing list of teams. If you're counting at home, this is lucky number 28. The as-yet-unnamed club begins play in 2022. That launch date that gives the ownership in St . . .
The stadium game hasn’t changed in MLS
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Aug 2, 2019) US Soccer Players - MLS commissioner Don Garber's talking points around the 2019 MLS All-Star Game mostly gleamed with positivity. Major League Soccer is growing by leaps and bounds, adding two teams in 2020 and another in 2021. An announcement of two new teams appears to be in the works. By the time the next World Cup rolls around, the top division . . .
Raising the price of MLS expansion
The soccer news starts with MLS floating a new number for the all-in approach to MLS expansion. It's not just the expansion fee. It's making sure a new club can afford the stadium and whatever else is necessary to get a team up and running. According to MLS commissioner Don Garber in an interview with ESPN's Jeff Carlisle, the full cost for the next two expansion teams is "between $550 million and . . .
Another round of MLS expansion
The soccer news starts with MLS talking up expansion and naming four cities currently in the mix for the next round. The league confirmed that St Louis and and Charlotte met with MLS at the league's office. St Louis made a "formal presentation" while Charlotte's bid gave the league an update on their situation. "The ownership groups from Charlotte, Las Vegas, Sacramento, St Louis and other . . .
North Carolina and MLS
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (June 28, 2019) US Soccer Players - You probably didn’t see this coming, what with Sacramento standing by with the red carpet already rolled out for MLS to come calling and St Louis priming itself to be the next darling of the expansion parade. Even MLS commissioner Don Garber’s declarations that MLS won’t, in fact, stop at 28 might not have prepared anybody for the . . .
Does MLS know that it’s a league in transition?
By J Hutcherson (Mar 14, 2019) US Soccer Players - Three MLS clubs decided to “part ways” with their coaches over the last few weeks, a euphemism for firing them. In most cases, that ends up with two resets for the club involved. From the coach that started the season, to the interim, and then to whoever takes over. Considering the situations that normally lead to that “parting of the ways” it’s . . .
