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With the Philadelphia situation wrapped up, attention will now turn to two other cities, St.Louis and Miami. The former appears to be stalled while waiting for other deep pocketed investors to step forward. The latter, has according to several league officials, several investment groups interested in operating a Miami MLS club. Among them, Miami and Brazil based, Traffic Sports, operators of the Copa America tournament and USL side Miami FC.
Here is what we know about the status of Miami.
The Miami mayor Manny Diaz, while committed to building a stadium next to the Florida Marlins (to be renamed Miami Marlins) stadium, he stated he wouldn't build a $100 million soccer stadium next to the proposed Marlins park unless he is assured Major League Soccer will award Miami a team. That hasn't happened yet, ``but they're very interested."
A source told us that decision may be made in November.
Three different very rich ownership groups, including one foreign football club are interested in operating Miami MLS side.
Two different stadium options are available to MLS, the one mentioned above as well as a plan by Florida International University to allow MLS to play at their new 18,000 seat facility which opens in September.
MLS is very keen on returning to Miami in a stadium located close to Miami's Latino population.
"The South Florida market has become very different in the past six or seven years with the influx of people from Latin America from soccer-loving countries," said Dan Courtemanche, MLS senior vice president for marketing and communications,.
So what does Miami have going for it?
Miami has the stadium plans (or actual stadium if the FIU option is exercised) and multiple well-monied investors. Additionally, MLS still holds and maintains the trademark on Miami Fusion FC while Tampa Bay Mutiny's trademark was allowed to expire and is now dead.
So it looks like the new contest will be between Miami and St Louis for #17.
When all of the above is considered, it is hard to see St Louis having the edge unless and until some deep pocketed investors step forward.
Throw Montreal into the mix and it will be very interesting to see which city comes out ahead.
One thing is almost certain, New York City will remain a contender as well.
New York City like Philadelphia is a much coveted market which they had plans to be in from the start. They have a well monied owner/investor Fred Wilpon, owner of the NY Mets looking to possibly build a stadium on land he owns in Queens, and like Philadelphia's "Sons Of Ben", New York City has, "The Borough Boys", a grassroots group of passionate soccer supporters making noise to get a 2nd NY club in the league.
So far as we know, St Louis has no similar, comparable group. In the post Toronto FC world that as well as the lack of an urban, downtown stadium plan may just hurt their chances.
EXPANSION: Miami Moves Closer To Being #17 As The Expansion Race Heats Up
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Hello - Boroughboys website is www.boroughboysnyc.com
Thanks. We made the correction.
Thanks for the mention!
Southpaw-Borough Boys
There are a lot of good points made here but let me try to clear a few things up given my many years of living in Miami and my experience with the current political climate there.
Firstly, and most importantly, the MLS stadium in the urban core of Miami is contingent on the Marlins stadium being approved. That baseball venue is by no means already approved. There is currently a lawsuit in place that is calling into question the way the funds are put together to build the stadium on the current Orange Bowl site. There is a credible argument that the current allocation of funds to make the stadium possible violates the state constitution. In addition many elite business people are calling on the city to put the stadium approval up for vote due to the fact that the city administration is tying light rail and underwater construction money to the stadium. The source of these funds comes from a law that provided money for affordable housing. There is still plenty legal maneuvering to be done before that stadium deal is sealed, but if the Marlins stadium is approved you can basically guarantee that a soccer stadium adjacent will be there for MLS taking. Traffic Sports created Miami FC with the foresight that MLS in Miami had a high potential.
Secondly, the FIU venue, while a good choice due to size and location, is not the type of stadium MLS would prefer to have. The league knows it needs to move away from playing games where football lines are all over the field. One can not dismiss the fact that FIU will only play about 6 home games a year, b/c FIU is already planning on using the stadium to host high school football games, which are still a big deal in South Florida.
Thirdly, the demographics haven't changed significantly. The problem with the Fusion is that they played outside of Ft Lauderdale around 30-35 miles away from most of Miami and in a stadium no one knew about. There is a lot to do in between those 30-35 miles. If the Fusion played in Dade county they would have been 10 to 12 grand a game with a mediocre team.
As for the non-Miami portion of the post, there is some serious flaws in the St. Louis pitch. The KC situation is not helping their prospects. The fact that the Wiz can only expect 7,000 at full capacity for 2 years will hurt their financial viability. Other MLS teams will not be happy to pay for this sinking ship as they watch their players continue to leave to Europe for more money. Perhaps what people need to look at hard is the chance that KC could well move to St. Louis if there stadium dreams do not become a reality. A year from now KC could be the only original MLS team left that has no soccer stadium plans to look forward to, and therefore moving 250 miles east might make a lot more sense.
In my opinion Vancouver, Montreal, Atlanta and then New York #2 are in line before St. Louis. There is little impetus on the NYC side when that group will be looking to recoup part of their Met investment before sinking more dollars into developing the area. The fact that they already own the land takes away the fear of increased costs later on when looking for a site.
Atlanta and Miami are two of the most fairweather sports cities. Having lived in Miami, no one cares about anything but Football (the American kind). It took the Heat winning a championship for fans to care about them, and even with two World Series the Marlins still didn't get any attention.
tubbs81 - neophyte to miami sports who ripped his opinion off the 2004 conventional wisdom hand book. Marlins constantly trade away any player that is good, and the stadium is 20 miles away from the baseball loving Hispanic population, therefore it is treated like a minor league team. Plus they break attendance records consistently when they make the playoffs
The Heat have been one of the most profitable NBA teams over the past decade.
The Dolphins didn't have a losing season for over 20 years until the reent slide. Why would they not dominate the landscape?
The Florida Panthers have only lost 12 million dollars during the past 5 years despite not making the playoffs.
How is this possible? B/c South Floridians watch their teams on TV, so there is money to be made even though stand aren't full. This is why there's talk of a second New York team even though the NYRB avg attendance is horrid if you take out the Beckham Bowl.
Miami has supported 4 pro franchises for well over a decade now, thus proving it can make sense business wise. Atlanta has had 4 for a while and 3 for a very long time. Somehow we're supposed to believe that these teams stick around b/c they might attract people to the stadium if they win a championship. This is obvious bull shit. St Louis is a sports town, as are Miami and Atlanta (which both also host NASCAR and other sporting events). Perhaps all these business people throwing dollars into the sports in these cities should put you on their payroll.
KC is obviously not on the same level. Population grows every day in Miami and Atlanta, and KC/St.Louis can't keep pace. Both MIA and ATL have vibrant immigrant communities that don't care for the entrenched teams.
"So far as we know, St Louis has no similar, comparable group."
You didn't search very hard.
www.gatewaycitysupportersclub.org
We are currently building the needed infrastructure and will be making a larger presence soon.
bring the mls to florida!
Yes to MLS Miami. Were can I get season tickets.
To all who want MLS here. The competition is fierce for getting a franchise here. There are several interested foreign and domestic groups and/or wealthy individuals who want the Miami franchise. Plus, Miami FC, who does have deep pockets, wants to be the team. However, Miami FC has NOT made the effort to have an excellent team here, despite their deep pockets and the ability to bring in players from overseas. Plus, MLS wants to control its stadiums for parking, concessions, and signage, so FIU is NOT going to happen, unless it only lasts for a couple of years while a new stadium is built. It will be at least two years before we know something, unless someone just comes up with 50 million dollars on Mayor Diaz's door and at the headquarters of MLS.