Originally posted by Dolfan02
I've been reading up on this and found some interesting facts and also as they relate to what you said before.
The owner of Mexico's club Chivas as of right now has still not decided on the location of expansion for his new team. My guess is San Diego or San Antonio. And again, another stupid move by the MLS and its blinded ignorance. I have nothing against Hispanics since I am part Hispanic, but American soccer fans will not want to see an all-Latin team playing as their team in their city. And this is the intent of the Mexican investor as he stated. Thus, this will lead to another collaspe of an MLS team due to a lack of strong fan support in the long run.
Cleveland is the 2nd city that will be getting an expansion team for MLS. A Cleveland-based investor has shown interest and the MLS is on his tail because he owns a variety of successful investment and project management companies. The investor said he is in the works to build a soccer-specifc stadium in the Cleveland area. IMO, its a dumb move to expand to Cleveland since its very close to Columbus Crew's market, nonetheless Clevelanders are very dedicated to American football. Remember the ChampionsWorld League Tour last summer in the United States? Cleveland hosted a match between Celtic and Boca Juniors: 2 legendary international clubs. Cleveland didn't care, there was hardly anyone there. That was very bizzare compared to the large crowds in every other American host city.
Rochester is a speculation just like 10 other cities including New York City, Seattle, Sacremento, Philadelphia, Charlotte, Atlanta. By the way 10,000 average attendance is nothing. Miami Fusion's all-time attendance average was 9,400... and they were last.
1. Chivas' team in the USA will NOT be all-Mexican like some people think. MLS has restrictions on internationals (each team can have 3) and an all-Mexican team is discriminatory and would be illegal under the equal employment act. You can't not hire someone due to their race. Chivas will either be in San Diego or Houston.
2. I think giving Cleveland an MLS team is dumb but they will get one because they will build a soccer specific stadium. Their excuse for not getting a lot of people for the Boca/Celtic game was that AC Milan was scheduled to play but then backed out, which is true. I don't think they should get a team because it is so close to Columbus.
3. Rochester WILL eventually get a MLS team, it just depends on when. They have already received permission and the state has decided to give money to build a stadium, but they haven't started to build it yet. I heard they have to do some archiological dig or something like that before they can build the stadium. It is wierd, but a stadium will be built, and Rochester will get an MLS team. Rochester's A-League team gets a league best 10,000 fans a game, so just imagine how many they could get for MLS. I think Rochester deserves a team more than Cleveland, but I think both cities will eventually have one.
Besides these 3, if Houston doesn't get the Chivas club, they will get a club. Bob McNair (Houston Texans owner) has shown interest in getting a MLS team and a soccer game between the USA and Mexico at Reliant Stadium sold out last May. I think Houston deserves a team. There is a strong Hispanic population and Reliant Stadium is very nice and they could play there.
Oklahoma City is also trying to get a MLS team and there is supposedly a location for a stadium. I would say Oklahoma City, Seattle, and Philadelphia are the main contenders for a MLS team after the cities I already mentioned.
Miami blew it big time with the Fusion. The MLS sees no reason to return to Miami. The Fusion had the worst attendance in the league (with the lowest ticket prices BTW) and didn't have a stadium. Miami isn't even on the radar screen in terms of getting a MLS team. Miami had potential to be a good soccer city but they blew it in every way. Partly it isn't the fans fault because of the stadium situation, but if a team can't put fans in seats, it has no reason to stick around.
