Sometimes I get these weird feelings, like something meaningful is about to happen.
MLS Cup final at the higher seed’s ground ... it’s getting closer
It may be intuition. It may be linked to something that someone told me in confidence. Or, in all honestly, these “feelings” may just be the product of too much spicy food. You never know.
Either way, I’m getting a “feeling” these days related to MLS …
I believe we’re creeping closer to fruition on a notion I really love, deciding the MLS Cup final on the grounds of the higher seed involved.
I love the concept for two reasons: First, it attaches even more weight to the MLS regular season. It’s takes a huge bite from the butt of the argument that the seven-plus months of regular season games have only a marginal impact on the eventual champion. It would, without question, move the season further along the continuum of relevancy.
Secondly, the MLS Cup final will have a big-game feel about it. Not just every now and then, but regularly. Every. Single. Year. And that’s huge. That palpable aura of excitement and city-wide enthusiasm that you just can’t replicate at neutral sites creates the memories and the moments that make the league.
Put Portland, Seattle, Toronto, D.C. United .... heck, anybody ... in a final inside their own stadium and that bad boy would rock like Eddie Vedder back in the day!
You can’t replicate that earnest passion and emotion at neutral sites, that is, unless Seattle is involved. Then you get close, at least,
In fact, this idea first gained traction around the 2009 MLS Cup final in Seattle. I said then that it was going to happen sooner or later. I still believe that. I remember having a conversation with Real Salt Lake owner Dave Checketts down on the Qwest Field pitch, about 24 hours prior to MLS Cup 2009. There was such a great feeling and wonderful atmosphere around that MLS Cup. (Because it was Seattle, downtown venue, march to the match, etc.) Checketts and others recognized the moment and the energy and understood that getting home teams regularly involved was the best way to dependably duplicate it.
There were always two major impediments to a home-field final, both attached to logistics. Keep reading for why it hasn’t already happened. …
One, it’s difficult to plan for hotels and hospitality. As I’ve said before, one of the dirty little secrets in all American sports leagues is how much energy and effort attached to these championships is directed to the pomp, parties and preening of the movers and shakers. In a nutshell, it’s difficult to plan lavish parties and secure the right kind of meeting space and high-dollar dinner space that corporate sponsors, team owners and team officials expect. Like it or not, schmoozing is part of the gig when it comes to talks on TV, league policy, etc.
As Checketts told me then: “If you have six days to get ready for a championship match, hotels and set-up becomes very, very difficult.” Fair enough.
The other obstacle to this idea was always about stadium availability. (Or in a few cases, about the impracticality of an MLS Cup in certain stadiums. How do you think a title match would have looked, for instance, inside the tiny, goofy confines of CommunityAmerica Ballpark in Kansas City?)
Going back to the MLS bad old days, this idea of home-field for the higher seed was an absolute non-starter because too many clubs operated as tenants in stadiums with higher priorities (college or NFL football, of course). Even as recently as three years ago, five of 14 teams shared stadiums. Heck, even this year, three clubs can’t claim 100 percent authority over their stadiums.
Well, a new day is dawning when almost every MLS club will exert primary control over its stadium dates. And almost every club has a stadium capable of hosting the big banana without making the league look rinky-dink.
By next year, out of 19 teams, only New England, Seattle and San Jose would pose problems. The Revolution and Sounders could face issues due to NFL scheduling. The Earthquakes would be an issue because Buck Shaw will be, easily, the smallest and least adorned MLS venue. I mean, where would they put the corporate luxury box?
Seattle would probably block out the MLS Cup weekend at its stadium. So, no worries there, really. The Kraft family and New England. Who knows? And San Jose … well, let’s just call it a 1 in 19 chance and not worry too much about it.
Either way, we’re talking about a small enough percentage of potential snags that the idea isn’t just a pie-in-the-sky notion anymore.
And those other logistical hurdles, about set-up and such. It’s not really that tricky. Two weeks out, we’d all know the two potential championship sites. MLS and Soccer United Marketing (SUM) are major enough properties now that major hotel chains would work with them, blocking off rooms in two cities. Besides, most MLS cities are large enough to accommodate the (relatively low) level of visitor traffic MLS Cup matches would bring.
Most of the fans would be local, not in need of hotels, rental cars, etc. Which, of course, is the whole idea.
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