MLS Commissioner Don Garber makes clearest statements yet on league’s plans moving forward.
Don Garber Officially Puts $100 Million Price Tag On 20th MLS Team
It has long been believed that Major League Soccer is hoping to extract a $100 million expansion fee out of an ownership group looking to put team No. 20 in New York City. Until recently, though, that was mostly the thing of whispers, rumors and conjecture. MLS Commissioner Don Garber put an end to that when he officially confirmed over the weekend that the league is seeking a nine-figure fee:
Garber also denied that the league’s recently stated desire to halt expansion at 20 teams is not a ploy to help drive up this expansion fee. It’s less clear if the focus on New York is also tied to this rather astronomical expansion fee. Assuming the league can extricate that amount from one of these potential owners, that would be more than twice as much as any other owner paid.
Read Article >MLS President Indicates Expansion May Not Exceed 20 Teams
Eric Cantona was hired mainly to give a prominent face to the New York Cosmos’ effort to become MLS team No. 20. (Photo by Chris Brunskill/Getty Images for the NY Cosmos) Getty Images for the NY CosmosGood news for MLS fans worried about endless expansion: League president Mark Abbott told the Sporting News that the league is not particularly interested in expanding beyond 20 teams in the near future. That means that after the Montreal Impact join the league next season, the following team could be the last for quite some time.
Abbott said that there are actually multiple ownership groups interested in operating a second New York team, so the Cosmos’ return is not exactly a done deal. Las Vegas, Minnesota and Orlando were also mentioned as possible sites for team No. 20.
Read Article >
