Expansion of Major League Soccer
Since Major League Soccer, the top level of soccer in the United States, was created in 1993 with ten initial teams, it has expanded several times into new markets across the United States and in 2006 into Canada for the first time. MLS has announced a further rise to 18 teams by 2011.
History
Foundation
Major League Soccer was first established in 1993. It was a requirement of FIFA that the United States set up a professional first division in order to gain the rights to host the 1994 FIFA World Cup. The United States had not had a fully professional soccer league since the collapse of the North American Soccer League in 1985.
After being founded in 1967 the NASL had initially been very successful – particularly the New York Cosmos who fielded a number of world-famous stars including Pele. As the sport grew in popularity the number of teams rapidly grew reaching their peak in the early 1980s, when there were twenty four teams - nineteen in the United States and five in Canada.
Since the NASL had collapsed in 1985, professional soccer teams had largely disappeared except in Canada where the Canadian Soccer League was formed with several former NASL clubs as members, until that league also folded in 1992.
There were a number of reasons for the failure of NASL, but one explanation was the lack of brand loyalty and poor siteing of teams. It was common for franchises to move around from city to city, and change names, which made it difficult to build a sustainable fan base. While teams placed in major urban centres such as New York had succeeded in drawing a large popular following, many other clubs in smaller cities struggled to attract crowds.
Initial teams (1996)
This experience led MLS to be extremely cautious in establishing new franchises, having identified the rapid overexpansion as being a major element in the collapse/failure of the NASL. It was decided to create ten new teams, to be placed in carefully selected cities where there was believed to be a strong market for soccer.
Those chosen were largely done so --------, rather than cities that had hosted teams in the NASL era. And it was extended to expand further, as ------- permitted. A key aim was to create ---- central, popular and profitable franchises.
The initial ten teams created were [the Columbus Crew, D.C. United, the New England Revolution, the NY/NJ MetroStars, the Tampa Bay Mutiny, the Colorado Rapids, the Dallas Burn, the Kansas City Wiz, the Los Angeles Galaxy and the San Jose Clash.
Using American Football stadiums, the new league kicked off in (mnth) 1996.
First Expansion (1998)
In 1998 the league expanded for the first time rising from ten teams to twelve. The two expansion teams were based in Chicago and Tampa. The new teams were the Chicago Fire and Tampa Bay Mutiny.
Problems (1998-2001)
After a promising start, attendances were falling and all clubs were losing money. In addition most teams were owned by -------------- and ----------, lacking --------- - and hindering further expansion. These problems led MLS Commissioner Doug Logan to be replaced by Don Garber who had experience in the NFL.
One of the methods of tackling these problems was an emphasis the construction of soccer-specific stadiums for existing and potential future members. This was for many years seen as a de facto requirement for any potential expansion franchise. In 1998 not one MLS team played in a SSS, while by 2008 ----- did so, with several other new stadiums in the pipeline.
Withdrawal from Florida (2001)
In 2001 the league announced the end of its two Floridian teams, Miami Fusion and the Tampa Bay Mutiny at the end of the 2001 season. This was for financial reasons. Both teams were withdrawn from the league, and folded. No new expansion franchises were granted that year – so the number of teams fell to ten once more.
The surprise performance of the United States Men's National Soccer Team at the 2002 World Cup, where they reached the semi final , sparked a recovery in the league’s fortunes, and attendances once again began to rise. The MLS began looking to expand once more, with a number of cities now interested in hosting new teams. The demand for an expansion team grew, which eventually allowed MLS to command an expansion fee of $40 million.
Second Los Angeles Franchise and Salt Lake City (2004)
The league added two new teams in 2004. Los Angeles became the first city to host two MLS teams, when Chivas USA was founded. They were linked to the Mexican club Club Deportivo Guadalajara and hoped to build a following amongst the Hispanic community. They share the Home Depot Stadium with their neighbours LA Galaxy. This created MLS’s first derby game.
Real Salt Lake City were created in 2004, funded by -------. They played out of Rice-Eccles Field initially before moving to the Rio Tinto Stadium in 2008.
Houston Dynamo (2005)
In 200 The San Jose Earthquakes were put on hiatus, because of a failure to secure a soccer specific stadium. The players and the coach were moved to Houston, Texas where they became the Houston Dynamo, playing out of the Robertson Stadium.
This was the first time a franchise had been relocated in MLS, thought it had been common in its predecessor the NASL, though the league insisted they had plans to return to San Jose. After a three year hiatus the San Jose Earthquakes were reformed in 2007[1], and resumed play in the MLS the following season.
Expansion to Canada (2006)
In 2005 the league announced the creation of a Canadian franchise to be based in Toronto.[2] This was confirmed on May 11 2006 when the new team name FC Toronto and logo were announced. [[1]] The club played their first season in MLS in 2006, finishing bottom.
The introduction of the MLS into Canada took MLS into a separate country for the first time, mirroring the set-up in Major League Baseball and the NBA which involve teams from both nations. MLS had announced their intentions to move into the Canadian market, and their had been strong support from the Canadian Soccer Association which believed it would be good for the Canadian game, after previous attempts at trying to create a separate Canadian professional league had failed.
In Europe the governing body UEFA has had a tendency to block any potential leagues across national borders, but there were no serious objections to the move into Canada from the North American Federation.
In 2008 a Canadian Championship was set-up as the highest form of soccer in Canada, and to determine Canada’s qualifier for the CONCACAF Champions League . One of the founders was FC Toronto. However, it is intended to be complimentary to MLS rather than it competition with it.
Philadelphia Franchise
On February 28 2008 MLS announced that the sixteenth franchise would be awarded to Philadelphia.[3] There had been a strong campaign to bring a team to the city with intense lobbying by supporters groups such as the Sons of Ben.
Philadelphia had remained one of the largest Metropolitan areas in the US without a MLS franchise. The club has not been named yet, but are popularly known by the name Zolos.[4] The new team announced their intention to construct a 20,000 seat stadium in Chester, Pennsylvania.
Seattle Franchise
Seattle was awarded a franchise in 2008 in spite of the fact that the city did not have a Soccer-specific stadium or any plans to construct one. Instead they announced their intentions to play matches at the -------. Following a vote by supporters, the team chose the name Seattle Sounders, because of its heritage in Seattle football.
Future
comparable leagues in other North American sports
are largely around the 20-24 team region.
There are currently no plans to split the league into two divisions, as is common amongst European equivalents.