- Jason Davis

In 2011, after Seattle and Philly and Portland and Vancouver and Montreal and the wave that came before them (yes, San Jose counts) and all of the talk of candidates and fees and ownership groups and stadium plans and color schemes and whether names should be "historical" (since 1975!) or "euro" or plain old American city-and-nickname, I'm tired of expansion. Or, rather, I'm not tired of expansion, I'm over it as a major part of Major League Soccer's future, which means I'm over writing about it. Actually, I'm almost certain that my attention has shifted because there are now enough teams and enough stability that MLS has hardened around the edges and has the consistency of a "real" league.

But the expansion talk continues, whether I remain actively engaged or not (my interest, surprisingly, has no bearing on the rolling expansion train or the discussion surrounding it...who knew). The country is big, MLS will continue to be in the growth phase - in one area or fifty - forever, and there is STILL no team in the Southeast. Oh, and MLSHQ continues to publicly covet another franchise in New York, either because they themselves are sick of having to trek over to Jersey to see a game, or...no, that's probably it. I hear the PATH trains are a disaster.

- Keith Hickey

I kind of feel bad for the New York Red Bulls. They’re the only professional soccer team in their metropolitan area, and yet they still aren’t the most famous. That title belongs, as it has for decades, to the New York Cosmos.

Or rather, since the demise of the North American Soccer League, the idea of the Cosmos.

- Jason Davis

This landed in my inbox this morning. I'm not going to bother with full comment, but I will say that there's not much here considering that Orlando City hasn't yet played a league match. I guess it's nice of Garber and Mark Abbott to take a meeting with anyone interested in expansion. Orlando, particularly because of its geographical location, is a semi-legitimate expansion candidate.

Weekend fare. Not a tour really, but a question and answer session on the Timbers stadium renovations with the ongoing work in the background. Video courtesy of Steeplechase3k on Twitter.

Two weeks or so ago, I started to write a piece on the new New York Cosmos and their "efforts" to this point in their nascent existence. In light of the release of their Umbro line of gear (which I posted about at the time) and because so much of what they've done to this point seemed...shady, I intended to tear the Cosmos apart as a fake team scamming the world in a bid to sell jerseys.

The Portland Timbers, USSF Division 2 version, were knocked out of the playoffs last night by the Vancouver Whitecaps when they won 1-0 but lost the two-legged series 1-2 on aggregate. While the Whitecaps will continue on in search of one final second division title, the Timbers have played their last game as a minor league outfit.

If you missed this news earlier in the week, a San Antonio entry will join the NASL in 2012.  We've chronicled the efforts of the Texas city to get a professional club in this space, specifically in reference to the supporters group The Crocketteers, and though it's not MLS, it's good to see a team finally arrive on the scene there.

Don Garber must be a pretty intelligent man to have reached his current station.  Former NFL executive, shepherd of Major League Soccer 2.0, leader of men and maker of decisions.  Don Garber has got it together.


And Don rarely says anything without weighing out the consequences.  He always has his PR conscience on his shoulder, monitoring his words and making sure that nothing is said out of turn.  You can ask Don a question, but don't be surprised when the answer reveals nothing; it's Don's job to control the league's image as much as is humanly possible, and information is always embargoed.  You'll know when you need to know, or when Don wants you to know.

I've been wondering for some time just how Portland plans to have PGE Park upgraded and ready for MLS play come next spring. The Division II Timbers are still playing there, the city's minor league baseball team is still playing there, and my admittedly under-educated-when-it-comes-to-construction brain has troubling reconciling the timeline with all that needs to be done.


Luckily, there are newspapers who publish stories about this sort of thing. From The Oregonian comes a story on everything going into PGE Park and the projected timing of the refurbishment process. I'm incredibly excited about Portland entering MLS, and much of that is down to Timbers fans and the stadium they'll inhabit; PGE may look much different next year, but that's a place with history that's perfect for soccer and in a downtown location. There isn't another place like it in the league, and may never be again.


Character is hard earned. RFK has character even if it is a terrible place for United to be. A few other stadiums across the league have a chance to build it through years of soccer not yet played. NFL stadiums, even the ones like Qwest that are filled with loud, passionate fans in large numbers, bring nothing to the table in that vein. PGE Park will be a different animal; half old, half new, part face lift, part call back, it's a building that has existed in one place long enough that there likely aren't too many Portland residents who remember a time when it wasn't there. Keith Hickey waxed poetic about stadium soul just a few weeks ago.


The highlights of the plans include a plaza that overlooks the field; even when there's no event in the stadium, the plaza will be open to the public. This integrates the stadium into the community visually. Rather than just a cold edifice detached from the day to day lives of the people that pass it, PGE will be accessible on a multitude of levels.


If only they weren't putting in artificial turf.


Here's the timeline if you're interested:


Work completed: Placed deep foundations; widened south access road to field; added restrooms behind Widmer Bar area; improved concourse restrooms.

Under way: Removal of landscaping and preliminary structural work.

September-October: Complete structural and interior demolition; remove scoreboard, underground plumbing and electrical work; perform preliminary structural work for new east-side seating structure.

October-November: Erect steel structure for east-side seating and buildings; place concrete on decks; fire-proof structure; begin construction of building "skin" (the framing of east-side seating structure and new team store, club restaurant and plaza); begin remodel of locker rooms and press box.

November-December: Continue work on east-side seating structure and buildings, including roofing, glass, and façade elements; place major mechanical and electrical equipment in east-side structure and buildings, team locker rooms, press facilities; continue interior remodel work.

December-January: Interior work on existing and new buildings and structures.

January-February: Continue interior work; complete building skin on new facilities; begin elevator installations; start mechanical systems for east-side additions.

February-March: Complete elevator installation; complete interior work; place concession and kitchen equipment in new east-side facilities; continue east-side mechanical work, place seats on east side; install playing surface and video board.

March-April: Perform final inspections; move in furniture; apply finishing touches.

We go from no-hope San Diego (the perception, anyway) to the apple of Garber's eye, Atlanta. From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution comes a story on an English Premier League team researching the city as a possible place to invest in MLS.


The idea that a(nother) foreign club might enter the U.S. market through a subsidiary in MLS is not one of which I'm fond. I didn't like Barca Miami as a concept, and I don't think I could be swayed to consider this a better situation. Arthur Blank's name has always been connected to MLS expansion in Atlanta, and I would much prefer he be the one to pony up the cash and make it happen.


But this is the most sketchy of news considering that the story does not reveal the source and that MLS itself indicated they know nothing about it. If the English club in question is doing their own thing with the eventual aim (should their research yield positive results) of pitching MLS on becoming an owner, than we're still a long way from the Atlanta City Blues or some such thing.


Garber has consistently mentioned the Southeast as a possible location for Franchise #20. It will take a willing owner with cash to make it feasible, and if Blank isn't willing to move on the MLS timeline, I do wonder if the league might sign up the English interest. The factors involved make me fearful.


And so does what Garber did back in March, practically inviting English clubs to think of the U.S. as their untapped cash cow.


I'm clearly jumping the gun. I do think Atlanta makes sense. I just hope we get a deep-pocketed American owner committed to the game (which it's possible Blank wouldn't be, I'm not sure) rather than an English club opening an American branch.


The perception of American soccer, important both here and abroad, won't be helped if we're home to a bunch of minor league outposts.


I would love to know who the club in question might be, however, and which other cities they might be researching.

San Diegans (San Diegians?) like watching soccer on television. We know this from the World Cup ratings, where the city consistently showed up at the top of the list. With so many eyeballs on the game in a city without a serious professional outdoor team (apologies to the Flash), a missive on why San Diego has been "shut out" by MLS appeared a few weeks back.


Though poorly phrased, the question is reasonable. San Diego has a case if we buy those TV numbers as proof that it could support professional soccer; there's a leap of logic there, because it's impossible to know if all of those people sitting at home watching World Cup soccer would pony up their cash to watch a lesser product in person.


Where the linked column fails is by putting the onus on MLS to come running to "soccer mad" San Diego. This is America and this is soccer, which means that placing a franchise in a city is more about an owner or group with deep pockets and a willingness to stomach possible (likely) losses than it is about simple enthusiasm for the game. St. Louis could share a story or two.


Not that I really blame our columnist friend for pumping up his city (which, in the blustery langague of local sports columnists, requires taking a few shots at other cities as they he does it). His job is to whip his readers into a frothy frenzy with his "why not us" rhetoric, never mind the small details of owner and stadium. It's perhaps a little more disturbing that the soccer promoter interviewed to bolster the San Diego-as-MLS-market claims glosses over, or gets wrong, the stadium issue. Soccer in Qualcomm is not something the league will willingly accept; as more clubs move into their own facilities, soccer in an NFL stadium as anything more than a temporary solution is a bad idea. At least he got the expansion fee issue mostly right.


The reason the column returned top of mind after first reading it two weeks ago was a response by something called the "San Diego Fact Check Blog." By contacting the league office, the blog got to the bottom of the statement it would take "something like a $30 million franchise fee" to get a San Diego team into MLS.


It's more than that now, of course, and the stadium question will always be at the top of the MLS expansion check list. As attractive as San Diego appears to be, we come back to the issue of ownership; San Diego Fact Check Blog suggests the only way San Diego is getting an MLS team is if Dean Spanos (son of Chargers owner Alex Spanos) can be convinced to buy a soccer team, or, and I'm fairly certain this is a sarcastic statement, the city itself purchases a team. Without so much as a whisper from any monied interests about San Diego as a candidate, the whole thing is a non-starter. For now.


There is another possibility, that an existing MLS club move to San Diego. This would still require a stadium deal, but doesn't need an investor. A certain LA team comes to mind as a candidate for relocation, but that's just a best-fit determination, not a declaration that Chivas USA should leave LA or that San Diego should be their destination.


San Diego's TV numbers rightly prompt the discussion of Major League Soccer in the city. My guess is that a Division II team is more likely in the near future, but if San Diegans continue to prove themselves one of the better soccer crowds in the country, MLS might eventually end up there.


We don't know who will be twenty, or how long the league will sit at that number. Garber and his crowd consistently mention the need for a team in the Southeast, and if a wider national footprint is the overriding factor, it won't matter if San Diego pops up with an ownership group and a stadium deal tomorrow.


I'm not convinced the World Cup TV numbers indicate a serious interest in live professional soccer in the city. But if anyone in San Diego is reading this and you'd like an MLS club in your city, might I suggest the Sons of Ben approach.


San Diego is included in the World Cup bid (see image above) so it's not as though everyone is shutting it out.

Excuse us as we take a short break from our extensive intermittent World Cup coverage here at the uncomfortably odd environs of MFUSA to discuss a kerfuffle in the world of American soccer club logos.


It seems the soccer-obsessed denizens of the lovely city of Portland (I've never been myself, but I hear it's beautiful) are none too happy about the snazzy new logo their team has adopted for their entry into Major League Soccer next season. When Pitch Invasion is highlighting the issue, you know it's moved beyond the "grousing" stage.


And let me say, fair friends of Oregon, I'm with you. The thing is fairly hideous, what with its slick shading and fighter jet-inspired lines. Is this a soccer club or an airline for lumberjacks? The look screams "minor league", and not in a campy look-at-us-we-don't-take-ourselves-too-seriously way, but in a we're-modern-and-hip-and-soccer-is-uber-cool way. The first approach isn't fit for an MLS team unless you're the Red Bulls (oops) and the second approach falls flatter than most of Keith's tired Robert Green jokes (sorry Keith). All it really says to to the existing fan base in Portland is "The old way isn't good enough."


I'd imagine that's a tough pill to swallow for some of the most committed soccer fans in the country, fans that have filled a rickety baseball stadium week in and week out to watch their second division team play the likes of the Syracuse Salty Dogs and Richmond Kickers (no offense, Kickers fans) for the past ten years. Never mind the heady NASL days of the late 70's and early 80's, when Portland soccer was first big time and the city hosted Pele and the Soccer Bowl.


Throwing out the past, even for something as seemingly innocuous as a logo, is a dangerous proposition. You'd better get it right, or the dogs will have no compunction about attacking en masse; remember the ill-fated San Francisco 49ers logo redesign of the early 90's? It didn't go over so well, and the team smartly listened to irate fans and dropped the change post haste. I'm not sure the Timbers organization would turn back at this point, but if a large portion of your fans are voicing their disgust, the prudent thing might be a slight tweak.


The Whitecaps got it right, with a simple, clean, and aesthetically pleasing logo that isn't over-the-top or outrageously stylistic. The Timbers simply went a step too far, incorporating too much flash in their design. K.I.S.S. is the applicable bit of acronym wisdom, I believe.


Luckily, I'm here to help. Mr. Paulson and associates, if you're reading, perhaps you'd be kind enough to take my suggestion for your MLS logo, one I think you'll like:



Bottom line, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

*Update*

Adding the compromise logo Jonk brings up below. This isn't terrible.

By the time you read this, Montreal will likely have already been named the 19th MLS franchise, to begin play in 2012. What has long been a foregone conclusion will finally be done, and the league will have added a third Canadian franchise in the span of a five years.


With the long history the two countries have in professional sports, I'm happy to have another Canadian team, from a city that supports the game and provides natural rivalries in several permutations across the league.


MLS could do much worse by placing teams in American cities without proven track records of supporting soccer, particularly if those expansions teams land in stadiums far from city centers; it's not easy to find stadium deals in the rights places, and Montreal requires almost no leaps of faith.


Montreal finally being officially named will inevitably lead to the "Who's 20?" discussions across the blogosphere. There seems to be at least a few candidates and factors to consider. Garber's continued proclamations that the league needs to get back into the Southeast is just one, though its difficult to see MLS choosing Florida without an absolutely perfect set of circumstances.


Who is next is made more difficult because cities we might consider possibilities won't have the built-in infrastructure that Seattle, Portland, Vancouver, and Montreal did. Essentially, there are no more obvious "promotion" candidates, so number 20 will likely follow the Philadelphia model rather than the Seattle one; handicap the situation at this very moment is difficult, but a second New York team are my slight favorites over Atlanta with Miami and St. Louis as long shots. Still, none of those cities have successful teams currently (though that might be a bit unfair to the newly formed AC St. Louis), none have optimal stadium possibilities, and only one or two have potential ownership groups we might call "solid". It doesn't appear to me that this next round will be as easy as the last few.


MLS has hit on almost every expansion choice they've made in this latest batch, with results still to be seen in Vancouver and Portland. They've leveraged interest in the sport, owners who wanted in, and cities ready to support first division soccer into a league with more passion, attention, and relevance than ever before. Despite any ill effects it might have had on the quality of play around the league, expanding rapidly while the possibility existed, and into markets with proven or vocal fan bases, was the right decision.


I'm just glad Montreal is finally done. Do something about that name though, Monsieur Saputo.


I'll update this post after the announcement press conference with any details pertaining to Montreal's entry.

To hear Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber tell it, the Philadelphia Union would not exist without the efforts of a group of dedicated fans called the Sons of Ben. The collection of like-minded soccer fans had one goal in mind when they formed in 2007: bring a top-flight professional team to their city.


With their mission accomplished, the Sons of Ben now have an actual team to support. But for other groups around the country who hope to replicate Philadelphia's success, the path is a bit more difficult. Far from MLS headquarters and often in cities thousands of miles away from the new hotbeds of the Northeast and Northwest, they do the what they can to drum up interest, find reasons to believe, and keep their cities in the discussion for the next MLS franchise.


One such group is the Crocketteers, started in 2009 with the stated purpose of bringing professional soccer to the River City. Founder Michael Macias found the imagery of Davy Crockett and the Alamo, two icons from San Antonio's history and sources of pride for the city, a perfect fit for the fledgling effort.


"Like the Sons of Ben, we pay homage to a local city hero or for our matter, state hero in David Crockett," Macias said, "Crockett, although from Tennessee, is considered a Texan in the minds of many proud Texans. He came to Texas for a new life and then gave that life for Texas by fighting for it. His statue is on the grounds of the Alamo today, his name is honored in both a downtown street and hotel. In fact one of our members is a direct descendant of David Crockett."


Having just marked the group's first year of existence, Macias knows the job of proving to MLS that San Antonio deserves a franchise won't be easy; convincing soccer fans to join without a team to support brings its own unique challenges. Growth has been slow, as one would expect, and spreading the message is done almost entirely by word of mouth, a local community website, and the groups' own Internet presence at crocketteers.com.


"Our numbers are growing every month and we have a goal of having over 250 members (500 on Facebook) by year's end," Macias revealed. "We want professional soccer to notice us. We want to say that we were there from the beginning, before a club called San Antonio home."


Make no mistake: the Sons of Ben legacy, and the there-before-the-team success that Macias and his group hope to copy, is a strong influence on The Crocketteers. That legacy manifests not only in the spirit of the group, but in networking advantage; Union president Nick Sakiewicz's brother Ed, who runs soccer-related organizations in San Antonio, lent a helping hand to the group by opening a direct line of communication between The Crocketteers and the Sons of Ben.


As part of that relationship, The Crocketteers have been admitted to the Independent Supporters Council, an organization of supporters groups from the US and Canada that includes the Timbers Army of Portland, the Red Patch Boys of Toronto, and the Sons of Ben themselves. "We look to use that resource in running our local group," said Macias.


Macias and The Crocketteers recognize that MLS may be wary of San Antonio as a potential market, having flirted with placing a team there just five years ago. The effort ended in disappointment, with then-newly-elected mayor Phil Hardberger criticizing a proposed deal that would have put a team in the Alamo Dome. "It makes our situation that much harder in that we have to put San Antonio back on the soccer expansion map," lamented Macias.


But with new mayor Julian Castro on the record supporting the idea of professional soccer in San Antonio, the advent of The Crocketteers, and the growing nature of the city, Macias sees hope.


"With an economy that is that is rated tops in the nation, local sports radio in support of MLS and now a grassroots soccer supporters base that other candidate cities would love to have on their side, San Antonio needs to be on Major League Soccer's short list not only for expansion but for a possible relocation of an existing franchise."

Fans look on as the Haitian National Team takes on Trinity University in San Antonio

San Antonio is the nation's seventh most populated city with 1.3 million people, and the metropolitan area boasts over 2 million; those numbers are certainly strong enough to support a team that would hope to draw crowds of no larger than 20,000 a match.


For all its attributes, the case for San Antonio means nothing without an actual plan. The 2005 deal, one that sought the Alamo Dome as a potential home, fell through because the city's leadership failed to see the benefit. Local investors seemed to be lacking as well, though efforts to find them were hampered by political concerns. When Phil Hardberger closed the door on the deal, and the league responded tersely to the political resistance they felt was destructive, and the city feel off the MLS radar.


Enter the ownership of the San Antonio Spurs, the city's only major league sports franchise. The Spurs ownership, operating as Spurs Sports & Entertainment (SS&E) currently hold an option to start a USL franchise in the city, an indication that they might be willing to invest in top-level professional soccer. During a summer schedule, an MLS franchise in San Antonio would be without serious competition for sports entertainment dollars, and any conflicts with the Spurs themselves during those portions of the year that overlap could likely be sorted out without any serious hindrance to soccer's ultimate success.


Equally as pressing as lining up a willing ownership group with the requisite deep pockets is finding a proper home for a possible team; the Alamo Dome is likely no longer an option, and seems ill-suited to the task regardless. Building from scratch isn't out of the question, but with suburban stadiums around the country struggling to draw fans and urban land prices a potential deal-breaker, an alternative might be necessary to entice the Spurs to shell out the expansion fee.


That alternative might exist in Alamo Stadium, a 23,000-seat venue used primarily for high school football since its opening in 1940. The stadium is currently owned by the San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD), who has reportedly held talks to turn over control of the venue in light of their budget problems. With a central location and potential for renovation, Alamo Stadium could be the perfect place for professional soccer in San Antonio.

Location of Alamo Stadium (denoted by "A" on the map) in the city of San Antonio

The stadium would need renovation, $30 million worth according to sources, to bring it up to the necessary standard. Though the school district could pass a bond issue to pay for the construction costs, that may prove difficult in the current environment of school closings and budget shortfalls. Another possibility is a partnership with the Spurs and the city, who would split the costs; though there is no talk yet of such a deal, SS&E's resulting control of the venue for all events (soccer, outdoor concerts, etc.) might be enough to bring their investment.


The trickiest bit for San Antonio's renewed MLS candidacy is the availability of a franchise. Would the city be a candidate for expansion, with Don Garber stressing the need to re-enter the Southeast and Montreal already lined up to join as the nineteenth team? Perhaps the Alamo City could become home to an existing franchise, one struggling in their current market or with a intransigent stadium situation.


For Michael Macias, new or old hardly matters.


"Seeing the success of the Houston Dynamo, the Crocketteers are in full support of a relocated franchise. It might be a better option from the Crocketteers standpoint as we will be supporting an established team and success may come sooner than expected."


And if you wonder which current MLS team Macias and The Crocketteers think might be a candidate for a move to their city, you needn't look far.

Alamo Stadium

"In the early 1970's the City of San Antonio saved a failing ABA franchise in the Dallas Chaparrals," he said. "The team wasn't doing well in Dallas and attendance was less than woeful. That team today is known as the San Antonio Spurs and has been one of the best supported franchises in all of sports. I'm sure if the situation called for it, the City of San Antonio can turn around the fortunes in the stands for another Dallas-based franchise."

The Philadelphia Union made their Major League Soccer debut against the Sounders Seattle two weeks ago, but their real beginning as member of the city's sports scene comes this Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field.


Philly's reputation as a tough sports town is well-earned. From the regular booing of their own teams when the play isn't up to snuff, to the now mythical story of Eagles fans pelting Santa Claus with snowballs, Philadelphia is where good feelings in the world of sports go to die.


It makes the Union's home opener perhaps the most important home debut for any expansion team in the modern MLS era. With their soccer specific home in Chester still under construction, the Union will play DC United on Saturday in an American football venue; on one hand, this provides them an opportunity to sell more tickets than they could at PPL Park. On the other, the number of empty seats at the Linc will suck away some of the atmosphere of the game, making the product less appealing to both fans there in person there for curiosity and not yet committed to supporting the team passionately, as well locals (potential fans) who might see the game on TV.


The Union has a lot going for them in terms of support. We know that the Sons of Ben will be at every match, and that their numbers are significant. The Union leadership seems to be getting things right, both with the selling of their product and their attempts to marry the club to the local sports scene. But success is not guaranteed, no matter how good things look prior to the club's home debut, and though many are confident that the club will sell out PPL Park when it opens and the team will make an impact on the Philly scene, only time will tell. As of this writing, 25,000 tickets have been sold for this weekend's match, a number that is equal parts impressive and disappointing. It's difficult to criticize the team for selling more tickets thank anyone but Seattle can manage, but it's disappointing to think that such a large venue will go less than half-filled.


If the enthusiasm for a team that will struggle to keep their heads above water on the field all season thanks to a long term plan that includes a collections of young, inexperienced players is to carry through the year, the Union will need to connect with as many fans as possible through atmosphere and excitement rather than results.


Even as I have faith they can achieve that goal, I wonder when the collective teeth of the Philly sports community will come out. If the Union lose on Saturday, and show no signs of improvement over their opening night debacle, how quickly will a city that loves winners and is known for turning on their own stick with them?

I'd be guilty of a significant understatement if I was to say that the Seattle Sounders "burst on the MLS scene" in 2009.


I'd also be selling the Sounders and their fans short if I said that they simply "raised the bar" for MLS expansion sides. The reverberations of the Sounders success in their first season will be felt for years, and not only because it seems they'll be challenging their own attendance records for the foreseeable future.


With the bar raised (what's the superlative of "raised"?), the question must be asked if we're headed for supreme disappointment if the next batch of new clubs fail to match Seattle. They won't, of course, match the Sounders for attendance since the stadiums in each place (Philly, Portland, and Vancouver) have smaller capacities than Qwest, but there might be a negative response should any of the three new teams not sell out a significant portion of their home dates.


Perhaps the better question revolves around what exactly it will take for Philly, and subsequently Portland and Vancouver, to be termed "successful". The Sounders blew the doors off of the place, exceeding all expectations and buoying the league during a down economic environment. I don't think it would be unfair to say that neither Philadelphia nor Portland or Vancouver will be doing the same.


Still, and as obvious as it may seem not put too much into a less-than-sold out season in Philly this year, some will seize the opportunity to bag on MLS. League detractors, or people with an ax to grind, will point at the Union and label them a disappointment if they fail to meet some arbitrary standard now heightened because the Sounders did so well in 2009.


All of this comes to mind for me because of something Jeff Cooper said to Peter Wilt in a Q&A posted to Pitch Invasion:

I love to watch what is happening in Seattle. It shows how the game is growing in the US. However, I hope we don’t hold cities like Portland to the same standard going forward or there may be an inappropriate sense of disappointment.

Not that I worry, ultimately. I have a feeling Philly will be fine, and as long as the club averages right around 15k, it should be viewed as a massive success. Philadelphia seems like a harder nut to crack than Seattle, something I base simply on the character of the two cities and their markets.


But worry or not, Cooper's point is a good one; Seattle shot the moon in year one, and while their success represents something good for MLS and American soccer, it shouldn't be viewed as the way things should be moving forward. Soccer is still on a slow and steady path to relevancy in the United States, something we should always be keep in mind.


Philly will be fine, Portland will be fine, Vancouver will be fine, and Montreal will be fine when they're finally announced, as long as the expectations stay reasonable.

Details on stadium renovations to Portland's PGE Park that will transform the stadium into soccer-specific facility have been released, reports The Oregonian. The design, which carries a $31 million price tag and will be funded by Timbers owner Merritt Paulson and the City of Portland, will put game day capacity at 20,000, with an auxiliary seating area that would allow that number to reach 24,000 for special events.


While the deal to fund the project has yet to be finalized, the release of these renderings should be heartening to fans of the Timbers and fans around the league looking forward to their entry. The stadium will be unique in MLS as a urban facility with history and intimate feel.


Again, provided the deal gets done and the funding comes through in time for renovations to be completed for the start of the 2011 season.


The most disappointing element of this news, unfortunately, is that Portland will play on an artificial surface. Because the stadium will also be used for high school and college football (how that makes it a "soccer specific stadium" I'm not sure), grass would be unable to stand up to the wear and tear. The climate of Portland doesn't help, either, with rain coming frequently during the spring and fall months. The FieldTurf surface to be installed is specifically designed for soccer, and though anything but grass is ultimately a disappointment, other concerns make the decision somewhat justifiable.






Full details of the renovation plans, plus additional renderings, are up at Portland's website.

Back in August, I wrote a post on how big the end of 2009 could for American soccer. At the time, I focused on the MLS CBA negotiations, possible MLS expansion, and the World Cup draw; little did I know at the time that second division drama would trump all but one of those.


So here we are, with 2009 just about done and dusted, and a review seems to be in order. Of my three chosen happenings, only one actually came to pass, the one we knew for sure would; the World Cup draw. As it turned out, it was everything we could have hope for and more, thanks both to a group from which the US is capable of advancing, as well as the bonus of a high-profile opening match with world class England.


The buzz for the USA-England match has faded just a bit in recent days, and will probably chug along at a low hum for at least the first three months of 2009; but as the World Cup creeps closer, and the two nations media complexes (obviously that applies to England more than the US) get into full hype mode, you might need earplugs to block out the noise. Everything, and I mean everything from a USMNT standpoint, hinged on that draw. In more ways than one, it did not disappoint.


Unfortunately, the other two areas I pointed out as important for '09 won't be sorted until '10. The CBA negotiations, which are ongoing even as we get very little in terms of actual updates, don't appear to be close to a resolution. Both sides still have heels dug firmly into their respective grounds, and since both belief their ground is high, the stalemate show no signs of breaking. The current CBA expires on January 31st of next year, so the likelihood that the league will be operating without one for at least a short period of time is rising with each passing day. Remember too, that the league won't announce salary cap and roster guidelines until after the CBA has established the basic framework for player compensation.


Expansion, while not as imperative to the health of MLS as the new CBA will be, is nonetheless still a hot topic. Don Garber's recent visit to Montreal to speak with Joey Saputo and local officials makes it seem as though the Impacts "promotion" to MLS is imminent. There's no reason to believe that isn't true, but again, with only a few weeks left in 2009, Montreal's official announcement is likely to happen in 2010.


Meanwhile, the USL/NASL fight has risen to a place of prominence on the list of concerns heading into 2010. The USSF has yet to decide on the status of the newly formed NASL, and it will be that action which dictates the direction that battle will take. If the USSF sanctions NASL, then at least we'll know that those clubs signed up with the new league will definitely play in 2010; with the amount of time, effort, and money they've put into their new endeavor, it would be a pity to have it go any other way. The USL lawsuit, naming three NASL-committed teams (Rochester, Tampa Bay, and CP Baltimore) will linger no matter the USSF ruling, and will also need to be sorted out. A peek at the Hillsborough County court website indicates that a hearing has been scheduled for early March.


In retrospect, the expansion and CBA questions were long shots for answers in 2009. It's 2010, with both club and country being in the news, that will ultimately be when those answers will come.

MLS commissioner Don Garber visited today Montreal to discuss possible MLS expansion with Impact owner Joey Saputo according to a league press release. On the agenda were talks with Quebec's Minister of Finance Raymond Bachand regarding possible government funding for Stade Saputo stadium renovations.


Stade Saputo currently seats 13,000 spectators and could be upgraded to 20,000 with Quebec provincial assistance.

“We continued our discussions with the Saputo family about a future MLS expansion team in Montreal and had very productive meetings with Minister Bachand about securing funding for the expansion of Saputo Stadium,” Garber said following his morning meetings. “We’ve stated many times that Montreal would be a great market for MLS and we look forward to continuing our discussions.”

Garber recently reiterated that Montreal remained a front-runner for the league's next expansion spot during the buildup to the MLS Cup Final in Seattle.

“We are very happy with the visit of the MLS executives in Montreal,” declared Impact President Joey Saputo. “The meetings this morning with Minister Bachand and Mayor Tremblay were very positive. It's clear for us, and now more than ever, that the arrival of MLS in Montreal is only a question of time. We are hoping to have news in the first quarter of 2010.”

Rumors of an imminent announcement regarding Montreal's MLS future have been bouncing around both the US and Canada for weeks. Garber's visit appears to be just one more small step towards that announcement happening, though it might that securing provincial funding for Stade Saputo's upgrade is a prerequisite.


It's also interesting that Garber would travel to Montreal and discuss expansion with Saputo, then have the league issue a press release, all while the unresolved CBA negotiations still hang over the league's head.

Lost in the recent excitement over Philadelphia's team building and ongoing CBA drama is the plight of the Portland Timbers erstwhile stadiums renovations; PGE Park needs upgrading for the Timbers 2011 MLS debut, and the political wrangling over the deal has yet to reach a satisfactory conclusion.


Willamette Week has the most recent update, reporting that Mayor Sam Adams has tabled a zone code change that would make allowances for a new plan to get the renovations started.


This is not good news. Merritt Paulson's efforts to get the stadium project off the ground have come to naught, and the scheduled construction start date is a scant two months plus away.


Portland's travails, which now include a decision over where to play their final non-MLS season, are gray-hair inducing for even those not connected with the club. Fans and executives alike must be losing sleep on a nightly basis thanks to the unresolved stadium situation, and I imagine Don Garber is none to thrilled himself.


Where does Portland and their stadium fall on the list of concerns for a league facing labor turmoil? A critical concern only a few months ago, the profile of the Timbers civic negotiations has faded into the background noise of a busy close to 2009. MLS has remained steadfast in their requirements for PGE Park, and while Paulson appears to be looking for every possible way out, none has proven to be the magic path.


I don't expect to hear anything out of MLS on the matter, but the readiness of the Timbers for 2011 is slowly become a very real problem.