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MLS Receives Seven Bids For New Franchises
Major League Soccer has received seven bids as the 5pm deadline to register for an MLS franchise rapidly approaches.
Oct 15, 2008 12:32:20 PM
Wednesday marked the deadline for interested parties to submit bids to
MLS for a chance at becoming one of the two new franchises set to kick
off in 2011.
A total of seven cities submitted official bids to MLS, which will make it’s decision in the coming weeks on who will become it’s 17th and 18th franchises. The teams will follow in the footsteps of soon-to-be Seattle and Philadelphia teams.
The list, headlined by the cities not on it is a strong and diverse one. The cities are as follows: Atlanta, Miami, Montreal, Ottawa, Portland, St. Louis, and Vancouver. Not included on the list, which becomes official after the 5pm deadline this afternoon is New York and Las Vegas.
Both cities were heavily tipped to bid on a team, with MLB's New York Mets owner Fred Wilpon making it publicly known that his franchise was interested in bringing a second MLS team to the Big Apple. An investment group from Las Vegas also had been interested an MLS team, but their rumored interest in purchasing a stake in the Columbus Crew might be enough to quell their appetite for now.
The Miami bid was made by FC Barcelona who hope to expand their brand to the US, while the Atlanta proposal was made by Arthur Blank, owner of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons. The Ottawa group is led by the NHL’s Ottawa Senators franchise, while the St. Louis franchise is being funded by the St. Louis Soccer United group. The Montreal, Vancouver and Portland bids are all coming from their USL counterparts, the Impact, Whitecaps and Timbers, respectively.
The strong interest shown by the parties involved may force MLS to expand to four positions, two for 2011 and two 2012, but that remains to be seen, and would obviously be up to Comissioner Don Garber and the rest of MLS’s governing bodies.
-- Shane Evans, Goal.com
A total of seven cities submitted official bids to MLS, which will make it’s decision in the coming weeks on who will become it’s 17th and 18th franchises. The teams will follow in the footsteps of soon-to-be Seattle and Philadelphia teams.
The list, headlined by the cities not on it is a strong and diverse one. The cities are as follows: Atlanta, Miami, Montreal, Ottawa, Portland, St. Louis, and Vancouver. Not included on the list, which becomes official after the 5pm deadline this afternoon is New York and Las Vegas.
Both cities were heavily tipped to bid on a team, with MLB's New York Mets owner Fred Wilpon making it publicly known that his franchise was interested in bringing a second MLS team to the Big Apple. An investment group from Las Vegas also had been interested an MLS team, but their rumored interest in purchasing a stake in the Columbus Crew might be enough to quell their appetite for now.
The Miami bid was made by FC Barcelona who hope to expand their brand to the US, while the Atlanta proposal was made by Arthur Blank, owner of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons. The Ottawa group is led by the NHL’s Ottawa Senators franchise, while the St. Louis franchise is being funded by the St. Louis Soccer United group. The Montreal, Vancouver and Portland bids are all coming from their USL counterparts, the Impact, Whitecaps and Timbers, respectively.
The strong interest shown by the parties involved may force MLS to expand to four positions, two for 2011 and two 2012, but that remains to be seen, and would obviously be up to Comissioner Don Garber and the rest of MLS’s governing bodies.
-- Shane Evans, Goal.com
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