The whole fan club aspect of MLS seems incredibly weird to me. Rival fan clubs of the same team is just stupid. That whole article about the opening of stadium in DC was pretty lame. People complaining about wifi availability and which fan club gets preferential treatment from the team just sounds so...nerdy? Maybe it's a DC thing more than soccer, though. In my experience, DC has the most boring, white bread, square population of any major city I've spent time in.

 

In Europe, particularly England, this happened organically, as access was often restricted and specific to which street your stand was adjacent to. So, neighbors at home were oft neighbors at the game, with their own chants, etc.

 

Yeah, I just don't get why the need to divide fans following a single team. Didn't those clubs lead to the violence English football had in the 80s? It's great the Euros do this, I'm glad (outside of MLS) we don't.

 

No, no, no. Some of them certainly partook in violence... and some of the firms were aggressive, but that violent nature actually formed some of the firms/clubs - not the other way around

 

Oh I didn't know that. There's was so much violence and death at English games during the 80s I'm sure there was plenty of blame to go around. If the inter-team clubs stemmed from this, that's great. Looking at the DCU situation it seems to be creating more division than unity though.

It's great how all the yuppie soccer fans in the United States fawn over European soccer hooligan "culture" but talk down the same sort of fan behavior at U.S. sports.

 

The big difference between sports rivalries in the United States versus England is that visitors can much more easily attend "away" games, since those "away" games are often just a few miles "away".   

 

It's more disturbing Euros call it "hooliganism". Hooliganism, to me, is an 0-16 parade. No, the period was a violent mess which hurt the Euro leagues popularity in general at the time.

 

Anyway, I'll stop, we're drifting away from MLS stuff.

I may be down on MLS until the Crew get saved - but I can still appreciate the amazing finish to yesterday's Orlando/DC match.  With the game in its final minute of stoppage time, and the game tied 2-2, DC lined up for a corner kick.  Thinking it would be their final chance at a win, the DC goalkeeper came down the field to join the DC offense. (It can work - Columbus goalkeeper Will Hesmer headed in a game-tying goal at Toronto in 2010)

 

In this case it didn't work.  The DC keeper couldn't connect with the corner kick.  But it almost turned into a DC disaster.  Orlando cleared the ball to a wide-open player downfield.  With no DC keeper in the net, the only thing preventing him from an empty-net game-winning goal was Wayne Rooney sprinting after him.  As the Orlando player starts to shoot it toward the empty net, Rooney blocks it with a slide tackle.

 

Then Rooney hustles back to the ball and advances it past midfield into the Orlando zone.  And then he uncorks a 40+ yard pass to Luciano Acosta left of the Orlando goal.  The 5'-3" Acosta is able to run onto the lofting ball and head it into the Orlando net for the game-winning goal.  A goal that is Acosta's third goal of the match.

 

Miami was granted an MLS expansion team in January.  This week, they announced their name, logo and intention to take the field in 2020:

 

https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2018/09/05/mls-miami-expansion-team-unveils-name-crest

 

They announced they would be playing at a temporary venue until their own privately-funded stadium is completed the following year.  Team owners have proposed a 25,000-seat stadium paired with a mixed-use development and a public park on a site near Miami International Airport, dubbed Miami Freedom Park.  This assumes passage of a November referendum vote in the City of Miami - previously posted about at https://www.urbanohio.com/forum/index.php/topic,28844.msg927050.html#msg927050

 

As for the name and logo:  Miami has heard the cry of MLS fans that there are too many "United" and "FC" names.  So the official name of the new Miami MLS team will be ... Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami.

 

 

But the more colloquial name will be Inter Miami CF.

Atlanta just finished a remarkable two-year opening run in MLS that culminated with Atlanta United defeating Portland 2-0 to win the 2018 MLS Cup in front of 73,000+.  We've seen some MLS franchises come out of the gate fast, like Seattle, Portland and NYCFC.  But Atlanta leads the way.  All it takes to replicate Atlanta's success is this:

• Have the team owned by a multi-billionaire (they have Arthur Blank, co-founder of Home Depot and owner of the Atlanta Falcons in the NFL)
• Attract a high-profile coach (they got Tata Martino, who formerly coached Barcelona and the Argentine national team, and will be the next coach the Mexican national team)
• Use MLS' 3 DP salary cap exemptions to pay heavily for three offensive players in their prime (they got striker Josef Martínez from Venezuela, midfielder Ezequiel Barco from Argentina and Miguel Almirón from Paraguay)
• Have the DP striker set MLS scoring records (Martínez set an MLS season goal record of 31 goals in 34 games this year and he scored 50 goals over 54 games in the past two regular seasons)
• Attract a high-profile veteran goalkeeper (they got 34-year-old Brad Guzan, who played for the USMNT and two English Premier League teams)
• Wisely use the rest of the salary cap to fill out the remaining roster with quality players (they got Darlington Nagbe, Jeff Larentowicz, Héctor Villalba and Michael Parkhurst among others)

Do all of that and your new MLS team can have a two-year run like Atlanta United just did.  Easy right?

^Lol. Yep... and you didn't even mention their brand new stadium...which few cities will ever be able to pull off (multi-team, great location, retractable roof). 

It's proof that the expansion policy leading to ridiculous situations like Cincinnati building a new 25,000-seat soccer stadium when a perfectly-good NFL stadium sits unused a mile south is foolish. 

http://www.espn.com/soccer/major-league-soccer/story/3737416/sigi-schmid-all-time-winningest-mls-coach-dies-at-65

 

https://www.massivereport.com/2018/12/26/18157131/former-columbus-crew-sc-coach-sigi-schmid-dies-at-65-mls-2018

 

Sad news to report.  Sigi Schmid, the winningest coach in MLS history, died on Christmas Day at the age of 65.  Despite being born in West Germany, Sigi Schmid was a titan of U.S. Soccer and MLS (his family moved to Southern California when he was 4 years old).  He coached the UCLA Bruins for 19 years and won 3 NCAA titles before joining the LA Galaxy in 1999.  He led the Galaxy to an MLS Cup in 2002.

 

He left the Galaxy in 2004 to join the USMNT for their 2004 World Cup appearance.  He returned to MLS in 2006 to coach the Columbus Crew - leading the Crew to an MLS Cup title in 2008.  The following season he coached the then-expansion Seattle Sounders and stayed with them until 2016.  He returned to the LA Galaxy in June 2017 as a replacement head coach until health issues forced him to resign on Sept. 10, 2018.  He was at Mapfre Stadium on Sept. 29, when the Crew celebrated the 10th anniversary of its 2008 MLS Cup title.

 

Although his health and heart problems were well-known, his passing still comes as a shock.  He seemed in good spirits and health at the Sept. 29 ceremony in Columbus and talked about future coaching plans and said he planned on writing a book.  But he must have taken a turn for the worse because he was hospitalized for the past three weeks at the UCLA Medical Center while awaiting a heart transplant.

 

Sigi Schmid was a literal titan in MLS history.  Winning an MLS-record 266 regular-season and postseason games in 18 seasons with the LA Galaxy, Columbus Crew and Seattle Sounders.  Winning an MLS Cup at LA and Columbus.  Winning five U.S. Open Cups - one with LA and four with Seattle.  And leading all three of his MLS teams to Supporters' Shields (best regular season record) LA in 2002, Columbus in 2008 and Seattle in 2014.

http://www.espn.com/soccer/major-league-soccer/19/blog/post/3737527/sigi-schmid-legacy-as-a-builder-in-us-soccer-goes-beyond-the-many-trophies-he-won

 

Another article about the role Sigi Schmid played in building up U.S. Soccer and MLS.  The article notes that it's more than fitting that Guillermo Barros Schelotto was announced as the new head coach for the LA Galaxy - Sigi's former team - just prior to the announcement of Sigi's passing.  It was Sigi Schmid who recruited the Argentine-great in 2007 to the Columbus Crew and together led the Crew to an MLS Cup/Supporters' Shield double title in 2008.  Now, the 45-year-old Schelotto is leaving the well-known Argentine team Boca Juniors - where he coached for the past three seasons, winning the Argentine Primera División in the past two seasons - to follow in Sigi's footsteps at LA.

It's Official:  Austin FC to begin MLS play in 2021 as league's 27th club

 

https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2019/01/15/austin-fc-begin-mls-play-2021-leagues-27th-club

 

---

Now that the Crew are staying in Columbus and FC Cincinnati starts MLS play this Spring, I really don't have a stake in whether Austin joins MLS or not anymore.  But good gawd, I feel sorry that Austin is getting the awful Anthony Precourt and his merry band of PSV incompetents to run their team!  (Hi Dave Greeley!  Hi Andy Loughnane!)

 

While dozens of Austin FC supporters gathered in a hip and trendy downtown brewpub to toast their new MLS team - Precourt Sports Ventures secured stadium rights to build on a former chemical dumping site 10 miles north of downtown Austin!  A city-owned site that is buried behind a typical suburban tableau of single-story offices, warehouses, a tire shop, a 24-pump gas station, with a Taco Bell located across the street from this future Austin FC stadium location!  I'm not even kidding about this description - see my Austin FC stadium site tour at https://forum.urbanohio.com/topic/4534-columbus-crew-discussion/?do=findComment&comment=834041.  

 

All that and also this: Austin FC immediately became MLS' most hated team -- https://ftw.usatoday.com/2019/01/austin-fc-mls-expansion-precourt-columbus-crew-reaction-most-hated-fans-twitter-cities 

 

So, to recap:  Austin will be getting an MLS team with a shady owner, an incompetent staff, a stadium in a terrible location, with tepid local interest and with outright hatred from every other MLS team supporters(!).  Its been said during Austin's long quest for a professional sports franchise that they wanted a team in the worst way.  Well, it looks like Austin did succeed in getting an MLS team in the worst way!!!

 

^ Now they might not even get an MLS team in the worst way if Austin voters say no!!!!!!!!

 

Austin MLS stadium deal may go to vote

By Phillip Jankowski Austin American-Statesman

Posted: Feb 12, 2019 at 6:20 AM

 

AUSTIN, TEXAS — A petition that challenges the city of Austin’s deal for a Major League Soccer stadium has been validated by the City Clerk.  The certification of the petition means that city residents could head to the polls this year to decide whether stadium deals that involve city-owned land should face a vote.  The petition ordinance was written in the wake of the city’s deal with Austin FC owner Anthony Precourt, who plans to privately finance the construction of a $225 million, 20,000-seat stadium on the city-owned McKalla Place tract in North Austin.  Precourt is/was set to break ground on the stadium this year.

 

The petition ordinance calls for the city to hold an election on any deal that would include the lease or sale of city-owned land for the construction of a sports or entertainment venue, and its certification likely sets up a showdown between the Austin City Council and opponents of the stadium deal.  The city’s legal team has said that a new petition election cannot be held in May 2019 because two petition ordinances were included on the November 2018 general election ballot, and Austin’s charter stipulates that petition elections must be separated by at least six months.  The next petition election would be in November 2019.

 

Under the charter, the Austin City Council has 10 days to adopt the petition’s ordinance outright or order an election.  The council likely will ponder that decision at its Feb. 21 meeting.

 

MORE:  https://www.dispatch.com/sports/20190212/austin-mls-stadium-deal-may-go-to-vote

 

---

^ Now that the awful Anthony Precourt no longer owns the Crew, I really don't care if he does or does not build a stadium on a former toxic waste dump 10 miles north of Austin's downtown.  But good golly, are things ever falling apart for Precourt and his merry band of incompetents!  (Hi Dave Greeley!  Hi Andy Loughnane!)  I won't be covering the blow-by-blow in Austin like I previously did in the Crew thread - because the fate of the Crew in Columbus no longer hangs in the balance.  But I do have this reaction(s) that I would like to share with Precourt:

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The Crew are travelling to Minnesota for their first visit to Minnesota United's new MLS Stadium.  After playing two seasons in the University of Minnesota football stadium, MNUFC opened a new 19,400-seat, $250-million stadium - Allianz Field - in St. Paul’s Midway neighborhood for this season.  Here are a few articles about Minnesota's new stadium and a few photos:

 

https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2019/03/01/minnesota-united-allianz-field-construction-officially-complete

 

https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2019/04/08/brew-hall-bluegrass-10-things-about-minnesota-uniteds-allianz-field

 

https://soccerstadiumdigest.com/2019/04/allianz-field-a-state-of-the-art-venue/

 

The exterior of Allianz Field is wrapped in a Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) mesh fabric.  By day the PTFE fabric, stretched over the stadium's steel frame, allows in light:

 

At night, programmable LED lights shine through the PTFE mesh:

A few more night views:

 

Night view from the nearby freeway:

 

 

Some interior views - this one empty and showing the patterned seats with the MNUFC loon logo:

 

This one with a full house:

Nashville's stadium construction might be delayed.  The legality of building a for-profit soccer stadium on the county fairgrounds continues to bounce around the courts:

https://www.wsmv.com/news/save-our-fairgrounds-wins-appeal-mls-stadium-construction-could-be/article_3a0fe100-aa30-11e9-8473-870a9bb2f64e.html

 

Major League Soccer awards expansion team to St. Louis

 

It's official: Major League Soccer is coming to St. Louis.

 

St. Louis has been awarded an MLS expansion team, commissioner Don Garber announced Tuesday alongside the club's ownership group, including Carolyn Kindle Betz, the Taylor family and Jim Kavanaugh on Tuesday, as well as St. Louis city officials.  With Betz and six other female members of the Taylor family part of the ownership group, St. Louis becomes the first female majority-owned club in MLS history and one of few in professional sports.

 

The club will begin MLS play in 2022, in a brand new stadium located in the Downtown West district of St. Louis.

 

MORE:  https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2019/08/20/mls-awards-expansion-team-st-louis

I was going to post about the Chicago Fire returning to Soldier Field for their 2020 season here in the MLS thread ... and then I saw that the FCC had that news and was spinning it off into their team's discussion.  So here is that initial news post from the FCC thread and a relevant reply about the Chicago team and MLS in general:

 

4 hours ago, jwulsin said:

Chicago Fire will be playing at Soldier Field starting next season: https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/soccer/ct-chicago-fire-soldier-field-20191008-57jrs5qatvgoxhwipathptuq5i-story.html

 

4 hours ago, ryanlammi said:

It's very likely that MLS is doing this on a short term basis to help reinvigorate the brand before moving to a new purpose-built stadium. I don't expect them to stay there for long. I would anticipate this lasts about 5-10 years depending on success and ability to get a new stadium in Chicago proper near public transit. Bridgeview was a terrible location. If the Fire were really good, they could get a crowd. But they would have to be really good. Otherwise, it was unlikely to bring almost anyone. The stadium was in such a horrible location. I went to the FCC game there this summer. 

 

Atlanta United is owned by the same ownership as the Falcons. The NE Revolution is owned by the same ownership as the Patriots (who are rumored to be looking for a long-term Boston location, but not close yet). NYCFC is owned (20%) by the Yankees (and MLS is not happy that they haven't found their own stadium yet). Seattle Seahawks ownership owns much of the stake in the Sounders and they share a lot of front office staff.

 

The only team aside from the Fire who will play in a "rented" or "shared" facility that the ownership doesn't have control over is the Vancouver Whitecaps. MLS was not going to let a smaller city enter the league while renting a facility and having scheduling completely reliant on the Bearcats football schedule. 

 

Here's a little more about today's Chicago Fire / Soldier Field news and some background info:

• In July of 2018, Joe Mansueto - founder of the Chicago-based global investment-research and investment-management services firm Morningstar - who was a minority owner of the Chicago Fire, purchased the remaining shares of the team to become its sole owner.

• Then in July of 2019, the Chicago Fire bought out the remaining lease years for their home stadium in Bridgeview, which would allow them to play elsewhere in 2020.  The Village of Bridgeview owns the 20,000-seat stadium built for $100-million which opened in 2006:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SeatGeek_Stadium

• Here are the terms of the buyout deal between the Chicago Fire and Bridgeview from https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2019/07/09/chicago-fire-village-bridgeview-agree-amended-lease -- "The Fire will contribute $5 million per year to Bridgeview and have agreed to pay $60.5 million over the remaining term of the lease, with an upfront payment of $10 million."

• And then today news about the Chicago Fire and Soldier Field:  https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2019/10/08/chicago-fire-make-move-soldier-field-official-announce-date-home-opener

I tend to agree with what ryanlammi said about this return to Soldier Field being for a short term basis to help reinvigorate the Chicago Fire brand before moving to a new soccer-specific stadium in possibly 5-10 years.  I also wouldn't be surprised if this new local deep-pocketed owner did a total rebrand with a new name as well.  If you currently google "Chicago Fire", the top return is for the TV show and not the soccer team(!)

 

Personally, I hope they do reinvigorate the team and get them back to that high level when they were bitter rivals with the Columbus Crew.  I still remember that 2008 Eastern Conference Championship playoff win at Crew Stadium over the Fire en route to the Crew's MLS Cup.  And with a rich, committed owner plus with MLS' vested interest in having a strong team in the 3rd-largest metro in the U.S., there's no reason to think they won't reinvigorate the Chicago Fire franchise.

Sacramento officially announced today.

 

 

The current list of expansion teams:

2020: Miami & Nashville

2021: Austin

2022: St. Louis & Sacramento

 

That will leave the league at 29 teams in 2022 with a 30th team likely to be added in 2023 (betting odds would be on Phoenix or Charlotte, though it's certainly up for grabs IMO).

 

It's no coincidence that 2022 is the final year of the current TV contract for MLS with ESPN and Fox Sports. The league is poised to expand from 20 teams in 2015 (the first year of the deal since) to 29 or 30 teams in the first year of the next deal in 2023.

 

With the increase in number of teams, and theoretically an increase in viewership and attendance, MLS will be in a much better bargaining position than they were in 2014. Whether the total value spread across more teams leads to additional revenue per team remains to be seen. With the change in viewer patterns from 2015-2023, it will be interesting to see how the digital rights are handled.

 

One of the big sticking points with digital rights is that "in-market" games are treated differently from national games, which means some people have to subscribe to two services if they want to see all MLS games by streaming. It would be nice if the deal would simplify it so you only needed one service.

The Athletic subscription required:

 

An inside look at why billionaires buy into money-losing Major League Soccer (hint: It’s not really losing money)

 

With the addition of Sacramento Republic FC, Major League Soccer will gain a new squad of players, a new stadium, and a new home city to its ranks. It will also add another billionaire investor. That would be Ron Burkle, the LA private equity mogul and Pittsburgh Penguins owner who is also majority owner of the Sacramento team that MLS announced a week ago, to begin play in 2022.

 

An MLS team seems like a normal investment for Burkle to be making on its face; after all, plenty of billionaires the world over own sports teams. But MLS ownership is unique in several respects, including one big one: the league has never turned a profit in its history. 

 

For big-money investors like Burkle, what’s the appeal? 

 

The answer is multifaceted, and reflective of the complexity of modern sports economics. Burkle and others aren’t merely buying teams. They’re buying into profitable companion businesses as well. At its simplest, an MLS club’s seasonal bottom line is one piece of a wider investment.

 

Cont

Forbes: Major League Soccer’s Most Valuable Teams 2019: Atlanta Stays On Top As Expansion Fees, Sale Prices Surge

 

Major League Soccer awards expansion team to Charlotte

 

Charlotte has been awarded an MLS expansion team, the league's 30th, and the club is set to begin play in 2021 out of Bank of America Stadium (Carolina Panthers NFL Stadium) in Downtown Charlotte.  The expansion bid was led by billionaire David Tepper, owner of the Carolina Panthers.

 

MORE:  https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2019/12/17/major-league-soccer-awards-expansion-team-charlotte

 

So, here's the current state of MLS expansion:

• MLS will have 26 teams competing in 2020, with the inaugural seasons of Inter Miami CF and Nashville SC.

• In 2021 Austin FC and Charlotte will join MLS, bringing the league to 28 teams.

• Sacramento Republic FC and St. Louis follow in 2022 to bring the league up to 30 teams.

Above are the special alternate uniforms designed by Adidas for the 25th anniversary of MLS.

 

MLS.  25.  Yes, the little 10-team league from 1996 is all grown up now.  26 teams expanding to 30 in a few years.

 

What was once a struggling enterprise is now on a solid footing.  If the first 25 years was about just keeping MLS alive - the next 25 has many expecting MLS to thrive.  Some of the newest MLS owners are thinking big.  How big?

 

In the below linked ESPN article, Los Angeles FC lead owner Larry Berg thinks MLS will surpass MLB in popularity during the next 10 years and Inter Miami co-owner Jorge Mas thinks MLS can be equal to the Premier League or La Liga by 2045.  That's big.

 

https://www.espn.com/soccer/major-league-soccer/story/4061088/mls-to-overtake-mlb-as-uss-no-3-sport-in-10-years-lafc-owner

As for the two new teams in MLS' 25th season,  Nashville hosted Atlanta - one of top Eastern teams - in its MLS home debut.  Nearly 60,000 attended this new battle of the new south that was nationally broadcast Saturday night on FOX.  Below is the Nashville SC logo - which resembles sound waves - an appropriate design for Music City:

 

 

Miami's new team - known as Inter Miami CF - marks South Florida's return to MLS after an 18-year absence.  This Miami MLS team has David Beckham as its lead owner.  Inter Miami made its MLS debut at LAFC on Sunday.  Miami's home debut will have to wait for another few weeks until March 14.  Below are the Inter Miami CF logos:

The MLS is suspending its season immediately and indefinitely due to COVID-19 outbreak.

Minimum 30 day suspension. Will reevaluate at a later date.

Last week, it was looking like MLS was going down the NHL/NBA route with phased gradual re-openings of their league and a return-to-play tournament in the ESPN/Disney Wide World of Sports complex in Orlando - possibly starting in late June and lasting about a month.

• https://www.espn.com/football/major-league-soccer/story/4101614/sources-mls-plans-shorter-time-frame-for-return-to-play-tournament-in-orlando
• https://www.massivereport.com/2020/5/28/21273390/mls-permits-voluntary-small-group-training-sessions-for-clubs-columbus-crew-sc-major-league-soccer

But this week MLS is looking more like MLB, with a dispute over amendments to its collective bargaining agreement throwing a possible wrench into the re-opening plans:

• https://www.thisweeknews.com/sports/20200601/major-league-soccer-threatens-player-lockout-over-collective-bargaining-dispute
• https://www.espn.com/football/major-league-soccer/story/4104950/mls-players-skip-training-monday-amid-owners-threat-of-lockout

 

FYI, here's a single article recap of what I posted above.  The only thing missing is that the Tuesday negotiation deadline has been pushed back to Wednesday:

 

https://www.massivereport.com/2020/6/1/21276988/what-we-know-about-mlss-return-to-play-potential-lockout-columbus-crew-sc

https://www.massivereport.com/2020/6/3/21279263/mls-mlspa-reach-cba-deal-approve-return-to-play-format-2020

https://www.espn.com/soccer/major-league-soccer/story/4105766/mls-lockout-avoided-as-playersleague-ratify-bargaining-agreement-to-2025

 

MLS decided not to out-stupid MLB and reached an agreement on a new CBA that will allow MLS to return this summer.

 

Under the terms of this new agreement, the league will allow all teams who are able to train in their home markets to do so prior to traveling to Orlando.  Then all 26 teams should arrive in Orlando by around July 1.

 

Then, a roughly six-week tournament will feature four groups playing in a round-robin format - with the top two teams from each group advancing into a single-elimination bracket with a $1 million prize pool.  Results from the group stage of the tournament would count toward the 2020 MLS standings, while the knockout round games would not.  Following the completion of the tournament, MLS hopes to play 18 games to conclude the 2020 regular season.

MLS removes moratorium on full team training

MLS clubs can now submit proposals to return to practicing as a full group

 

Just one day after Major League Soccer and the MLS Players Association came to terms and ratified a new Collective Bargaining Agreement and agreed on a return-to-play format for a tournament in Orlando, Florida, the league announced that it had lifted the moratorium on team training.  This training moratorium had been in place since March 12 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

 

All MLS clubs that want to begin full team training must now submit individual plans on how they will do so.  These plans must be approved by the individual club’s medical staff and local infectious disease expert prior to submission to MLS for review.  Full team training will be mandatory for all players as MLS takes the next step toward returning to games.

 

MORE:  https://www.massivereport.com/2020/6/4/21280763/major-league-soccer-removes-moratorium-on-full-team-training-columbus-crew-sc

https://www.espn.com/soccer/major-league-soccer/story/4108957/mls-is-back-tournament-to-kick-off-on-july-8-in-orlando

 

Major League Soccer unveiled its plans for returning to play in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, with the league set to resume on July 8 with what it is calling the MLS is Back Tournament.  All 26 MLS teams will participate in the competition, which will be held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at the Walt Disney World Resort, just outside Orlando, Florida.

 

MLS IS BACK TOURNAMENT: KEY DATES

June 24: Teams begin arriving in Florida
July 8: Group stage begins
July 25-28: Round-of-16
July 30- Aug. 1: Quarterfinals
Aug. 5-6: Semifinals
Aug. 11: MLS is Back Tournament Final

  

All told, 54 games will be played over four weeks. ... All of the group stage matches will count in the regular-season standings.  Once the MLS is Back Tournament is over, MLS plans to continue its regular season with a revised schedule in home markets, followed by the MLS Cup playoffs and the 25th MLS Cup.  The dates are still to be determined for the playoffs and MLS Cup, while the final number of matches and the schedule for the remainder of the 2020 MLS regular season will be announced in the coming weeks.

The Philadelphia Union announced that NBA star Kevin Durant has purchased a 5% stake of the MLS team, with an option to purchase an additional 5% at a later date:  https://www.espn.com/soccer/philadelphia-union/story/4111613/nba-star-kevin-durant-buys-stake-in-mls-side-philadelphia-union

 

I didn't realize it until further articles were written about this, but quite a few MLS teams have sport stars and/or celebrities in their ownership groups:

https://www.espn.com/soccer/blog-the-toe-poke/story/4112007/kevin-durant-joins-the-likes-of-lebron-elton-john-and-will-ferrell-as-a-celebrity-football-owner

https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2020/06/15/celebrity-owners-mls-will-ferrell-kevin-durant-stars-invest-soccer

• Seattle Sounders:  Drew Carey bought a 7.5% share when it was an expansion team in 2009; Seahawks QB Russell Wilson and his Grammy award-winning singer wife Ciara bought an undisclosed share in 2019.
• Vancouver Whitecaps:  Former NBA star Steve Nash purchased an undisclosed share when they were an expansion team in 2008.
• Houston Dynamo:  NBA star James Harden purchased a 5% stake in the team last July.  Former world boxing champ Oscar de la Hoya also owns an undisclosed share of the team.
• LAFC:  Will Ferrell, Magic Johnson, Mia Hamm and Nomar Garciaparra, LAFC all own undisclosed shares of this 2018 expansion team.
• Inter Miami CF:  Former international soccer star David Beckham is a majority owner and president of soccer operations for 2020 expansion club in Miami.
• Austin FC:  Actor Matthew McConaughey purchased an undisclosed share of this 2021 expansion team.

https://www.espn.com/soccer/major-league-soccer/story/4120424/mls-is-back-tournament-tune-in-infoschedule-and-whos-playing-everything-you-need-to-know

 

MLS is Back Tournament schedule released.  The group stage games run from July 8 to July 23 and will be broadcast on a combination of ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, Fox, FS1 & TUDN (which was formerly Univision Deportes).

MLS teams are arriving in Orlando for the 'MLS is Back' Tournament:

 

https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2020/06/24/mls-teams-begin-arriving-orlando-mls-back-tournament

So far, eight MLS have arrived inside the Orlando bubble -- Columbus, Dallas, San Jose, Minnesota, Orlando, Cincinnati, Miami and Chicago -- with the New England Revs expected to arrive later on Thursday.  COVID-19 testing from team training camps initially looked good, with only 18 players and six staff members testing positive out of 668 players tested since the start of full-team training on June 4.  That positive test rate of 2.7% compared favorably to the 5.3% positive rate that the NBA recorded for its most recent round of testing of players.

 

However, since arriving in Orlando, nine FC Dallas players, one FC Dallas coach, and one Columbus Crew player have tested positive and both teams are being quarantined until further testing is done:

 

https://www.espn.com/soccer/major-league-soccer/story/4124070/mls-confirms-26-more-coronavirus-cases-ahead-of-mls-is-back-tournament

https://www.espn.com/soccer/fc-dallas/story/4125918/nine-fc-dallas-players-test-positive-for-coronavirus-ahead-of-mls-restart

https://www.espn.com/soccer/columbus-crew-sc/story/4126882/columbus-crew-player-tests-positive-for-the-coronavirus

https://www.espn.com/soccer/fc-dallas/story/4130103/fc-dallas-out-of-mls-is-back-tournament-amid-coronavirus-cases

 

FC Dallas is out of the MLS is Back Tournament amid the high number of coronavirus cases on that team.  Of the 557 players currently in Orlando, 13 total players have been confirmed positive for the coronavirus -- 10 of those being FC Dallas players and the remaining three coming from two other clubs.

 

I get the feeling that FC Dallas might not be the only team forced to drop out of these planned season restarts in the NBA, NHL and MLB.

https://www.espn.com/soccer/major-league-soccer/story/4129990/lafcs-carlos-vela-out-of-mls-is-back-tournament

 

Reigning MLS MVP, 31-year-old forward Carlos Vela of LAFC will not participate in the upcoming MLS is Back Tournament, the club and player announced today.  Vela's wife is having what he described as a "risky pregnancy" and Vela is opting to stay home instead of travelling to Orlando with his team.  The league's setup on the grounds of the Walt Disney World Resort prohibits family and friends from staying inside the bubble meant to protect teams amid the coronavirus pandemic.

 

Thus far, Carlos Vela is the highest profile athlete to opt out of his league's reopening plan.  But some NBA and MLB players have also announced similar plans to opt out of a 2020 season.  One of MLB's highest profile players, Mike Trout, has expressed similar concerns because of his wife's pregnancy, but hasn't opted out yet.

https://www.espn.com/soccer/major-league-soccer/story/4129966/nashville-chicago-fire-second-mls-is-back-tournament-game-to-be-postponed

 

The MLS is Back Tournament is scheduled to begin tomorrow at 8 p.m. when Orlando faces Miami.  However, the 10:30 p.m. game between Nashville and Chicago has been postponed due to too many Nashville players testing positive for COVID-19.  Since arriving in Orlando on July 3, five Nashville players have had confirmed positive tests and four other players received inconclusive test results that require further testing.

 

The league also announced on Tuesday that the match between Toronto and D.C. United - originally scheduled for July 10 - will now take place on July 12 due to Toronto's delayed arrival in Orlando.

MLS got their season going again with a really nice inaugural match between the two Florida teams of Orlando and Miami.  Pretty good game too, with Miami taking a 1-0 lead very early in the second half, then Orlando tying it midway thru, and then winning it in the 97th minute.

 

But another team dropped out due to positive coronavirus tests.  Expansion side Nashville SC was dropped from Group A and Chicago was moved from Group A into Group B to replace FC Dallas, who previously had to drop out:

 

https://www.espn.com/soccer/nashville-sc/story/4131378/nashville-follow-dallaspull-out-of-mls-is-back-tournament-after-coronavirus-tests

 

The MLS in Back Tournament had another game postponement.  Sunday morning's game between D.C. United and Toronto was postponed because each team had one player that produced an unconfirmed positive before the match.

 

However, both teams participated in another round of testing later on Sunday, and all players from the two clubs tested negative.  Based on those results, the game will be played Monday morning at 9 a.m. ET.  The player who tested positive and the player whose test was inconclusive will undergo additional testing and will not play in tomorrow’s match.

 

https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2020/07/12/mls-postpones-toronto-fc-vs-dc-united-match-be-rescheduled

After a shaky start to the MLS is Back Tournament -- two teams had to withdraw and three games got postponed -- the season restart is beginning to play into shape with teams getting through their second game of group play with no further positive tests and some teams already clinching advancement into the tournament's knockout round.

 

But COVID-19 is still out there.  And the reality of it is effecting the league's expansion plans:

 

---

MLS pushes back inaugural seasons for three expansion teams

 

Major League Soccer announced on Friday that it is delaying the inaugural seasons of three expansion teams -- Charlotte, Sacramento Republic FC and St. Louis -- by one year because of the impact of COVID-19.

 

Charlotte will now make its debut in 2022, and Sacramento and St. Louis will begin play a year later.  Austin FC is still scheduled to make its league debut in 2021.

 

MORE:  https://www.espn.com/soccer/major-league-soccer/story/4139129/mls-pushes-back-inaugural-seasons-for-three-expansion-franchises

The Charlotte MLS expansion team announced their name, crest and colors yesterday:

 

https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2020/07/22/charlotte-fc-logo-name-announced

 

The Charlotte MLS team name is (drumroll) Charlotte FC.  Yep, pretty lame.  The team crest and colors are pretty good though:

 

^ Huh, a crown? Is there an object that's further removed from American history and culture? 

MLS had a great run of good names for teams from 2009-2012 that seem unique, yet still felt like soccer team names. They weren't generic apex predators like seemingly every other American sports team.

 

Seattle Sounders - 2009

Philadelphia Union - 2010

Vancouver Whitecaps - 2011

Portland Timbers - 2011

Montreal Impact - 2012

 

Since Montreal, every team has had very generic names that are mostly just variations of FC, SC, and United or City.

 

Orlando City SC - 2015

New York City FC - 2015

Minnesota United - 2017

Atlanta United - 2017

Los Angeles FC - 2018

FC Cincinnati - 2019

Inter Miami CF - 2020

Nashville SC - 2020

Austin FC - 2021

Charlotte FC - 2022

 

The next teams are going to be Sacramento and St. Louis. Sacramento's team is probably going to retain the Sacramento Republic moniker, which I like. St. Louis is still unknown, but their ownership group currently control St. Louis FC, which I wouldn't be surprised if they maintain.

I'm still a big fan of the heritage team names that may still be kicking around in one league or another....

 

Ft. Lauderdale Strikers

Jacksonville Teamen

New York Cosmos

Tacoma Stars

Tampa Bay Rowdies

Rochester Rhinos

Wichita Wings

Cleveland Force

Canton Invaders

San Diego Sockers

 

21 hours ago, surfohio said:

^ Huh, a crown? Is there an object that's further removed from American history and culture? 

 

I'm not a big fan of Charlotte's crown logo... it just feels a bit generic, but I am digging their secondary CLT FC "monogram". 

 

On ‎7‎/‎23‎/‎2020 at 4:39 PM, ColDayMan said:

 

Some Pig.  

 

22 hours ago, jwulsin said:

I'm not a big fan of Charlotte's crown logo... it just feels a bit generic, but I am digging their secondary CLT FC "monogram". 

 

 

It does look good.  But I had no idea that CLT was an abbreviation for Charlotte.  Before Charlotte came up with their crest, CLT was listed with STL and SAC at the top of the MLS website along with all the other teams crests - and I was like, what's CLT?