Luis_Rancagua Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 Gillett Wants Canadian Soccer Rivalry With MLS Franchise Bid By Tariq Panja Oct. 28 (Bloomberg) Montreal Canadiens owner George Gillett said Major League Soccer would develop a genuine rivalry in the country if it added a franchise to compete with the Toronto club. Colorado-based Gillett is working with United Soccer League team Montreal Impact to become one of seven applicants to file expansion forms with the MLS. Gillett also owns half of Liverpool, the most successful soccer club in England. ``The idea would be if there were two or three Canadian clubs, we could create a little competition and it might be very good for television, good for fans and so forth,'' Gillett said in an interview Oct. 24 in London. ``That's the motivation.'' Toronto FC, the MLS's first non-U.S. team, debuted in 2007, selling all of its season-tickets in its two seasons in the league. Other applicants for the two expansion teams that would debut in 2011 include Merritt Paulson, the 35-year-old son of U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Arthur Blank, owner of the National Football League's Atlanta Falcons and Eugene Melnyk of the Ottawa Senators. Gillett and co-owner Tom Hicks have heard criticism from Liverpool supporters for increasing the club's debt and delaying construction of a new stadium. Gillett insists he is a passionate soccer fan. ``We love sports and we particular enjoy soccer,'' he said. ``Mrs. Gillett and I get up many, many mornings on Saturdays at 5 o'clock to catch the early games.'' $40 Million Bid The minimum price for a new MLS team is $40 million. Prospective owners were required to provide information about their group, a stadium plan and financing, and an analysis of the potential expansion market. League deputy commissioner Ivan Gazidis said the applicants would be carefully vetted. ``We have to be careful that we continue our policy of only letting in wealthy, top class, committed, experienced, sophisticated investors,'' Gazidis said in an Oct. 7 interview. ``Our partners are unrivalled and I would literally say that in the world of sports, our ownership group is as good as any ownership group of any league in the world.'' Current owners include Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz, New England Patriots NFL team owner Robert Kraft and Stan Kroenke, the owner of the NBA's Denver Nuggets. MLS has 14 teams in the U.S. and Canada and plans to expand to 18 by 2011. The Seattle Sounders will join next season, followed by a yet-to-be-named team in Philadelphia in 2010. Gazidis said the league could have as many as 25 teams in the future and surpass the NHL in terms of popularity. To contact the reporter on this story: Tariq Panja at Stamford Bridge at tpanja@bloomberg.net. Last Updated: October 28, 2008 15:15 EDT http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601082&sid=as_zx3w.aXCU&refer=canada Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianSoccerFan Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 25 teams in the future?? good news for expansion hopefuls Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BringBackTheBlizzard Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 25 seems like an odd numbers in more ways than one. I suspect he said 24 as four divisions of 6 in 2 conferences would make for easy scheduling. Hopefully this puts to rest the stopping at 18 to keep FIFA happy theory that people seem to always come up with whenever expansion is discussed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmcmurph Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 Good to hear something from Saputo's partner. Yea 25 is strange. I'm sure you are right about 24. FIFA has a recommendation of 18 but that won't happen in North America. Not only does MLS not care about FIFA dates but they seem oblivious to a lot of things. In this case it works in our favour. The MLS could always say they only have 19 teams (US based) and that the 3 Canadian clubs should be counted as extras. That would leave them close to the 18 and with a manageable 22 teams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TFC07 Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 *yawn* Nice to see Gillett wants Montreal in MLS ASAP so that they can give TFC free points. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmcmurph Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 quote:Originally posted by TFC07 *yawn* Nice to see Gillett wants Montreal in MLS ASAP so that they can give TFC free points. Like they did this year in the Voyageur's Cup .... wait a second ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TFC07 Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 quote:Originally posted by tmcmurph Like they did this year in the Voyageur's Cup .... wait a second ... If you mean TFC not losing to Montreal, then sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RS Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 quote:Originally posted by tmcmurph Like they did this year in the Voyageur's Cup .... wait a second ... Well if you want to get technical, Montreal DID give us four points. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sébastien Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 quote:Originally posted by TFC07 *yawn* Nice to see Gillett wants Montreal in MLS ASAP so that they can give TFC free points. You mean that team that's still playing for something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mpenza Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 quote:Originally posted by TFC07 *yawn* Nice to see Gillett wants Montreal in MLS ASAP so that they can give TFC free points. I thought you all rallied behind a banner saying "We deserve better" not so long ago... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RS Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 quote:Originally posted by Mpenza I thought you all rallied behind a banner saying "We deserve better" not so long ago... Yes we did. We do deserve better, we should have taken 6 points from MTL instead of 4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrennanFan Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 yes the article is well and good, but can someone post a picture of the we deserve better banner? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mpenza Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 quote:Originally posted by Rudi Yes we did. We do deserve better, we should have taken 6 points from MTL instead of 4. The way I see it, we deserved at least a draw in Montreal. But wow, did our boys ever fought hard for that draw at BMO... It changed the whole season for us. Most memorable Impact game ever, as far as I'm concerned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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