Don Garber open to having more than three Canadian franchises in MLS

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

Interesting snippet in one of the newspaper stories associated with the MLS Cup 2010 announcement:-

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Soccer/TorontoFC/2010/03/30/13416506.html

Garber said all the focus is on Montreal, “to do what we can to get that deal done.”

But, over and over, he hinted that MLS sees itself as going into more than three Canadian cities.

“I think there are opportunities for other markets,” Garber said.

[Macksam]

I'm not surprised. The oppurtunity for growth is there.

[tmcmurph]

Think "used car salesman" and you will get the message. Garber is notorious for saying anything. My advice would be to not wait for MLS. Get going with NASL to start and then see if you want to go up a level.

[Macksam]

^^^Ofcourse.

[Cheeta]

And on that note...New stadium for 2012

Hell, I guy can dream can't he?

P.S. Speaking of "used car salesmen", get a load of those two..

[TheKottonmouthed1555362307]

No, point in Garber closing doors before they open, who know how EDmonton responds in USSF2, maybe Garber will see something there he can build on.

3 teams will be a great start though. With how the the major 4 sports have neglected the Prairies could play into MLS' hands.

[Raven]

Think "used car salesman" and you will get the message. Garber is notorious for saying anything. My advice would be to not wait for MLS. Get going with NASL to start and then see if you want to go up a level.

I'm surprised he didn't mention Flin Flon, Manitoba as a potential expansion site.....

[Jeremy]

If he likes Canada so much... why not start a canadian MLS? I mean, If we're going to play FC Dallas, might as well be playing FC Regina, it's not like they will have lower attendances if the marketing is done right. I'd personally be more interested in an all canadian 8-team league than in a regular 5% canadian 95% american sports league. If someone or some organization has the ressources to start a decent league in here, it's Don and his crew...

[Admin]

Ottawa would be fantastic.

Toronto/Montreal/Ottawa in the east and Vancouver/Seattle/Portland in the west.

Two fantastic Trios that do wonders for the game.

North American Derby (that means travel less than 800km, lol)

[yomurphy1]

If he likes Canada so much... why not start a canadian MLS? I mean, If we're going to play FC Dallas, might as well be playing FC Regina, it's not like they will have lower attendances if the marketing is done right. I'd personally be more interested in an all canadian 8-team league than in a regular 5% canadian 95% american sports league. If someone or some organization has the ressources to start a decent league in here, it's Don and his crew...

I think the "Canadian Premier League" should be the end goal but progress is a slow process. Build strong soccer foundations in Canada cites and allow the professional enviroment grow naturally.

[Macksam]

I think the "Canadian Premier League" should be the end goal but progress is a slow process. Build strong soccer foundations in Canada cites and allow the professional enviroment grow naturally.

That is the best course of action.

[TheKottonmouthed1555362307]

If he likes Canada so much... why not start a canadian MLS? I mean, If we're going to play FC Dallas, might as well be playing FC Regina, it's not like they will have lower attendances if the marketing is done right. I'd personally be more interested in an all canadian 8-team league than in a regular 5% canadian 95% american sports league. If someone or some organization has the ressources to start a decent league in here, it's Don and his crew...

That would be sick; Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Regina, Ottawa and ?London?, ?Hamilton?, ?QuebecCity?, ?Calgary?

Would probably be able to get at least 4-5k people for an average for every team with Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver putting up closer 10+.

still aways from that though, maybe one day.

[Admin]

If you get 3 or 4 MLS teams it would be hard to go back.

How about something completely different. A Futsal league in the winter. Lots of facilities for it and it's totally 'sellable'

[Jeremy]

If you get 3 or 4 MLS teams it would be hard to go back.

Then, here's to hoping that the MLS will fold after 4 successful canadian teams have established themselves.

[yomurphy1]

Then, here's to hoping that the MLS will fold after 4 successful canadian teams have established themselves.

I doubt the MLS will fold and that would be a bad thing for Canadian soccer. If anything the FIFA preference against international leagues could allow the Canadian franchises to break from MLS.

[finchster]

More teams aren’t always a good thing. TFC claims they have a problem filling their team with Canadians that are talented enough to play at the MLS level. While a lot of that is probably non-sense in my opinion, there is some truth. Before there is more expansion into Canada I think we have to wait a few years for the talent pool to catch up.

[Soju]

That would be sick; Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Regina, Ottawa and ?London?, ?Hamilton?, ?QuebecCity?, ?Calgary?

Would probably be able to get at least 4-5k people for an average for every team with Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver putting up closer 10+.

still aways from that though, maybe one day.

That was the CSL, it didn't draw fans. But it was sick in the sense it was slowly dying.

[Soju]

Then, here's to hoping that the MLS will fold after 4 successful canadian teams have established themselves.

So the four teams could play each other in a neverending Voyageurs cup? Thinking back to before TFC existed and how bleak the Canadian club scene looked, I love MLS. May this crazy league with its crazy rules go on forever because we've seen the alternative and it is beyond crap.

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

Realistically the only cities that would still be on the radar for MLS when/if Montreal get in would be Ottawa, Edmonton and Calgary, assuming of course that there would be no scope for second Chivas USA type franchises in the Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal areas. Each is a long shot but it's good to know that if another investor like Eugene Melnyk comes along with a viable stadium plan the door is potentially open.

[Obinna]

I don't think having a Canadian league will be as benifical as the current set up from a MNT perspective unless it is at least on par with MLS in terms of marketing and player quality.

Would also hate to break up that NW derby the whitecaps have with portland and seattle. geographical rivalries > national rivalries I think, and with Montreal vs Toronto you get both so thats gonna be awesome when it happens

[gkhs]

I have always thought (almost assumed) that a fourth Canadian club would come to MLS at some point.

The logic is fairly obvious, though I haven't confirmed the finer points.

The Impact will likely be the 19th team, leaving only one unfilled spot in a 20 team league (which I believe is the FIFA-mandated maximum for a top division). This is less than ideal, since there are several worthwhile expansion destinations (St. Louis, Miami, a second New York team, Baltimore, etc).

As the top division of two countries, MLS could argue for expansion beyond twenty teams. They might one day field 20 American-based clubs, in addition to the Canadian contingent. In that case, four Canadian teams makes the most sense in terms of balancing schedules.

Plus, its hard to envision MLS not pushing for every 40-million dollar franchise fee it can.

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

The FIFA mandated league size stuff is an ongoing urban legend. FIFA would prefer in principle that top flight leagues are no bigger than 18 teams so that they can easily fit in all of their international dates in a way that doesn't overlap with domestic league games but do not mandate it.

http://www.eufootball.biz/Competitions/2550-120606-FIFA_congress_18_clubs_leagues.html

Given MLS does not use the traditional home and away regular season format used in most European countries there can easily be a 30 game season even with something like 24 teams so FIFA are unlikely to have a problem (bear in mind MLS already regularly schedules games on FIFA international dates) and it's worth bearing in mind that adding Montreal will/would be what pushes MLS over FIFA's preferred size.

[tmcmurph]

As much as I'd love to see it I'm doubtful if we will ever have more than 3. Look at the population coverage for those 3 and you get the picture. Plus those 3 are much larger than the next and the drop is substantial. Vancouver can draw fans from the roughly 3 million people in BC, most within the lower mainland but they have done a great job branding themselves throughout the province. Montreal has done a likewise good job of branding themselves Quebec's team so they can cover 6 million with a third in their immediate area. Toronto can claim about 6 million just in their immediate area. That covers half the country at worst. The next biggest cities are Ottawa (1.2 mil), Calgary (1.1 mil) and Edmonton (1 mil). Not a whole lot more.

Then you get the cheapening of the brand if they expand too much. Keeping it at 20 (Montreal and St Louis) would push up the value of the existing teams.

Once stable and growing they could go to 22 but there are so many 3 million+ markets in the US still not represented within major TV markets like Atlanta and Florida that I doubt we will ever see more than 3. So onward with the NASL and we can have the Voyageur's Cup as our pseudo-league!

[Raven]

The next biggest cities are Ottawa (1.2 mil), Calgary (1.1 mil) and Edmonton (1 mil). Not a whole lot more.

Just get Calgary and Edmonton together and put a team in Red deer to put in an Alberta team!

[kyam]

Just get Calgary and Edmonton together and put a team in Red deer to put in an Alberta team!

Ya see, I'm originally from Red Deer (born/raised) before moving to Toronto/Ottawa. You don't want a team in Red Deer, it'll won'T encourage away fans

If your French or from Toronto, they'll have pitch forks and shot guns ready!