MLS expansion: Some new team spots have been added

MLS expansion plans have risen to total 30 teams. That’s with Sacramento Republic FC in the lead and a surprise return contender officially in the mix.

As Major League Soccer’s expansion plans officially sink in, leading contender Sacramento Republic FC were preparing to meet another contender on April 27, Phoenix Rising FC.

But Phoenix Rising FC, at best, is the third contender in line. Sandwiched in between Phoenix and Sacramento is an MLS expansion contender that really is a phoenix bird rising from the ashes.

It’s St. Louis. That’s the area that a couple of years ago that staged a confusing battery of pro-MLS-expansion votes. The most important part of the measure got voted down because voters in St. Louis proper, who believed the stadium and games would mainly benefit the soccer-crazed suburbs. And the suburbanites wouldn’t have to pay the taxes.

That all happened back in April 2017. Like the other major MLS expansion contenders, their USL team, St. Louis FC, remains a respectable draw in the league, but their bid, still alive, shocked MLS expansion observers.

But there it was in print, in an official MLS press release. After the recent MLS Board of Governors met in Los Angeles, the Commissioner’s office was ordered to advance discussions with both Sacramento and Los Angeles.

Both those groups will get calls to present final soccer-specific stadium plans to the MLS Expansion Committee. They will have to detail corporate commitment, ownership group members, the economics of funding, fan and player development plans and community programs.

The 28th and 29th teams will be announced by the July 31 All-Star game. Expansion fees will be $200 million. Detroit at one time was talked up as a strong MLS expansion contender. They have a healthy soccer culture. Like the other top contenders, they are a top-20 media market. What Detroit is missing is a plan for a soccer-specific stadium. They plan to use the existing NFL venue.

Of all the official and speculative MLS expansion candidates, only the Detroit group wants a pass on the stadium issue. Soccer-specific stadium plans exist for Phoenix and other groups hot for MLS membership. Those other contenders include Raleigh, North Carolina, Charlotte, South Carolina, Tampa, San Diego, Indianapolis, and Las Vegas. Maybe one or two more.

Sacramento is already far ahead of the competition in stadium plans. And everything else. They’re next. But on the stadium front, Phoenix has a fascinating proposition for outdoor soccer featuring advanced cooling options.

Yet, St. Louis somehow jumped back in line for MLS expansion and got the league Board of Governors’ attention. They’ve got something figured out. Stay tuned to find out how they’ll join Sacramento in U.S. top-tier soccer.