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MLS ready to kick off exciting new season
USA - 12 April, 2007
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Don Garber, Major League Soccer's commissioner, feels expectations in terms of raising interest in MLS has been exceeded with the signing of David Beckham with the Los Angeles Galaxy, according to the Boston Globe.
"The designated player rule has delivered, if not over-delivered, on expectations," said Garber.
"The pent-up anticipation of Beckham is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, sports stories of the year. We never contended this would be the only story of the off-season, with so many things going on. But it has positively taken on a life of its own and really, truly gained us more attention than we expected."
MLS will kick off its 12th season on Saturday with Colorado playing against D.C. United at the new Dick's Sporting Goods Park in suburban Denver.
That and Toronto's BMO Field are the league's fifth and sixth football-specific stadiums, while Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment has become the 10th owner-operator in the 13-club league.
"A few years ago, we had three owners and today we have 10 owners," Garber said.
"Our goal is 16 teams in 2010, and we are in discussion with groups in Atlanta, Cleveland, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Jose, St. Louis, and the Pacific Northwest."
The league "is growing at a slow, steady pace," Garber said. "There is not any one thing that will make [football] one of the dominant sports in this country in the short term, but we are doing a lot of things that will make the league more popular.
"There is no doubt this will be a very major league in time. Our goal is to manage the business and decision-making so when that time comes, we will be in position. I have no doubt we will be a dominant league in this country. It's not a matter of if, it's when, and that really drives how we operate."
Toronto FC put a cap of 14,000 on its season tickets to promote single-game sales.
Two other clubs took advantage of the designated player rule, which allows clubs to sign a player above the salary cap numbers. The New York Red Bulls, which is sponsored by the Austria-based energy drink company Red Bull, lured Claudio Reyna from English Manchester City, while the Chicago Fire signed Mexican Club America's Cuauhtemoc Blanco, who will join the club in August.
"The designated player rule has delivered, if not over-delivered, on expectations," said Garber.
"The pent-up anticipation of Beckham is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, sports stories of the year. We never contended this would be the only story of the off-season, with so many things going on. But it has positively taken on a life of its own and really, truly gained us more attention than we expected."
MLS will kick off its 12th season on Saturday with Colorado playing against D.C. United at the new Dick's Sporting Goods Park in suburban Denver.
That and Toronto's BMO Field are the league's fifth and sixth football-specific stadiums, while Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment has become the 10th owner-operator in the 13-club league.
"A few years ago, we had three owners and today we have 10 owners," Garber said.
"Our goal is 16 teams in 2010, and we are in discussion with groups in Atlanta, Cleveland, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Jose, St. Louis, and the Pacific Northwest."
The league "is growing at a slow, steady pace," Garber said. "There is not any one thing that will make [football] one of the dominant sports in this country in the short term, but we are doing a lot of things that will make the league more popular.
"There is no doubt this will be a very major league in time. Our goal is to manage the business and decision-making so when that time comes, we will be in position. I have no doubt we will be a dominant league in this country. It's not a matter of if, it's when, and that really drives how we operate."
Toronto FC put a cap of 14,000 on its season tickets to promote single-game sales.
Two other clubs took advantage of the designated player rule, which allows clubs to sign a player above the salary cap numbers. The New York Red Bulls, which is sponsored by the Austria-based energy drink company Red Bull, lured Claudio Reyna from English Manchester City, while the Chicago Fire signed Mexican Club America's Cuauhtemoc Blanco, who will join the club in August.
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