The Commissioner Speaks
MLS Commissioner Don Garber talks about FC Barcelona, MLS stadiums
It's fair to say that all matches -- including those at the highest levels -- have to manage through officiating issues.
Many of you may have heard via the MLS Insider on Twitter earlier this week that Barcelona will be visiting the United States once again this summer. Earlier today we officially announced that one of the world's most successful and popular clubs will take on the LA Galaxy on August 1 at the Rose Bowl and Seattle Sounders FC on August 5 at Qwest Field. It wasn't that long ago that international clubs would come to the United States and not play MLS clubs. Now we have Barcelona, Chelsea, AC Milan and Everton playing MLS clubs this summer.
I applaud the efforts of D.C. United's fans to support ownership's efforts to secure a soccer-specific stadium for one of MLS flagship organizations. While the club's ownership group is working hard on continuing their discussions with a variety of municipalities in the region, this organized support from La Barra Brava, the Screaming Eagles and the rest of United's supporters can only help the cause.
It's a testament to the vision and commitment of both MLS ownership as well as a number of public officials throughout the country that MLS will have 10 clubs playing in soccer stadiums by 2010. And it's hard to believe that and D.C. United -- a team that has been successful on and off the field -- will not be one of those clubs.
Last week's post generated some great insight from our supporters, and I wanted to address some of your questions. As I mentioned previously, we will read all of your comments and will address some of the items each Friday.
First, one reader mentioned that he was disappointed that MLS did not have a WAP site (something that allows web sites to be easily viewed on a mobile phone). We are in discussions to have an MLS WAP site and hope to have more details soon. Also, you should know we are in discussions with some of the most innovative producers of I-Phone apps and plan to have an MLS version in the future.
Expansion continues to be of interest to most readers and there were many posts regarding the status of Montreal as a potential MLS market. We continue to be impressed by the Saputo family's commitment to the sport in Montreal. The Impact is a very popular team (they attracted 55,000 fans to their Champions League match vs. Santos) and play in a soccer-specific stadium in downtown Montreal.
Joey Saputo is working with a variety of local government entities on a plan to expand the capacity of Stade Saputo. I believe Montreal is a very viable MLS market and I plan to keep in regular contact with the Saputos as we continue to develop our future expansion plans.
Readers also had plenty of comments about expansion into the Southeast and the refereeing in MLS. We'll address referees in a future blog, but I do encourage you to check out U.S. Soccer's Referee Week in Review for a detailed overview of some of the most difficult decisions in MLS games each week.
Regarding expansion into the southeast, it was great to see the large crowd for the recent World Cup qualifier in Nashville. However, we have not had any discussions with potential owners about Nashville expansion. We will be in Atlanta June 24 for the Mexico vs. Venezuela friendly at the Georgia Dome and plan to continue our discussions with local investors about possible expansion to Atlanta. The Atlanta Falcons are partnering with our marketing company, SUM, to promote the Mexico game. Former Columbus Crew General Manager Jim Smith is the vice president of marketing for the Falcons and he remains very passionate about the game.
Finally, I'm looking forward to traveling to Philadelphia on Monday to see the Sons of Ben and other soccer supporters when we officially unveil the 2010 expansion team's name, logo and colors. You'll also learn more about the stadium and ticket pricing. I recently caught a sneak preview of the new logo (as did many of you via an Internet leak, although it was not MLSnet.com as reported) and learned more about the club's plans for the next few months. I think MLS supporters will be impressed with some of the news coming out of Philadelphia on Monday.
Please keep posting your comments as our supporters play a key role in how we improve all aspects of MLS. Until next Friday...
