ATOMS NEWS

MLS wants Eagles to own expansion team for the Linc
By LES BOWEN

Major League Soccer plans to expand in 2005 and would love for Philadelphia to get one of the new franchises, now that Lincoln Financial Field's natural turf is a reality, MLS commissioner Don Garber said.

But Garber feels the franchise will be most viable if it is owned and run by the Eagles, who so far have seemed cautious about taking on that responsibility.

Garber said there have been "very preliminary" discussions with Eagles management about owning and operating an MLS team. Eagles president Joe Banner said he had no comment on the matter.

The Eagles are known to be negotiating with Temple to have Temple's home football games played at the Linc, and those talks are thought to be close to an agreement. In the past, the Eagles have felt MLS dates would probably conflict with Temple dates.

The MLS season runs from April through late October.

Garber said the MLS is "bullish" on Philadelphia, Houston and Seattle, which all have new stadiums.

Entrants to the 10-team league must pay a $10 million expansion fee. Each team has a $1.7 million salary budget. Garber hopes to add two teams in 2005 and two more in 2006.

"A handful of teams are close to making money; the others are losing money," Garber said. "But there is more interest in investing in the league than ever before."

Obviously, the league is interested in Philadelphia because of the market size, but also because tickets for the new stadium's first event - a soccer match between Manchester United and FC Barcelona - sold quickly.

"It's a great sports town, and it's always been considered a great soccer town," Garber said.

Philadelphia On Short List For 2005 Expansion

WASHINGTON — Major Soccer League will decide by the end of the season where to place two expansion teams, with possibilities ranging from Houston and Philadelphia to smaller markets like Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Rochester, New York.
"At this point we are focusing on the best possible cities with the best investor and the best facilities - and if it happens to be in a small market, so be it," commissioner Don Garber said Monday. "We're convinced that being in a good place that will be successful can show a positive example to large markets."

Garber listed nine contenders that could increase the size of the league from 10 to 12 teams in 2005. The Oklahoma City suburb of Edmond, which nearly sold out an exhibition game over weekend, is a top prospect along with Cleveland and Minneapolis-St. Paul. Seattle and Toronto are more remote possibilities.

Garber said he doesn't feel that adding small markets would foster the impression of small-time league. He noted that MLS actually helped make a big-league city out of Columbus, Ohio, which added an NHL team after starting with soccer.

"We need to have popular, financially viable teams," he said. "And at some point we need to be a 20-team league.

The expansion teams would command a $10 million price tag. The money-losing league has been seeking new investors for several years. A lack of investors forced it to eliminate franchises in Miami and Tampa Bay a year ago.

Garber, addressing a range of topics ahead of Saturday's opener between Los Angeles and Columbus, said he was "cautiously optimistic" about the season. He said ticket renewals around the league are at an all-time high, and that Kansas City and Los Angeles - where the Galaxy are moving into an impressive new soccer-only stadium - are setting records for sales.

On Tuesday, the league will get its second U.S. television contract when it announces an agreement with Fox Sports World. It already has a deal with ABC and ESPN.

The new agreement means that all playoff games will be televised in the United States. Also, Fox Sports World will air a Saturday highlights package, an alternative for fans and league officials who have been long frustrated in their campaign to get more MLS coverage on ESPN's SportsCenter.

"We'll create our own version of SportsCenter every Saturday night," Garber said.

Regarding stadium issues, Garber hopes local officials will soon approve a new suburban stadium for the Dallas Burn. He said that stadium projects remain alive in Washington and the New York area, but that nothing can be done in Washington until the city learns whether it is getting a baseball team.

Source: Philadelphia Inquirer