Las Vegas may upgrade soccer team to MLS; UPD Foley spearheading Raiders stadium MLS home

[varsaku]

Playing soccer in the summer in Las Vegas is going to be brutal.

BTW, are we sure MLS isn’t a Ponzi scheme at this point? I understand the league needed to grow and expand into new markets, however at this point it seems new teams are being awarded in order to pay off the earlier investors.

it absolutely has a pyramid scheme feel to it now...
especially so given their ownership structure

The fast expansion that the NHL had like 30 years ago is what MLS is currently going through. MLS is trying to expand its footprint and cover more markets. MLS draws little interest in markets that have no team and see a steady growth in interest with new teams.

 

[Vamos Rafa]

You can't just "upgrade" yourself to the top flight league. You'll have to earn the promotion.

Oh wait.

 

[BKIslandersFan]

Playing soccer in the summer in Las Vegas is going to be brutal.

BTW, are we sure MLS isn’t a Ponzi scheme at this point? I understand the league needed to grow and expand into new markets, however at this point it seems new teams are being awarded in order to pay off the earlier investors.

The expansion fee might be more but it’s still no where near enough to even cover yearly operating expense once you divide it up.

 

[LadyStanley]

Golden Knights owner Bill Foley eyes MLS team for Raiders stadium

VGK majority owner Foley looking at MLS team for Raiders stadium. (Indoors, so no worry about temperatures.)

 

[Big McLargehuge]

Either split the conferences into different leagues (as it is teams don't play @ every other team) or, preferably, adapt promotion/relegation before it truly becomes too late.

As it is 24 teams and a 34 game schedule is wonky as hell, and not growing the sport is a terrible alternative. More teams is great...just not in one giant closed league with a useless draft.

Vegas can work with an indoor stadium and a city of that size deserves a chance to prove themselves...but where do you draw the line? Other domestic leagues don't have to deal with anywhere near this many large population centers spread out like the US/Canada are. It almost seems like it'd be a significantly better fit for promotion/relegation than a league that has 5 teams from one city in the top flight, but the stability of the league had to be proven first. If the MLS is stable enough to be adding this many teams, it's stable enough to evolve the league structure.



Also I don't care how good of a market Indianapolis is or isn't, I hope the Indy Eleven fail at every juncture possible until they get a real name. This goes doubly to any new team using the FC or United monickers this deep into that boring trend...way to make your team sound utterly generic and uninteresting. At least Las Vegas Lights FC has the decency to have a nickname, rather than just expecting everyone to know their actual nickname (see: Minnesota United being the Loons, an awesome nickname that you almost need to be a Minnesota United fan to know).

 

[robertmac43]

After that, split the league in to 20 and 8. And MLS can keep adding teams to 2nd division until both leagues have 20 teams each.

Could they not also tap into the USL and NASL for second tier expansion or would there be too much controversy there?

 

[cutchemist42]

So honestly asking, is Vegas big enough for all 3? I would say a decent majority scoffed at MLB/NHL coming in at this point.

 

[BKIslandersFan]

So honestly asking, is Vegas big enough for all 3? I would say a decent majority scoffed at MLB/NHL coming in at this point.

MLS won’t have an impact on NHL. Or NFL.

 

[cutchemist42]

Went to check out r/mls' opinion and they very against Foley being attached to this with the Raiders stadium. Seem like they really prefer the other option. A lot of them were saying that while praising Foley for bringing pro sports there

 

[viper0220]

So honestly asking, is Vegas big enough for all 3? I would say a decent majority scoffed at MLB/NHL coming in at this point.

Vegas gets millions of tourists very year, I think it sshould be fine.

 

[LadyStanley]

Historically, sponsors (primarily) are local. However, a number of national/international brands may want to get in on sponsorships.

 

[LadyStanley]

MLS confirms talks with Golden Knights owner Bill Foley

MLS confirms discussion with Foley

MLS has 27 teams (counting expansion franchises in Austin, Miami and Nashville) and plans to grow to 30. St. Louis and Sacramento have been invited to make formal presentations to the MLS Expansion Committee but the 30th spot is still up in the air.

Asked to comment on the competing efforts in Las Vegas, MLS provided the following statement: “Major League Soccer appreciates the recent interest in securing a future MLS expansion club for Las Vegas. We look forward to speaking with interested ownership groups, Mayor (Carolyn) Goodman and Las Vegas business leaders in the coming months to further understand the potential for Las Vegas as home for an MLS expansion team in the future.”

Article includes reference of competing bids for Minnesota team.

 

[BKIslandersFan]

Speaking of MLS

Bloomberg - Are you a robot?

There is a familiar name for any leafs fans.

 

[Deleted member 93465]

BTW, are we sure MLS isn’t a Ponzi scheme at this point? I understand the league needed to grow and expand into new markets, however at this point it seems new teams are being awarded in order to pay off the earlier investors.

Arthur Blank (Atlanta Falcons), Joey Mansueto (Morningstar), Jimmy Haslem (Cleveland Browns), Joey Saputo, Robert Kraft (New England Patriots), Red Bull, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, Stan Kroenke, Clark Hunt (KC Chiefs), Phillip Anschutz, Jorge Mas, Zygi Wilf (Minnesota Vikings), Carl Lindner, George Steinbrenner, Flavio Augusto, and that's just a handful of the owners, are all dumb sucker billionaires who have been conned buying into a Ponzi scheme.....and not successful billionaire business-people who understood exactly what they were buying into and still jostled their way into the league.

This news about Las Vegas is the Las Vegas group trying to get their way into MLS. They haven't been awarded anything. Just like Sacramento (Ron Burkley of Pittsburgh Penguins fame), St Louis (family that owns Enterprise), Phoenix, Indianapolis, Charlotte (David Tepper, Carolina Panthers) and so on are trying to get into the league.

But you can choose to believe they've been duped into buying a stake in a Ponzi scheme.

Arthur Blank purchased his ticket for $150 million. His team, only three years old, is valued by Forbes at $330 million. I would call that a fairly good piece of business by anyone's standards.

In 2008, when the league had 14 teams, the average value of an MLS team was $39 million.

In 2018, with 23 teams, the average value was $240 million.

Adidas gave MLS $700 million over 6 years because it, too, is a dumb investor that can't tell a sports league from a Ponzi scheme.

None of this answers whether MLS is a Ponzi scheme though. It's probably not good enough for you. So here you go, have fun reading:

How MLS makes money for its owners

Everyone who calls it a Ponzi scheme doesn't understand the key reason why credible billionaire investors are pouring in left and right. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of reasons to invest in MLS. The fact that it's the main professional league of the biggest sport in the world in the largest media market on the planet is a start. The sky's the limit, truly. But it's bigger than that. When you invest in MLS, you're not just investing in MLS. You're....well, read the article if you're interested.

it absolutely has a pyramid scheme feel to it now...
especially so given their ownership structure

See above.

At what point does MLS split into two leagues with promotion/relegation?

Why would it have to? The league currently has 24 teams, expanding to 28, but you'd expect it to eventually get to 30 or 32 like the other leagues. It is very easy to have 32 teams and maintain the current 34 game regular season schedule. No need for separate leagues whatsoever.

 

[GindyDraws]

Also I don't care how good of a market Indianapolis is or isn't, I hope the Indy Eleven fail at every juncture possible until they get a real name. This goes doubly to any new team using the FC or United monickers this deep into that boring trend...way to make your team sound utterly generic and uninteresting. At least Las Vegas Lights FC has the decency to have a nickname, rather than just expecting everyone to know their actual nickname (see: Minnesota United being the Loons, an awesome nickname that you almost need to be a Minnesota United fan to know).

Well, you're not going to be on our Christmas card list.

 

[Acesolid]

Playing soccer in the summer in Las Vegas is going to be brutal.

BTW, are we sure MLS isn’t a Ponzi scheme at this point? I understand the league needed to grow and expand into new markets, however at this point it seems new teams are being awarded in order to pay off the earlier investors.

I disagree strongly.

Currently in all sports there is a huge bubble on team sports valuations thanks to the good economy.

MLS and the NHL are quite smart to use this period to expand.

MLS's "race to 30 teams" might be more... extreme, but it's a genuinely good move for them in their drive to transform the North American team sports scene from "Big Four" (NHL, NBA, MLB, NFL) into a "Big Five".

 

[YEM]

Arthur Blank (Atlanta Falcons), Joey Mansueto (Morningstar), Jimmy Haslem (Cleveland Browns), Joey Saputo, Robert Kraft (New England Patriots), Red Bull, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, Stan Kroenke, Clark Hunt (KC Chiefs), Phillip Anschutz, Jorge Mas, Zygi Wilf (Minnesota Vikings), Carl Lindner, George Steinbrenner, Flavio Augusto, and that's just a handful of the owners, are all dumb sucker billionaires who have been conned buying into a Ponzi scheme.....and not successful billionaire business-people who understood exactly what they were buying into and still jostled their way into the league.

This news about Las Vegas is the Las Vegas group trying to get their way into MLS. They haven't been awarded anything. Just like Sacramento (Ron Burkley of Pittsburgh Penguins fame), St Louis (family that owns Enterprise), Phoenix, Indianapolis, Charlotte (David Tepper, Carolina Panthers) and so on are trying to get into the league.

But you can choose to believe they've been duped into buying a stake in a Ponzi scheme.

Arthur Blank purchased his ticket for $150 million. His team, only three years old, is valued by Forbes at $330 million. I would call that a fairly good piece of business by anyone's standards.

In 2008, when the league had 14 teams, the average value of an MLS team was $39 million.

In 2018, with 23 teams, the average value was $240 million.

Adidas gave MLS $700 million over 6 years because it, too, is a dumb investor that can't tell a sports league from a Ponzi scheme.

None of this answers whether MLS is a Ponzi scheme though. It's probably not good enough for you. So here you go, have fun reading:

How MLS makes money for its owners

Everyone who calls it a Ponzi scheme doesn't understand the key reason why credible billionaire investors are pouring in left and right. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of reasons to invest in MLS. The fact that it's the main professional league of the biggest sport in the world in the largest media market on the planet is a start. The sky's the limit, truly. But it's bigger than that. When you invest in MLS, you're not just investing in MLS. You're....well, read the article if you're interested.




See above.



Why would it have to? The league currently has 24 teams, expanding to 28, but you'd expect it to eventually get to 30 or 32 like the other leagues. It is very easy to have 32 teams and maintain the current 34 game regular season schedule. No need for separate leagues whatsoever.

no discussion at all re: unique ownership structure, why? it's extremely relevant to your attempt at making a point

 

[BKIslandersFan]

no discussion at all re: unique ownership structure, why? it's extremely relevant to your attempt at making a point

Legally it’s unique, but it’s essentially ran like NBA or NHL.

 

[DowntownBooster]

Who wants to watch hockey when they have NFL and MLS?

Not sure it has to be an either or situation. Fans who like hockey go to watch hockey. They don't go just because there's nothing else. Why would you spend money on going to something you don't really care for? If you're not a fan of the ballet you're not going to go just for something to do.

 

[Hoek]

For the record I think Indy Eleven is a cool name. I don't get how you can rail on City/FC/United and then turn around and crap on that.

 

[LadyStanley]

Would MLS Expansion to Las Vegas Boost US Betting Interest?

MLS talked to Las Vegas mayor TWENTY YEARS ago about potential franchise, and it wasn't going to happen. Now, local fans are being developed and the betting landscape has changed.

Having a team in Las Vegas may improve betting visibility on league.

 

[varsaku]

U.S. Victory Delivers 14,271,000 FOX Sports Viewers in FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019™ Final | Fox Sports PressPass

The afternoon’s MLS match between Atlanta United and New York Red Bulls also measured as FOX’s most-watched MLS telecast ever and the most-watched MLS telecast on English-language TV since 2004 with 1.6 million viewers.

 

[jonathan613]

I would think in a perfect world, NHL owners would eye owning MLS franchises as well. It appears-feel free to validate this- there are currently 3 cases of this. AEG (LA kings / galaxy) Maple leafs group (owns the toronto fc club) and kroenke (avalanche/rapids). The NHL needs to start networking and cross promoting the sport to an MLS crowd. the MLS crowd represents this nations growing demographic and exposing more people to hockey is something that can only be a good thing.

 

[LadyStanley]

https://www.espn.in/football/major-.../garber-defends-pace-of-mls-expansion-reveals

An update on MLS expansion. Sacramento and St Louis have expansion fees of $200m, and it takes a while to put $$ together (total investment is $550m-650m, which I guess includes other facilities).

MLS BOG meeting this week, but it doesn't sound like there's any firm timetable for those two teams, and if/when any 30th team would join.

 

[garbageteam]

MLS expansion could come to St. Louis, Sacramento

Las Vegas reps were present at the ASG to meet with league executives. The latest spin is that Charlotte is the frontrunner ahead of Las Vegas. Sacramento and St. Louis are supposedly locks for two of the three remaining spots.

Given there's still bidding interests from the likes of Detroit, Phoenix, Indiapolis, Raleigh and San Diego along with Charlotte and LV for the lone remaining spot, it's all but apparent that they're just biding as much time as they can to inflate the expansion fees before announcing they'll go to #31 and #32.