I went to my first MLS game last weekend. No joke the energy in the small venue had me on my feet and cheering for a team I had no relation to 90 minutes prior
Im guessing you never go to the european or south american football match? But yes, compared to other sport in america, football has a best atmosfer probably because there is only one break and a full 45 + 45 mins of entertainment without commercials.
Especially with both countries having the best teams they have ever fielded in their history which makes them competitive whereas in 1994 the US was kinda garbage.
It’s popular among immigrants and latin Americans that are into soccer. I’m yet to meet a single MLS fan in a decade of living here.. or an American born soccer fan really.
It really goes a long way. When Q2 Stadium, the home of Austin FC was unveiled, I instantly fell in love with it. The stadium, while only being 20,738 in size, has sold out every game, and sounds a lot louder than that. Going to our inagural home game made me fall in love with the sport.
I think another advantage MLS has over European soccer is the proximity to stadiums like UT's. If it really does grow in popularity like in Europe, having a 100K seat stadium nearby would probably be a good thing.
Atlanta's Mercedes Benz Stadium was built from the ground up to host soccer. In fact, soccer events per year double - and more - the number of home NFL games. Atlanta United averages 45,000 in attendance and easily surpasses 60-70k for the several matches when the upper deck is opened for sale (*cough*, Miami). The MLS Cup match in 2018 pulled in 73,019. Expectations are for the World Cup, capacity will be near 75k
I would argue it is primarily an NFL stadium that was designed to accommodate soccer. Everything from the artificial turf to the obstructed sight lines on corners shows it was designed for the NFL.
As a Brit its quite interesting to read the comments section. Reading Americans taking about football & even some of the same conversations we have here is fun.
@@LeftJoystick your not to old we have veterans leagues in the UK for all ages & levels some 11 aside 7 aside or 5 aside indoors & out. I think the oldest guy still playing is in his 90s.
My first in person game was seeing Atlanta United I got a free scarf through a raffle. The energy was insane, and they won so the energy was through the roof.
my only gripe with the MLS growing is all the new teams are copying Europe's boring ass naming style. our original teams had names like the LA Galaxy or Columbus Crew, names that were unique. now every team is X FC or X United...
Totally agree. I’ve the mid 90s fun names of LA Galaxy and others. Not trying to be something we’re not. Lafc… what a joke. We don’t say FC in the US. Euro snob copy cats.
This is an unrequested view from a non American. I understand the reason behind it. Names like Eagles, or Tigers etc are more associated with kids' teams, whereas teams carrying the name of their place of origin have a stronger connection with their citizens. An ugly side of football worldwide is the regionalism and violence. There are people who literally will kill for their team, and that's because the team is strongly and historically rooted with the people from that city or town.
@@andrewmg5915 In the US, a team name sounds more professional. being called a club makes it sound more like a beer league group trying to find something to do on the weekends to get away from the wife and kids.
Lol And this is why the rest of the world don’t take Americans seriously when it come to football. Those “boring” names have a better professional sound to them. Grown men on teams named after animals sounds childish and juvenile. MLS are trying to grow their brand globally and finally be taken seriously for once. Here in Europe we laugh at those team names cause of how silly they sound. if MLS wants more worldwide recognition they have to mature and realize they can’t use the same American mindset approach like nba, nfl etc. Football is a different beast on a world level and MLS is already seen as a joke to most of us so this is the right step to change that.
Bigger is not always better, so I think the MLS strategy of small to medium-sized, soccer-only stadiums has been a winning formula. Having said that, Foxboro Stadium is a great (large) place to watch a game too.
The same is true with baseball. During the era of Dual purpose stadiums (think the Vet, three rivers, riverfront, etc), Baseball and football would be played on the same field. Those stadiums were concrete monstrosities. Once Orioles Park at Camden Yards opened in 1992. Baseball teams in dual purpose stadiums moved to Baseball specific stadiums and the atmosphere is insanely better.
Although the focus of this essay was MLS, the argument about how stadiums bolster profitability would have been strengthened by even a brief mention of how the same principle can be seen in USL and NWSL. It's fairly clear that teams who built their own facilities have prospered. Teams that rent facilities face more hurdles.
For the person or people arguing that MLS and USSF are thwarting lower level soccer, allow me to expand on this a bit. 99% of the American clubs that fold (if not more)are renters. If you want to build something, you’ll need to invest in more than just cool kits (and there are several of those floating around these days). Get your own ground. Maybe put a pub next to it for 365-day operations.
We're also seeing a lot of USL teams start construction on their own stadiums, like my team New Mexico United. And hopefully as USL and MLS expand their stadiums, we'll see pro/rel.
Fortunately, Detroit City FC has thrived in a rental situation but we’ve finally bought the land to build our very own stadium. It’s going to usher in an even greater era for City and its supporters.
@@psvmjohn the lower league already exists. And they have fans. That's why the current situation would make pro-rel possible. Not that MLS owners would ever, ever, ever, ever agree.
@@ProfeAdventuresit’s a good amtosphere, not great though. the top section is never opened for MLS games so it kinda of gives it an empty feeling. they do need a soccer stadium because there’s no way the sounders will fill it out week in week out. the only time it got full was the concacaf cl cup vs Pumas, & that was due to pumas influence as well . a stadium with a 40-50 thousand capacity would be ideal
I think also a major factor in the stability and growth of the MLS within the context of stadiums is its shift from affordable, cheaply built stadiums out in the suburbs to high-end urban centric stadiums located in or near the city center or as part of a revitalization project of a city center's underserved neighborhood. The fact stadiums are now located within the city they claim to represent coupled with the urban atmosphere that enhances the fan experience (and in some cases can vaguely resemble a European style pregame atmosphere from a city standpoint walking from a pub to the stadium instead of driving 30 mins out to the suburbs) makes the MLS a desirable option for a sporting experience in the US and Canada. I think, however, the next phase of the MLS' growth comes whether or not the league will allow for more ownership/financial autonomy for its clubs/franchises. Private stadium ownership really helped its investor/operators (aka "owners") have more control and say over its revenue streams, but the league heavily restricts its owners from making many financial, administrative, and even roster decisions. For example, the adidas deal on paper may seem like a tremendous deal for the league (and in many ways it is) but the sponsorship money still has to be split among all its teams, with more joining soon. A club/franchise could make the argument that it on its own could secure a more lucrative deal worth more than what it receives from the adidas revenue split, not to mention have more control over shirt and merchandise sales within its own stadiums. That example is one of many examples where team ownership would desire more autonomy from the league which could threaten the structure of the single entity system, especially since it already narrowly survived a lawsuit back in 1999 and tries to make sure it does everything they can to avoid a second lawsuit which could force the league to dismantle its single entity status, which its pros and cons is a huge can of worms for another day.
That day is probably coming, but I think the sport needs to grow more here first; while it's not the sole factor at work, the investment protection and revenue-sharing that the single-entity model provides is part of what's allowed MLS to survive where previous attempts to build soccer in the US failed and folded. Especially while the league continues to expand (and it shows no signs of slowing down, and frankly I think it'd be good for it to play on soccer's culture of more localized support by having more teams than other North American leagues and regionalizing the competition more), that model is very good for encouraging expansion. Once the number of clubs stabilize and the numbers of them that reliably generate significant profit in their own right is higher, then there's probably a good case for allowing more individual control. Frankly, I'd argue that's also a point at which to try and increase local ownership of clubs and break billionaire monopolies on team ownership, but that's a different and probably even tougher battle.
I wish Chicago could switch to Jordan as their kit manufacturer. It makes too much sense. I already guy the jersey because they are my team, but having Jordan would make it a fashion piece.
I think the massive growth of the MLS (relatively) in the US is attributable most significantly to one thing: NBC Sports’ contract to broadcast the Premier League beginning in 2013. Once I began watching matches every weekend, one of the first things I did was research who was the nearest team to me and how I could get tickets. I’d be interested to hear how many other of you came into MLS the same way or if I’m just talking out of my ass.
I started watching MLS first around 2005, 4 years before my city team Seattle Sounders joined MLS. Seattle has been trying to get a team in the MLS for years. The home opener I went to was a 3-0 win against NYRB. It was a huge deal, so many people showed up. As for Europe, I started watching after watching after randomly a EPl Arsenal game come on cable tv in the 2007-0 season. Cesc Fabregas was unreal and just kept watching them play ever since. Great team that just missed on the EPL title.
We had season tickets since then and the revolution sold out tons of games when I was a kid and they are the only mls team to have every game televised
@@scottkirkness8002 The 90s were terrible -- just look at hair and fashion! But I agree w/Viking ... Not EVERY club should be "XYZ United" (DC United (an original) makes perfect sense). And if you insist, call them "ABC SC" not FC ... in North America it is soccer.
I feel like a lot of the Northern California teams are good at this. San Jose Quakes, Oakland roots, Sacramento republic. However there are still a few teams with the typical FC name
Real Salt Lake, NY Redbulls, and Inter Miami FC are so dumb San Jose Quakes Portland Timbers Philadelphia Union LA Galaxy New England Revolution Columbus Crew Chicago Fire Now those are good names
I took my friend to Rapids vs LAFC at DSG Park couple months back the excitement he had late in the game when had no care early on solidified him as a rapids fan
MLS has the potential to become the biggest league outside Europe and Southh America. I could see it on oar with France, Brasil or Argentina when it comes to attention, attraction of talent etc. The new FIFA club World Cup format might further accelerate the relative rise of the MLS vis a vis EUR or SA top leagues. And when it comes to national teams. I see the USMNT long term as a contender to be the first country outside EUR or SA to win the world cup. Others being: Nigeria (among other possible African dark horses, hard to predict), Mexico or Japan.
Mexico on paper should be a long term contender outside of SA and EUR to win a World Cup but corruption within Mexican soccer will always stiffle any real attempts to reform Mexican soccer and allow their best youth players from properly developing.
@@Edgar... Because in Mexico if Memo Ochoa sells more in a bottle ad they will put him in the roster instead of looking and developing new players. Mexico should just focus on baseball they are better at that
Argentine league is dead. The country is broke, theya re losing talent to brazilian teams and Brazil is not even that good financially. The fans are putting that league on their backs. The Brazilian league has much more potential but the clubs presidents are parasites, they dont want to create a new league outside of the Brazilian football confederation... They can create they own Premier league and LaLiga but they are just greed elders.
The ceiling is number 1 for many of the reasons you have laid out, but also because SO MANY kids play the game too. But reaching that fueling will not be quick and it comes with no guarantees
The biggest problem is that the kids who play soccer aren't interested in the professional seen most of the time. And if they are, they usually watch European games on TV because that is what is posted on youtube, tiktok, and whatever other social media platforms.
Funny enough, we have an MLS-ready stadium in our new development hub here in Baltimore. Under Armour owns, so I wonder if a squad is coming to Charm City very soon 🤔
Unfortunately I think the NE corridor is going to be seen as tapped out by Garber. The league will probably stop at 32 teams and there are bigger holes in the map than putting a team so close to DC United
I enjoy watching soccer, but I’m not in MLS city. We have the USL Championship, which Garber doesn’t get along with. I would love to see Phoenix get in with Rising FC. But Garber wants us to have an indoor stadium and it doesn’t help Rising has an outdoor pop-up stadium with 10,000 seats which hardly fills the stands and it’s already 🥵 in the desert. They need some rich billionaire owners to finally build one.
Phoenix is one of the largest metro areas without an MLS team. In the next round of expansion, _if_ the billionaire owner emerges, and _if_ a stadium solution can be found, Phoenix would be a top contender.
Also important to note that MLS teams are taking a different approach to team building. It is not all based on acquiring past-their-prime star players, but also making big strides in buying and developing young players (many being American or Canadian) and exporting them to bigger leagues. Some examples Below: Chris Richards, Alphonso Davies, Miguel Almiron, Tajon Buchannan, Tyler Adams, Ricardo Pepi, Tati Castellanos, Matt Turner, Jack Harrison, Brendan Aaronson, Jhon Duran, & Djorde Petrovic have all found success in Europe's top leagues since moving from the MLS. And with players like Thiago Almada, Facundo Torres, and others poised to join them on that list soon, the league is becoming a good alternate destination for young North, Central, and South American talents to begin their careers en route to bigger and better things.
@@coldarcticoasis it's a language priority, it's easier for a Peruvian to play in Colorado than a Iranian in Chicago. spanish is basically a second language in america
I have been saying mls best days are ahead its the league that has grown allot in 10 years compare to the others, mlb has regress, nhl has stagnated nfl having a hard time growing outside of america borders nba being the exception when it celebrates 50 years it will be one of the best if not the best league in the world.
This isn't entirely true. The NFL has more than tripled its revenue in the last 10 years (went from $6.0 billion in revenue in 2013 to $20 billion in 2023). The NHL has increased by a higher percentage than the NBA. The NHL went from $2.6 billion in revenue in 2013 to $6.1 billion in revenue in 2023. The NBA went from $4.6 billion in revenue in 2013 to $9.9 billion in revenue in 2023. MLB is about the only one that has stagnated, but it's still the second biggest sports league in the world. It went from $8 billion in revenue in 2013 to $11.3 billion in revenue in 2023. MLS has gone from $461 million in revenue in 2016 to $1.9 billion in revenue in 2023, and it's increased by the most. A lot of that has to do with expansion though. The EPL is similar to the NHL in revenue, and MLS has moved into the top 10 and is approaching Ligue 1 and Serie A.
@@HarveyWallbangers2 I was talking growth not revenue the money is made thru commercial and ads space hence why timeouts exist and domestic tv deals. in a global society you need global fans. messi is more popular than all nfl,nhl,mlb stars in the world except nba which has increases their populairty worldwide. that why the nfl has games in europe to increase their fanbase mlb and nba are following it you need a global fans in order to thrive in the future.
@@HarveyWallbangers2 Revenue is a completely different animal. NFL is a very highly marketed league with massive stadiums which boosts their value across the league. That with insane ticket prices and TV contracts.. It makes sense... That can be attained by any league who has the financial ability to achieve it. I'd say what MLS has done in it's short life span is the most impressive. NFL wasn't even the biggest sport in the US until around the MLB strike. MLB is America's Past time after all...
@HarveyWallbangers2 I totally agree with yout points but would like to add that 2013 was a lockout year for the nhl. The season started at Christmas 2012 and they lost about 1/3 of revenue. The year before they topped 3 b in revenue.
The MLB is very popular in Japan, Cuba, Dominican Republic, etc. The NFL will always have a tough time expanding because its a uniquely american sport. The NHL hasn't stagnated, in fact it's only grown with the introduction of HDTV.
I think the MLS will see huge growth after the world cup if the USMNT does well. Even if they don't do well, but they play a fun to watch playstyle, many people will be interested in soccer. I have already seen a huge increase in the interest of soccer in my area after the 2022 world cup, and hosting the world cup will get many more people interested and willing to try watching the sport.
Messi is having an enormous impact in the MLS. Kids wearing Inter Miami’s pink Messi shirt are everywhere and they are selling out stadiums wherever they play. Obviously MLS needs to prioritize bringing stars to increase exposure.
@@yannick245Yeah he will. He should be able to play the 2nd half of 2025 season in Miami Freedom Park. And that's if he doesn't extend the contract which I hope he does.
@@QuantumNoir You're an optimist! If he's going to play for another season, he'll probably end his career at Rosario. But I think in 2025, it will be over.
@@QuantumNoir If you're being optimistic, when do you think that the Miami Freedom Park will be opened? I would say early 2026 is being optimistic. I can't see any real progress yet, searching for pictures of the construction site. Messi's contract is ending after the 2025 season. I really want to see Messi (and the "Barca gang") playing there. I think they're going to be the MLS champions of 25! Messi & Miami is a perfect match. I think it's sad that Messi won't play there. LAFC, Austin FC and some other new franchises did it better. They already had their stadium ready when they entered the MLS.
I have a vision of MLS being the world’s premier soccer league long term. Obviously not soon, and not as is, but there is absolutely an insane amount of potential here that many are still underestimating and even hating on. It’s maybe not an inevitability, they could still fuck all this up, but it’s a much more real possibility than most fans give credit to.
As someone who became a Manchester city fan in the usa. I consider the Union my team along side Man city. I went to Subaru Park twice now and I loved it. C'mon you blues and Union!
@birame2008 True. All 3 are my favorite MLS teams. We will see how the capacity is in Miami Freedom Park once more details are available. I truly love our league, I don't care what anyone says. I really like Columbus Crew and NYCFC. A bunch of others too. Can't stop, won't stop.
OMG. Is that my recording of the "pre-match" screen at 0:19??? I didn't design that screen, I only recorded it and posted it to RUclips, but it would be absolutely amazing to know that one of my favorite RUclipsrs used one of my videos, even if it was just a recording of something else!
I was so emotional when I watched Crew fans working together to avoid the team's relocation to Austin. A lot of the league's success has to do with these emphasis on building a community relationship with fans. Also, MLS seem to provide a different experience for fans than the other tradional american leagues. People are cheering up and partying during soccer games. It's looks like a form of counter culture
I don't think I know anything about them besides their name I absolutely LOVE it. I can't stand the boring naming convention they do it overseas everywhere. FC or United...bleh. Almost sounds corporate.
I agree with you, but I think smaller teams and markets having soccer specific stadiums and local academy’s shows the grow and proves soccer is here to stay. You have teams in the second division (usl championship) with beautiful soccer stadiums and they don’t even have the same financial upside as mls.
I think MLS keeping its feet on the ground regarding keeping itself viable has been its biggest strength, particularly regarding keeping stadium capacities comparable to the English Championship rather than Premier League. Things like designated players may seem gimmicky, but it all makes sense (At least until I ever try playing an MLS team in Football Manager haha) I like it, especially in comparison to the financial model especially in England feels like a stock market bubble just waiting to burst. Now to remember to actually watch the thing!
1:23 show my hometown soccer team stadium: Coritiba Football Club, in green and white. Glad to see it as the Brazilian exemple of great stadium atmosphere!
toyota park was built in my hometown about 35 miles southwest of chicago lol. it was a terrible idea because there was no public transportation from chicago to the suburbs. and it caused extreme amounts of traffic in my neighborhood. its now called SeatGeek stadium and hosts a few festivals a year since the Chicago Fire moved out
SMH such clear Minnesota erasure, barely any b roll of the best stadium in the league. The moment the tipping point comes when the best youth athletes start playing soccer instead of other sports the United States will dominate. The infrastructure is already there its just waiting for the money to come to take it over.
It's not just about having the best youth athletes, just look at Crotia and Uruguay who are constantly developing top talent with populations much smaller than the US. You say we have the infrastructure to actually develop youth players and I say we aren't even close. We have a huge population but we don't have enough proper academies and coaching to take advantage of it. As it stands we rely too heavily on the pay to play youth model that creates financial barriers and even then the coaching can still be sub par.
The MLS should try and do something about salary caps. Salary caps are preventing MLS teams from acquiring world class players, who are not of retirement age, and from retaining local talent. They don't have to do away with salary caps all together. The MLS is not like the NFL or the NBA which are virtually monopolies. the MLS has competition when it comes to acquiring players mainly from European leagues.
you have to take it as a slow process, the aim of the league right now it is to keep suitaining itself financially while the interest in the local population grows, we are not in any rush at all to open the gate right now but you can definitly expect it to happen in the future onces it reaches a certain point.
Association football is great but in the long run the MLS will need to produce great sides that does not rely only on the faiding stars from other leagues. I applaud all the work the people in the USA has done to bring the association football to where it is today, I hope they get rewarded. all those people who coached, referred for free, those people who woke up at all hours to watch terrific matches across the globe. May your day come where the MLS can produce the quality football that you see in other parts of the world. Keep up the good work, it is so much fun to see.
I believe nearly every MLS club has their own academy. Hopefully they are run in a similar manner as the ones in Europe to help produce players with more technical ability, which is where US players are behind compared to their European and South American counterparts. Klinsmann wanted to change the whole US Soccer system from the grass roots on up, but he got too much pushback. The US has what is referred to as the 'pay to play' system where you have traveling all-star teams just competing in tournaments for trophies and they don't take the time to coach the kids on the fundamentals of the game. Instead, they put the best athletes at the most important positions and try to win on athletic talent alone. Most of these teams are from moderate to affluent areas that can afford the costs of uniforms, travel costs, tournament fees, referee fees, etc. So the lower classes of immigrants from countries where football is either the only sport or the main sport get overlooked and left behind when those kids probably have much better technical ability at the sport and would make better players. The hope is that these MLS academies find these kids and get them in their program. If USSF was serious about their sport and stopped with the nepotism and politics they would have started regional academies across the US with the goal of finding these kids and offering them an opportunity for them and their families. There could be 8-10 of these academies across the US that then funnel the best from each region into one national academy.
Found this video just a few days after Chicago Fire owner Joe Mansueto came out and spoke about building a new SSS within the city and I couldn’t be happier
The ending would honestly break my heart. I love how much football is growing here, but we cannot Americanize the sport globally. It’s not all about money. Promotion and relegation is so special and I think the United States 2nd and 3rd divisions would still be massive revenue generators with how many big cities(therefore big markets) there are. The beautiful game cannot be corrupted to be run like the nfl :(
Pro/reg is everywhere and last i check the corruption is everywhere. Just look at europe. Also at least with a closed league, I have a realistic chance to see my club win the league. Can’t say the same in a pro/reg league. I rather have competition at the top and stagnation at the bottom than the opposite.
The other thing the MLS could benefit from when it feels the time is right would be to align its schedule with the European leagues so that it isn’t playing during the summer when major international tournaments are happening. For example, Copa America is going on right now pulling away the likes of Messi and Suarez from Inter Miami who just got trounced 6-1 by Cincinnati which was a 1 vs 2 matchup. That’s insane. I understand MLS doesn’t want to or in some instances cannot (due to shared venues for a few clubs) overlap with the American football season, but hopefully one day it can align itself better so international breaks are more in-sync.
Very doubtful that happens any time in the near to moderate future. You are not only competing with the NFL, but also with the NBA, the NHL, and also college football which in some areas is bigger than the NBA and NHL (and in some states they even take their high school football very serious with 10K+ stadiums on Friday nights). Plus, the Winter weather in regions like the Northeast and the areas around the Great Lakes in the Midwest (Colorado and Utah say hello as well) aren't good conditions to play football/futbol in. In the Spring and Summer the MLS only has to compete with MLB and there's so many baseball games (81 home games for each team) to choose from that are cheaper tickets than NFL/NBA/NHL that it's not nearly as competitive. Only once in a while do you see an EPL or Bundesliga match postponed because of snow. The logistics just won't allow for it.
I grew up in Wales, I know the feeling of a true "football ground". I now live in Portland. Providence Park is great venue. It feels like a European stadium, with bits added here and there, crowds down to the touchline, walking to the stadium because it is downtown. The outside of the old part of the stadium is ivy covered, for heaven's sake. Great venues lead to great experiences. I agree.
what is interesting is how MLS has about 20 clubs ranked in the top 50 most valuable soccer clubs in the world...according to Sportico, MLS now has 4 teams worth at least 1B dollars...and Apple TV is now telling the owners to pay their players more in order to attract the best players in the world...yes, the sport is growing tremendously here...AND, why so much hate on MLS...you guys hating so much can't be from America cause if you were, you wouldn't want an American franchise fail...maybe, it's just haters always are the most voicetress or people from other countries moving here and hating on the food that feeds you (go home)...like i stated previously, MLS has 20 of the most valued soccer clubs in the world now...that doesn't sound like failure to me...
Building standouts is one thing but having games during the international break needs to change, also promotion and relegation works just look at what the influx of money does for a newly promoted team. Lastly in order for soccer to be truly successful here in the states there needs to be unbiased media. For example the Euros are currently on Fox and yet the local Fox affiliate does nothing to promote the game even though it’s on their channel. Lastly the pay to play for our kids needs to change, as a youth coach there are many kids that cannot afford to pay $2000 on up a season….
That last part is so important for building homegrown talent. We need a better Academy system and we need to find a way to buy back into the system the rest of the world is working together to use, now that there is the infrastructure and incentive to do so.
"also promotion and relegation works just look at what the influx of money does for a newly promoted team” Look at how pro/reg makes a few clubs dominate the top leagues in their respective countries. Or how it makes clubs financially unstable (which is what the MLS wants to avoid). Both a closed league and a Pro/reg works for sports. Each has their pros and cons. Soccer isn’t special in that it’s a one system sport. Closed league makes the most sense for here.
@@alexandervargas79 Promotion and Relegation worked fine in the old days, before money and TV took over completely. Back in the day the financial difference between being 1st, 2nd or 3rd level or even lower wasn't this gigantic and even clubs from smaller towns - or markets as the US media would say - could compete if they developed a good team. But now the difference is in tens of millions, hundreds if you compare to clubs who play Champions League and the Top clubs scout everywhere and gobble up any kid that shows some promise. Plus the media attention and games being shown on TV, means people who live in a small town will watch the Top league live on TV, instead of going to the games of the local club, costing the small clubs even more money. It's gotten so bad on some levels here in Germany, that some clubs refuse Promotion, because they can't afford the higher leagues, where travel distances might be longer and security demands might be bigger.
It's better to build smaller stadiums than have them half empty. While the current stadiums are tiny by international standards (mostly betweem 20k and 30k capacity), if the league grows in popularity this might change evnetually.
It's not so bad by "international standards," though. The U.S. is one of the main countries with a huge amount of large stadiums but even if you look at soccer specific stadiums around the world, most of the smaller countries only have a few that are well over that capacity (say 35k and up). Most of the really big ones are in a handful of large countries like the U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Argentina, Brazil, Russia, Japan, South Korea, etc. In almost every case the population is more densely populated than the U.S. or it's major sport there.
@ I think basically all countries have larger soccer stadiums. Not just the bigger leagues. But also in Portugal or the Netherlands or Austria. They just have fewer. Most 2nd league clubs in many countries also have bigger stadiums. E.g. even in Germany‘s second division there are 5 clubs with an average attendance >45k. And half the league has >30k. The stadiums go up to 60k.
I've been following soccer since 1975 when Washington had the diplomats The one thing you never mentioned was the diversity of the United States citizens how a lot of them from foreign countries that soccer is the number one sport.
@Maapify You make some excellent points when comparing sustainability across the Atlantic. I grew up in the UK as a Spurs fan and still watch them and any other high profile games including the Champions League but there is a huge bubble waiting to burst and teams such as Manchester City and the two Spanish giants should certainly have an asterisk next to their many titles re ffp rules etc. I've watched MLS grow here since 2010, it's another great example of how Americans run and market sport better than anyone. Rugby could learn a lot of lessons for example. MLS stadiums are fantastic and seemingly prioritize fan experience over revenue (for now). I can absolutely see the league catching up and overtaking some of the big leagues in Europe eventually with its current trajectory/model however, like you mentioned, this is achieved without relegation and promotion which is why I doubt MLS (or any other American League) will ever have the wonderful drama of European soccer.
As a European can I ask: does it make for a much different experience to other sports knowing that the players will represent team US in tournaments? Is that something you root for your home team players to achieve, being capped as an international? Does this affect how you watch the game?
I would say American MLS fans don't feel any different watching MLS as you probably do watching your own local league. Of course if you highly rate a player on your team you'd like for them to get their due respect and given a chance on the international stage to showcase their talents but doesn't almost everyone in a similar situation?
@@Edgar... I personally root for players of my team (even if they leave at one point and especially ofc if they came through our youth academy) my question was was meant more like how different is it to experience the NFL where such a thing doesn't really exist?
@@richteffektmany American football fans root for certain players than might not be on their favorite nfl team if they played college football at their alma mater or the college team that they are a fan of. It is common for fans of a college program to also follow superstar players from that team in the nfl and casually root for those teams as well.
I’m from Asia and football here is massive, the same anywhere else Africa South America Europe, Middle East etc. North America apart from Mexico was the only continent that was behind, finally Soccer is growing in the US. To y’all American soccer fans, keep the beautiful game growing 💙✨
As a hockey and baseball fan primarily, the league ownership model and the stability it provides as well as the financial capital to invest in venues tailored to the sport intrigues me. NHL and MLB might not have so many issues with relocation and bad ownership if they moved to that model, although the cat is likely out of the bag.
I cheer for one of the teams that is still in an oversized gridiron stadium with turf - the Vancouver Whitecaps - but having attended games in some beautiful SSS venues like Minnesota and Salt Lake City, it’s really incomparable. It’s just soooo much better and the crowd feels way more into it. Even Montreal, whose stadium was done on the cheap and feels borderline temporary has a far better atmosphere just because of the configuration. I’m just glad MLS let the Whitecaps in without a promise of a dedicated stadium. Ironically their temporary venue while BC Place was getting renovated was a truer soccer experience and a lot of fans talk of it fondly.
Having followed mostly English (Bristol City) and European football all my life, I've only just started watching the MLS this season, and have found it, surprisingly, very enjoyable. Good to see that a lot of the new stadia have adopted the "close to the pitch" designs, which really do help with the atmosphere, as supposed to a lot of the soulless bowls which are on trend. Obviously it's a roll of the dice, but would be interested to see if MLS can ever introduce promotion and relegation, as it adds an extra bit of jeopardy to proceedings. The US Open cup competition should be protected at all costs - being able to have a tournament where smaller clubs can rub shoulders with the big boys is vital, and even if they don't receive an invite to the MLS, they can dream of winning a major trophy, however unlikely...
MLS will never add pro/rel, sadly. The buy in for an expansion team is over $500 million now, and no owner will ever approve of a chance of losing that.
@@valornash8463 I think it's way too early now anyway, from an outsider looking in. I'd imagine supporters would turn away if their team could no longer challenge for the top league
@@primateboogaloo USL clubs are showing support is still there regardless, I think. Sacramento drew 22k to a match last season, and we're forever stuck in d2.
Can't see pro/rel every happening in MLS. Even in Europe the top/rich clubs and even most of the mid table clubs are always safe. Anything can happen of course, but the poorer smaller clubs at the bottom of the table are the ones really affected.
Man I remember watching MLS games and seeing pro teams play on american football stadiums. I remember watching DC United play at RFK and thinking, this is the ugliest stadium ever.
Respectfully the only way to see the league grow is to raise the salary cap and allow maybe one or 2 more designated player slots which would allow squads to be better because of quality wise i would rank almost every American team as a bottom 1/2 championship team or top 1/2 league 1 side and i think the best the league could get is similar to the championship or french league if you take out every player worth over 30 million, However one thing the MLS has done very well is the youth pathways and I see it becoming more of a development league where European teams will consistently send players on loan 10 years from now but will also allow the US born players grow and get better quality players for the national team.
I watched Miami play STL a few days ago and it was a tie 3-3 with incredible goals. It was down to the wire and the level of play was really good. Contrast that with me watching highlights of the Champions league final between Real and Borussia Dortmund and it was quite boring and the level of honestly didn’t seem as good during that particular game. Sounds ridiculous but MLS is getting a lot better and quickly.
I used to go to MLS games in KC when they played at Arrowhead but moved to Michigan before they moved to the Kansas side and built their current stadium. I enjoyed watching the games at Arrowhead but always felt the stands were too flat and you were too far from the action if that makes sense. I am thinking about going to the World Cup games there in 2026. It should be a great atmosphere. And at some point I will get back to see a game at Children's Mercy Park.
I think that the soccer in the US needs alot of emprobements but i thinthat the us soccer teams need to play more ofton with like from southamerican teens and also teems from europa. I dont now how to start this,what i think is that the us teems have to play in more tournaments.Then you can select players for better tournaments like the world moust wanted soocer cup.
All I know is the new stadium that's going to be home to NYCFC is going to be packed. Around that area is mostly Hispanic (mostly Mexican) and they'll be delighted to finally have a professional Fútbol stadium at either a walking distance or a train ride away.
The problem with the newer stadiums is that they really have no character in them. Sure it’s high quality but it’s also so corporate looking. The fan sections have the same exact standing room design and it doesn’t having anything that showcases it’s team other then it’s colors.
MLS I believe will be a top league in the next 10 years. We need to keep getting better with rules and making the league so fun to watch. I can't wait to see how much bigger this beautiful league can get.
I'd be very surprised if MLS wasn't a top league in the world by 2040. At that point a lot of the additional talent and growth that will be the result of the 2026 World Cup will be fully realized.
For the sport to grow in the US/CAN, it needs to have a larger pyramid system that is interconnected with the top-tier MLS. USL, CPL and other leagues need to be interconnected, meaning some form of promotion-relegation is necessary. Also, the best players should be turning professional at 18, rather than going to play NCAA. 18-22 are critical years for the best talent to emerge and thrive, and college soccer should be secondary option in the sport for domestic talents.
From the european perspective I understood from last months news that playing in NCAA (1st division) will soon be synonymous with playing professionally. idk maybe this is not (so) relevant for soccer compared with football or basketball.
@@gregorkalinkat7657It very likely isn’t short term, CFB and MBB bring in obscene amounts of money, soccer, not so much. Some smaller college sports are seeing growth (especially with Softball, Baseball and Women’s basketball having major revenue and viewership growth over the past few years). If the MLS continues to grow and gets to the point where they can have larger starting salaries than European teams, alongside a player who is able to break out in college along the lines of Caitlin Clark and women’s basketball the past season or 2, it could happen. It would also help for there to be a generation of upcoming players that grew up with having an MLS team as “their team” coming into the collegiate level.
These days I'm hugely into baseball, MLB and MiLB. Living In Jacksonville, hopefully Ill be able to attend some minor league Jacksonville soccer and MLS Orlando City
BMO is multi-use at its core. Argos and TFC call it home. (Albeit when built it was for TFC as there was no way skydome could do TFC/Argos and Jays. Argos eventually moved to BMO when it was expanded. Also BC Place was designed for soccer/football.
It’s not the quality of play, or the coaching, or the mindset, or the budget, or the youth programs, or the increased national popularity…it’s the stadiums
A video by an American, about soccer stadiums in America, that doesn’t mention the Charleston Battery being the first soccer specific stadium in America.
From what you say in the video, soccer in the USA is just a business model. I speak to you from the Kingdom of Spain. The leagues here in Europe are real for several reasons. The first is that every small town in Europe has a soccer field with its own team, which plays in some type of league in the hope of moving up to the next category. The second is that each town supports its Team as the best in the world, because it is from its town, region or city. The third is that if you are one of the last in your category, you don't just lose. You demote to face teams of your level. The business model with astronomical monetary signings bleeds many clubs, it is another of the graces of the game. Everything matters here, but the most important thing is that there are clubs with very tight budgets that compete in the First Division against the biggest in La Liga and sometimes win. That of a neighborhood team beating an entire Real Madrid or Barcelona is priceless. I guess with the MLS format you have you will never know what it feels like to see something like that. Nor the emotion of seeing that your team is at the bottom of the table at the end of the season, because nothing is played. And if your football club is relegated... Fight for promotion with whatever you have and can get with less money than the last time you played. When the MLS has more teams... Will they create another league like the NFL? Will the most backward teams play worse to be the first to choose players? Passion is what soccer awakens in this side of the world. It's for something, it's not for nothing.
foreign player are PR investment and, sparring partner... their presence, if they come to play instead of a early retirement, help the home grown players to improve. Once the USA (north America) has enough of a base, more teens will seek to be football (soccer) players and that mean, more opportunities to discover talents... then is a virtuous circle...
Soccer can be just as big as the NFL in the US with time. Especially as I think American sports are either stagnant or losing their popularity with Americans. If it was a stock I would definitely invest.
@MikeHunt-fx9rg and American Football has too much refball, rules, and rigged scripting. It's too easy of a sport to rig. It's not evolving well especially with the new emphasis on player safety.
San Jose (you name the corporate naming right) stadium for the Earthquakes is the model of medium size and soccer specific. They have been a disaster on-field results and attendance since John Fisher (the notorious owner of the Oakland/Sacramento/Las Vegas A's) bought the team. As always, multi-causation for policy/business success or policy/business disaster.
Well said Sir, hadn't related stadiums to teams profitability. And i'll be glad when the European stars stop being borrowed, lessens our stars! But advertising is always needed!
I’m very excited about going to my first ATL united game in person I had planned on going on my birthday but I have to wait for next year what get me going to the game is seeing Messi or the kitties aka Orlando city sc derby days
I think what MLS needs to fully develop is to have better international competition. Big part of european football are the continental competitions, so much so that that they added a third thier. There have been talks of including Mexico and USA in Copa Libertadores, which would give the american teams a way of showcasing against serious opposition.
The problem with that its that people do not care enough for soccer to jump those waters, the closest we have its mexico and canada but it is not the priority right now, people to care locally it is more important at the moment, slow growth but steady.
I believe this year’s CONCACAF Champions Cup final was the most watched in its history. One thing they need to change is the final has to be a neutral venue though.
The other option is to keep adding more teams, and do something like what the Brazilians did for their Regional Tournaments. The USA is a very big country in terms of size. I wouldn't be surprised at some point if they have 40 teams. 20 in each conference, with the playoffs being the only time the teams from the other conference face each other. Its probably what they will do. They also need to integrate the Canadian Premier League into the System. That way Canada can have their own MLS. Eventually potentially evolving into a 60 team leagues with 4 Conferences (East, Midwest, West and Canada)
Actually 3 teams from canada plays in the mls but you are right about us having more teams in the mls in the future, we are more likely to end up with 50 teams in the future and one per state.
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I went to my first MLS game last weekend. No joke the energy in the small venue had me on my feet and cheering for a team I had no relation to 90 minutes prior
Which team was that?
Which team
Im guessing you never go to the european or south american football match?
But yes, compared to other sport in america, football has a best atmosfer probably because there is only one break and a full 45 + 45 mins of entertainment without commercials.
@@mfakhrisyamsudin2214lol why you trying to hate man it’s still the sport you like 😂
@@mfakhrisyamsudin2214Bless your heart 😂
I think the 2026 World Cup will result in a massive boost to soccers popularity across the US and Canada.
copa america and the olympics this year as well. and the olympics in the US in 2028 too
Club world cup also@@itslife1399
In case you missed it, the ‘94 World Cup is what set the latest American soccer revolution on its current path.
Especially with both countries having the best teams they have ever fielded in their history which makes them competitive whereas in 1994 the US was kinda garbage.
It’s popular among immigrants and latin Americans that are into soccer. I’m yet to meet a single MLS fan in a decade of living here.. or an American born soccer fan really.
It really goes a long way. When Q2 Stadium, the home of Austin FC was unveiled, I instantly fell in love with it. The stadium, while only being 20,738 in size, has sold out every game, and sounds a lot louder than that. Going to our inagural home game made me fall in love with the sport.
Bro Austin doesn't sell out 😂. The owner is a cheap pathetic man child with daddy's money. He inflates attendance to try and pretend people care😂
Went there in 2023. It was just like it was on TV!
@@AKUNJIG Love to hear it!
I think another advantage MLS has over European soccer is the proximity to stadiums like UT's.
If it really does grow in popularity like in Europe, having a 100K seat stadium nearby would probably be a good thing.
@@sonpacho The MLS is pushing for soccer specific stadiums. They do not want to use football stadiums, even with their huge size.
Atlanta's Mercedes Benz Stadium was built from the ground up to host soccer. In fact, soccer events per year double - and more - the number of home NFL games.
Atlanta United averages 45,000 in attendance and easily surpasses 60-70k for the several matches when the upper deck is opened for sale (*cough*, Miami). The MLS Cup match in 2018 pulled in 73,019.
Expectations are for the World Cup, capacity will be near 75k
Not originally, the original name was called New falcons stadium.. soccer came later when the owner Srthur Blank got the bid from MLS
I would argue it is primarily an NFL stadium that was designed to accommodate soccer. Everything from the artificial turf to the obstructed sight lines on corners shows it was designed for the NFL.
That’s a lie
I've been to Mercedes Benz. You can barely see the touch lines. Not ideal. And it was cold due to the AC being turned on.
@@RBzee112 beg to differ, I have seats in 114, and I can see everything un-obstructed except the near corner.
As a Brit its quite interesting to read the comments section. Reading Americans taking about football & even some of the same conversations we have here is fun.
Yeah finally. Just as I’m getting too old to play. Wonderfully bs.
@@LeftJoystick your not to old we have veterans leagues in the UK for all ages & levels some 11 aside 7 aside or 5 aside indoors & out. I think the oldest guy still playing is in his 90s.
We (along with the Canadians) are now in the process of buying up all of the English football clubs and turning them into soccer clubs.
Its called soccer
@@fantasyEXX If you count English as a second language, not really. In India, Europe, and latin American they call it football
My first in person game was seeing Atlanta United I got a free scarf through a raffle. The energy was insane, and they won so the energy was through the roof.
Fun place to watch a match, ain't it?
You also get cheap food which is rare
@@x-90 it's awesome! And even the specialty stuff is priced similarly to the outside world (eg, an "entree" sized something is 12-16 bucks)
@@x-90 that's fact!
my only gripe with the MLS growing is all the new teams are copying Europe's boring ass naming style. our original teams had names like the LA Galaxy or Columbus Crew, names that were unique. now every team is X FC or X United...
Totally agree. I’ve the mid 90s fun names of LA Galaxy and others. Not trying to be something we’re not. Lafc… what a joke. We don’t say FC in the US. Euro snob copy cats.
Chicago Fire is a lot cooler than FC Dallas
This is an unrequested view from a non American. I understand the reason behind it. Names like Eagles, or Tigers etc are more associated with kids' teams, whereas teams carrying the name of their place of origin have a stronger connection with their citizens. An ugly side of football worldwide is the regionalism and violence. There are people who literally will kill for their team, and that's because the team is strongly and historically rooted with the people from that city or town.
@@andrewmg5915 In the US, a team name sounds more professional. being called a club makes it sound more like a beer league group trying to find something to do on the weekends to get away from the wife and kids.
Lol And this is why the rest of the world don’t take Americans seriously when it come to football. Those “boring” names have a better professional sound to them. Grown men on teams named after animals sounds childish and juvenile. MLS are trying to grow their brand globally and finally be taken seriously for once. Here in Europe we laugh at those team names cause of how silly they sound.
if MLS wants more worldwide recognition they have to mature and realize they can’t use the same American mindset approach like nba, nfl etc.
Football is a different beast on a world level and MLS is already seen as a joke to most of us so this is the right step to change that.
Bigger is not always better, so I think the MLS strategy of small to medium-sized, soccer-only stadiums has been a winning formula. Having said that, Foxboro Stadium is a great (large) place to watch a game too.
The same is true with baseball. During the era of Dual purpose stadiums (think the Vet, three rivers, riverfront, etc), Baseball and football would be played on the same field. Those stadiums were concrete monstrosities. Once Orioles Park at Camden Yards opened in 1992. Baseball teams in dual purpose stadiums moved to Baseball specific stadiums and the atmosphere is insanely better.
I have and...man, I really do hope y'all get a stadium at least within a T line (no commuter rail doesn't count) and inside I-95.
Although the focus of this essay was MLS, the argument about how stadiums bolster profitability would have been strengthened by even a brief mention of how the same principle can be seen in USL and NWSL. It's fairly clear that teams who built their own facilities have prospered. Teams that rent facilities face more hurdles.
For the person or people arguing that MLS and USSF are thwarting lower level soccer, allow me to expand on this a bit.
99% of the American clubs that fold (if not more)are renters. If you want to build something, you’ll need to invest in more than just cool kits (and there are several of those floating around these days). Get your own ground. Maybe put a pub next to it for 365-day operations.
We're also seeing a lot of USL teams start construction on their own stadiums, like my team New Mexico United. And hopefully as USL and MLS expand their stadiums, we'll see pro/rel.
@@Cropsford_Protectors pro/rel wouldn't work. Soccer is only the fifth most popular sport, so the lower level clubs would have absolutely no fans.
Fortunately, Detroit City FC has thrived in a rental situation but we’ve finally bought the land to build our very own stadium. It’s going to usher in an even greater era for City and its supporters.
@@psvmjohn the lower league already exists. And they have fans. That's why the current situation would make pro-rel possible. Not that MLS owners would ever, ever, ever, ever agree.
8:30 Lumen Field was also built with soccer in mind. It was part of the reason it got funded originally.
Lumen Field is horrible for soccer, I hate having mls teams play in nfl stadiums. The sounders need a soccer stadium indefinitely.
What the hell are you talking about it's a great stadium@@anthony_rivera4735
@@anthony_rivera4735 I disagree. It has a great atmosphere
@@ProfeAdventuresit’s a good amtosphere, not great though. the top section is never opened for MLS games so it kinda of gives it an empty feeling. they do need a soccer stadium because there’s no way the sounders will fill it out week in week out. the only time it got full was the concacaf cl cup vs Pumas, & that was due to pumas influence as well . a stadium with a 40-50 thousand capacity would be ideal
@mgar1999 when I went, it was excellent. I guess Lafc brings the best of everyone 😉
I didn't realise how nice looking some of these stadiums actually are. Some are even old school looking. Good job. Greetings from London- England. 👍
I think also a major factor in the stability and growth of the MLS within the context of stadiums is its shift from affordable, cheaply built stadiums out in the suburbs to high-end urban centric stadiums located in or near the city center or as part of a revitalization project of a city center's underserved neighborhood. The fact stadiums are now located within the city they claim to represent coupled with the urban atmosphere that enhances the fan experience (and in some cases can vaguely resemble a European style pregame atmosphere from a city standpoint walking from a pub to the stadium instead of driving 30 mins out to the suburbs) makes the MLS a desirable option for a sporting experience in the US and Canada.
I think, however, the next phase of the MLS' growth comes whether or not the league will allow for more ownership/financial autonomy for its clubs/franchises. Private stadium ownership really helped its investor/operators (aka "owners") have more control and say over its revenue streams, but the league heavily restricts its owners from making many financial, administrative, and even roster decisions. For example, the adidas deal on paper may seem like a tremendous deal for the league (and in many ways it is) but the sponsorship money still has to be split among all its teams, with more joining soon. A club/franchise could make the argument that it on its own could secure a more lucrative deal worth more than what it receives from the adidas revenue split, not to mention have more control over shirt and merchandise sales within its own stadiums. That example is one of many examples where team ownership would desire more autonomy from the league which could threaten the structure of the single entity system, especially since it already narrowly survived a lawsuit back in 1999 and tries to make sure it does everything they can to avoid a second lawsuit which could force the league to dismantle its single entity status, which its pros and cons is a huge can of worms for another day.
That day is probably coming, but I think the sport needs to grow more here first; while it's not the sole factor at work, the investment protection and revenue-sharing that the single-entity model provides is part of what's allowed MLS to survive where previous attempts to build soccer in the US failed and folded. Especially while the league continues to expand (and it shows no signs of slowing down, and frankly I think it'd be good for it to play on soccer's culture of more localized support by having more teams than other North American leagues and regionalizing the competition more), that model is very good for encouraging expansion.
Once the number of clubs stabilize and the numbers of them that reliably generate significant profit in their own right is higher, then there's probably a good case for allowing more individual control. Frankly, I'd argue that's also a point at which to try and increase local ownership of clubs and break billionaire monopolies on team ownership, but that's a different and probably even tougher battle.
I wish Chicago could switch to Jordan as their kit manufacturer. It makes too much sense. I already guy the jersey because they are my team, but having Jordan would make it a fashion piece.
@@fanboy50local ownership of clubs? What about fan based Ownership like in Germany? That is a pipe dream that will never be allowed.
@@coldarcticoasis MLS has shown no indication of allowing anything other than rich-guy ownership so anything else is a pipe dream at present, yeah
I think the massive growth of the MLS (relatively) in the US is attributable most significantly to one thing: NBC Sports’ contract to broadcast the Premier League beginning in 2013. Once I began watching matches every weekend, one of the first things I did was research who was the nearest team to me and how I could get tickets. I’d be interested to hear how many other of you came into MLS the same way or if I’m just talking out of my ass.
I started watching MLS first around 2005, 4 years before my city team Seattle Sounders joined MLS. Seattle has been trying to get a team in the MLS for years. The home opener I went to was a 3-0 win against NYRB. It was a huge deal, so many people showed up. As for Europe, I started watching after watching after randomly a EPl Arsenal game come on cable tv in the 2007-0 season. Cesc Fabregas was unreal and just kept watching them play ever since. Great team that just missed on the EPL title.
1998 met Joe max Moore when I was 8 at old foxboro stadium
We had season tickets since then and the revolution sold out tons of games when I was a kid and they are the only mls team to have every game televised
The one American aspect MLS should have held on to is having team nicknames.
100%. "Seattle Sounders" and "Portland Timbers" are a lot more interesting to me than just plain "Atlanta United" or "FC Cincinatti"
Nah. The tried American names in the 90s.... they were terrible lol
@@scottkirkness8002 The 90s were terrible -- just look at hair and fashion! But I agree w/Viking ... Not EVERY club should be "XYZ United" (DC United (an original) makes perfect sense). And if you insist, call them "ABC SC" not FC ... in North America it is soccer.
I feel like a lot of the Northern California teams are good at this. San Jose Quakes, Oakland roots, Sacramento republic. However there are still a few teams with the typical FC name
Real Salt Lake, NY Redbulls, and Inter Miami FC are so dumb
San Jose Quakes
Portland Timbers
Philadelphia Union
LA Galaxy
New England Revolution
Columbus Crew
Chicago Fire
Now those are good names
I took my friend to Rapids vs LAFC at DSG Park couple months back the excitement he had late in the game when had no care early on solidified him as a rapids fan
It looks like MLS, actually approaching the sport in a humble and not megalomaniac way, is working well for them. God bless em
MLS has the potential to become the biggest league outside Europe and Southh America.
I could see it on oar with France, Brasil or Argentina when it comes to attention, attraction of talent etc.
The new FIFA club World Cup format might further accelerate the relative rise of the MLS vis a vis EUR or SA top leagues.
And when it comes to national teams.
I see the USMNT long term as a contender to be the first country outside EUR or SA to win the world cup.
Others being:
Nigeria (among other possible African dark horses, hard to predict), Mexico or Japan.
Mexico on paper should be a long term contender outside of SA and EUR to win a World Cup but corruption within Mexican soccer will always stiffle any real attempts to reform Mexican soccer and allow their best youth players from properly developing.
@@Edgar... Because in Mexico if Memo Ochoa sells more in a bottle ad they will put him in the roster instead of looking and developing new players. Mexico should just focus on baseball they are better at that
MLS has a very very very long way to go to reach ligue 1, the best league in terms of young talents
Argentine league is dead. The country is broke, theya re losing talent to brazilian teams and Brazil is not even that good financially. The fans are putting that league on their backs. The Brazilian league has much more potential but the clubs presidents are parasites, they dont want to create a new league outside of the Brazilian football confederation... They can create they own Premier league and LaLiga but they are just greed elders.
Corinthians, Brazil.
The ceiling is number 1 for many of the reasons you have laid out, but also because SO MANY kids play the game too. But reaching that fueling will not be quick and it comes with no guarantees
And we will definitely see a substantial rise in kids that play soccer once the world cup comes around.
The biggest problem is that the kids who play soccer aren't interested in the professional seen most of the time. And if they are, they usually watch European games on TV because that is what is posted on youtube, tiktok, and whatever other social media platforms.
Funny enough, we have an MLS-ready stadium in our new development hub here in Baltimore.
Under Armour owns, so I wonder if a squad is coming to Charm City very soon 🤔
Unfortunately I think the NE corridor is going to be seen as tapped out by Garber. The league will probably stop at 32 teams and there are bigger holes in the map than putting a team so close to DC United
Baltimore Iron UFL North American Football 🏈
Charm City (FC) would be a great name for a team in Baltimore
Purpose build stadiums creates better atmosphere and better home fans, therefore better teams in the long run.
Yes!!! STL new stadiums is sick!
I can’t wait for the new Detroit one. The Chicago Fire needs to get their shit together.
Chicago is cause they want state funding for it
That stadium will be empty in ten years. Why go watch retirement soccer when the Blues are down the street?
@@jackmakackov7077 Because soccer is far far bigger than hockey
Let’s go STL
Detroit is getting a new stadium?? I didn't even realize that. Awesome if true
I enjoy watching soccer, but I’m not in MLS city. We have the USL Championship, which Garber doesn’t get along with. I would love to see Phoenix get in with Rising FC. But Garber wants us to have an indoor stadium and it doesn’t help Rising has an outdoor pop-up stadium with 10,000 seats which hardly fills the stands and it’s already 🥵 in the desert. They need some rich billionaire owners to finally build one.
mlspa vetoed PRO-REL
Phoenix is one of the largest metro areas without an MLS team. In the next round of expansion, _if_ the billionaire owner emerges, and _if_ a stadium solution can be found, Phoenix would be a top contender.
@@johnmaster3748 the mlspa is extremely powerful
public funding! make the stadium the biggest tax exempt for the billionaire to not refuse
@@johnmaster3748 IIRC, Phoenix is THE largest media market without an MLS team
I would love to see Seattle have a stadium. I feel like revamping memorial stadium could go a long way
Also important to note that MLS teams are taking a different approach to team building. It is not all based on acquiring past-their-prime star players, but also making big strides in buying and developing young players (many being American or Canadian) and exporting them to bigger leagues. Some examples Below:
Chris Richards, Alphonso Davies, Miguel Almiron, Tajon Buchannan, Tyler Adams, Ricardo Pepi, Tati Castellanos, Matt Turner, Jack Harrison, Brendan Aaronson, Jhon Duran, & Djorde Petrovic have all found success in Europe's top leagues since moving from the MLS.
And with players like Thiago Almada, Facundo Torres, and others poised to join them on that list soon, the league is becoming a good alternate destination for young North, Central, and South American talents to begin their careers en route to bigger and better things.
Thiago Almada is such a good player
We should be acquiring good young talent from anywhere, not just in central or south america
@@coldarcticoasis it's a language priority, it's easier for a Peruvian to play in Colorado than a Iranian in Chicago. spanish is basically a second language in america
I have been saying mls best days are ahead its the league that has grown allot in 10 years compare to the others,
mlb has regress,
nhl has stagnated
nfl having a hard time growing outside of america borders
nba being the exception
when it celebrates 50 years it will be one of the best if not the best league in the world.
This isn't entirely true. The NFL has more than tripled its revenue in the last 10 years (went from $6.0 billion in revenue in 2013 to $20 billion in 2023). The NHL has increased by a higher percentage than the NBA. The NHL went from $2.6 billion in revenue in 2013 to $6.1 billion in revenue in 2023. The NBA went from $4.6 billion in revenue in 2013 to $9.9 billion in revenue in 2023. MLB is about the only one that has stagnated, but it's still the second biggest sports league in the world. It went from $8 billion in revenue in 2013 to $11.3 billion in revenue in 2023. MLS has gone from $461 million in revenue in 2016 to $1.9 billion in revenue in 2023, and it's increased by the most. A lot of that has to do with expansion though. The EPL is similar to the NHL in revenue, and MLS has moved into the top 10 and is approaching Ligue 1 and Serie A.
@@HarveyWallbangers2
I was talking growth not revenue
the money is made thru commercial and ads space hence why timeouts exist and domestic tv deals.
in a global society you need global fans.
messi is more popular than all nfl,nhl,mlb stars in the world
except nba which has increases their populairty worldwide.
that why the nfl has games in europe to increase their fanbase
mlb and nba are following it
you need a global fans in order to thrive in the future.
@@HarveyWallbangers2 Revenue is a completely different animal. NFL is a very highly marketed league with massive stadiums which boosts their value across the league. That with insane ticket prices and TV contracts.. It makes sense... That can be attained by any league who has the financial ability to achieve it. I'd say what MLS has done in it's short life span is the most impressive. NFL wasn't even the biggest sport in the US until around the MLB strike. MLB is America's Past time after all...
@HarveyWallbangers2 I totally agree with yout points but would like to add that 2013 was a lockout year for the nhl. The season started at Christmas 2012 and they lost about 1/3 of revenue. The year before they topped 3 b in revenue.
The MLB is very popular in Japan, Cuba, Dominican Republic, etc. The NFL will always have a tough time expanding because its a uniquely american sport. The NHL hasn't stagnated, in fact it's only grown with the introduction of HDTV.
I think the MLS will see huge growth after the world cup if the USMNT does well. Even if they don't do well, but they play a fun to watch playstyle, many people will be interested in soccer. I have already seen a huge increase in the interest of soccer in my area after the 2022 world cup, and hosting the world cup will get many more people interested and willing to try watching the sport.
Messi is having an enormous impact in the MLS. Kids wearing Inter Miami’s pink Messi shirt are everywhere and they are selling out stadiums wherever they play. Obviously MLS needs to prioritize bringing stars to increase exposure.
Still Messi won't ever play in the planned stadium of Inter Miami.
@@yannick245Yeah he will. He should be able to play the 2nd half of 2025 season in Miami Freedom Park. And that's if he doesn't extend the contract which I hope he does.
@@QuantumNoir You're an optimist!
If he's going to play for another season, he'll probably end his career at Rosario.
But I think in 2025, it will be over.
@@yannick245 It's in his contract. It's realism. Not me being optimistic
@@QuantumNoir If you're being optimistic, when do you think that the Miami Freedom Park will be opened?
I would say early 2026 is being optimistic. I can't see any real progress yet, searching for pictures of the construction site.
Messi's contract is ending after the 2025 season.
I really want to see Messi (and the "Barca gang") playing there. I think they're going to be the MLS champions of 25!
Messi & Miami is a perfect match. I think it's sad that Messi won't play there.
LAFC, Austin FC and some other new franchises did it better. They already had their stadium ready when they entered the MLS.
I have a vision of MLS being the world’s premier soccer league long term. Obviously not soon, and not as is, but there is absolutely an insane amount of potential here that many are still underestimating and even hating on. It’s maybe not an inevitability, they could still fuck all this up, but it’s a much more real possibility than most fans give credit to.
Os times da mls não tem torcida legítima.
That won't happen as long as you keep calling it soccer i think.
@@vingadoresbr8164curious, what do you mean by this?
@@Cesar-sc9wdHas zero effect on outcomes
@@vingadoresbr8164Seguro que si tenemos
As someone who became a Manchester city fan in the usa. I consider the Union my team along side Man city. I went to Subaru Park twice now and I loved it. C'mon you blues and Union!
Curious to see who the first MLS clubs with 60,000+ capacity football specific stadiums are in the future.
LA Galaxy or LAFC
@@QuantumNoirdont rule out INTER MIAMI. That Messi effect is through the roof, even after hes gone. He left a mark that can take this club to the top
@birame2008 True. All 3 are my favorite MLS teams. We will see how the capacity is in Miami Freedom Park once more details are available. I truly love our league, I don't care what anyone says. I really like Columbus Crew and NYCFC. A bunch of others too. Can't stop, won't stop.
OMG. Is that my recording of the "pre-match" screen at 0:19??? I didn't design that screen, I only recorded it and posted it to RUclips, but it would be absolutely amazing to know that one of my favorite RUclipsrs used one of my videos, even if it was just a recording of something else!
Mls uses those clips before a game
@@carloslozano3503 I know. I was the first one to post it to RUclips!
@@usernamegenerico This is a stretch bro. Calm down.
@@usernamegenericono you didn't.
I was so emotional when I watched Crew fans working together to avoid the team's relocation to Austin. A lot of the league's success has to do with these emphasis on building a community relationship with fans. Also, MLS seem to provide a different experience for fans than the other tradional american leagues. People are cheering up and partying during soccer games. It's looks like a form of counter culture
Wild to see how prominently featured the Columbus Crew is in this video, and to think MLS tried to rip them away from Columbus...truly shameful
I don't think I know anything about them besides their name I absolutely LOVE it. I can't stand the boring naming convention they do it overseas everywhere. FC or United...bleh. Almost sounds corporate.
I agree with you, but I think smaller teams and markets having soccer specific stadiums and local academy’s shows the grow and proves soccer is here to stay. You have teams in the second division (usl championship) with beautiful soccer stadiums and they don’t even have the same financial upside as mls.
I think MLS keeping its feet on the ground regarding keeping itself viable has been its biggest strength, particularly regarding keeping stadium capacities comparable to the English Championship rather than Premier League. Things like designated players may seem gimmicky, but it all makes sense (At least until I ever try playing an MLS team in Football Manager haha) I like it, especially in comparison to the financial model especially in England feels like a stock market bubble just waiting to burst. Now to remember to actually watch the thing!
1:23 show my hometown soccer team stadium: Coritiba Football Club, in green and white. Glad to see it as the Brazilian exemple of great stadium atmosphere!
toyota park was built in my hometown about 35 miles southwest of chicago lol. it was a terrible idea because there was no public transportation from chicago to the suburbs. and it caused extreme amounts of traffic in my neighborhood. its now called SeatGeek stadium and hosts a few festivals a year since the Chicago Fire moved out
SMH such clear Minnesota erasure, barely any b roll of the best stadium in the league.
The moment the tipping point comes when the best youth athletes start playing soccer instead of other sports the United States will dominate. The infrastructure is already there its just waiting for the money to come to take it over.
2026 World Cup will be the catalyst. We won't see the true dividends for about 8ish years, but I'm expecting a lot of talent to prosper.
It's not just about having the best youth athletes, just look at Crotia and Uruguay who are constantly developing top talent with populations much smaller than the US. You say we have the infrastructure to actually develop youth players and I say we aren't even close. We have a huge population but we don't have enough proper academies and coaching to take advantage of it. As it stands we rely too heavily on the pay to play youth model that creates financial barriers and even then the coaching can still be sub par.
The MLS should try and do something about salary caps. Salary caps are preventing MLS teams from acquiring world class players, who are not of retirement age, and from retaining local talent. They don't have to do away with salary caps all together.
The MLS is not like the NFL or the NBA which are virtually monopolies. the MLS has competition when it comes to acquiring players mainly from European leagues.
you have to take it as a slow process, the aim of the league right now it is to keep suitaining itself financially while the interest in the local population grows, we are not in any rush at all to open the gate right now but you can definitly expect it to happen in the future onces it reaches a certain point.
We're unofficially already tweaking that system
Association football is great but in the long run the MLS will need to produce great sides that does not rely only on the faiding stars from other leagues. I applaud all the work the people in the USA has done to bring the association football to where it is today, I hope they get rewarded. all those people who coached, referred for free, those people who woke up at all hours to watch terrific matches across the globe. May your day come where the MLS can produce the quality football that you see in other parts of the world. Keep up the good work, it is so much fun to see.
I believe nearly every MLS club has their own academy. Hopefully they are run in a similar manner as the ones in Europe to help produce players with more technical ability, which is where US players are behind compared to their European and South American counterparts. Klinsmann wanted to change the whole US Soccer system from the grass roots on up, but he got too much pushback. The US has what is referred to as the 'pay to play' system where you have traveling all-star teams just competing in tournaments for trophies and they don't take the time to coach the kids on the fundamentals of the game. Instead, they put the best athletes at the most important positions and try to win on athletic talent alone. Most of these teams are from moderate to affluent areas that can afford the costs of uniforms, travel costs, tournament fees, referee fees, etc. So the lower classes of immigrants from countries where football is either the only sport or the main sport get overlooked and left behind when those kids probably have much better technical ability at the sport and would make better players. The hope is that these MLS academies find these kids and get them in their program. If USSF was serious about their sport and stopped with the nepotism and politics they would have started regional academies across the US with the goal of finding these kids and offering them an opportunity for them and their families. There could be 8-10 of these academies across the US that then funnel the best from each region into one national academy.
Found this video just a few days after Chicago Fire owner Joe Mansueto came out and spoke about building a new SSS within the city and I couldn’t be happier
Have a relegation zone. Don’t be scared .
Relegation makes clubs a worse investment, won’t happen follow the money
closed league works just as fine
Go to europe
Won’t happen unfortunately, America values profitability over sporting integrity.
The ending would honestly break my heart. I love how much football is growing here, but we cannot Americanize the sport globally. It’s not all about money. Promotion and relegation is so special and I think the United States 2nd and 3rd divisions would still be massive revenue generators with how many big cities(therefore big markets) there are. The beautiful game cannot be corrupted to be run like the nfl :(
Pro/reg is everywhere and last i check the corruption is everywhere. Just look at europe. Also at least with a closed league, I have a realistic chance to see my club win the league. Can’t say the same in a pro/reg league. I rather have competition at the top and stagnation at the bottom than the opposite.
The other thing the MLS could benefit from when it feels the time is right would be to align its schedule with the European leagues so that it isn’t playing during the summer when major international tournaments are happening. For example, Copa America is going on right now pulling away the likes of Messi and Suarez from Inter Miami who just got trounced 6-1 by Cincinnati which was a 1 vs 2 matchup. That’s insane. I understand MLS doesn’t want to or in some instances cannot (due to shared venues for a few clubs) overlap with the American football season, but hopefully one day it can align itself better so international breaks are more in-sync.
Very doubtful that happens any time in the near to moderate future. You are not only competing with the NFL, but also with the NBA, the NHL, and also college football which in some areas is bigger than the NBA and NHL (and in some states they even take their high school football very serious with 10K+ stadiums on Friday nights). Plus, the Winter weather in regions like the Northeast and the areas around the Great Lakes in the Midwest (Colorado and Utah say hello as well) aren't good conditions to play football/futbol in. In the Spring and Summer the MLS only has to compete with MLB and there's so many baseball games (81 home games for each team) to choose from that are cheaper tickets than NFL/NBA/NHL that it's not nearly as competitive. Only once in a while do you see an EPL or Bundesliga match postponed because of snow. The logistics just won't allow for it.
great stuff Maapify
I grew up in Wales, I know the feeling of a true "football ground". I now live in Portland. Providence Park is great venue. It feels like a European stadium, with bits added here and there, crowds down to the touchline, walking to the stadium because it is downtown. The outside of the old part of the stadium is ivy covered, for heaven's sake. Great venues lead to great experiences. I agree.
what is interesting is how MLS has about 20 clubs ranked in the top 50 most valuable soccer clubs in the world...according to Sportico, MLS now has 4 teams worth at least 1B dollars...and Apple TV is now telling the owners to pay their players more in order to attract the best players in the world...yes, the sport is growing tremendously here...AND, why so much hate on MLS...you guys hating so much can't be from America cause if you were, you wouldn't want an American franchise fail...maybe, it's just haters always are the most voicetress or people from other countries moving here and hating on the food that feeds you (go home)...like i stated previously, MLS has 20 of the most valued soccer clubs in the world now...that doesn't sound like failure to me...
Already in the ten wealthiest sports leagues worldwide and it just got started. MLS now has nothing in common with MLS from even 5 years ago
Building standouts is one thing but having games during the international break needs to change, also promotion and relegation works just look at what the influx of money does for a newly promoted team. Lastly in order for soccer to be truly successful here in the states there needs to be unbiased media. For example the Euros are currently on Fox and yet the local Fox affiliate does nothing to promote the game even though it’s on their channel. Lastly the pay to play for our kids needs to change, as a youth coach there are many kids that cannot afford to pay $2000 on up a season….
That last part is so important for building homegrown talent. We need a better Academy system and we need to find a way to buy back into the system the rest of the world is working together to use, now that there is the infrastructure and incentive to do so.
"also promotion and relegation works just look at what the influx of money does for a newly promoted team” Look at how pro/reg makes a few clubs dominate the top leagues in their respective countries. Or how it makes clubs financially unstable (which is what the MLS wants to avoid). Both a closed league and a Pro/reg works for sports. Each has their pros and cons. Soccer isn’t special in that it’s a one system sport. Closed league makes the most sense for here.
@@alexandervargas79 Promotion and Relegation worked fine in the old days, before money and TV took over completely. Back in the day the financial difference between being 1st, 2nd or 3rd level or even lower wasn't this gigantic and even clubs from smaller towns - or markets as the US media would say - could compete if they developed a good team.
But now the difference is in tens of millions, hundreds if you compare to clubs who play Champions League and the Top clubs scout everywhere and gobble up any kid that shows some promise.
Plus the media attention and games being shown on TV, means people who live in a small town will watch the Top league live on TV, instead of going to the games of the local club, costing the small clubs even more money.
It's gotten so bad on some levels here in Germany, that some clubs refuse Promotion, because they can't afford the higher leagues, where travel distances might be longer and security demands might be bigger.
It's better to build smaller stadiums than have them half empty. While the current stadiums are tiny by international standards (mostly betweem 20k and 30k capacity), if the league grows in popularity this might change evnetually.
It's not so bad by "international standards," though. The U.S. is one of the main countries with a huge amount of large stadiums but even if you look at soccer specific stadiums around the world, most of the smaller countries only have a few that are well over that capacity (say 35k and up). Most of the really big ones are in a handful of large countries like the U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Argentina, Brazil, Russia, Japan, South Korea, etc. In almost every case the population is more densely populated than the U.S. or it's major sport there.
@ I think basically all countries have larger soccer stadiums. Not just the bigger leagues. But also in Portugal or the Netherlands or Austria. They just have fewer.
Most 2nd league clubs in many countries also have bigger stadiums. E.g. even in Germany‘s second division there are 5 clubs with an average attendance >45k. And half the league has >30k. The stadiums go up to 60k.
I've been following soccer since 1975 when Washington had the diplomats The one thing you never mentioned was the diversity of the United States citizens how a lot of them from foreign countries that soccer is the number one sport.
MLS needs to play libertadores.
I hope one day chilean league could have stadium own by the clubs.
@Maapify You make some excellent points when comparing sustainability across the Atlantic. I grew up in the UK as a Spurs fan and still watch them and any other high profile games including the Champions League but there is a huge bubble waiting to burst and teams such as Manchester City and the two Spanish giants should certainly have an asterisk next to their many titles re ffp rules etc.
I've watched MLS grow here since 2010, it's another great example of how Americans run and market sport better than anyone. Rugby could learn a lot of lessons for example. MLS stadiums are fantastic and seemingly prioritize fan experience over revenue (for now). I can absolutely see the league catching up and overtaking some of the big leagues in Europe eventually with its current trajectory/model however, like you mentioned, this is achieved without relegation and promotion which is why I doubt MLS (or any other American League) will ever have the wonderful drama of European soccer.
As a European can I ask: does it make for a much different experience to other sports knowing that the players will represent team US in tournaments? Is that something you root for your home team players to achieve, being capped as an international? Does this affect how you watch the game?
I would say American MLS fans don't feel any different watching MLS as you probably do watching your own local league. Of course if you highly rate a player on your team you'd like for them to get their due respect and given a chance on the international stage to showcase their talents but doesn't almost everyone in a similar situation?
@@Edgar... I personally root for players of my team (even if they leave at one point and especially ofc if they came through our youth academy) my question was was meant more like how different is it to experience the NFL where such a thing doesn't really exist?
@@richteffektmany American football fans root for certain players than might not be on their favorite nfl team if they played college football at their alma mater or the college team that they are a fan of. It is common for fans of a college program to also follow superstar players from that team in the nfl and casually root for those teams as well.
I’m from Asia and football here is massive, the same anywhere else Africa South America Europe, Middle East etc. North America apart from Mexico was the only continent that was behind, finally Soccer is growing in the US. To y’all American soccer fans, keep the beautiful game growing 💙✨
As a hockey and baseball fan primarily, the league ownership model and the stability it provides as well as the financial capital to invest in venues tailored to the sport intrigues me. NHL and MLB might not have so many issues with relocation and bad ownership if they moved to that model, although the cat is likely out of the bag.
I cheer for one of the teams that is still in an oversized gridiron stadium with turf - the Vancouver Whitecaps - but having attended games in some beautiful SSS venues like Minnesota and Salt Lake City, it’s really incomparable. It’s just soooo much better and the crowd feels way more into it.
Even Montreal, whose stadium was done on the cheap and feels borderline temporary has a far better atmosphere just because of the configuration.
I’m just glad MLS let the Whitecaps in without a promise of a dedicated stadium. Ironically their temporary venue while BC Place was getting renovated was a truer soccer experience and a lot of fans talk of it fondly.
Having followed mostly English (Bristol City) and European football all my life, I've only just started watching the MLS this season, and have found it, surprisingly, very enjoyable. Good to see that a lot of the new stadia have adopted the "close to the pitch" designs, which really do help with the atmosphere, as supposed to a lot of the soulless bowls which are on trend. Obviously it's a roll of the dice, but would be interested to see if MLS can ever introduce promotion and relegation, as it adds an extra bit of jeopardy to proceedings.
The US Open cup competition should be protected at all costs - being able to have a tournament where smaller clubs can rub shoulders with the big boys is vital, and even if they don't receive an invite to the MLS, they can dream of winning a major trophy, however unlikely...
MLS will never add pro/rel, sadly. The buy in for an expansion team is over $500 million now, and no owner will ever approve of a chance of losing that.
@@valornash8463 I think it's way too early now anyway, from an outsider looking in. I'd imagine supporters would turn away if their team could no longer challenge for the top league
@@primateboogaloo USL clubs are showing support is still there regardless, I think. Sacramento drew 22k to a match last season, and we're forever stuck in d2.
@@valornash8463 That's fantastic! Proper support
Can't see pro/rel every happening in MLS. Even in Europe the top/rich clubs and even most of the mid table clubs are always safe. Anything can happen of course, but the poorer smaller clubs at the bottom of the table are the ones really affected.
Man I remember watching MLS games and seeing pro teams play on american football stadiums. I remember watching DC United play at RFK and thinking, this is the ugliest stadium ever.
Respectfully the only way to see the league grow is to raise the salary cap and allow maybe one or 2 more designated player slots which would allow squads to be better because of quality wise i would rank almost every American team as a bottom 1/2 championship team or top 1/2 league 1 side and i think the best the league could get is similar to the championship or french league if you take out every player worth over 30 million, However one thing the MLS has done very well is the youth pathways and I see it becoming more of a development league where European teams will consistently send players on loan 10 years from now but will also allow the US born players grow and get better quality players for the national team.
I watched Miami play STL a few days ago and it was a tie 3-3 with incredible goals. It was down to the wire and the level of play was really good. Contrast that with me watching highlights of the Champions league final between Real and Borussia Dortmund and it was quite boring and the level of honestly didn’t seem as good during that particular game. Sounds ridiculous but MLS is getting a lot better and quickly.
Dat maybe true, until America plays the system of the whole world . I meant promotion and demotion. U guys will never be on the same level.
Dat maybe true, until America plays the system of the whole world . I meant promotion and demotion. U guys will never be on the same level.
because the finale wasn't good either. Real Madrid doesn't always play well.
I used to go to MLS games in KC when they played at Arrowhead but moved to Michigan before they moved to the Kansas side and built their current stadium. I enjoyed watching the games at Arrowhead but always felt the stands were too flat and you were too far from the action if that makes sense. I am thinking about going to the World Cup games there in 2026. It should be a great atmosphere. And at some point I will get back to see a game at Children's Mercy Park.
I think that the soccer in the US needs alot of emprobements but i thinthat the us soccer teams need to play more ofton with like from southamerican teens and also teems from europa. I dont now how to start this,what i think is that the us teems have to play in more tournaments.Then you can select players for better tournaments like the world moust wanted soocer cup.
All I know is the new stadium that's going to be home to NYCFC is going to be packed. Around that area is mostly Hispanic (mostly Mexican) and they'll be delighted to finally have a professional Fútbol stadium at either a walking distance or a train ride away.
The problem with the newer stadiums is that they really have no character in them. Sure it’s high quality but it’s also so corporate looking. The fan sections have the same exact standing room design and it doesn’t having anything that showcases it’s team other then it’s colors.
Specific Soccer Stadiums are oh so slightly larger in seating capacity than Sports Arenas but are the physical size of ball parks
We need NWSL, MLS, MLR, and UFL teams at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland!!!!
The first 3 of those… build a small facility in a smaller league and expand when you prove attendance.
For the UFL, don’t blink before it croaks.
MLS I believe will be a top league in the next 10 years. We need to keep getting better with rules and making the league so fun to watch. I can't wait to see how much bigger this beautiful league can get.
I'd be very surprised if MLS wasn't a top league in the world by 2040. At that point a lot of the additional talent and growth that will be the result of the 2026 World Cup will be fully realized.
For the sport to grow in the US/CAN, it needs to have a larger pyramid system that is interconnected with the top-tier MLS. USL, CPL and other leagues need to be interconnected, meaning some form of promotion-relegation is necessary. Also, the best players should be turning professional at 18, rather than going to play NCAA. 18-22 are critical years for the best talent to emerge and thrive, and college soccer should be secondary option in the sport for domestic talents.
Pro/rel wouldn't work in america, it's not a popular enough sport for any small teams to have legit fanbases.
From the european perspective I understood from last months news that playing in NCAA (1st division) will soon be synonymous with playing professionally. idk maybe this is not (so) relevant for soccer compared with football or basketball.
@@gregorkalinkat7657It very likely isn’t short term, CFB and MBB bring in obscene amounts of money, soccer, not so much. Some smaller college sports are seeing growth (especially with Softball, Baseball and Women’s basketball having major revenue and viewership growth over the past few years). If the MLS continues to grow and gets to the point where they can have larger starting salaries than European teams, alongside a player who is able to break out in college along the lines of Caitlin Clark and women’s basketball the past season or 2, it could happen. It would also help for there to be a generation of upcoming players that grew up with having an MLS team as “their team” coming into the collegiate level.
That would increase financial instability, which is its primary asset.
@@psvmjohnIt'll function really well later on. Even in 10 years maybe.
It will continue to grow.
I only request for more affordable ticket prices.
Great work on this video!
Great video! Go STL CITY!!
I really hope that Football(Soccer) in the MLS, Saudia and South America grows even more, Europeans are just full of themselves
Stan Cronkey is building a stadium in San Diego California. He’s tearing down the old sports Arena.
I live for your videos! Can’t wait for the next one🫶
Cincinnati Fc has an amazing fan base and an energetic crowd at the stadium.
2026 world cup is going to catapult soccer in the us and canada to another level
My city wants to get a MLS team and build a new soccer specific stadium
These days I'm hugely into baseball, MLB and MiLB. Living In Jacksonville, hopefully Ill be able to attend some minor league Jacksonville soccer and MLS Orlando City
BMO is multi-use at its core. Argos and TFC call it home. (Albeit when built it was for TFC as there was no way skydome could do TFC/Argos and Jays. Argos eventually moved to BMO when it was expanded.
Also BC Place was designed for soccer/football.
BMO Field will look real good on the World Cup stage. Hopefully it is not ignored by broadcasters due to it being Toronto.
It’s not the quality of play, or the coaching, or the mindset, or the budget, or the youth programs, or the increased national popularity…it’s the stadiums
A video by an American, about soccer stadiums in America, that doesn’t mention the Charleston Battery being the first soccer specific stadium in America.
From what you say in the video, soccer in the USA is just a business model. I speak to you from the Kingdom of Spain. The leagues here in Europe are real for several reasons.
The first is that every small town in Europe has a soccer field with its own team, which plays in some type of league in the hope of moving up to the next category.
The second is that each town supports its Team as the best in the world, because it is from its town, region or city.
The third is that if you are one of the last in your category, you don't just lose. You demote to face teams of your level.
The business model with astronomical monetary signings bleeds many clubs, it is another of the graces of the game.
Everything matters here, but the most important thing is that there are clubs with very tight budgets that compete in the First Division against the biggest in La Liga and sometimes win.
That of a neighborhood team beating an entire Real Madrid or Barcelona is priceless.
I guess with the MLS format you have you will never know what it feels like to see something like that. Nor the emotion of seeing that your team is at the bottom of the table at the end of the season, because nothing is played.
And if your football club is relegated... Fight for promotion with whatever you have and can get with less money than the last time you played.
When the MLS has more teams... Will they create another league like the NFL? Will the most backward teams play worse to be the first to choose players?
Passion is what soccer awakens in this side of the world. It's for something, it's not for nothing.
Gracias por el video.
Le he dado al like.
foreign player are PR investment and, sparring partner... their presence, if they come to play instead of a early retirement, help the home grown players to improve. Once the USA (north America) has enough of a base, more teens will seek to be football (soccer) players and that mean, more opportunities to discover talents... then is a virtuous circle...
Soccer can be just as big as the NFL in the US with time. Especially as I think American sports are either stagnant or losing their popularity with Americans. If it was a stock I would definitely invest.
Too much flopping
@MikeHunt-fx9rg and American Football has too much refball, rules, and rigged scripting. It's too easy of a sport to rig. It's not evolving well especially with the new emphasis on player safety.
@@MikeHunt-fx9rgToo many commercials and astronaut suits. Can't make a damŋ connection with the players.
@@natoslayer2907 it will never be as big as nfl and with others american football leagues popping up,i don't even see its stay in bussiness
San Jose (you name the corporate naming right) stadium for the Earthquakes is the model of medium size and soccer specific. They have been a disaster on-field results and attendance since John Fisher (the notorious owner of the Oakland/Sacramento/Las Vegas A's) bought the team. As always, multi-causation for policy/business success or policy/business disaster.
I knew MLS had "arrived" when my grandma got excited about attending a Galaxy game.
Well said Sir, hadn't related stadiums to teams profitability. And i'll be glad when the European stars stop being borrowed, lessens our stars! But advertising is always needed!
I’m very excited about going to my first ATL united game in person I had planned on going on my birthday but I have to wait for next year what get me going to the game is seeing Messi or the kitties aka Orlando city sc derby days
Nice!
Ayo where do you get your stock footage from? I saw myself front and center of the Atlanta United in Bobby Dodd clip 😂 It was like a jump scare
Awesome video!
What about mentioning Charlotte FC? We have the second best attendance this year and have been in the top 3 past two seasons.
You forgot to mention Messi's tremendous impulse to soccer's popularity in the USA...There's a Before and an After Leo Messi playing in the MLS. !
Can these stadiums be expanded for future World cups on grass?
Not even a minute in and I see the Orignial Black and Gold Tifo. Feelsgoodman
I see the next 4 possible Canadian team markets being Edmonton, Calgary, Regina or Halifax with sports crazy Regina being the greatest fan base draw
This is really educational (for me a European now settled in the US but wondering why I still gravitate to European soccer).
What city are you in? What country are you from?
@@QuantumNoir very complex answer but the basic part is British, living in San Jose, CA.
I think what MLS needs to fully develop is to have better international competition. Big part of european football are the continental competitions, so much so that that they added a third thier. There have been talks of including Mexico and USA in Copa Libertadores, which would give the american teams a way of showcasing against serious opposition.
The problem with that its that people do not care enough for soccer to jump those waters, the closest we have its mexico and canada but it is not the priority right now, people to care locally it is more important at the moment, slow growth but steady.
I believe this year’s CONCACAF Champions Cup final was the most watched in its history. One thing they need to change is the final has to be a neutral venue though.
It would be too far, just imagine, travelling from Seattle to Buenos Aires...
The other option is to keep adding more teams, and do something like what the Brazilians did for their Regional Tournaments.
The USA is a very big country in terms of size.
I wouldn't be surprised at some point if they have 40 teams.
20 in each conference, with the playoffs being the only time the teams from the other conference face each other.
Its probably what they will do.
They also need to integrate the Canadian Premier League into the System. That way Canada can have their own MLS.
Eventually potentially evolving into a 60 team leagues with 4 Conferences (East, Midwest, West and Canada)
Actually 3 teams from canada plays in the mls but you are right about us having more teams in the mls in the future, we are more likely to end up with 50 teams in the future and one per state.
The regional tournaments in Brazil have nothing to do with the national league. The regioal tournaments are like just a pre-season cup.