1200 WOAI News Report Kills MLS Deal
LAST UPDATE: 6/9/2005 3:37:07 PM
Posted By: Jim Forsyth
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Just hours after Mayor-Elect Phil Hardberger told 1200 WOAI news that he would work to scuttle the city's plans to attract a Major League Soccer franchise, Major League soccer angrily pulled out of talks with the city of San Antonio.

"MLS and its owners will no longer consider San Antonio as a candidate for an MLS team in 2006," MLS Commissioner Don Garber told 1200 WOAI news in a statement.

Hardberger told 1200 WOAI that it is time to 'put soccer aside for the time being, and that time being might be several years.'

Outgoing Mayor Ed Garza has long been a soccer player and a soccer fan, but the mayor's multi million dollar proposal to bring professional soccer to the Alamodome, which surfaced in the last three months of his administration, raised a lot of eyebrows.

Garber said the deal had started to unravel even before Hardberger's comments. He said the proposal submitted by the city last week 'contained many new terms that are in direct contradiction to the Memorandum of Understanding that was approved by the city council on April 14.'

"These are terms under which it would be impossible for any sports team to succeed in the city," Garber said.

Hardberger said he 'likes soccer and is a soccer fan,' but he said he can see no scenario under which Major League Soccer would benefit San Antonio. It was just hours after Hardberger's comments on 1200 WOAI that Garber decided to end talks with the city.

MLS said it will instead focus on Toronto, Houston, Seattle, St. Louis, Rochester, Cleveland Detroit, Milwaukee and Philadelphia as potential expansion cities.

"While MLS will not rule out future opportunities that may emerge in San Antonio, the league will focus on this list of expansion cities moving forward," Garber said.

Ooo...the trial lawyer who sued Dr's is now upset about other people's money.

Fine by me. A team in San Antonio means a team in Houston would be a looooong ways away....and there are already enough obstacles in bringing a team to Houston.

I'm sorry to hear that about the S.A. deal. i was looking forward to having another team in Texas...someone that could be a rival to Dallas. i really just want another team to help increase soccer support even more...and maybe one day seeing it develop into more men's D1 programs, but that's just wishful thinking.

I'm hearing rumors about San Jose's team being moved...so maybe something can come of that with Houston. we'll see...

This only benefits Houston.

The last I heard there was talk of an HISD sports complex being built around 610 and 290. Has anything knew happened on this?

SA would be a natural place for an MLS team. Mexicans like soccer, and a crapload of Mexicans reside in SA and the Valley. Also, I bet some of the limp-wrists from Austin would show up to the games.

New mayor is stupid, but I think Houston deserves a team more than SA anyway, so I can't say I'm unhappy.

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Mexicans like soccer, and a crapload of Mexicans reside in SA and the Valley. Also, I bet some of the limp-wrists from Austin would show up to the games.

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True. But Mexicans also have no money to buy regular tickets, much less season tickets, so it would be up to the gringos to support the MLS in SA. Besides, SA was giving them way to much.

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But Mexicans also have no money to buy regular tickets, much less season tickets

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That's not true. MLS tickets are cheap, especially if you're relying on Mexicans for your fan base. Mexicans made up 85% of the full stadiums the last time the US and Mexico played in Houston and Dallas, and those tickets ranged from $50-150 each for a single match. By comparison, FC Dallas season tickets for 2005 start at $120.

[This message has been edited by compartido (edited 6/10/2005 2:11p).]

Funny how "Mexicans" were able to consistently put 30K-plus in the Alamodome for Spurs games.

Racists suck.

Season tickets in SA were starting at $240.

https://www.mls-sanantonio.com/tickets.php

Then the people in charge of MLS San Antonio are retarded.

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Mexicans made up 85% of the full stadiums the last time the US and Mexico played in Houston and Dallas, and those tickets ranged from $50-150 each for a single match

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Something tells me that the product on the field had something to do with that...i.e. any soccer fan, regardless of ethnicity would be a lot more willing to shell out a $100 a ticket to watch the US play Mexico twice as opposed to paying $240 to watch all of the San Antonio Defenders games(or whatever name you want to give to the team that never came).

As a resident of SA, I know that the big attraction for MLS was our cities large hispanic population, because lets face it, culturally, Anglo Americans care far less about soccer than Mexican Americans. We need a pro football team in SA, not a pro futbol team, but Dallas and Houston will never let it happen. SA loves football and we have nothing. Although for laughs, UTSA wants to add to football to bring "big time college football" to SA....since when is the mighty Southland Conference "big time college football"?

i think there is alot more than just houston and dallas keeping a football team out of SA...

I wish we had more D1 mens' programs in Texas, but Title IX will never let that happen.

Thats the only thing stopping D1 programs popping up in texas..certainly not a lack of talent in texas.

As an ardent advocate of the worthlessness of MLS and a former resident of San Antonio, I have to say that this news makes me very happy. Now, if we could only get that WNBA team to fold...

Those that think the MLS is worthless, you should actually check out the league to see that because of high interest most cities are building the MLS teams their own stadiums. Denver is currently building their's.

Columbus, LA, Dallas, and as I just learned from your post, Denver...does that really make up "most" of the cities? Aren't there 12 teams in MLS?

CD Chivas USA also plays at the Home Depot Center

San Jose reconfigured the football stadium specifically for soccer. Seats 26,000 normally and they have squeezed in 31,000

Chicago is in negotiations for a new stadium, soldier field is not a soccer stadium

MetroStars are planning on getting a new stadium if the Olympic Plan continues to go through. NY Jets stadium deal is first and with the way that is being held up, they may end up playing there.

So that leaves
Columbus
Dallas
LA
CD Chivas USA
Denver
San Jose (I count the reconfiguration of the stadium)
and Possibly Chicago or NY/NJ

Chicago is more than planning, they are already building a new stadium. As of right now 3 teams play in a soccer specific stadium built for that team:

LA Galaxy
CD Chivas
Columbus

And two are building as we speak:

FC Dallas (opening this year)
Chicago (opening next year)

As far as I know Denver is still in the developmental stages of planning and the Metrostars' stadium in Harrison has been off and on for years it seems. Bottom line is half of the teams play or will play in soccer specific stadiums by next year and with the MLS essentially telling teams to either build an appropriate stadium or we'll find someone who will (see San Jose) that number will only increase in the coming years.

Denver has picked the site and may have broken ground. It will be in Commerce City, just Northeast of Downtown.

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Mexicans made up 85% of the full stadiums the last time the US and Mexico played in Houston and Dallas

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Wrong.

MLS would have done very well in SA, but the deal sucked for the city. I don't blame the MLS for trying but free rent, free practice facility, all concesions to the MLS, all ticket sales to the MLS and the city has to guarantee 5000 tickets, is a crappy deal for the city.

As for Football in SA no way would a team survive here. There is not enough corporate dollars to support a Football team. Look how much Aggies ***** about season ticket prices. Most of you are college educated mgmt employees. For pro sports team to exist it has to have major corporate sponsorship and San Antonio has less than a handful of corporations which would give to Pro Football.

So true.
What gets me is that the most die hard Spurs fans are not the rich yuppies for El Norte side, but working class hispanics. You don't see yuppies dropping big bucks at games for jerseys, flags, hats, and shirts.