The Supporters Bus Expansion Guide

With Philadelphia looking to come into MLS in 2010 (announcement coming Thursday), it appears that one of the main selling points was a ready-made fan base who had already travelled to hate on DC and New York, each only a two-hour drive away.

With that in mind, I'm throwing the money out the window, and picking the cities that would make the best expansion candidates solely based on the ease of fostering rivalries with traveling supporters. The precondition being that each city had to have at least two other clubs within an 9 hour drive of each other. I also imposed a restriction of at least having heard a rumor about expansion, or suggesting that the city would make a good MLS city. I added team names for authenticity, capped myself at a 24 team league, and did not count expansion cities as rivals within driving distance, although if all accepted, many of them would join the ranks. It's a very exciting time to be an MLS fan.

Detroit Rovers

This one may not be too far off. I've heard rumblings of something being put together, possibly renting out the Silverdome before a new stadium is built. Detroit coudl tap into a large suburban population as well as an ethnic population from the Middle East and Canada.

Nearest Rivals
Chicago Fire: 4.5 hours
Toronto FC: 4 hours
Columbus: 3.5 hours

Las Vegas Aces (Or Hearts! I slay me.)
Again, far off rumblings of a casino/stadium, but nothing really concrete yet. Could be difficult considering most people don't come to Vegas for the soccer, and it's not really a major media market, but it's smack in the middle of the Western Conference rivalry train, and who could resist a weekend in Vegas with a soccer game to boot?


Nearest Rivals:
Los Angeles: 4 hours
Chivas USA: 4 hours
San Jose: 8 hours
Salt Lake: 6 hours

New York City FC
Tossing around another expansion idea that has surfaced at least in the league's long-term plans, New York City does not have a team. If their stadium gets built in Queens it will be the first Major professional sports team in New York City in decades. It also sets up an obvious derby with Red Bull New York.


Nearest Rivals
Red Bull New York: 45 minutes
Philadelphia: 2.5 hours
New England: 3.5 hours
Toronto FC: 8.5 hours

Olympic Montreal CF (Olympique?)
Playing in a brand new stadium in the shadow of Olympic Stadium, Montreal seems a natural fit for a Canadian derby with Toronto FC, as well as other rivals throughout the Northeast. The political tension between Toronto (Canada's national team) and Montreal (Quebecois separatist team) could explode on the same level as Celtic-Rangers, Barcelona-Madrid, and other derbies where the game means much more than soccer.


Nearest Rivals
Toronto FC: 5.5 hours
New England: 6 hours
Red Bull New York:6 hours

St. Louis United (Stupid Archies)
Jeff Cooper's group appears to be next in line, but may have to ward of newcomers New York City, Montreal, and Miami to get it.


Nearest Rivals
Chicago Fire: 4.5 hours
Columbus: 6.5 hours
Kansas City: 4 hours

Tennessee Blues
With no major league sports in the summertime, Nashville would set the tone for MLS's Southern expansion without leaving a team geographically isolated, as a team in Atlanta or Miami would do. Blue and Orange as colors to appease the UT and Memphis fans.


Nearest Rivals
Columbus: 6 hours
Chicago: 7.5 hours

Oklahoma Wranglers
Yea, I ripped it off from the AFL team, but it's a solid name. Put the team in Oklahoma City, where there is no major sport in town outside of Oklahoma Football and the eventual Oklahoma SuperSonics.


Nearest Rivals
Kansas City: 5.5 hours
Dallas: 3 hours
Houston: 7 hours
Colorado: 9 hours if you speed

Milwaukee Barons
So Peter Wilt's stadium plan died. Milwaukee may still be able to support an MLS team if only to give them a reason to hate on Chicago. The Hiawatha would be a football special twice a year, and the Cheese curtain would be a formidable barrier for soccer fans.


Nearest Rivals
Chicago: 2 hours
Kansas City: 9 hours
Columbus: 7.5 hours
Toronto: 6 hours from Muskegon, MI, plus ferry across Lake Michigan.

By this point, MLS would be a 24 team league, enabling each team to play a home-away balanced schedule for a 46 game season. So a cut-off would probably be introduced at 22 teams, or some sort of promotion/relegation system set up for future expansion. If MLS decided to keep it at 24, and go with conferences anyway (conference foes twice, other conference once with alternating home advantage?)

WEST
Seattle, San Jose, Los Angeles, Chivas USA, Las Vegas, Salt Lake, Colorado, Houston, Dallas, Oklahoma, Kansas City, St. Louis
EAST
Chicago, Milwaukee, Columbus, Detroit, Tennessee, Toronto, New York Red Bulls, New York City, Montreal, Philadelphia, DC United, New England

Last Four Out
Baltimore
Cleveland
Vancouver
San Diego