MLS Expansion: Atlanta Back In The Mix

During a teleconference this afternoon Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber dropped some expansion news. First all he said Montreal would likely get their bid for 2010 very soon but we already knew that was coming. The bigger news may have been the city he mentioned for where the league could possibly go for the 20th club.

Atlanta.

Yes the Dirty South could be joining the league if the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons’ owner Arthur Blank has anything to say about it. Garber said the sides have talked and the ball is essentially in Blanks court right now.

“You can’t be a national league unless you have teams in the South,” Garber said.

Atlanta is an interesting choice for an expansion site for this league. I honestly believe if the league returns to the South they need more than one team there to be a success. Atlanta isn’t my first choice but if the money is there from Blank and a good stadium is in place I see no reason not to go there. Sure the market isn’t great for sports but I do see it being a better than average soccer market in the long run.

The thing is right now with Blank he is trying to sort out a possible new stadium for the Falcons, which could take a while. I’d imagine if Blank doesn’t start to become serious about a MLS club within the next year the league will back off its stance with the city and with Blank. Garber and the league is patient about finding the right markets but they also want to get to 20 clubs pretty soon too.

If Blank can sort out his stadium situation with the Falcons and figure out where to put a MLS club it could work out in Atlanta.

I know folks in Florida are rolling their eyes at the thought of Atlanta being a possible MLS destination for the South right now. But if Blank is the only one down there willing to pony up the cash (and he has a good bit of it) there really is no reason to be mad at Atlanta. No one else is currently putting up the cash in Florida or anywhere else in the South for that matter.

For me it comes down to money and stadiums. If a potential city is backed by someone who is willing to spend and also has the means of a soccer-only stadium right away then I’m all for it…even if I think the market isn’t good for soccer (it could always grow on me).