Garber Talks Cosmos and Other Expansion Groups

So are the New York Cosmos not a lock anymore to become the 20th Major League Soccer team? Eh, sorta.

MLS commissioner Don Garber said on Tuesday that the league is still talking with the Cosmos and other ownership groups as well for a 20th team in New York. Garber said adding a second team in New York remained a priority but he played down the much-hyped Cosmos.

“We’re still very focused on New York as our 20th team,” Garber said during a conference call for the MLS all-star game. “We’re in disucssions with the Cosmos, but also with other ownership groups.”

“While I have lots of respect and admiration for the guys who have relaunched that great brand and have done a good job from the marketing perspective and certainly have made a lot of noise, we’ve got to continue to ensure any group we speak to seriously about MLS expansion needs to have the financial capabilities, the long-term vision, the capability of getting a stadium built and developed and share the vision with the rest of the MLS owners,” Garber said.

“We’ll continue those discussions both with them and with others. We’re very focused on it. We’re spending a lot of our time on the 20th team.”

The league continues to say New York is a priority for the league’s 20th club. I kind of view these comments from yesterday as the league trying to cover their butts a bit with the possibilities of adding the Cosmos. The league hasn’t seen the likes of a group like the ones leading the charge with the Cosmos right now. I’d be willing to say that no other group that owns a team in MLS is as dynamic as the Cosmos right now.

I still think however at the end of the day in 2013 or 2014 we’ll see the Cosmos as a MLS club. Their biggest issue is still a stadium and the two sides know that. But the league is being careful enough in a good way here with this I think to make sure this is the right step for each side.

What this mean for other expansion groups outside of New York? Not a lot really. I know Miami, Atlanta, Detroit, and a few others are hopefuls still but until each city has a proper ownership group with loads of cash actually step up to the plate for a MLS club the priority for the league will remain in New York.