Major League Soccer returned from the lockout on July 8 for their “MLS is Back Tournament” at Disney World in Florida, and has beaten a handful of games in the group stage and managed to zero new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday.
But playing on empty arenas with no fans is a losing scenario for the league financially, and on Friday MLS announced that “in light of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic” it will delay the debuts of three expansion teams planned for a year. each: Charlotte, slated for 2021, will debut in 2022, and Sacramento and St. Louis, both slated for 2022, will debut in 2023.
The new club in Austin, Texas will debut in 2021 as planned.
The franchise in Charlotte plans to reveal its official name and brand image next week. The team’s owner is David Tepper, owner of the Carolina Panthers and founder of the Appaloosa Management hedge fund. In a statement released by MLS, Tepper said: “The party is still going on. We are just delaying it a bit to ensure we have the best experience for our fans when we start playing. ”
Speaking to Yahoo Finance in May, MLS commissioner Don Garber was honest about the revenue bump the league would receive by returning to empty arenas with no fans. “It is not ideal for any sport at all [play in front of] non-fans, I don’t care if it’s college sports, Olympic sports, or big league sports, “Garber said.” Unfortunately for our league, the vast majority of our income comes from game day income, so you have a different economic impact on us. “
Last month, in a media conference call, Garber became more specific, sharing that MLS expects $ 1 billion in revenue this year due to the pandemic.
As for whether the pandemic would force the league to change its expansion plans, Garber made no commitment in May and told Yahoo Finance: “That is something we are working on now. There is no doubt that we are contemplating: will there be any effect of the Covid crisis on expansion? Right now it’s not really affecting that, but it’s something we’ll have to think about. “
Clearly, the pandemic has affected finances enough that the league needs to slow down.
NASHVILLE, TN – FEBRUARY 29: Nashville SC fans cheer before the game against Atlanta United at Nissan Stadium on February 29, 2020 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Brett Carlsen / Getty Images)
MLS has expanded at a breakneck pace in the past decade.
This year, new teams debuted in Miami and Nashville, though each played only two games before MLS, along with all other major sports leagues, suspended play in March. “It’s a hole in the heart of every fan and every club when you can’t play, particularly in Miami and Nashville, where we had our two new teams,” Garber said in May. “They got two games and, in the case of Miami, not even one game at home. In Nashville’s case, their home game was incredible: the sold-out Nissan Stadium with tens of thousands of people and all kinds of excitement. “
The league will have doubled in size in 20 years, going from 10 franchises in 2003 to 30 in 2023 when Sacramento and St. Louis, clubs 29 and 30, debut. New franchise owners now pay a $ 200 million expansion fee to join.
Garber has sometimes come under fire for the pace of that expansion, but the growth has brought the league new fans, a $ 700 million Jersey sponsorship from Adidas, and an investment stake in the licensed sportswear unicorn company. Fanatics. In 2017, Yahoo Finance named MLS our Sports Business of the Year for its business achievements.
2020, which is the 25th season of the MLS, will not be as kind to the league and its franchise owners.
–
Here is the current plan of each sports league to return from the coronavirus blockade
College football plans to return, but one big financial question remains: fans in the stands
MLS Commissioner: Playing in empty stadiums would be particularly bad for us
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman: The Money Back Plan ‘Isn’t What Is Driving
Coronavirus could have a lasting impact on live sports ticket sales
