Will Detroit Ever Get A MLS Team?

[Brandnu]

Hello All,

I am a long time reader and first time poster. Please forgive me if this has been covered in a previous thread, but what do you all think is the likelihood Detroit will ever get a MLS Team? Noting that Ross and Gilbert parted ways on the Detroit Center for Innovation for the University of Michigan at the failed jail site, might Gilbert consider another bid? Thank you all for your input!

[Danny]

Absolutely not, Soccer or [[Football) is not in city's interest right now.

[313WX]

Hello All,

I am a long time reader and first time poster. Please forgive me if this has been covered in a previous thread, but what do you all think is the likelihood Detroit will ever get a MLS Team? Noting that Ross and Gilbert parted ways on the Detroit Center for Innovation for the University of Michigan at the failed jail site, might Gilbert consider another bid? Thank you all for your input!

Ever? Very likely.

When? Who knows.

[louis]

The big three requirements for getting a new MLS franchise is to have:

1. An ownership group worth at least 1 billion dollars
2. A large and proven market
3. A downtown Soccer Specific Stadium

The bid put in by Gilbert and Gores basically had all three when they put in their fake bid to get Wayne County to sell them the Fail-Jail site. The second they got the land, they brought the Fords into the mix and said the new club could play at Ford Field. The head of the MLS, Dan Garber, was reportedly very disappointed by the move as he has seen Detroit as a prime location for a new club.

[Satiricalivory]

If the public has to provide so much as a penny for a soccer stadium then I never want it. These franchises can pay for their own shit.

Detroit city FC is so far pretty great as it is.

[JonWylie]

The big three requirements for getting a new MLS franchise is to have:

1. An ownership group worth at least 1 billion dollars
2. A large and proven market
3. A downtown Soccer Specific Stadium

The bid put in by Gilbert and Gores basically had all three when they put in their fake bid to get Wayne County to sell them the Fail-Jail site. The second they got the land, they brought the Fords into the mix and said the new club could play at Ford Field. The head of the MLS, Dan Garber, was reportedly very disappointed by the move as he has seen Detroit as a prime location for a new club.

If he wants Detroit so bad then he can come here without fleecing us for a free stadium. Some of the most successful [[fan and following wise) MLS teams play in football stadiums, there's no reason a Detroit team shouldn't be allowed to at least start in Ford Field. They can always move on to a new stadium after a few years if it proves to be a successful venture.

[Kathleen]

We don't need an MLS team. We've got the champion Detroit City FC club!!

Getting bigger and better every year!! And what a community champion they are!!

[Atticus]

The big three requirements for getting a new MLS franchise is to have:

1. An ownership group worth at least 1 billion dollars
2. A large and proven market
3. A downtown Soccer Specific Stadium

The bid put in by Gilbert and Gores basically had all three when they put in their fake bid to get Wayne County to sell them the Fail-Jail site. The second they got the land, they brought the Fords into the mix and said the new club could play at Ford Field. The head of the MLS, Dan Garber, was reportedly very disappointed by the move as he has seen Detroit as a prime location for a new club.

Slight correction:

The big three requirements for getting a new MLS franchise is to have:

1. An ownership group worth at least 1 billion dollars
2. A large and proven market
3. A downtown Soccer Specific Stadium*

*If you are not deemed a sexy market.


Basically, once Don Garber and MLS told Detroit that similar sized markets in Seattle and Atlanta could play by different rules than Detroit could, I was glad to see Gilbert and crew walk away. We don’t need to spend any money building a soccer stadium for a league that treats the Detroit market as a second class citizen. Forget them.

[313WX]

...Some of the most successful [[fan and following wise) MLS teams play in football stadiums...

What you fail to mention is that those "football stadiums" were also built with the specs for MLS games in mind, such as Mercedes-Benz stadium in Atlanta.

Ford Field was not.

[313WX]

Basically, once Don Garber and MLS told Detroit that similar sized markets in Seattle and Atlanta could play by different rules than Detroit could...

You're way off base. See post #9 above.

[JonWylie]

What you fail to mention is that those "football stadiums" were also built with the specs for MLS games in mind, such as Mercedes-Benz stadium in Atlanta.

Ford Field was not.

You also have Nissan Stadium, Gillette, Soldier Field, and Yankee Stadium that all get used as MLS stadiums. Nashville gets to use Nissan for the first couple years before a stadium is built, it seems like that could work here. Vancouver is indoor and turf as well.

[Atticus]

You're way off base. See post #9 above.

As part of Gilbert’s Ford Field proposal, it included renovations to Ford Field to bring it up to MLS specifications. The plan was done by Rosetti and with the updates Ford Field would have been just as good a stadium fit soccer as Atlanta.

I get it that soccer specific and outdoors would have been better for an MLS experience. But if sharing an NFL stadium worked for ATL, it could work here.

Further, from a business standpoint, Gilbert was smart not buying in with the expansion franchise fees being what they are. Financially speaking, MLS is somewhat relying on a pyramid scheme with ever increasing expansion fees keeping the league financially viable. I.e. Add a new team and use that expansion fee to help cover the existing owners’ losses. Well, at some point the expansion money train model will collapse in on itself when the league decides it is too big to expand more. Add in Covid, and there will likely be some franchises diving deep into the red when expansion ends. Gilbert [[or someone else) can then buy an existing team and relocate it here much cheaper, if they still want to.

[ABetterDetroit]

Ford Field would maximize revenues for MLS. Foolish of the league to require ‘soccer specific’ when they are looking to grow their base. Getting the maximum number of fans possible at the games ASAP is how to get a TV contract that pays what they are hoping for down the road.

[401don]

I don't follow a sport where they don't have enough sense to just pick up the damn ball and run with it.

[JonWylie]

Further, from a business standpoint, Gilbert was smart not buying in with the expansion franchise fees being what they are. Financially speaking, MLS is somewhat relying on a pyramid scheme with ever increasing expansion fees keeping the league financially viable. I.e. Add a new team and use that expansion fee to help cover the existing owners’ losses. Well, at some point the expansion money train model will collapse in on itself when the league decides it is too big to expand more. Add in Covid, and there will likely be some franchises diving deep into the red when expansion ends. Gilbert [[or someone else) can then buy an existing team and relocate it here much cheaper, if they still want to.

That's actually a very good point. Maybe we'll see a team relocate.

[Jimaz]

I don't follow a sport where they don't have enough sense to just pick up the damn ball and run with it.

There is no truth to the rumor that truncated icosahedrons have cooties.

[313WX]

As part of Gilbert’s Ford Field proposal, it included renovations to Ford Field to bring it up to MLS specifications.

If I remember correctly [[and please correct me if I'm wrong), Gilbert's "renovations" was nothing more than putting up a huge curtain in the middle of the stadium to block off sections of seating.

Conversely, Atlanta's stadium was built with a roof that can open, its turf gets replaced every 2 years [[which isn't cheap, BTW) and has retractable lower-bowl seats.

[313WX]

You also have Nissan Stadium, Gillette, Soldier Field, and Yankee Stadium that all get used as MLS stadiums. Nashville gets to use Nissan for the first couple years before a stadium is built, it seems like that could work here. Vancouver is indoor and turf as well.

You already covered Nashville, but in the case of those other cities, they all have either no roof or [[with Vancouver) a retractable roof.

BTW, had Dan Gilbert actually committed to building a stadium like Nashvlle did, I agree it could work. But that's not what he committed to do.

[Satiricalivory]

If he wants Detroit so bad then he can come here without fleecing us for a free stadium. Some of the most successful [[fan and following wise) MLS teams play in football stadiums, there's no reason a Detroit team shouldn't be allowed to at least start in Ford Field. They can always move on to a new stadium after a few years if it proves to be a successful venture.

Amen.

[Atticus]

If I remember correctly [[and please correct me if I'm wrong), Gilbert's "renovations" was nothing more than putting up a huge curtain in the middle of the stadium to block off sections of seating.

Conversely, Atlanta's stadium was built with a roof that can open, its turf gets replaced every 2 years [[which isn't cheap, BTW) and has retractable lower-bowl seats.

There was a bit more to it then just a curtain, though yes an upper deck curtain was included should crowds not materialize enough. There were also other improvements include to add locker rooms and other field level improvements. The big sticking point is that soccer purists hate turf, and want a grass pitch, which Ford Field can’t provide.

That being said, Atlanta’s roof opening is not big enough to allow grass to grow there either, so they have turf. And so does Seattle, Vancouver, and several other clubs. So while not desirable, turf would be allowed elsewhere but again not in Detroit.

I admit an outdoor soccer stadium would be nicer, but someone has to pay for it. And again, Seattle, Atlanta, etc. we’re allowed to reap the cost savings of sharing their venue with the NFL… but Detroit was not. So in a way, I am glad Gilbert didn’t spend his money to placate a double standard. I’m actually glad he decided to spend that money on building the Hudson block and/or other projects instead .

[Hamtragedy]

What's MLS?

[Jimaz]

What's MLS?

Major League Soccer

[EGrant]

I think Detroit will eventually get a team; the market is too lucrative, and billionaires love owning sports teams. At some point someone will step up, and hopefully it doesn't cost the taxpayers [[wishful thinking, I know).

I do wish we had a system in American soccer where DCFC could climb the ranks and join the MLS through promotion/relegation, but our current MLS franchise system would never allow for that. The only foreseeable path would be similar to Cincinnati, who played in USL until they became a franchise in the MLS a few years back.

[Gistok]

I think Detroit will eventually get a team; the market is too lucrative, and billionaires love owning sports teams. At some point someone will step up, and hopefully it doesn't cost the taxpayers [wishful thinking, I know].

Just assembling a parcel for a MLS stadium anywhere near downtown/midtown will be nearly impossible, due to speculators, and lack of available space [Ilitchville is out of the question].

[casscorridor]

Detroit is one of the biggest markets without an MLS team, so it only makes sense that it would host a franchise eventually.