Major League Soccer

This article refers to the current outdoor soccer league and should not be confused with the earlier indoor soccer league the Major Soccer League.

History

MLS was formed on December 17, 1993, in fulfillment of U.S. Soccer's promise to FIFA to establish a "Division One" professional football league in exchange for the staging of the FIFA World Cup USA 1994 in the United States. The league began play in 1996 with ten teams and had surprisingly strong attendance the first season. Numbers declined slightly after the first year, but have stabilized in subsequent years. The original 10 teams were divided into two conferences: the Eastern Conference (Columbus Crew, D.C. United, New England Revolution, NY/NJ MetroStars, and Tampa Bay Mutiny), and Western Conference (Colorado Rapids, Dallas Burn, Kansas City Wiz, Los Angeles Galaxy, and San Jose Clash).

Related Topics:
December 17 - 1993 - FIFA - FIFA World Cup USA 1994 - 1996 - Columbus Crew - D.C. United - New England Revolution - NY/NJ MetroStars - Tampa Bay Mutiny - Colorado Rapids - Dallas Burn - Kansas City Wiz - Los Angeles Galaxy - San Jose Clash

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Expansion and contraction

The league expanded to 12 teams in 1998, adding the Chicago Fire to the Western Conference and Miami Fusion to the Eastern Conference. In 2000 the league was reorganized into Eastern, Central, and Western Divisions; Chicago, Tampa Bay, Dallas, and Columbus were moved to the new Central Division. However, following the 2001 season, both Florida teams were disbanded and the league contracted back to ten teams. The league returned to Eastern and Western Conferences, with Chicago now in the Eastern Conference.

Related Topics:
1998 - Chicago Fire - Miami Fusion - 2000 - 2001

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Following the 2004 season, the league expanded again, adding Real Salt Lake, located in Salt Lake City, Utah and C.D. Chivas USA, which shares the Home Depot Center with the Los Angeles Galaxy. The two new teams were placed in the Western Conference, with Kansas City moving East. MLS is expected to expand by two new teams by the 2007 season, with one of those teams most likely being in Houston. Other current expansion possibilities include Toronto, Seattle, Cincinnati, Cleveland, St. Louis and Milwaukee. Other cities frequently mentioned for future expansion include Rochester -- home of a popular USL team, and Philadelphia.

Related Topics:
Real Salt Lake - Salt Lake City - Utah - C.D. Chivas USA - Houston - Toronto - Seattle - Cincinnati - Cleveland - St. Louis - Milwaukee - Rochester - USL - Philadelphia

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Name changes

In 1997, after only one year in the league, the Kansas City Wiz changed their name to the "Kansas City Wizards" following a trademark dispute. In 1998, the New York/New Jersey MetroStars dropped the "New York/New Jersey" tag, becoming simply the "MetroStars". In 2000, the San Jose Clash changed their name to the "San Jose Earthquakes", an homage to a previous Earthquakes team that played in the North American Soccer League from 1974 to 1984. The Dallas Burn changed their name for the 2005 season to "FC Dallas". All the changes have reflected a rejection of flashy, "innovative" marketing-oriented monikers to more traditional names, reflecting the rich history soccer has in the United States and abroad.

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Stadiums

When the league was started, most teams played in stadiums built specifically for NFL or NCAA (college) American football. However this is a considerable expense to the league, and to provide better facilities as well as to control revenue for the stadium, a major goal of MLS management is to build its own stadiums, which are often called "soccer-specific stadiums".

Related Topics:
NFL - NCAA - American football - Soccer-specific stadium

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The Miami Fusion played in Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, which was a former high school stadium converted into a soccer-specific stadium. However, the Miami Fusion ceased operation in 2001 and Lockhart is no longer used by MLS for regular season matches. Lockhart is now the home of the Florida Atlantic University Owls football team.

Related Topics:
Lockhart Stadium - Fort Lauderdale, Florida - 2001 - Florida Atlantic University

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In 1999, Lamar Hunt personally financed the construction of Columbus Crew Stadium, the first major stadium ever built from the ground up specifically for soccer in the United States. The Crew formerly played at Ohio Stadium on the campus of The Ohio State University, but were forced to find a new home when the university began renovations on the stadium.

Related Topics:
1999 - Lamar Hunt - Columbus Crew Stadium - Ohio Stadium - Ohio State University

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The Los Angeles Galaxy got a new home beginning with the 2003 season, the Home Depot Center (HDC) in Carson, California. In the first year of operation, the HDC hosted the MLS All Star Game, the 2003 Women's World Cup (including the championship final), and the 2003 MLS Cup Final. The Galaxy previously played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. In 2005, expansion team Chivas USA joined the Galaxy as tenants at the HDC.

Related Topics:
2003 - Home Depot Center - Carson, California - Rose Bowl - Pasadena, California - 2005

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In August 2005, FC Dallas moved to Pizza Hut Park, a new soccer-specific stadium in the Dallas suburb of Frisco. The team, previously known as the Dallas Burn, played at the Cotton Bowl until the 2003 season, when they moved to Dragon Stadium in Southlake, Texas, a football stadium belonging to the Carroll Independent School District. Like Chicago's home during this time, Dragon Stadium featured a FieldTurf surface with permanently-painted football lines and was unpopular with fans. In 2004 they returned to the Cotton Bowl and announced plans for the Frisco stadium.

Related Topics:
Pizza Hut Park - Frisco - Cotton Bowl - Dragon Stadium - Southlake, Texas - FieldTurf

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Two teams, the New England Revolution and the Kansas City Wizards, are operated by the owners of their cities' respective NFL teams and use those teams' stadiums: Gillette Stadium and Arrowhead Stadium, respectively. The remaining teams rent stadiums to play in: Colorado Rapids play at Invesco Field, Chicago Fire play at Soldier Field, D.C. United play in Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, MetroStars play in Giants Stadium, Real Salt Lake play in Rice-Eccles Stadium at the University of Utah, and San Jose play in Spartan Stadium at San Jose State University. The Colorado Rapids broke ground on an, as yet, unnamed new field in Commerce City, Colorado in 2005.

Related Topics:
Gillette Stadium - Arrowhead Stadium - Invesco Field - Soldier Field - Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium - Giants Stadium - Rice-Eccles Stadium - University of Utah - Spartan Stadium - San Jose State University - Commerce City - Colorado - 2005

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While Soldier Field was undergoing renovations, the Chicago Fire played their 2002 and 2003 seasons at North Central College's Cardinal Stadium in Naperville, Illinois. The artificial turf permanently marked with lines for American football was a disappointment to the fans. In 2004 renovations were completed and the Fire returned to Soldier Field, and that same year they announced plans for a new soccer-specific stadium in Bridgeview, Illinois. Ground was broken for the stadium in November 2004 and the facility is expected to open in the spring of 2006.

Related Topics:
North Central College - Cardinal Stadium - Naperville, Illinois - Artificial turf - Bridgeview, Illinois

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The MetroStars are planning to move to Harrison Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey in June 2007.

Related Topics:
Harrison Stadium - Harrison, New Jersey

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Rule changes

In an attempt to "Americanize" the sport, MLS experimented with rule changes in its early years. The clock, which counts up in international soccer, would instead count down, and would stop on dead ball situations, at referee's discretion. Once the clock hit 0:00, the game would be over. The other major change was the inception of shootouts to resolve tie games. If the game ended in a draw, a situation similar to a penalty shootout would ensue. A shootout attempt consisted of a player getting the ball 35 yards from the goal and five seconds to put it past the goalkeeper. Just like with penalties, it was a best-of-five competition, and if the score was still tied, the tiebreaker would head to an extra frame. The winning team would get one point (as opposed to three for the regulation win), the losing team zero.

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Unfortunately for MLS, the rule changes, especially the shootout, alienated more fans than they brought in. The hated tiebreaker was gone after the 1999 season. MLS experimented in settling tie games with golden goal overtime periods from 2000 to 2003 (the tie would stand if no team scored after ten minutes), but in 2004 dropped the extra session, turning to a more traditional model of letting ties stand.

Related Topics:
Golden goal - Overtime

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Previous professional soccer leagues

There have been several previous professional soccer leagues in the US and Canada, most notably the North American Soccer League (NASL; 1968-1984), which featured, among others, soccer legend Pelé. The NASL failed for a number of reasons, ranging from short-sighted spending policies to overexpansion to over reliance on foreign players. Following the collapse of the NASL, only the Major Indoor Soccer League operated as a first division league in the United States. However, this league was disdained by soccer purists and faced many of the same problems as the NASL. It ceased operation in 1992, and there was no major first division league in the United States until the formation of MLS.

Related Topics:
North American Soccer League - 1968 - 1984 - Pelé - Major Indoor Soccer League - 1992

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American soccer leagues have not generally been considered to be successes, for a variety of reasons. Some blame the continual nature of soccer, with relatively few set plays or fixed positions. This may make the sport hard to follow for the average American. Others attribute failures to the low-scoring nature of the game; still others blame the perception of soccer as a "foreign" sport. Still the survival of MLS for several more years appears secure, even if it might never reach the status of the major professional leagues.

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