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The final sentence captures the issue in a nutshell. My question is: Why does Barca want Miami? I know there is the Cuban population, and a fair number of South Americans. But is there a special affinity for Barca there, moreso than in other possible expansion locales?

i would like to see portland get their team, but i dont like the idea of the stadium being shared with a AAA baseball team :-/... i know the stadium itself is owned by the owners of the team, but ive never liked how the seats are around a baseball field for soccer games...

STL seem to be jumping up the rankings with Pujols investing in the team.... Garber has made it known publicly that he wants a STL team....

those two have natural rivals... portland with seattle... an already established rivalry basing from the USL.... STL with KC and CHI.....

Miami are pretty solid with Barca backing them... if they get a team i wouldnt be surprised if Garber takes advantage of the Silverbacks shutdown in ATL ( hope not ).... but it would be stupid to have 1 SE team, seeing as they would have NO rivals....

QUOTE(#1):

Originally posted 08:52 AM ET  11.21 by kopper

The final sentence captures the issue in a nutshell. My question is: Why does Barca want Miami? I know there is the Cuban population, and a fair number of South Americans. But is there a special affinity for Barca there, moreso than in other possible expansion locales?

why barca?? why the weather man.... and the location... its far easier to get a BIG name player to Miami then it would to CLB or RSL.... location location location

Barca wants Miami for a variety of reasons and I think the only way the MLS succeeds in Miami is with a name like Barca. Miami is literally a gateway to Latin America as much as it is to the US. There are a variety of direct flights between Miami and Barcelona. Miami will not be a hard sell to Henry or other aging stars (Yes you Maldini). A youth academy can play their year round. They have a wealthy Bolivian agreeing to back a good part of the investment. This is not much of a risk for Barca or for the MLS.

A friendly exhibition in the summer would be unbearable so FCB will probably stick to NY, DC and Chicago for their friendlies, but other than that, this might be the ingredient Miami was missing. Barca has that kind of pull especially within Latino demographics.

Agreed - the investment risk is minimal for Barca.
In addition, prior management of the Miami Fusion was why that club failed.
It was more how the club management was trying to reach out to fans.
Also agreed...on Miami would probably make a guy like Henry play there rather than say Columbus...no offense to Columbus of course...just saying, if you are guy like TH14 - Miami is probably the way to go.

How many slots are open? 2? Next give Portland the team, the rivalry with Seattle would be great. (though the same could be said of St. Louis Chicago rivalry.)
Next, you have to give Miami the team simply because of the name Barca under one condition, you rope Barca in, contractually, for a decade or more. If they aren't willing to do that, then give it to a Canadian city. Toronto arguably have the most enthusiastic fans in the MLS, they just need a real stadium now, with real grass.

Any city that wants a team needs to show that they have:

(1) A Soccer Stadium (not multi-use) or a great deal with another stadium, like FIU.
(2) A person or organization committed to soccer with the millions of dollars necessary to buy into the MLS and support it until it turns a profit, like Marcelo Claure.

Philadelphia, for example, has neither of these things and even though it is the perfect soccer city, Garber won't touch them until they have that. The Miami deal is a lock.

QUOTE(#3):

Originally posted 08:55 AM ET  11.21 by Otergod

why barca?? why the weather man.... and the location... its far easier to get a BIG name player to Miami then it would to CLB or RSL.... location location location

I know those factors, but I'm talking about longer-term sustainability of a franchise. I would have thought anyone, particularly from abroad, would look at the history of sports and soccer in that city and shy away, lloking for better options.

Barca has the name and the money so I am not surprised they are leading but as much as I love my second hometown, Miami, they arent the biggest into sports. I just don't want to see the MLS fail twice in Miami.

You guys have said it all about Miami probably not being the best place for professional sports teams. However, there are some very good youth leagues in South Florida which would at least draw some fans to possibly make up for some of the uh.. older people in Florida who might not be as interested in soccer especially. But hey, I'm not going to be the one to complain about having a team around to pull for.

Gator Guru - understand your logic...but THAT is the problem with the MLS...there is WAY, WAY too much focus on the youth soccer / soccer mom / soccer family market. That "niche" does not support a MLS team. The core audience are the soccer fan...the fan that is going to travel. The fan that is going to watch the away match on TV if not traveling.

We are now at a point where the kids that grew up playing soccer are now in their late 20s / early 30s...when youth soccer started to gain momentum. However, MLS rarely tailors anything toward this population of fan. Nor do they pay attention to older fans as well. It is all about the youth soccer...

The true football fan is forgotten when it comes to marketing plans.
This year, I have traveled twice to see the USMNT - the Argentina friendly and the T&T WC qualifier in Chicago. I am also a supporter of the MLS...was I a ticketholder of the Fire? No. Will I - maybe. But is the Chicago Fire / MLS organization doing much to convince me to be one - no way. If someone in the organization were smart...they'd start trying to send some more advertising in the Milwaukee area. It's a slow process - I know there is a bar that takes bus trips down to Fire games.

Miami will work if the marketing strategy includes the football fan, not just the youth fan.

guacho68- MLS youth academies already play year round... they simply play the tournys in warmer climates come winter showcase.....

i wonder if Barca will meet the same problem Chivas had by putting their name in the team name... BarcaUSA may put some people off... not everyone is a barca fan....

anyhow, they are financially solid, this team would cost MINIMUL compared to teams in other countries.... great way to expose their main team.... great way to scout and develop players... Barca has all the tools to make a quality side in the MLS, they simply picked Miami for its location..... im sure the fans will come, what with the big names involved...

i have to agree with kopper, Miami is just not a sports town, just look at the marlins (terrible team, terrible management, and terrible fans), panthers (a non-factor in hockey), heat (fallen off the map) and 'phins (I know they have a solid history, but no one really cares since Marino left and they haven't been good since, either). you can even look at the U. even before they moved to the cavernous dolphin's stadium, when's the last time the canes sold out the orange bowl every home game of the year? about 10 years ago when the canes made their title runs. I know MLS wants the Barca name, and I know Barca wants a city with a large latin base, but in all honesty there are better sports cities than Miami.

:-O zizou, i had no idea you were a fire fan....

"they'd start trying to send some more advertising in the Milwaukee area. It's a slow process "

lol, i couldnt agree more about the fringe cities when it comes to marketing..... even in cities like Indy, South Bend, Crown Point, and Fort wayne (indiana cities)... these are major markets that are on the verge of being Crew or Fire fans, it simply comes down to who's organization strikes first..... both CLB and CHI are about a 3 hr drive for me, but ive been with the fire since day 1.... i do my part to bring friends, g/f's and family....

while chicago is prime to sell to, sometimes it actually takes less time for outside cities to make the games... ive heard of people in northern chicago taking 2 to 2 1/2 hrs on Public Trans. just to make the game, and in that time i can pretty much make it to TP from Indy...

FC Barca in Miami with Henry in 2010, I think it's a pretty safe bet they will succeed even in Miami, they sure wouldn't be doing it if it was a bad investment or if they weren't pretty sure it would work. I don't mind seeing Titi play in MLS wherever it is, it'll be good for the sport in the US and for the MLS.

Zizou, I completely agree, I was just trying to think of some sort of saving grace for Miami having a soccer team even with the usual fans of the area. Keepin it positive.

QUOTE(#15):

Originally posted 12:20 PM ET  11.21 by BarcaMesQueUnClub

FC Barca in Miami with Henry in 2010, I think it's a pretty safe bet they will succeed even in Miami, they sure wouldn't be doing it if it was a bad investment or if they weren't pretty sure it would work. I don't mind seeing Titi play in MLS wherever it is, it'll be good for the sport in the US and for the MLS.

as for the bad investment part, this is where i think people get skewed...

barca sees a LARGE latino population in a wonderfully located city, and thinks what can go wrong.... but a large latino population does not equal success in the sales.... otherwise, LA (CUSA), Chicago, and even Hou and FCD would be selling out quite easily...

but i agree, Barca brings with it quite the name, and a number of random footy fans will be converted as they stand a chance to see a quality player or two (or even quality youth)....

QUOTE(#2):

Originally posted 08:54 AM ET  11.21 by Otergod

i would like to see portland get their team, but i dont like the idea of the stadium being shared with a AAA baseball team :-/... i know the stadium itself is owned by the owners of the team, but ive never liked how the seats are around a baseball field for soccer games...STL seem to be jumping up the rankings with Pujols investing in the team.... Garber has made it known publicly that he wants a STL team....those two have natural rivals... portland with seattle... an already established rivalry basing from the USL.... STL with KC and CHI.....Miami are pretty solid with Barca backing them... if they get a team i wouldnt be surprised if Garber takes advantage of the Silverbacks shutdown in ATL ( hope not ).... but it would be stupid to have 1 SE team, seeing as they would have NO rivals....

Portland would be a good pick. The Timbers v Sounders rivalry goes back to the NASL and never really perished as it was revived through the old western league when Seattle became the Storm and then the USL again when the Sounders were revived. This is a natural pick, I think. But, if anyone can succeed in building a team in Miami made up of possible ex-Barca players looking to end their careers in America, it might be FCB. Imagine 4-5 years from now having Puyol or Gudjonsson or Abidal or Henry coming to America instead of retiring to finish their careers. some will poo poo this idea, but I think its interesting.

No one mentions Montreal? A city with a strong sports tradition (okay, minus Les Expos), a soccer specific stadium, a good owner and success in the CONCACAF champions league surely deserves consideration. I didn't think Miami would be viable until Barca came into the picture and I'm worried that the league wouldn't add two more teams in the east. Unless they break from the east/west alignment... north/south perhaps? Or a single table?

The top post asked the question; why Miami? Why not Miami? Others mentioned MLS hopefully NOT failing twice in Miami, that alone should be enough to convince MLS not to choose Miami. If that were the criteria used for the league, we wouldn't ever have one. Soccer has failed miserably in the US, yet it continues to have a pulse every time it collapses.
When MLS started up, I along with many others, wondered why Columbus? Why Tampa? San Jose? Colorado? Many questions came up and the league's answers never satisfied me. But guess what, they're going on without us and making their picks.
When MLS expanded for the first time, South Florida was fortunate to get a team, MLS was fortunate to get Chicago. MLS remembers now what it discovered then, that Miami is a key location for creating a bridge to Europe and Latin America. What's different now, because the lesson was learned from Miami and Tampa, is that a solid ownership group with an equally solid administration is required to sustain (not immediately succeed) the club and a commitment must be in place.
Times are a changing. Barack Obama won the presidency and is labeled as the 'wired' president for his innovative campaign approach, using cyber space and all techno goodies to promote his campaign. Soccer is no different. Barca understands that in order to stay ahead of the game, both literally as well as physically, they need to 'lock up' the Panama Canal of soccer and get a squad in there.

In all my years of watching and attending soccer in the US, I've always believed that the purist will find the matches, no matter where they're played. Without advertising and local coverage no team stands a chance of success. Imagine the most successful teams in the NFL or NBA not getting any coverage in the news or releasing enough printed info (let's not even get into the internet). No one, not ESPN, HBO. Nobody releases details to the public. No TV either. I guarantee you won't have sellouts. Well, soccer has failed many times before because of that very issue. If media get behind it, it will succeed. Miami is no exception no matter what the population is.