(05-25-2019 05:19 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(05-25-2019 03:38 PM)AllTideUp Wrote:  Ideally, I'd have relegation as well, but that's a different matter.

The sport would be healthier in the long term with a 20-team first division and a 20-team second division with promotion and relegation. But it won't happen. Can't upset MLS' Ponzi scheme of shaking down billionaires for $150 million expansion fees and shaking down cities for $100 million for a "soccer specific stadium" by introducing the possibility of relegation.

MLS short-circuited promotion and relegation when their teams started fielding reserve squads in the USL.

Given the sheer size of this country, I actually think MLS having 32 to 40 teams would make promotion/relegation easier to manage, as you can substitute a western team for a western team, or an eastern team for an eastern team. The key is finding enough markets with suitable facilities that seat even modest numbers by MLS standards.

The things I see that have to happen for promotion and relegation to happen are as follows:

• Return of current MLS owners' expansion fees, with appropriate interest
• USL Championship enacting higher facility standards for its teams.
• MLS reserve squads being eliminated, or at least re-tooled as U18/U20/U23 teams
• Linear TV deal for the second division (even if that winds up being the current USL Championship)
  

Giving David Beckham his $25 Million (Miami) back will be the easy part - returning the $200 million back to Saint Louis or Sacramento will be what stings.

The reserve league will be a push compared to fielding a USL-Championship team playing in front of 200 fans/game; but at least then the Louisville City FCs and the Phoenix Risings of the world could join that league with you, and you're not schlepping a bunch of 19-20 year olds across the continent every other week. Of course if you pull the plug on minor league farm teams entirely, the emphasis is rightly on your academy program.

The linear TV deal for a second division isn't entirely out of the realm of possibility, if a case can be made for an outlet like TruTV or Fox Sports 2; this would even be a good landing spot for RSNs.