COLUMBUS, Ohio — Less than eight months after his last media address at Lower.com Field, MLS commissioner Don Garber spoke to a group of journalists ahead of the 2024 MLS All-Star Game.
Garber, who’s a month away from reaching the 25-year mark as the league’s commissioner, touched on a number of high-profile topics during his media availability. From expansion, to roster spending, to the U.S. Open Cup, here’s what Backheeled learned from his comments on Wednesday evening.
Expansion set to go past 30
Even as the number of MLS clubs climbs, expansion continues to be a fixture in Garber’s public comments. Ahead of the All-Star Game, the commissioner introduced the topic in his initial remarks, mentioning a temporary pause in expansion before quickly opening the door for more markets to join the league.
“I think you're going to see a lot of energy leading into San Diego. San Diego will be our 30th team… It's going to be the end of expansion for a period of time until we're ready to expand again,” Garber said. “So right now, there isn't a specific plan to expand, but I know all of you, many of you might have seen the mayor of Indianapolis that was here over the last couple of days.
“If there's a good market for us to expand in, if that market makes sense, if we have the right owner and the right stadium plan, I think, like any league, we would consider strongly expanding beyond the 30 teams that we have now.”
Compared to many major sports leagues both inside and outside the United States, MLS still doesn’t have an incredibly lucrative broadcast rights deal. The league’s partnership with Apple sees MLS receive $250 million per year, but leaves MLS responsible for production costs. The remaining revenue, divided up between 30 teams, represents an increase from previous deals, but certainly doesn’t provide transformational income.
Without money pouring into the league from a broadcast deal, then, it’s exceedingly unlikely that MLS will stop expansion in the near future. Indianapolis mayor Joe Hogsett has been in Columbus this week and has previously visited the league office in New York to discuss the possibility of bringing an MLS team to the city — one that currently has Indy Eleven playing in the USL Championship.
“They’re following the playbook,” Garber said of the expansion project in Indianapolis.
