Monday, December 1, 2008

MLS in Miami: good as done?

Barcelona executives seem to think their bid for an expansion team in Miami is a solid one. Barcelona CEO Joan Oliver told Bloomberg that their bid has a 90 percent chance of success.

Not sure how they came up with the 90 percent figure but Barcelona people seem to have confidence in their bid.

At some point, MLS will decide on a home for clubs numbers 17 and 18. But when Barcelona threw its name into the ring, you just figured one of those two slots would ultimately have a Catalan influence. MLS would do well to have a figure as respected and beloved as Barcelona to do business with and may see that as a way to reach different markets. Barcelona, meanwhile, apparently sees this as a way to enhance their brand here in the U.S.

Oliver told Bloomberg: "We are making an investment in our image, not financially. It won't cost us any money."

We'll see how it all works out. If and when Barca officially gets involved with MLS, we'll see how they run their team.

For now, it sure seems that bid is backed not only by a financial and footballing powerhouse but a confident one as well.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm still not convinced that Miami is a good expansion city. It's just not a good soccer town in general and I don't think having the Barcelona brand is going to help as much as people think. While the city does have a large Latino community besides Cubans, I don't feel that the South American expats in Miami will have a connection with a Euro team.

Anonymous said...

I really wish someone could convince Barca to place that team in Queens, NY instead of Miami. Miami doesn't even support its baseball team and any person following MLS over 10yrs know the Fusion story. They have a major better chance at success in NYC so I just don't understand what numbers they are looking at that make them think Miami will actually work this time around.