ESPN

Don Garber

  (6:03 PM)

I am here and ready to go!

Matt (Orlando)

Dear Don, I was disappointed in the lack of TV coverage of some great playoff games. What is being done to solve this problem?

Don Garber

  (6:04 PM)

Our challenge with televising playoff games is our inability to finalize the schedule with enough lead time. In future years, we are looking at ways to establish a new playoff system that should allow us to have more consistent coverage. Stay tuned, more news shortly.

Ken (Portland, OR)

Hi Don,There was a recent bombshell in the news regarding MLS expansion. Obviously this is a complex issue, but could you possibly give us ANY sort of a hint as to which cities, or even regions of the US (or even Canada?) might be under consideration? We'd certainly love one in Portland!Regards,Ken

Don Garber

  (6:06 PM)

I'll give you more than a hint .. we are talking with (not in any particular order) Atlanta, Rochester, Minneapolis St. Paul, Cleveland, Philly, Houston, Seattle and Tulsa, Oklahoma City. We hope to announce definitivly what our expansion timing is within the next 365 days.

Todd (Annapolis)

Don,Great job in the last couple of years as the commish. What are your goals for the league in the next couple of years?

Don Garber

  (6:07 PM)

Expansion, expansion, expansion. More and new ownership. Continued development of the quality of our game. Stadiums, stadiums, stadiums. There is obviousley lots more but those are the three things we must make progress on in the short and long term.

Jeff Doherty (Los Angeles)

Mls Cup is on sunday morning at 10:30, I have games on sundays, as do most soccer players and fans. Has there been any thought of a night game either Saturday or sunday in the future. It is frustrating for those who are MLS's core base of fans. Thanks, I will be taping the game of course.

Don Garber

  (6:08 PM)

The only early games in any market are driven by our TV schedule with ESPN and ABC. Every team shoots for Sat. night games and our goal is to have as many of them as we can. Once we have our own stadiums and once we've proven the value of our product on TV, we will be in a better position to dictate our schedule. Better than it used to be but we still have a long way to go.

Ben (Coral Gables)

Is it harder to sell American Football in Europe or Soccer in the US?

Don Garber

  (6:09 PM)

Yes and no. The NFL brand carries a lot of value everywhere but there are far more people here that understand, care about, and are engaged in the game of soccer than in football outside the U.S. or Canada.

Rick (NY, NY)

Other than attending games, what can fans do to help MLS succeed?

Don Garber

  (6:11 PM)

What a great question.. I want to start by thanking you for your support. More than anything it is making our game and our team as important to you as international soccer and youth soccer is. Support for professional leagues drives the sport at all levels. Not enough soccer fans care about our young league. We spend much of our time convincing those that should our easiest target, that we are worthy of and deserve their support. One of our initiatives is to work with our core fans to have them spread the word on how to be a soccer fan as opposed to just attending a game. We need more people that care about our teams, our players and our league.

Keith Bundy (Woodbridge, VA)

Is there a possibility MLS will begin allowing free agents within the MLS single entity arrangement?

Don Garber

  (6:13 PM)

We believe as do our investors that the single entity system is the one that will ensure the viability and growth of the sport professionally in this country. I can't, nor can anyone, predict what the future will bring but for now the current system is the appropriate one for Major League Soccer.

Randy, Atlanta

Does MLS (or SUM) have a plan to increase the league's television profile for fans who might not live in an MLS city?

Don Garber

  (6:14 PM)

Yes. As digital platforms, whether via satellite or cable, continue to expand, you will see more and more soccer. What will drive expansion in this area is demand for the product. At this point, the current offering is appropriate for the demand. Spread the word and get more people to write their cable providers and tell them how much they love MLS Shootout.

Richard (Nashville)

I think that the best way to market soccer in America is to have American players in the best leagues. Why is MLS setting such ridiculously high transfer fees for its young stars--essentially precluding their ability to transfer to Europe?

Don Garber

  (6:17 PM)

We think the best way to market soccer in this country is to have the best players playing here for current fans and hopefully to develop new fans. It's not that our transfer fees are high, it's our determination of the value of these players vs. the revenue to be generated by their sale.

Meredith (Ann Arbor)

Mr. Garber:I think that MLS has improved greatly over the years, and I look forward to many more years to come. My one problem is the playoff format. Why can't the league do what most of the world does and move to a home/away series with away goals the first tiebreaker? I really don't like the first to five points format. Any chance of this changing?

Don Garber

  (6:17 PM)

Stay tuned ...

Marc, NYC

Were you encouraged by the attendance increase this season?

Don Garber

  (6:19 PM)

Yes encouraged, but we are always looking for more. The World Cup and success of our team certainly drove interest. We are now in our 7th year and continue to develop our position in the pro sports landscape and hope to continue to make progress with each year that follows.

Hunter (San Antonio)

Have you thought of possibly promoting the league through exhibitions in markets that MLS has yet to tap?

Don Garber

  (6:20 PM)

Our season which stretches from March to October and includes both international and domestic competition, has our guys playing lots of soccer. However, in the years ahead, as the international calendar continues to evolve, it is possible we will see out of market exhibition games.

mickey (boston)

why arent there any highlights on sportscenter?

Don Garber

  (6:22 PM)

Maybe the moderator should answer this one?Seriously, according to research that SportsCenter has done, they believe they are delivering the coverage that the size of our fanbase demands. It's been getting better and improved during the World Cup and our playoffs. It's an evolving process. We have a ways to go and we will continue to work hard with ESPN to prove to them that our fans and their viewers want and even demand to see more coverage.

James (Austin)

What's the current soccer stadium situation in Dallas and New York/New Jersey?

Don Garber

  (6:23 PM)

The next 30-60 days are crucial as both cities have legislative votes to, we hope, approve funding for our facilities. We continue to make progress, continue to be encouraged, and hopeful that both markets will receive approvals.

Matt Reaser (Tumwater)

What is the scheduling going to look like next season? March through October again? March through November, April through November, etc???

Don Garber

  (6:25 PM)

We have been spending lots of time discussing this and will be discussed at the competition committee meetings and our Board meetings this weekend. I can assure you it will change and we are excited about what our new format will look like.

Eric (NJ)

Will expansion teams only be awarded if they have their own soccer-specific stadium? It seems like that would be the best way to start off on the right foot, because the Columbus Crew can now boast a demand for tickets, which the MetroStars can't do in 80,000-seat Giants Stadium.

Don Garber

  (6:26 PM)

We have 3 requirements, a soccer supporting market, a soccer facility plan, and a committed owner.

Felipe (Ft. Lauderdale)

Sir, you have placed a great emphasis on reaching out to the Hispanic fan. What has been your biggest success? Biggest Disapointment reaching this market? Will you have a TV deal in place soon on Telemundo or Univision or one of the few latino cable channels? What about a weekly MLS show in spanish?

Don Garber

  (6:30 PM)

Felipe, that is probably the first or second question I will be asked at the press conf. tommorrow. We are pleased. We have good number of hispanic fans and that is our fastest growing market. Our issue with Spanish language TV is their requirement tha games air Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. That presents an issue as to the day and the time. This is related to the question earlier about the conflict with youth soccer. We have announced a radio deal with Radio Unica and continue to have discussions with Univision and Telemundo and hope to achieve some programming in years to come. Each of our teams that cater to the Hispanic market have local deals with Spanish language broadcasts that cover those games. That scenario has been working pretty well for us.

Al .. Los Angeles

Is there a chance that the expansion will include any Mexican or Canadian team?

Don Garber

  (6:31 PM)

Not in the near future.

Ned (Boston)

will Foxboro have football lines on the field on Sunday? Please tell me no!

Don Garber

  (6:33 PM)

The Kraft family and their stadium operations people have done a great job minimizing the football lines during the playoffs and working feverishly to ensure we have a great field on Sunday. If the weather holds up we are feeling pretty good! Sorry folks, I have to run .. catching a plane to Providence later this evening. Thanks for supporting MLS .. I look forward to speaking live at the Soccer Supporters Summit taking place in Providence on Saturday. If you folks can make it, I look forward to chatting with you further then. Take care everyone!