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Expansion of Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is the top level of professional soccer in the United States. It began play in 1996 with 10 teams and has expanded several times since 1998. From 2005 to 2025, the league expanded rapidly and has added an average of one new team per season. The league has 30 teams as of the 2025 season with the debut of San Diego FC.
Expanding and establishing a larger national reach is seen as essential to securing television rights fees needed to reach MLS's initially stated goal of becoming one of the top leagues in the world. As of December 2024, there are no pending expansion teams but the league may expand to 32 teams at a later date.
In 2007, Toronto FC became the first of three Canadian teams to join the league. In 2013, New York City FC agreed to pay a record $100 million expansion fee for the right to join MLS in 2015. This record was surpassed by the ownership groups of FC Cincinnati and Nashville SC, which each paid $150 million to join MLS (FC Cincinnati in 2019 and Nashville in 2020). The same amount was paid as an effective entrance fee by a group that bought Columbus Crew SC in 2018, which led to that team's previous operator receiving a new team in Austin, Texas, that joined MLS in April 2021. Before Sacramento's group withdrew its franchise acquisition, MLS also announced that the ownership groups of the 28th and 29th teams would each pay a $200 million entrance fee and that of the 30th had to pay $325 million.
Major League Soccer considers several criteria when determining where to award expansion franchises:
MLS expansion got off to a mixed start in its initial years. MLS began playing with 10 teams in 1996, grew to 12 teams in 1998, but put expansion plans on hold and then eliminated two teams following the 2001 season to return to 10 teams.
Major League Soccer was established in 1993, as part of an agreement with FIFA that the United States set up a professional first division to gain the right to host the 1994 FIFA World Cup. No successful professional outdoor soccer league existed since the North American Soccer League folded in 1985. Due to rapid over-expansion and poor franchise placement, the NASL collapse led future MLS leaders to be extremely cautious of establishing new franchises.
Initially 12 teams were to be placed in carefully selected cities where a strong soccer market was thought to exist, which was scaled back to 10 after potential backers could not be found. Eventually 22 communities submitted formal bids to host an inaugural MLS franchise.
The initial 10 teams were the Columbus Crew, D.C. United, New England Revolution, New York/New Jersey MetroStars (now New York Red Bulls), Tampa Bay Mutiny, Colorado Rapids, Dallas Burn (now FC Dallas), Kansas City Wiz (eventually Wizards; now Sporting Kansas City), Los Angeles Galaxy and San Jose Clash (now San Jose Earthquakes). Although New York City and Los Angeles were awarded franchises, the next four largest American cities – Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, and Detroit – were without a team. Using American football stadiums, the new league kicked off in April 1996.
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Expansion of Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is the top level of professional soccer in the United States. It began play in 1996 with 10 teams and has expanded several times since 1998. From 2005 to 2025, the league expanded rapidly and has added an average of one new team per season. The league has 30 teams as of the 2025 season with the debut of San Diego FC.
Expanding and establishing a larger national reach is seen as essential to securing television rights fees needed to reach MLS's initially stated goal of becoming one of the top leagues in the world. As of December 2024, there are no pending expansion teams but the league may expand to 32 teams at a later date.
In 2007, Toronto FC became the first of three Canadian teams to join the league. In 2013, New York City FC agreed to pay a record $100 million expansion fee for the right to join MLS in 2015. This record was surpassed by the ownership groups of FC Cincinnati and Nashville SC, which each paid $150 million to join MLS (FC Cincinnati in 2019 and Nashville in 2020). The same amount was paid as an effective entrance fee by a group that bought Columbus Crew SC in 2018, which led to that team's previous operator receiving a new team in Austin, Texas, that joined MLS in April 2021. Before Sacramento's group withdrew its franchise acquisition, MLS also announced that the ownership groups of the 28th and 29th teams would each pay a $200 million entrance fee and that of the 30th had to pay $325 million.
Major League Soccer considers several criteria when determining where to award expansion franchises:
MLS expansion got off to a mixed start in its initial years. MLS began playing with 10 teams in 1996, grew to 12 teams in 1998, but put expansion plans on hold and then eliminated two teams following the 2001 season to return to 10 teams.
Major League Soccer was established in 1993, as part of an agreement with FIFA that the United States set up a professional first division to gain the right to host the 1994 FIFA World Cup. No successful professional outdoor soccer league existed since the North American Soccer League folded in 1985. Due to rapid over-expansion and poor franchise placement, the NASL collapse led future MLS leaders to be extremely cautious of establishing new franchises.
Initially 12 teams were to be placed in carefully selected cities where a strong soccer market was thought to exist, which was scaled back to 10 after potential backers could not be found. Eventually 22 communities submitted formal bids to host an inaugural MLS franchise.
The initial 10 teams were the Columbus Crew, D.C. United, New England Revolution, New York/New Jersey MetroStars (now New York Red Bulls), Tampa Bay Mutiny, Colorado Rapids, Dallas Burn (now FC Dallas), Kansas City Wiz (eventually Wizards; now Sporting Kansas City), Los Angeles Galaxy and San Jose Clash (now San Jose Earthquakes). Although New York City and Los Angeles were awarded franchises, the next four largest American cities – Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, and Detroit – were without a team. Using American football stadiums, the new league kicked off in April 1996.