Philadelphia Right Choice for MLS
Major League Soccer Awards Expansion Franchise to Philadelphia
Apr 7, 2008
The Sons of Ben had something to celebrate on Feb. 28, 2008.
Up until that day, the Sons of Ben were a soccer fan club without a team.
That changed when Major League Soccer awarded an expansion franchise to Philadelphia that will begin play in 2010.
The fan club was founded in January 2007 with the idea of bringing a Major League Soccer franchise to the city.
MLS, the premier soccer league in North America, always had its sights set on putting a team in Philadelphia.
After all, the city had a history with the sport starting with the varsity programs of the surrounding universities and high schools.
Philadelphia had professional soccer teams in the past starting with the Philadelphia Atoms (from 1973 to 1976) and later the Philadelphia Fury (1978 to 1980) of the North American Soccer League.
Both those teams folded as did the NASL, which was formed in 1968 and folded in 1984.
But MLS, the modern day professional league in North America founded in 1993, doesn't look like its going to have the same fate as its predecessor
The league solidified its future by awarding Philadelphia a franchise.
MLS expansion plans
The Philadelphia franchise, which does not have a name yet, will be the league's 16th team.
There are currently 14 teams playing this year, with Seattle beginning play in 2009 and Philadelphia the following year.
Philadelphia was competing with St. Louis for the 16th franchise. St. Louis had a stadium plan in place, but not a solid ownership group.
Meanwhile, the Philadelphia had a stadium plan, with a soccer-specific facility to be built in neighboring Chester, Pa. The stadium deal was solidified when Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell committed $47 million of state money to the project.
The league also liked the finances of the ownership group led by its chief executive officer, Nick Sakiewicz.
Manchester United tested Philadelphia for soccer.
Even though the team will not be located in the Philadelphia city limits, the team will have a Philadelphia name.
The main reason it took so many years for region to get a team is it did not have a venue suitable for soccer.
The Atoms and the Fury played their games at Veterans Stadium the old home of the Philadelphia Phillies and Eagles that was tore down in 2003.
Lincoln Financial Field, the new home of the Philadelphia Eagles, is considered too big for soccer with a capacity of 68,000
The Philadelphia market was tested for soccer when “The Linc” hosted several exhibition games involving Manchester United of the English Premier League in 2004 and 2005.
Philadelphia passed the test with good attendance at those games, but MLS likes its teams to play in soccer specific stadiums that have modern amenities and seat 20,000 fans.
Rowan University makes an attempt at MLS
Rowan University in Southern New Jersey made an attempt to attract an MLS team to its campus several years ago with the idea of the team serving the Philadelphia market.
A location and stadium plan were put together, but the group could not get the financing. Also, it’s doubtful that the City of Philadelphia would have allowed a New Jersey team to put its name on a team outside of Philadelphia or Pennsylvania.
The Philadelphia 76ers flirted with the idea of moving to New Jersey in the early 1990’s before being told by the city it could not use its name.
Chester, Pa. site of MLS stadium
Chester is small Pennsylvania City that is13 miles south of Philadelphia off Interstate 95. The Philadelphia International Airport is nearby.
The new stadium will be built at the foot of the Commodore Barry Bridge that crosses the Delaware River into southern New Jersey.
Chester is also a short drive from the state of Delaware and its largest city, Wilmington, via I-195.
The prospects of drawing fans from the large tri-state area and the fourth-largest television market in the United States, was impossible for league officials to ignore.
Team, league and state officials are hoping the new team will revitalize improvised Chester, providing new jobs to revitalize a depressed city that has a high crime rate.
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