Apple TV to Include MLS Games at No Extra Cost Starting in 2026

[OverTheHill]

23 out of 30 MLS stadiums are soccer specific stadiums. Two of them were build with soccer as part of a dual purpose. The New York City stadium will move the team out of a baseball stadium and into a soccer specific stadium.
It is part of the rules of the MLS that you either need to build a soccer specific stadium, or one with the purpose of soccer being played on it with the correct dimensions, and without NFL marking on it.

The reason most MLS don’t cost billions is because of the capacity of them. They have a capacity of 20k-30k, instead of the NFL capacities of 60k-80k. SOFI cost so much largely down to how it had to be built in the ground, and has facilities outside of being a stadium. The Mercedes Benz stadium in Atlanta is one of the most expensive stadiums built and that was built with dual-purpose in mind.
MLS teams usually represent cities and urban areas, where as NFL teams for example largely represent whole and multiple states. As yet there is no demand from MLS teams to build such big stadiums.

The NFL gets decent crowds in Europe, they messed up this year with the pricing structure of the London games, but generally they get good crowds. A few one of games isn’t a bad idea but I agree, there probably isn’t a need for a European league. As for the MLS, the increase in teams with their popularity etc shows that there is a demand there.
The problem that I think people like you have is that they believe that MLS wants to be or even thinks it will become the number 1 sport. That’s not right, the MLS didn’t need to be number 1, 2, or even the 3rd most popular sport in the USA. It simply just needs to be there for an option for those who like the sport. As I have said the increase in fan attending and demand for new teams shows that those people are there.
The USA also has the advantage that many people follow multiple sports. So filling an NFL, MLS, NBA, NHL, and even a MLB team or any combination of them is fairly common. It means all those leagues have the ability to gain more fans.
In Europe that largely isn’t the case.

SoFi wasn’t expensive because it was built into the ground. It’s the most elaborate stadium in the US by far. Jerry Jones is crying. By definition, all NFL Stadiums are multipurpose. That includes concerts and other events. Otherwise they would sit empty 40 weeks of the year. The fact that MLS requires soccer specific facilities that can only be built to sub 30k capacity (because let’s be clear, a minor league baseball field has better amenities - I’ve gone to concerts at such venues and it’s comedy) speaks to how desperate they are to grow the league. Let’s be clear. Only four teams are profitable which is a joke.

Soccer is popular around the world because anyone can buy a $10 ball and kick it around the yard. It’s also cultural just as Football, Baseball and Basketball are in the US. We have our sports, you have yours. Saying soccer is popular in the US is like saying the NFL is popular in Australia where rugby rules the day. It’s just not.

 

[Heat_Fan89]

Soccer is popular around the world because anyone can buy a $10 ball and kick it around the yard. It’s also cultural just as Football, Baseball and Basketball are in the US. We have our sports, you have yours.

That's exactly my point, as I said in my previous comment. You grow a fanbase with youth and the popularity of soccer in the US continues to grow and it doesn't require a ton of money to play the sport, the same goes for basketball. The NFL has pretty much peaked in the US. That's why the NFL is exploring Europe where it's nothing more than a novelty. To think that the NFL will never be leapfrogged in US popularity is being shortsighted.

The other problem I see is how you say it's cultural. That could also present a problem with all the migration to the US from different parts of the world where it's all about soccer.

Global viewership for soccer - 5 billion
Formula 1 - 869 million
NFL - 62 million

 

[Heat_Fan89]

The MLS is changing its schedule to align with the European schedule. If Apple were to include Formula 1 plus the MLS, i'd signup for that. There's a cultural shift taking place in the US.

MLS owners vote to shift soccer season to a summer-to-spring calendar in 2027

Major League Soccer owners voted Thursday to shift the league’s season to a summer-to-spring calendar in 2027, bringing it more in line with its international counterparts. The move aims to p…

www.sun-sentinel.com

MLS Commissioner Don Garber told reporters on a conference call Thursday afternoon that the move was “one of the most important decisions in our league’s history.”


“This is an opportunity for us to eliminate the competition that we’ve had for our playoffs as they exist today in a very crowded time of the year. It allows us to be aligned with the international transfer windows, which we think is incredibly important. It gives us a wide variety of opportunities that will expand our ability to be on this path to be one of the top and leading leagues in the world,” Garber said.