Tom Timmerman
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
September 12, 2007

Late Monday night, after the Collinsville City Council had given the go-ahead for a massive development project that would include a soccer stadium, Jeff Cooper was on the phone. The man behind the bid to bring a Major League Soccer franchise to the St. Louis area called MLS President Mark Abbott, who oversees business matters such as expansion, to give him the good news.

"Collinsville and our group sent a message tonight,'' Cooper told Abbott.

The stadium approval means Cooper's effort to bring outdoor professional soccer back to the St. Louis area has entered a new phase, with the last of the major hurdles cleared. Cooper and the league now have to sort out some financial issues, but Cooper said Tuesday he is "very confident" the league will give St. Louis a team, and at this point he doesn't foresee any obstacles. Cooper spoke with Abbott again Tuesday and will have discussions with him again later this week.

Cooper said he expects a decision on a team could come in 60 to 90 days, which on the short side would put the announcement right around the time of the league's championship game, MLS Cup, on Nov. 18. An expansion team would need to be approved by the league's board of governors. The St. Louis bid got a positive reception when members of the board were briefed on it at the All-Star break. Abbott said that while the Board of Governors could meet by conference call, a decision as important as expansion would preferably be done in person. The next scheduled meeting of the board is in conjunction with MLS Cup. If that's the timing, Cooper believes the team can begin play in 2009.

But before MLS can act, Cooper has to finalize the ownership group, which the league will have to review and approve. At present, the group consists of just Cooper and Michael Huyghue, a former NFL executive who runs a sports management firm. Cooper said he is in discussions with other parties he can't name and "is slowly adding folks," though he has previously said that even without other investors, he and Huyghue have enough money to run the team.

St. Louis seems to meet the league's three criteria for an expansion franchise:

• a committed local owner with resources;
• a market that has shown support for soccer and professional sports in the past and a market that is attractive to corporate America and sponsors;
• a plan to build a soccer-specific stadium or have a stadium in place.
  

With a commitment in place for a stadium, St. Louis is at the head of the pack among markets seeking a team. "It's a very key development, having a stadium,'' Abbott said of the vote. "We're really pleased with the result of last night's meeting, and we'll continue discussions with Jeff on the ownership side. I think it will be a process of continuing the positive momentum that resulted from the vote."

The league has 13 teams and will add a 14th in San Jose next year. Commissioner Don Garber has said he expects to add a 15th and 16th team by 2010 — Abbott said the timetable is to announce those teams by the end of the year — and then hold off on further expansion for a few years. But recently, Garber has said the league could go to 18 before stopping because of the number of markets — 12 — seeking teams. The league wants to expand in even numbers because of the scheduling headaches that come with an odd number of teams, which could mean two in 2009 and two more in 2010.