Garber: "Right time" to bring ASG to PPL Park
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Not long ago MLS Commissioner Don Garber was standing on the steps outside Philadelphia's City Hall.
Joined by Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and members of the Union front office, the name, colors, and crest of the region's brand-new franchise were revealed before hundreds of ecstatic fans.
That was May 29, 2010.
Jump forward to January 24, 2012, and another major announcement at City Hall: Garber was in town to award the 2012 AT&T MLS All-Star Game to PPL Park.
"It's a great city, with a great fanbase, and great support for the local club," Garber explained at Tuesday's packed press conference. "We've got a terrific stadium right down the river (in Chester). I think it's one of the great small stadiums that we have in the country, one of the greatest small soccer stadiums anywhere in the world."
Garber has been extremely pleased with the progress of the Union, perhaps even a bit pleasantly surprised. The Commissioner personally attended last year's Supporters Summit and has taken notice of the league's success in Philadelphia.
"We haven't cracked the code for professional soccer yet nationally, and we're not focused on cracking any particular code," Garber said. "What I will say, though, is that we've broken through in this market. This is a very crowded sports market, which is why people think of it as one of the best sports markets in America. But, boy, this is a very relevant club.
"These events that we have here with the Mayor, these are as well attended by the community as any events we do anywhere in the country, even cities like Seattle and Portland where there are fewer (professional sports teams) in town. I'm very pleased with the success of the Union. The team is selling out almost every game, they've got a good commercial base, they've got strong media support. Frankly, it's worked a little better here than we thought it would have."
This year's game will be played on July 25 against an opponent Garber hopes to name within 60 days. The Commissioner says details are still being sorted out, but explained the process of how the All-Star Game is awarded.
"There is a bidding process," he said. "We've made a commitment to all of our expansion teams, and those teams that have built new stadiums. We'll work with them to host our special events, and the All-Star Game is our most special event. You'll see this game traveling around to some of our other markets with new buildings. This was the right time, and the right place.
"We've still got a number of places we haven't been to yet that have come into the league with new facilities. Vancouver is one, Kansas City is another, Portland is another – just to name a few. At the end of the day, we sit down with those owners and go over our plans to bring international clubs into town and try to make the right decision. We've got a new stadium in Houston coming onboard next year, so I have a feeling we'll be in smaller stadiums for awhile."
Media reports suggested that Philadelphia was one of four "finalist" cities, along with Vancouver, Montreal, and Kansas City. Garber didn't confirm or deny those reports, but he did reveal that the process goes well beyond competition between franchises.
"It wasn't really a bidding process where somebody won and somebody lost," Garber clarified. "We're still in the phase of strategically laying out these games in a way that makes sense for us, spreading the game to different parts of the country, ensuring that we're building a fanbase and giving back to the communities that have worked hard to support our clubs. Working on time schedules, broadcast times – I think it's different from other leagues where there's a very formal bid. MLS is a very close partnership. We just want to be sure we're making the right decisions, and not thinking that one team is beating another as it relates to these special events."
The MLS All-Star game has hosted sell out crowds for seven consecutive years. The 2010 match against Manchester United drew more than 70,000 fans at Houston's Reliant Stadium. Last year's rematch held 26,000 fans at Red Bull Arena.
Holding 18,500 fans – expandable to over 20,000 for the ASG according to CEO & Operating Partner Nick Sakiewicz – PPL Park is considerably smaller than those venues. It's a matter of consideration versus criteria.
"It's always a balance for us at MLS," Garber reiterated. "When you have these big events, selling out Reliant Stadium with 80,000 or so people, that's a statement in itself, and obviously the economics are very different. But our owners and our public partners have made a deep commitment to building stadiums throughout the U.S. and Canada. We've got to support those efforts and bring profile to those new buildings. We've made a commitment to those owners in new markets who have built soccer stadiums, and we're going to bring our big events there. It's part of building the game, maybe walking away from something in the short-term, but building something in the long-term."
Among other concerns is the busy schedule in the summer of 2012. The London Olympics will take place in late July and early August, and a number of MLS squads will be competing in the CONCACAF Champions League.
"You have to do the best with the schedule as it lays out," Garber said. "I'm not at all concerned about that. We've got a great squad of guys we can select from. We'll field a terrific team. Part of the challenge of building a soccer league in North America is understanding that we play by a different calendar. That's the reality of where our league is (because of) geography and weather. I'm very confident we'll have a good team."
The MLS All-Star game once mirrored the formats of America's other popular sports leagues: Eastern Conference players lined up against Western Conference foes.
But the format changed in 2002 when the MLS All-Stars were placed on one team, pitted against Mexican side Chivas de Guadalajara. Former Union striker Carlos Ruiz was named MVP in a 3-1 victory for MLS.
It's never too soon to speculate on who we'll see at PPL Park. Since the format switch, six of the eight teams to take on the MLS All-Stars have come from the English Premier League.
"We've been picking teams from England for the past number of years," said Garber. "It's been a while since we've played a Mexican club. I think over time we're going to reach further out from where we've been in the past, but it's hard to argue with the popularity that some of these English clubs have in America. FOX is doing a great job with ESPN promoting those teams. They've got a long history of support here in this country. As long as those teams want to come to the United States and they've got a strong fanbase, we'll probably continue to look to England. I will say though that our view is to South America and Mexico sometime in the future."
WATCH: Philadelphia unveiled as 2012 MLS All-Star host city