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MLS' goal is to be one of world's best

By Jose Alfredo Flores
USA TODAY

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Still in its infancy, 5-year-old Major League Soccer is taking baby steps in its effort to make an impact in the American sports realm. No one understands this better than league Commissioner Don Garber, who addressed some of MLS' most pressing needs and issues in his state of the league address during All-Star weekend.

''This is only the beginning of a long process,'' said Garber, in his first full year as commissioner. ''We are not nearly satisfied at where we are today and there is much work to be done before we achieve our goals.''

Regarding attendance, Garber said it took the NBA 29 years to average 10,000 fans a game, compared with the 17,406 MLS averaged in its first year. This season MLS is averaging 13,560 a game.

The commissioner said that one of MLS' goals ''is to be among the best soccer leagues in the world. It's a big dream and one that will take time, but we firmly believe it is achievable.''

One of the ways the league is attempting to increase its popularity is by reaching out to the 50 million people in the USA who say they are soccer fans.

''Not nearly enough of them are fans of MLS,'' Garber said. ''I can't think of another sports league in America that has as much opportunity as Major League Soccer.''

One way the league is attracting these fans is through its grass-roots initiatives. Garber said that two out of three kids ages 10 to 15 are playing soccer once a month.

''Kids are playing soccer in record numbers,'' he said. ''The desire to attend an MLS game is exponentially higher when fans participate in one of the league's grass-roots initiatives.''

Those initiatives include the Dribble, Pass & Shoot and MLS Camp programs and the MLS 3 vs. 3 tournament.

TV ratings are up 3% from last year and up 19% in what Garber said is the all-important male 18- to 34-year old demographic group.

He also is optimistic about the prospect of more intimate, smaller stadiums in the future to fit the league crowd projections. In Columbus, a standing room only crowd of 23,495 attended the league's first All-Star game at a soccer-specific stadium.

''Crew Stadium is the pride and envy of everyone in Major League Soccer, but we need more,'' he said.

The Los Angeles Galaxy have a firm commitment to build a new stadium by 2002. A new Foxboro Stadium, scheduled to open in 2002, will house investor-operator Robert Kraft's NFL New England Patriots and the MLS Revolution. The stadium will be built with soccer in mind, with a 30,000-seat lower bowl with soccer viewing lines.

West goalkeeper Tony Meola was impressed with Crew Stadium and would like to see more soccer-specific stadiums in the future. ''Hopefully this stadium and these fans will act as a model for the rest of the league because they showed us why they deserved the All-Star Game.''

Garber is confident about his league's future: ''Major League Soccer will be the league capturing a greater share of the multibillion-dollar American sports market.''