With only one spot left for an expansion franchise in Major League Soccer(MLS), cities will be battling to show Commissioner Don Garber and the rest of the board to show why their city should win a franchise. With the additions of Orlando City, New York City FC, Los Angeles FC, and an unnamed franchise in Atlanta, it has led many cities and owners scrambling to get a franchise.

Sacramento

Pros: Great USL attendance, established ownership group

Cons: Geography

This past USL Pro season saw Sacramento Republic FC come out as champions, not only of the

league, but they also shattered the USL attendance record which has made them a big prospect for an expansion site. The city also got a boost in their MLS expansion dreams when the owners of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings bought the team. The only downside it seems for Sacramento is it’s geographical location. The state of California already has three teams, being LA Galaxy, LAFC, and the San Jose Earthquakes, so it may seem unfair for California to get another team over another city or state.

Miami

Pros: Established ownership group

Cons: Past and present teams, stadium deal

Miami has been a hot topic in the MLS expansion conversation, with David Beckham leading the charge as the owner of the new franchise. Yet, Miami has a dark past when it comes to precessional soccer. In 2001, the city’s first MLS team, the Miami Fusion, folded due to poor attendance, and other Miami professional sports teams are struggling attendance wise, with the Marlins and Dolphins ranking near the bottom of average attendance in their respective leagues.

Minneapolis

Pros: Established fan base, established ownership group

Cons: Weather

Minneapolis seems to have everything going for them sports wise, as they already have NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB franchises, so why not add MLS? This has been in major talks, as the owners of the NFL’s Vikings have been looking to bring a team there. That also seems to go hand in hand with an established fanbase, which is in Minneapolis with Minnesota United FC having great attendance in the NASL. Yet there’s always another part of the argument, and for Minneapolis it seems to be the weather. The MLS season runs all the way from March to December, and when it comes to the winter months, it may be a problem attendance wise for Minneapolis, as they record very low temperatures and heavy snowfall in the winter months.

Detroit

Pros: Established fan base

Cons: Economy

Detroit hasn’t been in the conversation as much as some of the others on this list, but they seem to deserve a mention. Detroit City FC recorded very high attendance numbers in the NPSL, the fifth tier of soccer in the US, and sold out World Cup games in 1994 when the U.S. hosted the tournament. Yet Detroit has one of the worst economical situations in the country, which seems like it could turn away interest from possible owners and MLS.

Las Vegas

Pros: Stadium deal done

Cons: Nothing to back the claims

Las Vegas seems like it’d be a strange area for an expansion franchise, with no other professional sports teams in the area, it seems difficult to predict if the team would have good attendance or not. Yet the ownership group trying to bring MLS to Las Vegas have made tremendous strides, already having a stadium deal approved by the city.

St. Louis

Pros: Soccer history, attendance

Cons: No established ownership group

St. Louis has been tossed around in the expansion talks since MLS was founded, and somehow still hasn’t made it in. The city has had many professional players, and had many players on the 1950 World Cup team, the team that shocked one of the favorites of the tournament, England. Yet, history doesn’t put people into seats for a game, but recent friendlies in St. Louis have shown that maybe St. Louis has some claim to being a soccer city. The city was also given an expansion franchise in USL, St. Louis FC. Yet, a good ownership group hasn’t stepped up to the plate for St. Louis yet. After many rumors that Stan Kroenke, owner of the Rams and Arsenal FC in London, was going to buy a team for St. Louis, which have always came up short, the city seems to be losing hope for a team.

Austin

Pros: Attendance

Cons: No liable ownership group

Austin has been tossed in the expansion talk here and there, with the attendance of the Austin Aztecs of USL being the main arguing point for the city. Yet, there hasn’t been an ownership group to take interest in the city, so the hopes of expansion for Austin seem to be only a dream for the moment.

San Antonio

Pros: Attendance

Cons: Loss of interest

For some time, it seemed that San Antonio was destined for an expansion spot, with the San Antonio Scorpions of NASL achieving high attendance and the owners of the team meeting with MLS officials. Yet, it seems that San Antonio has faded into the background of expansion talk, with little to no news coming from the city for a long while.