No professional sports league in U.S. history has enjoyed a growth spurt like the one that has buoyed Major League Soccer over the last dozen years.
MLS has doubled in size, from 10 to 20 teams, since 2004. Average attendance has grown by nearly a third, to more than 21,300 a game, higher than the NHL and NBA. Expansion fees are more than 10 times the $10 million it cost to buy into the league in 2005 and broadcast revenues have increased 500% since then.
But rather than collect his winnings and walk away from the table, MLS Commissioner Dan Garber has decided to double down on that growth, announcing another wave of expansion that will take the league to 28 teams in perhaps as little as four years.