TORONTO — Major League Soccer prefaced the annual commissioner's annual state of the league address with news of increased player salary investment.
And while Don Garber talked up successful expansion, an improved player base and the league's growing television and attendance numbers, he found himself being drawn back to the trouble spot of Columbus time and time again on the eve of the MLS Cup final between Toronto FC and the Seattle Sounders.
Anthony Precourt, whose Precourt Sports Ventures has owned the Columbus team since 2013, has said the franchise expects to move to Austin, Texas, following the 2018 season unless a new, privately financed stadium is built in downtown Columbus.
"Like every professional sport league, we never want to relocate a team," Garber said. "And while no decision has been made to relocate the Crew, MLS is supportive of the Precourt Sports Ventures efforts to explore their options in Austin."
Garber urged the Columbus mayor and city leaders to rethink their decision to link continuing talks to a demand that the team ownership discontinue discussions with Austin.
"That's just not possible at this point. So the ball's in the city's court," said Garber.
The increased roster investment comes in the form of what the league calls targeted allocation money, a tool for teams to sign elite talent outside the three designated players allowed per team.
It can be used to reduce the charge against the salary cap of players whose salary and acquisition cost are more than the maximum salary budget charge (US$480,625) but less than $1.5 million. The minimum the salary charge can be bought down to is $150,000.
An example is Toronto FC's Spanish playmaker Victor Vazquez, whose salary was listed at $700,000 this season.
Clubs can use TAM for other uses, including signing a new homegrown player.
Each club will receive $1.2 million of targeted allocation money — the same amount as this year — in both 2018 and 2019. Teams can use the 2018 and 2019 amounts at the same time if so desired.
The league has also, for the first time, given teams the chance to spend an additional $2.8 million in TAM money of their own in both 2018 and 2019.
Garber said giving the teams the chance to use their own TAM money allows for a diversity in strategy.
He also noted that the final four in the playoffs this season featured two big-spenders (Toronto and Seattle) and two not-big spenders (Columbus and Houston).
If such salary tools become too imbalanced, they can be changed, he added.
Garber said the Columbus problem is not an issue of ownership. He acknowledged Columbus had been a trouble spot for a long time, saying it is among the league's lowest teams in "every measure that matters in pro sports" from attendance to TV ratings.
"There's a lot that needs to happen to address those situations," he said.
If progress is made "it's conceivable the team could stay," he added.
The Crew currently play in 17-year-old Mapfre Stadium, some six kilometres north of downtown Columbus. The team ranks 20th out of 22 teams in attendance this season with an average of 15,439, despite making the playoffs. Capacity is 19,968.
Los Angeles FC will become the league's 23rd team next season. Miami is also guaranteed a spot with the league currently entertaining applications from Cincinnati, Detroit, Nashville and Sacramento for the next two teams. An upcoming league board meeting will decide the matter.
Garber said Miami may fall down the pecking order of new clubs entering the league because of issues with a stadium site and the search for local ownership to join David Beckham in the venture.
On other matters, Garber said the league may in the future push up its schedule to avoid the current late finish. But he said current playoff TV and attendance numbers are positive.
The commissioner said the U.S. failure to qualify for the World Cup may actually become a positive given it may force more integrated development programs with U.S. Soccer.
"We didn't qualify and that really stinks," said Garber. "But the sky's not falling and I think we've just got to be smart in how we work together to ensure it doesn't happen four years from now. "
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Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
