Players Aim to Bust Supposed Trust - Major League Soccer antitrust lawsuit - Brief Article

Soccer Digest, Dec, 2000 by David Stone

OPENING STATEMENTS IN A lawsuit filed by MLS players against the league were heard in a Boston court earlier this fall. The suit, filed before the beginning of the 1997 season, claims that MLS and the USSF effectively created a monopoly by designating MLS as the country's sole Division I league.

The lawsuit accuses MLS of five counts of antitrust violations, although a federal judge has already thrown out two of the claims. Only one count--the accusation that MLS operates as a monopoly--is being addressed at this trial. The players are arguing that by making MLS the U.S.'s only D-I league for its first two seasons, the USSF eliminated competition for their services and destroyed the American Professional Soccer League's chances for success. In theory, the presence of another league such as the APSL would have provided increased job opportunities and higher salaries for players, and the plaintiffs are asking for monetary damages and an injunction to restore competition.

The league and the Federation say that the designation was granted simply to help increase MLS's chances for success, given the history of the sport in this country. "What the evidence shows is that soccer has been so fragile that given a chance to succeed the Federation determined it would be best to give one league a chance to try to establish Division I in the United States," says MLS COO Mark Abbott.

If successful in court, MLS players may find that they're merely biting the hand that feeds them. The suit has already been a drain on MLS, and an award to the players will certainly hurt the unprofitable league further.

Professional soccer in South Florida may be on thin ice, in spite of the area's Latin community. Despite the team's refurbished Lockhart Stadium, considered one of MLS's best environments, second only to Columbus' Crew Stadium, the Fusion haven't received strong support in the Miami area. There is speculation that the team will possibly be headed to Rochester, New York, with its planned $47-million, 20,000-seat stadium and a solid community of soccer supporters.

MLS fans in Miami and the rest of the country will have fewer chances to see their favorite teams on ABC next season. The network has dropped four of its six planned MLS telecasts for the 2001 season, keeping only the MLS Cup and the midseason All-Star Game. The league hopes to regain the four broadcasts at some point int, but isn't particularly optimistic.

With four expansion slots available in MLS, cities are already beginning to line up as suitors. The league plans to add two teams in 2002 and another two in 2004, and potential investors are attempting to use new, soccer-specific stadiums as lures. The Sacramento Stadium Partners have proposed a 15,000- to 20,000-seat stadium to the local City Council in an effort to receive city-owned land for the stadium site. The planned stadium would cost less than $20 million with the donation of land, and while MLS has shown an interest in Sacramento, the Partners must first work out a deal with the city before moving on to the league and potential investors.

Milwaukee is also working towards building its own new soccer stadium that would ideally host an MLS team. Milwaukee investor Tim Krause is planning a 25,000-seat facility just north of the Bradley Center, which is the home of the NBA's Bucks. The stadium, in addition to an MLS expansion franchise, would also accommodate college soccer.

Philadelphia has also expressed an interest in hosting MLS soccer, through the National Football League's Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie and NPSL Kixx owner Ed Tepper. However, Veterans Stadium, the Eagles' home and the city's main stadium, currently has artificial turf, which goes against an MLS requirement of natural grass surfaces.

The on-again, off-again negotiations for the sale of the DC United has once again fallen apart. The yearlong process with New York investment bank E.M. Warburg, Pincus & Co. was near completion earlier this fall before breaking off. Although no one had a specific reason for the failure of the $25-million deal, one source involved with the negotiations sighed, "You can only negotiate for so many years." In addition, to make matters worse, the team's headquarters were sold by the estate of former Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke to a church group that may take control of the property and kick United out. United's prospective new owners were planning on purchasing the facility, but chose not to for obvious reasons when the team's sale went south.

In spite of United's problems, the Washington, D.C. area may soon have a new, soccer-specific stadium. The D.C. Sports Commission, which operates RFK Stadium, has been looking into the possibility of erecting a new facility on RFK's grounds. The Commission would use Columbus' Crew Stadium as a model, but would add more amenities than are present in Columbus. While United are not involving themselves in long-term plans until the team is eventually sold, a new stadium would be shared by the city's new WUSA franchise, a possible Major League Lacrosse team, and a minor league soccer team, likely to be the A-League Northern Virginia Royals.