MLS team coming to Utah

It's official. The MLS is expanding to Utah.

Deseret Morning News sources confirmed the widespread rumor Friday that Major League Soccer has awarded an expansion franchise to Dave Checketts. An official announcement is expected next Wednesday at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

The MLS is the highest level of soccer in the United States, and with the addition of Utah, it is now a 12-team league.

Checketts has been working with MLS commissioner Dan Garber for more than a year in hopes of bringing an MLS team to Utah. He reportedly paid the league $1 million two months ago for the rights to any franchise awarded to Utah. As soon as the MLS makes its official announcement next week, Checketts will owe an additional $9 million to pay the league expansion fee of $10 million.

Six months ago Utah wasn't even mentioned as a potential MLS site. Cities like Houston, Philadelphia, Cleveland and Seattle appeared to be the finalists to join Chivas USA as expansion teams in 2005. Chivas is the most popular team in Mexico, and its owners are expanding a franchise to Los Angeles.

Then rumors began flying about Utah's bid.

Two things vaulted Utah to the top: Checketts' declaration that he'd be ready by 2005, while most investors wanted to wait until 2006. Second, Checketts' goal of building a soccer-specific stadium.

When the MLS was founded in 1995, all 10 teams played in gigantic 65,000-plus seat football stadiums, which appeared empty even when 25,000 fans attended. Whether it was Soldier Field in Chicago, Giants Stadium in New York or the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, it was virtually impossible for franchises to generate an exciting atmosphere in those vacant stadiums.

Then in 1999, the Columbus Crew finished construction on a soccer-specific stadium. Two years ago, the Los Angeles Galaxy began playing in the Home Depot Center, another soccer-specific stadium. Dallas, Chicago and New York are in the process of building stadiums as well.

The consensus among soccer investors is that it's nearly impossible to make money without building a stadium.

That's why Garber is much more likely to award a city an expansion franchise if the owners are serious about building a stadium.

Until such a stadium is complete, the MLS team would call Rice-Eccles Stadium home.

That team will be sharing that stadium with the Utah Blitzz, the newest A-League franchise.