Sounder Fc Franchise Research Project

Sounder's Research Outline

History 231

Research Project Outline

How did the Seattle Sounders FC change Major League Soccer?

The Seattle Sounders was once a struggling soccer franchise that was not popular in the great Northwest. The franchise wasn’t even a part of the Major League Soccer (MLS) because it wasn’t followed enough. Now the Seattle Sounders is one of the most popular soccer teams in America because of the loyalty of the fans in Washington. This outline will show the impact the Sounders have had on the MLS and Washington State.

Talk of Seattle having an MSL soccer team:

* June 14th 1994, announcement that Seattle would not be included among the first seven cities to be awarded an MLS team.

* Later that year Seattle MLS organizers began working with the University of Washington to secure use of Husky Stadium as an interim stadium while they pursued the construction of a permanent soccer-specific facility.

* At the end of 1994 the first season of MLS was postponed until 1996.

In 1996 owner of the Seattle Seahawks, Paul Allen, works with the city to build a stadium:

* Owner Paul Allen worked with the city of Seattle to build a new football stadium for his football team, the potential of an MLS expansion team that could be a co-tenant helped drive public support for the effort.

Problems for Seattle:

* By 2000, the MLS was moving away from league-operated teams to investor-operated teams, so wealthy individuals would need to step forward for Seattle to obtain an MLS expansion team.

In 2002, Seattle once again listed as a possibility for an MSL expansion team:

* Possibility of Seattle getting an MSL expansion team when ten-team league announced plans to expand into new markets.

In 2004, Seattle doesn’t receive expansion team award:

* MLS commissioner Don Garber indicated that Seattle had been “very close” to receiving the expansion team award but instead was given to Salt Lake.

* Adrian...