The following are quotes from the MLS media teleconference of March 16, which featured MLS commissioner Doug Logan and executive VP Ivan Gazidis, as well as Tampa Bay coach Tim Hankinson and D.C. United coach Thomas Rongen. Doug Logan Opening Remarks “Our season is ready to go, we’re very excited about our fourth season … We’ve had a very interesting preseason … As I’ve said before, 1999 represents for us “The Year of No Excuses” … During our first three years, we competed with a lot of things going on … This year we have no new teams, no competition for attention with World Cup, the Olympic Games or World Cup Qualifiers … In Guadalajara, Mexico, from the 24th of July onward we will have the U.S. National Team in the Confederations Cup, but Bruce Arena has indicated that he will call in several European-based players, so we think the impact to us will be minimal.” “I’m pleased with our schedule, with teams hosting lots of Saturday night dates which should be beneficial to our in-stadium attendance … Mark your calendars for May 15 as Columbus importantly opens with its world-class soccer-specific stadium.” “We are three percent ahead of last year in terms of season-ticket sales … Some teams are up, some are down … But enough have been sold that we have cautious optimism … Also, I am in the throes of investigative work for potential expansion cities … We will expand when the time and circumstances are right, which means adding teams may be pushed back to 2001 … We will determine in July or August when the next round will be.” Ivan Gazidis Opening Remarks “Raul Diaz Arce and Mauricio Cienfuegos have reported to their teams after ending their holdout … We look forward to sitting down with them and their representatives to determine their contract situations.” “We have also signed two players to Project-40 … One is DaMarcus Beasley, the brother of current New England Revolution Project-40 player Jamar Beasley … We are tremendously excited that DaMarcus has decided to make professional soccer his career … Sergi Daniv has also signed out of Wake Forest … Daniv is a player that a number of our coaches have identified as someone they would like on their squad … Daniv’s assignment will be announced in the next few weeks … DaMarcus will probably not be assigned this year, due to his Under-17 commitments, but will train with Project-40 and various MLS camps.” “Remaining allocations include a couple for San Jose and one for the MetroStars … New York has identified the player they wish to sign … If we didn’t have this conference call, we might have had something to announce in the next few hours … Regardless, we should have some exciting announcements in the next 48 hours.” Thomas Rongen Opening Remarks “I think that all teams would agree, but we are especially anxious to start the season … Preseason becomes tedious when it goes on this long … For the first time against Tampa Bay we will be able to see our starting 11, something that has not happened due to U.S. and Bolivian national team duties … Our nucleus has played together for four years and our professionalism will carry us through … I think that 1999 it should be an exciting season from a competitive standpoint … In the short and long run we will see the improvements in the level of play from several teams, as just having another year under teams’ belts has helped them greatly improve themselves.” Tim Hankinson Opening Remarks “This is a work in progress here in Tampa Bay … The changes made a year ago at this time didn’t quite move things in the direction that was needed … We’ve moved the real estate around with financial issues and international slots vital to the development of the club … We are appreciative to the league for the players and young prospects that we have now here in Tampa Bay … The learning curve with the young players is somewhat steep, but now we have the weapons that were missing last year … D.C. has a great back four and for years has been the best team in the league … We’re happy to be playing in Raymond James Stadium for the first time … It’s a wonderful facility and could be one of the premier soccer sites in this country.” Logan on the league’s 3% season-ticket sales increase “The Crew’s improvement (approximately 48%) is significant … We have six teams that are up, five that are down … Overall we’re up 3%, up more significantly in some places like D.C. and Tampa Bay … We’re down in New York and San Jose, where fans are taking a ‘wait and see’ attitude … The selling season continues for another month (May 15), and we’re confident that at the end of that period we’ll be up … Season tickets are problematic until we develop something we call demand in each of our stadiums … When that happens we will encourage people to buy season tickets because there is no other way to get into a game.” Logan on the MLS role in the development of the youth player in the United States “I think that the issue for MLS concerns two major obstacles: 1) single-entity – our teams do not have a great deal of motivation to develop players that may later be assigned to another team … Our ownership structure does not lend itself to having youth club teams operated by MLS in each city… 2) How we would deal with professional teams getting involved at a young level severely affects eligibility issues and players’ participation in intercollegiate athletics … Developing a youth feeder system is not in our plans for the next five years … However, ambitious plans have been put forth by the U.S. Soccer Federation and the federation foundation … Their plans are strong and we will play our role in helping with that … We will be a nation that develops players in a unique way … I’m bullish on the way we have come together with the federation to develop youth in the sport.” Logan on where Jorge Campos will play in 1999 “We are trying to develop some degree of certainty … Jorge is committed to his Mexican club team until mid-May … This summer, there are two competitions (Copa America and the Confederations Cup) where Jorge will probably play for his national team … We are in the process of gauging his availability … Currently, he is inactive on the Fire roster … We are not prepared to say when or where Jorge will show up, but are prepared that we could go the full ’99 season without Mr. Campos.” Logan on the importance of having a strong product in the New York metropolitan area “Sports fans are resilient, and hope springs eternal at the beginning of every season … Ticket sales in New York and San Jose, which are down, is the result of knowledgeable fans expressing frustration … A strong showing by the MetroStars could help, and they open at home on March 28 so that prevents them from being 0-4 going into their home opener … A strong showing early by San Jose could also positively impact ticket sales.” “I certainly think that there will be improvement in New York because of the way the team was marketed in previous years, even when they were 14-11 … (MetroStars VP of Marketing) Jim Leahy has been a great addition, doing several interesting things and getting the team out to the people … They have established a store in West New York, scheduled bus trips for their fans and other grassroots marketing ideas … Part of the team’s success this season will be due to what goes on on the field and how the team is marketed off of it … Overall, I’m pleased with the restructuring … Leahy has done several positive things … I’m optimistic about how they will turn things around.” Rongen on his frustrations in New England and confidence in landing on his feet “Any situation has its own unique challenges … In ’96 we had 10 teams with no players, and had to build a team with unknowns initially … In ’97 when I first came to New England the goal was to put a team out there that could make the playoffs … We did that with a 15-17 record … We wanted to play better than .500 ball and didn’t do that … Everywhere I’ve been, salary, budget and international issues affect us all … Teams that didn’t do well during the first two years have had a tough time getting out of that hole … Making a lot of changes, which is something I did in New England, is a gamble and you just have to hope that it works out … Over the course of a career you go through ups and downs and you just have to deal with it … I’m honored that (D.C. United President and General Manager) Kevin Payne recognized that I’ve done some positive things in MLS and the APSL and that I didn’t lose my winning touch in just one year … This year presents a different challenge than I’ve ever had – more managing and teaching than anything else … If I wasn’t at D.C. United right now, I had some other opportunities in MLS or in Holland … My main goal is to grow the sport in the United States.” Logan on whether this is a do or die year for the Mutiny “We’re not a league that makes threats or creates artificial hurdles for our teams … Year four and we’re still in our 10 original cities, with two expansion cities … Positive experiences can be garnered from Tampa Bay, which is a competitive market with a lot of sports entities … We’re looking for a reversal of the attendance trend, which has gone down since year one … The response of the community is what is now important, after having resolved the problems with the team and the stadium … We have no artificial criteria as far as specific attendance goals.” Logan on why D.C. United ticket sales are up this year “United’s ticket sales are up significantly (17/18 %) … I’m optimistic about hitting 5,000 season tickets there … They have worked extremely hard to get where they are, trying some new things.” Rongen on why D.C. United ticket sales are up this year “The signing of Thomas Rongen!” Logan on how to please the Investor-Operators “Our Investor-Operators have a business plan that outlines certain financial goals … We have a five-year commitment to finance this league … If we hit our targets that will go a long way … There are no breakthroughs anymore … You can’t wake up and double this or triple that … I would look for an improvement in attendance and TV ratings as the season goes on … We also should continue our pattern of success as we feed the national team and how we compete against teams in the Americas … We haven’t established numerical criteria for any of the Investor-Operators … We will make adjustments if we don’t achieve the goals of our very prudent business plan.” Gazidis on John Harkes’ situation with MLS “John has been injured for the last 10 days or so with Nottingham Forest, but if his fitness is what we expect it to be, he will be in a New England uniform for their opener (March 28 at Miami) … It’s a question of making practical arrangements … He should be in Boston in the next few days.” Logan on stadium construction in the next few years “It’s not a well-kept secret that this is our last year in Giants Stadium under the original lease … Several sites in Northern New Jersey, including the Meadowlands, provide the answer to future questions for the MetroStars … Before June 15 , there could be resolution to the Giants Stadium issue or an outline of how the team could play in Northern New Jersey … We’re also examining options in Denver, and (Los Angeles Galaxy President) Tim Leiweke has made it known that there could be possibilities besides the Rose Bowl in Southern California.” Gazidis on Raul Diaz Arce and Mauricio Cienfuegos playing this weekend “I hope the chances are good … They’ve shown good faith by coming into camp and I look forward to sitting down with them and discussing their contracts.” Logan on Raul Diaz Arce and Mauricio Cienfuegos playing this weekend “Our position is clear … They are under contract with MLS and they are now in camp … It is our expectation that they will abide by their contracts, and if their coaches want to play them this weekend, then they will play.” Logan on Project 2010 and its involvement with Sunil Gulati “Absolutely will MLS and U.S. Soccer continue to have the same goals with respect to 2010 and there will be no difficulties with regards to that situation.” Logan on FIFA’s two-referee experiment “We’re looking at it with an interested eye … We’re as interested as anyone else, but we’ve received no communications from FIFA regarding the experiment.” Logan on the personnel changes in the upper echelon at the league office “Any enterprise that has young people, especially in sports, has periodic turnover and one should not draw any inferences from that.” Logan on the Miami Fusion’s season-ticket sales “I don’t think that having 1,000 season tickets at this point in time is good … There’s been a modest amount of improvement, and the Fusion are still in the throes of reorganization … I think that it takes a while to establish a team and a brand in a market … Miami and Tampa Bay are in very competitive markets with new teams and arenas, regardless of the sport … It will come in Miami, it just takes time and hard work … I’m not saying they haven’t worked hard, they just need to work smarter.”