MLS president Mark Abbott talks New York clubs, foreign ownership and NYCFC stadium process

New York is a unique locale in Major League Soccer for a few reasons.

It is one of just two markets with multiple MLS clubs. It’s the only market with a club, never mind two, controlled by foreign ownership groups also fielding teams in Europe’s top leagues. And it currently is the only market with a club, defending MLS Cup champion New York City FC, still searching for a place to break ground on a long-term home.

While MLS leadership wants to see that last point change soon, there is belief at the league level that both NYCFC and the Red Bulls, and their respective majority owners City Football Group and Red Bull GmbH, are taking professional men’s soccer in New York in the right direction. MLS president and deputy commissioner Mark Abbott believes NYCFC’s championship run was a perfect opportunity for new fans to see why.

“What I hope people saw was, they didn’t just win, they’re an exciting team,” Abbott said at The Associated Press Sports Editors Commissioners meetings in Manhattan on Tuesday. “They have great players and they really demonstrated that with that playoff run.”

Abbott, who joined the league at its inception in 1993 ahead of its launch three years later, said the local clubs’ foreign influence has been a boon for their growth. The Red Bulls, formerly the MetroStars, were bought and rebranded by Red Bull GmbH in 2006. NYCFC began play in 2015 as Manchester City’s sister club under new holding company City Football Group, which now boasts teams in 10 countries.

“Each market has its own needs, but I think clearly they have benefitted,” Abbott said. “In both cases, they have very extensive scouting networks and the ability to identify talent through those networks to help bolster their team here, and we’ve seen examples of that.”

When each group joined the fray, Abbott said the league was clear it didn’t want the New York teams to be left behind by, or over-reliant on, their European counterparts.

“In each case, when we spoke with them, we said it’s important you benefit from the network you have, but you have dedicated people here in a high level who are focused on the success here. And I think both of them have done that,” Abbott said. “It’s important for our fans here, and for success in a market, particularly a market like New York, that you have high-caliber front office and technical staff that isn’t just reliant on the resources they have outside of here, but are able to execute locally, too. Both embraced that coming in and have continued to embrace it.”

As successful as the teams have been, NYCFC’s local triumphs mostly still occur on converted baseball diamonds. While Abbott said the league is aiding NYCFC in certain areas, the search for a suitable site ultimately falls on the club itself.

"I think it's important and they recognize how important it is,” Abbott said. “I think that for all of our clubs, it's been a strategic imperative since we began the league to have a home where you can be, if not the primary tenant, a key tenant in that stadium and for all the reasons: revenue streams, that you're able to control the fan environment. That's a really important step for NYCFC. Very, very, very, very focused on it.

“Our clubs take the primary lead on the stadium development projects. We're here to provide support. We have a lot of technical expertise in stadium development that we talk to our clubs about. There are requirements for those stadiums that we that we have that we've developed over the years. We have an expertise on financing that we've worked with our clubs on, but the primary lead is from the clubs in terms of those stadium development projects.”

By Ryan Gerbosi

ryan.gerbosi@newsday.comRyanGerbosi

Ryan Gerbosi is an internet news manager for sports at Newsday.com. He also covers NYCFC and mixed martial arts and believes the designated hitter should be banned from baseball.