Officials from both Major League Soccer and RLS (Real Salt Lake, a football club in the MLS) announced last week that the RLS Stadium would be the location for the 2009 All-Star game for the MLS. The $110 million dollar stadium, located in Sandy, Utah, will seat 20,000 fans after it opens in October, 2008. As of now, the date and the opponent for the All-Star game has yet to be announced.

“We are excited to bring the 2009 MLS All-Star game to Utah and Major League Soccer’s newest world-class venue,” said Abbott. “Real Salt Lake has a history of hosting first-rate soccer events, and we certainly expect Dave Checketts and his staff to continue this tradition with the All-Star game. It is a testament to the growth of the League that we are able to host this wonderful event in a soccer-specific stadium for the seventh consecutive year.” - [Source]

Funnily enough, the announcement of the location for next years All-Star MLS soccer game comes amid many published reports calling the talent of the MLS into question:

Would an average MLS side get flattened regularly in a top-tier Western European league, such as England’s Premier League, Italy’s Serie A, Germany’s Bundesliga, or Spain’s La Liga? (”Yes. And how badly?”) [Source]

The same publication also questions whether or not bringing David Beckham to MLS did more than splash him and Posh Spice all over the covers of the American tabloids. We’ve brought up the same question when reporting on the disappointing ratings the MLS has raked in for ESPN.

But, we feel it is important to note that MLS soccer has seen a decent increase in season ticket sales across the board for the 2008 season with every team but the LA Galaxy, FC Dallas and Chivas USA showing an increase, with seven of the fourteen MLS teams showing a double digit improvement over the 2007 season, with the Toronto FC having the most devoted fan following by a very large margin.

Tags: MLS, MLS All Star Game, Soccer
Posted in Sports |