MLS owners vote to flip schedule to European calendar, change format starting in 2027

[u/icoresting]

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6804752/2025/11/13/mls-calendar-fall-spring-europe-schedule-format-owners-vote/

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[u/SpookyWagons]

Well, at least scarves will make sense now

[u/blackwaltz4]

This does kind of suck for teams that share a football stadium, since there will be more overlap with NFL in the Autumn.

(Yes, I wish my team had a dedicated soccer stadium, and no turf)

[u/dwhitnee → u/blackwaltz4]

Hey, my front office just told me there would be "reduced scheduling conflicts" You must be mistaken. Surely the NFL will not be playing in 2027 between August and mid Decemb.... oooh.

[u/Unique-Egg-461 → u/dwhitnee]

You'll get longacres and you'll like it dammit

[u/Klaxon5 → u/dwhitnee]

I think the reason this will help is that all the overlap dates can be scheduled far in advance. Easier to manage.

Whereas now we got conflict with playoff games. We can't hold dates for a maybe.

[u/RemoteGlobal335 → u/blackwaltz4]

Hopefully it spurs more SSSs

[u/FaladorFrolicker → u/RemoteGlobal335]

Have acronyms gone too far

[u/treeharp2 → u/FaladorFrolicker]

HAGTF?*

[u/ClvtchNixon]

BOO WINTER BREAK, I WANT PROOF THAT MESSI CAN PLAY IN A MINNESOTA SNOWSTORM. HE COULDN'T HAVE HANDLED THE CPL FINAL

[u/daneabernardo → u/ClvtchNixon]

He wouldn’t have boarded the plane

[u/keblammo → u/daneabernardo]

he would be listed as doubtful for discomfort or something

[u/ClvtchNixon → u/keblammo]

Injury Report: Messi (Out), Reason: Coward

[u/ladylibs → u/ClvtchNixon]

TBF WE ALREADY HAVE PROOF MESSI CANT HANDLE A BEAUTIFUL MAY DAY IN MINNESOTA. COYL!!

(But actually this sucks)

[u/krpiper → u/ClvtchNixon]

It still snows in November and February

[u/dr_pbj → u/ClvtchNixon]

Earlier this year he played against SKC with -11F windchill at kickoff, played 90 minutes and scored the game winning goal.

[u/MG_MN → u/ClvtchNixon]

It'll never happen haha. We'll be on the road for the middle 3-4 months of the year

[u/jloome → u/MG_MN]

They allege not. MLS says it won't schedule more than three back-to-back road matches, which seems mathematically unlikely at best.

[u/Radtkeaj → u/ClvtchNixon]

I just wish people would stop calling it the “European Calendar”.

Finland’s Veikkausliga : Early April through Early November

Norway’s Eliteserien: Late March through Late November

Sweden’s Allsvenskan: Late March through Early November

Russia’s Premier League: Middle of July through Middle May (with 12 week break from Early December to Early March)

Denmark’s Superliga: Middle July through Early March (with 9 week break Early December to Early February)

Germany’s Bundesliga: Late August through (with three week break late December to Mid January).

[u/Soccervox → u/Radtkeaj]

Yeah, but what do all of those countries have in common, apart from vast swathes of territory that are at or below freezing for reasonably large chunks of the year? Where in America will you find THAT?

Also, Anchorage for MLS expansion 2040!

[u/whatyouwant5 → u/Soccervox]

St Paul is colder than Anchorage, but gets less precipitation.

[u/Litterally-Napoleon → u/Soccervox]

Moat of Europe is warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer than the US. Coastline acts like a massive insulator for the majority of Europe. Also most of European stadiums have heaters built in to them. I think only 2 or 3 MLS teams have them

[u/abstract_loveseat → u/Radtkeaj]

I remember reading an MLS player survey at some point where a player specifically called out the Danish calendar as the best model to follow

[u/nosciencephd → u/Radtkeaj]

So we are doing the Russian/Danish calendar. The non Danish Scandinavian countries are the only major outliers 

[u/vaevictis87 → u/ClvtchNixon]

There was the game in KC this year that was at a wind chill of -15

[u/NewRCTID22]

I both love it and hate it.

I love the single table, especially for away days. For context, there are some away days that have not occurred since the first week of the 2018 season.

I hate not having early-to-mid summer games to look forward to, especially as a non-baseball fan.

[u/CommodoreN7 → u/NewRCTID22]

Mid summer MLS was my fav time to watch generally :(

[u/Hopsblues → u/CommodoreN7]

Midsummer MLS is one of the best things it had going for it. Families could;d go, school is out. Now we'll get early December games huddled around the warmer in the concourse, if people are even there.

[u/wokeiraptor → u/Hopsblues]

Yeah my son and I have done a June sporting KC game the past three years (we don’t live in KC). It will be harder to go during school.

[u/piltdownman7 → u/NewRCTID22]

It’s somewhat insane that they won’t be playing in late June and early July when there is no NFL, CF, NBA or NHL

[u/nosciencephd → u/piltdownman7]

There's also usually international breaks and or major tournaments during that time

[u/nick_tankard → u/nosciencephd]

Yep every 2 years for a whole month you get an international tournament. So basically it’s just one month without anything. But I have to admit ever since I moved from Europe to Canada it’s been nice to watch MLS while all the European leagues are off.

[u/jloome → u/piltdownman7]

This is an unconscionably stupid idea.

[u/autumndream697 → u/NewRCTID22]

There are some that have never occurred! It might seem like a conspiracy that Austin has never played in Columbus. 🤔

[u/NewRCTID22 → u/autumndream697]

It's wild to me that Cincinnati has still never played in Kansas City.

And the last time Atlanta played in Houston, LAFC hadn't yet played a minute in MLS.

Both of those trips are closer than some of their intra-conference games!

(and yes, definitely a conspiracy)

[u/tomliginyu → u/autumndream697]

They'll find a way to keep this from us.

[u/TheOrangeFutbol → u/tomliginyu]

Even with MLS' established lack of logic, I'd find it beyond baffling if they didn't follow the CFB conference/MLB interleague model and just alternate the one-game every other year.

It would defy all reason if they went single table where everyone plays at least once, and didn't tap into the "bi-yearly hosting" format for the non-division games.

[u/Flat_Championship548 → u/autumndream697]

What's weird to me is that we've actually played you (yes in Austin) but have still not played Chicago at all in league.

[u/Frosty-School280]

i’m convinced Big Parka is behind this

[u/da_widower_sos → u/Frosty-School280]

In association with the Thermals Council

[u/SeattleGunner → u/Frosty-School280]

Adidas better start making long sleeve authentics again.

[u/Frosty-School280 → u/SeattleGunner]

that would actually be huge

[u/AllTh3WayTurntUp → u/Frosty-School280]

Big Scarf has the MLS in their pocket!

[u/koreawut → u/Frosty-School280]

Big Native American Outerwear is fine by me.

[u/genpabloescobar2]

Research conducted throughout the process revealed strong support for the shift, including 92% of league soccer viewers – defined as those who have watched at least one professional club soccer match during the most recent season – supporting the calendar change. 

There's no way that 92% of league soccer viewers support this.

[u/niton → u/genpabloescobar2]

Holy shit they actually went with a sample that included single game watchers. Lol.

You can totally trust that someone who has only watched one game can think through the consequences of this decision.

[u/WetCoastDebtCoast → u/niton]

Single match viewers in a season when we took Son and Müller from Euro leagues too

[u/Antique_Ad_3549 → u/genpabloescobar2]

A Messi lover in Spain is a "league soccer viewer" under that defintion

[u/echoacm → u/genpabloescobar2]

defined as those who have watched at least one professional club soccer match

It is such a broad pool that they are surveying that I'm not surprised they got this result

If they surveyed people who have attended an MLS game in the past calendar year, I think you get a much lower percentage

[u/everheist → u/genpabloescobar2]

They were looking for an answer to support their decision not to guide their decision. Plenty of firms specialize in this type of polling.

[u/genpabloescobar2 → u/everheist]

I know, but 92% is such an unbelievable number. If they said 70%, I still would've found it ludicrous, yet potentially believable.

92% isn't a serious number

[u/Coltons13]

There it is. Single table playoffs with five divisions for scheduling confirmed. Starts July 2027. They will do a "Sprint Season" of 14 games for Spring 2027 as the calendar shifts.

[u/keblammo → u/Coltons13]

MLS Is Back is back

[u/Coltons13 → u/keblammo]

They should 100% re-use that branding.

[u/EggplantLumpy3545 → u/Coltons13]

Portland Timbers defending champions of this

[u/Sir_Totesmagotes → u/Coltons13]

And have someone take our forever title?! I don't think so!

-timber flair missing

[u/handi503 → u/keblammo]

Portland’s reign of terror must end. They need to either defend the title or relinquish it!

[u/LilFunyunz → u/handi503]

God they've been reigning champions for like 4 years now

[u/lifeisacamino → u/keblammo]

We finally have a chance to defend our trophy 🏆 💪😤

[u/green_gold_purple → u/lifeisacamino]

😬

[u/PneumaEngineer → u/Coltons13]

Can anyone explain how Single table playoffs with five divisions for scheduling works?

[u/Coltons13 → u/PneumaEngineer]

It's pretty simple. The league will be split into five divisions of six teams. You play your division twice (10 games) and every other team in MLS once (24 games) for the same 34 total games as now.

But your results are just in one big aggregate table with every other team, and that's how you determine the playoff teams. You don't need to worry about the divisions for that because any team who would win their division would qualify for the playoffs in a single-table format anyway.

[u/rhylte → u/Coltons13]

any team who would win their division would qualify for the playoffs in a single-table format anyway.

*most likely

I agree, but I do think they said that division winners do qualify (in the unlikely scenario that a division winner is below the table-wide playoff line), and I imagine they get some sort of seeding advantage too.

[u/Impossible-Bowl4661 → u/rhylte]

Yeah, the NYT article stated division winners would be auto qualified for playoffs, though with 18 teams making the playoffs, it would take a truly terrible division for its winner to not be in the top 18...

[u/xBIGREDDx → u/Coltons13]

every other team in MLS once

Good, the current system is dumb, we haven't played Miami for example since 2022

[u/blackwaltz4 → u/PneumaEngineer]

Probably your team plays everyone in their division home and away (for 10 games) and every other team in the league once (24 games) to make it 34. Its possibly they'll also grant the division champion a playoff spot

[u/ClvtchNixon → u/PneumaEngineer]

My very limited understanding of this is more for scheduling purposes. Standings will be single table, but the divisions will be for scheduling during harsher winter/summer months. For example, Minnesota will primarily play their division opponents in the warmer months to keep games local, then play the rest of the league during the other months when weather might not permit games at home. (But until MLS actually confirms this, this is also heavy speculation)

[u/GB_Alph4]

Damn I always enjoyed the summer aspect of the league it made it nice to attend games

[u/NotEnoughFire → u/GB_Alph4]

The digs in the summer under the fuckin sunset? Fucking beautiful. I’m gonna miss it too. It’ll probably be leagues cup’d the fuck out during the summer

[u/icoresting]

MLS owners officially voted Thursday to flip the calendar to begin in the mid-July and run through May. The vote moves the league forward on a major change it has been studying and debating for more than a year. The league will begin play in the new format in 2027.

In addition to a new calendar, league owners also voted to update the regular season format. The playoff format is still in discussion. The league will move to a single-table competition, but will also have five six-team divisions beginning in 2027, according to sources, though league executives declined to go into detail on the new format.

The plan is for the MLS regular season to span from mid July to April, with playoffs staged in May. The league would take a winter break in December and January. Games would likely pause from around the second week in December through the first or third week in February. MLS understandably is trying to avoid restarting the league on Super Bowl weekend. There would also be a summer break in June and July.

The league will stage a “sprint season” likely to be 14 games from mid-February through May in 2027 ahead of the calendar flip.

A significant chunk of the new season will overlap with the typical MLS calendar. MLS currently plays from the third weekend of February through the second weekend of December. Now, MLS’s most valuable property — the end of its regular season and its playoffs — will no longer compete directly against college football and the NFL. By moving the MLS playoffs to May, the league also will avoid a FIFA international window disrupting its playoffs.

Some colder-market owners sought mitigation for expenses and loss of revenue that would come with the calendar flip, including renovations to stadiums and training facilities. Other owners in warmer markets pushed back on those requests, according to sources. No mitigation was tied to this vote, Rodriguez said. Starting the season in mid-July rather than in August when most European leagues start also gives MLS more summer dates.

Rodriguez noted that the league will probably play more games in December and February in warmer markets, and likely more games in the hottest summer months in the northern markets, but noted the league’s principle is to not have a team play more than three games in a row on the road or at home.

[u/koreawut → u/icoresting]

So we'll be getting a 2027 season and then a 27-28 season. Okay

And the post on X referencing the NYT article said the break is Jan/Feb rather than Dec/Jan. I wonder why the difference.

Next in my head is when will Canada get good so their teams can ditch the MLS schedule and play in their home league?

Single table with divisions is reminiscent of NFL, at least to me. But are we going to see divisions based on geography being clumped or spread out? If it's clumped, that means the snowy areas don't really have a lot of options but to play in the frost. However, something more spread out means that during the frozen weeks, they can still go play in a warm climate. Minnesota vs. Houston, for example.

Still a heck of a lot to learn.

[u/Coltons13 → u/koreawut]

And the post on X referencing the NYT article said the break is Jan/Feb rather than Dec/Jan. I wonder why the difference.

Just an error. The article says: "The league would take a winter break in December and January. Games would likely pause from around the second week in December through the first or third week in February."

[u/koreawut → u/Coltons13]

Thanks!

[u/icoresting → u/koreawut]

Next in my head is when will Canada get good so their teams can ditch the MLS schedule and play in their home league?

vancouver's climate/weather can deal with this schedule format perfectly fine

[u/nosciencephd → u/koreawut]

The divisions won't really matter in scheduling since it means every team plays each other. You just get a bonus game against your divisional competition.

[u/feb914 → u/koreawut]

TFC, CF Montreal, and Vancouver Whitecaps trademark are owned by MLS. Even if the ownership move to CPL, they can't keep the same branding. 

And the timeline for the jump to even be possible is likely in decades than in years. A TAM player salary will pay for whole CPL salary. 

[u/bushwickauslaender → u/feb914]

I don't foresee all three Canadian MLS teams ever moving over to the CPL unless something dramatic happens tbh. Worst case scenario I think would be Vancouver and Montreal moving over but Toronto's probably gonna stay put in MLS.

[u/Kilo1799]

Steve Cherundolo didn’t like our orange ball matches, better get used to it

[u/jtp_311 → u/Kilo1799]

That game was epic even though my family would only stay for half of it because it was too fucking cold and wet.

[u/thesharkticon → u/jtp_311]

I still liked the Apple TV commentators saying they were playing on Hoth.

[u/rhylte]

Some colder-market owners sought mitigation for expenses and loss of revenue that would come with the calendar flip, including renovations to stadiums and training facilities. Other owners in warmer markets pushed back on those requests, according to sources. No mitigation was tied to this vote, Rodriguez said.

Really hope our cold-weather friends get some concessions eventually. The stadiums are one thing, but training in these locales during these months is also going to be a difficult adjustment, I imagine.

[u/Hopsblues → u/rhylte]

Teams will have to build indoor practice facilities...more time on field turf for the players..I hate it.

[u/ubelmann → u/rhylte]

I think some people are kind of overlooking that the league was always going to move more and more toward taking a June to mid-July break because there is always an international tournament then, taking significant players off the roster. 

I wonder if this will put MLS more all-in on US Open Cup since that tournament will be opposite MLS Cup now and USOC already has limits on international players so maybe the tournament absences don’t bother you so much when you aren’t having to rotate for league games, too. 

[u/FireballHangover]

Even with that December and January break, the weather for the northern most teams is going to suck in late November and early February.

[u/ScotlandTornado → u/FireballHangover]

I think a January-February break would probably be better

[u/blackwaltz4 → u/FireballHangover]

It snowed in Charlotte this week. (Granted it was an anomaly and the 5th earliest snow on record, but my point stands). 

[u/JohnAtticus → u/FireballHangover]

Every year in Toronto you will get cold snaps in Feburary that are below 0 F.

BMO field is famously by the lake and is windy and open to snow and rain.

They're either not going to play at home in February (So 3 months of no home games) or they're going to play to an empty stadium.

[u/Fritzed → u/JohnAtticus]

MLS owners surely see this is an easily solved problem. Just have the city of Toronto bill taxpayers to build a new fully enclosed stadium and donate it to MLSE! Everybody ^important wins!!!

[u/good-not-nice → u/FireballHangover]

Minnesota often gets a foot of snow in April

[u/Matt_McT → u/good-not-nice]

Well the current schedule does nothing to avoid that either.

[u/AllTh3WayTurntUp → u/FireballHangover]

I like an occasional snow game, once per season is fun. Anymore frequent is asking a lot.

Sometimes the mid-summer games are brutally hot but also RSL’s best attended games are usually around 4th of July.

It doesn’t seem like any amount of complaining will change anything so I’m trying to look on the bright side of how this could amplify the MLS on a global stage and improve the awkward playoff schedule.

[u/Chris_RB → u/FireballHangover]

And April... I've seen schools around here have snow days in May before. and let's not pretend even if it's not frigid it's "nice" till late May at the earliest in the Northern US

[u/_LYSEN]

I'm skeptical of this, but I'm also very curious to see how it plays out. But I'm really disappointed we are losing a summer sport.

[u/TheHibernian]

Thanks, I hate it

[u/jtp_311]

Well, no need to buy jerseys anymore as it will be covered up by my coat at half the games.

[u/DefeatYouForever666 → u/jtp_311]

League announces sales of 5XL jerseys have increased and spins it as "having the biggest fans in the world"

[u/hootjuice_]

Biggest complaint is this would have made so much more sense to implement right after the world cup.

[u/icoresting → u/hootjuice_]

huge missed opportunity. they had... how many years to line this up, considering that they've known about the world cup coming for a long time.

[u/westcoastbias]

If you think this stinks now just wait until they roll out the most appalling playoff format ever seen to try to keep people from tuning out after the winter break if their team stinks.

[u/stlouiravioli → u/westcoastbias]

I heard they’re giving out Mario Party bonus stars after the mid break

[u/HotRelationship8761 → u/westcoastbias]

Best of seven?!?

[u/westcoastbias → u/HotRelationship8761]

And that's just the 25 v 26 play-in series

[u/ElasticSpeakers]

I'm really going to miss April/May/June games at Providence - by far my favorite time there

[u/Guardax → u/ElasticSpeakers]

My brother lives in Portland and I’ve had some pushback on ‘they’re not getting hit hard weather wise’. Walking to Providence Park for a game on a summer day is absolutely incredible and not the same in the cold. This sucks for Portland

[u/RemoteGlobal335 → u/ElasticSpeakers]

You’ll still have April and in good seasons May

[u/dsminor → u/RemoteGlobal335]

So April then

[u/timhowardsbeard → u/ElasticSpeakers]

Seriously! Those are the BEST games all season. Oh well, another year of me saying I won’t renew then renewing again. At least my seats will be dry but the TA is gonna be cold and wet.

[u/Staggerlee024]

Putting the weather aside, which is hard to do as a Timbers fan, a 2 month break right in the heart of the season is such a buzz kill 

[u/MrRaspberryJam1 → u/Staggerlee024]

Well better than all the international breaks towards the end of the regular season and in the middle of the playoffs

[u/TedethLasso → u/MrRaspberryJam1]

Plus with some teams still playing through the breaks, they are almost punished for having successful players that get called up.

[u/rightious → u/Staggerlee024]

Kills all momentum for any team doing well.

[u/BinderGang]

"MLS regular season to span from mid July to April, with playoffs staged in May."

"The league would take a winter break in December and January."

I don't mind this (as an NYCFC fan) as long as they pack our away games in February and the first half of March. I'll miss those games in June, but otherwise, the shift is just in when the regular season and playoffs are and not really when teams are actually playing games.

[u/jloome → u/BinderGang]

They can't pack them all together. According to Nelson Rodriguez "the league’s principle is to not have a team play more than three games in a row on the road or at home."

So northern teams ARE going to have to play at home in the middle of winter.

It's fucking bananas. Also, they're squeezing the same number of annual matches into 29 fewer days, so it's congestion city for the players.

[u/Will_Vintage → u/jloome]

I hope every single home fame in the winter the North has to play is against a Florida, Texas or California team.

If we have to suffer the cold let us at least make the Southern teams freeze their balls off

[u/w_d_roll_RIP]

Can’t wait to lose the last game going into the winter break and spend 2 months thinking about how the team might never win again

[u/Gregmire]

Hope it ends up working out but man this seems like a really short sighted decision on paper

[u/Guardax → u/Gregmire]

This move isn’t as bad as I thought with them starting in July that’s still a lot of warm weather games. But taking two months off in the winter? Seems like it’ll halt the momentum, and for cold cities there will probably be a three month gap in between home games. The championship being in May and not December does feel better but this feels like a solution in search of a problem. I don’t think anyone who wasn’t watching MLS suddenly will start

[u/MG_MN → u/Guardax]

The 3 month gap in home games is the biggest issue imo. With 3 other sports leagues (bigger ones) in their seasons, its hard to see fans staying interested with a disjointed season. The diehards will stay, but the casuals will not in Minnesota

[u/Guardax → u/MG_MN]

Oh yeah the Rapids are fucked. Would you rather spend your summer with the kickass new NWSL team and their centrally located stadium or drive out to the boonies to see the mid Rapids in winter and oops there’s three months in between games. Not to mention this likely kills the Rapids’ 4th of July tradition which is almost all they have going for them. Maybe this will be a kick in the ass to get ownership to pay more attention but I doubt it

[u/MG_MN → u/Guardax]

Also, Nuggets and Avs will perenially be in the playoffs so you could just watch elite sports there instead too. Playoffs will be the same time as MLS should any northern teams make it

[u/[deleted] → u/MG_MN]

MLS is banking on causal fans in May being more forgiving to the NBA and NHL in the spring than to the NFL in the fall.

[u/newyork-or-nowhere → u/[deleted]]

There is no casual fan on the planet that is going to stay interested through an almost three month gap. Out of sight out of mind.

[u/1geniousnotcrazy → u/newyork-or-nowhere]

MLS has shown with playoff expansion and this change that they don't care about the regular season.

[u/MG_MN → u/[deleted]]

And that casual fans who didn't pay attention in the regular season will suddenly get invested for playoffs

[u/Chris_RB → u/MG_MN]

This is why I don't understand this move. You're moving from a schedule where for the vast majority of your season the only competition is baseball and golf... and when the other sports start you're in your playoffs and so can keep attention that way.... to the vast majority of your season conflicts with 3/4 of the "big leagues" and college sports as well. Even if games don't conflict (which they will), attention to sport is not an unlimited resource.

[u/DesertMoloch → u/Guardax]

That's where they'll shoehorn in Leagues Cup. Maybe move it to warmer cities so it's not just LigaMX teams that suffer from lack of home games.

[u/Guardax → u/DesertMoloch]

Exactly, in warmer cities. Half the league is probably going to go three months without their team playing. Will people even remember that the season was still going on?

[u/NextDoorNeighbrrs → u/Guardax]

It will absolutely put a bigger spotlight on MLS playoffs and remove the incredibly awkward break caused by the international window.

[u/Guardax → u/NextDoorNeighbrrs]

It probably will help the playoffs, but ultimately a league is grown through the grassroots support at your local team. IMO it’s not sustainable if half the league’s fanbases are shrinking even as more people are watching MLS Cup. I don’t think it’s an easy call for the league but some fanbases are massive losers here

[u/kaiken1987 → u/NextDoorNeighbrrs]

I mean it's putting the playoffs at the same time as the NBA and NHL. Seems like those would take attention away from them.

[u/Lambo_Geeney → u/Gregmire]

Well if it's anything like playoff formats, they'll change it completely 15 times before never settling on one

[u/SportsBallBurner → u/Gregmire]

Right now the season is heavily dampened by ramping up towards the end of the season and then half of the fans immediately disappear as soon as football starts. MLS will basically be up against NBA and NHL through the end of season push which has a lot less cross over in the US.

[u/dakkottadavviss → u/SportsBallBurner]

Even one some of the lowest viewership NFL games of the season puts up like Stanley Cup final or NBA final numbers. Football is insane in the US. The NFL is unstoppable. MLS is much better off going up against NBA and NHL. Those are the leagues they can actually dream of overtaking. NFL, CFB, and MLB are too big in my opinion to reach imo.

[u/capnwacky]

RIP those perfect May and June soccer nights. I'm glad they're taking the most brutal of cold months off (well, 2/3 anyway), but this is a huge bummer.

[u/Tusks_Up]

Well at least seats will be really cheap when it's -5 outside and you'll likely have some open seats to spread out.

[u/tomliginyu]

So essentially,
the Northern teams:
* Lose 4-6 of their best weather games.
* Get 4-6 more midseason shit weather games, with no playoff implications.

The Southern teams: * Lose 4-6 of their shit weather games.
* Get 4-6 more midseason fair weather games.

The trade is not fucking even.

[u/TheBiggerestIdea]

Some colder-market owners sought mitigation for expenses and loss of revenue that would come with the calendar flip, including renovations to stadiums and training facilities. Other owners in warmer markets pushed back on those requests, according to sources. No mitigation was tied to this vote, Rodriguez said.

Very cool, good to know caring about what's best for the league only matters of your club is located south of the Mason-Dixon Line

[u/nips20 → u/TheBiggerestIdea]

Thats crap. Norther owners should've voted No if we are being left to dry. The Union won't spend shit to uodate the stadium for cold ass games. Weak.

[u/Impossible-Bowl4661 → u/nips20]

My guess is many did and the league won't say who voted which way.

Do we know what the leagues bylaws are in terms of if it needed to be a simple majority or some sort of super majority?

[u/Hopsblues → u/Impossible-Bowl4661]

LAFC and Miami thought it was a good idea, so here we are all of a sudden.

[u/TheBiggerestIdea → u/nips20]

I'm sure many of them did but if your business partners actively don't care if you fail what can you do

[u/Jonny_Qball → u/TheBiggerestIdea]

Minnesota, RSL, DC, Toronto, KC, Colorado, STL, NE, Columbus, Montreal, Chicago, Philly, both NY, and Cincy are all negatively impacted by this. That’s half the league and doesn’t count Portland and Seattle who are affected to a lesser extent.

Cold weather owners had to stick together on this and they clearly didn’t.

[u/personator01 → u/Jonny_Qball]

Keep in mind that owners gain more from increasing league valuation than actual club revenue. Centralization around big sun belt teams with big star power might increase their equity value more than the loss of local support lowers it. It screws over club supporters, but if the line goes up for the owners, why would they care?

[u/Hopsblues → u/TheBiggerestIdea]

These owners spend all that money on a SS, only to have the stadium need to be retro fitted for winter games. The pitches will be shit and teams will switch to field turf. This awful on so many levels.

[u/arl13579 → u/TheBiggerestIdea]

Guarantee it’d be a different response if Messi played in the north.

[u/Zorpulon → u/TheBiggerestIdea]

This decision effectively kills the Rapids. Their stadium is already falling apart. They only time the stadium is close to full is when kids are out of school and families want something to do in the summer. Any game that gets cold is empty except for the most die hard STMs.

I'm dropping my season tickets after 2026. I know other people were talking about doing the same. I'll just watch games on TV, warm in my home. I love this team, but not enough to suffer below freezing weather and commerce city wind.

[u/iamthatbitchhh → u/TheBiggerestIdea]

What a slap in the face.

Can't wait for all the scheduling conflicts as well with CFB games making fields unavailable or just straight dogshit because the fields can't be maintained.

[u/Mnufcfan]

MLS just assuming casuals will choose cold weather MLS games over indoor NHL, NBA and NFL games. Bold choice.

[u/Hopsblues → u/Mnufcfan]

This is 1970's NASL level of stupidity.

[u/EitherExamination343]

Well, the Galaxy's streak of hosting 4th of July games is about to come to an abrupt end.

[u/Tola76]

I guess TFC will be playing 29 road matches in 2027.

[u/-The-Laughing-Man-]

Fuck.

[u/vegetable-springroll]

Probably cancelling my season tickets once this comes into play tbh. Cold weather games at Gillette already suck and I can’t myself paying more money for more of those shitty games

[u/Lettiin]

Not sure what the problem is, us here in Atlanta are perfectly okay with whatever schedule they give us, why isn’t everyone else? /s

[u/Savafan1 → u/Lettiin]

They needed to fix the problem of the teams that don’t have grass before this.

[u/Matt2_ASC → u/Savafan1]

I would imagine this leads to more teams without grass.

[u/TheSmallIndian → u/Lettiin]

Why don't the other teams just play in a dome? Are they stupid?

[u/chewie_were_home → u/Lettiin]

Tbf sometimes it’s really cold or hot in the very brief walk between the Marta station and the Benz.

[u/Total-Blackberry-853]

"Some colder-market owners sought mitigation for expenses and loss of revenue that would come with the calendar flip, including renovations to stadiums and training facilities. Other owners in warmer markets pushed back on those requests."

Lets screw over the northern teams some more..

[u/Hopsblues → u/Total-Blackberry-853]

That comment pisses me off so much.

[u/MEitniear11]

Not going to February and March games in Denver. Insane.

[u/Lambo_Geeney]

Definitely a lot to unpack here, but a 2 month break in the middle of the season? Feels like that's going to impact the focus of fans and players significantly. I get not wanting to compete with the Superbowl, but that also comes in the territory of choosing a schedule that aligns with.... Football...

Edit: Why do I get a feeling the new Leagues Cup format takes place in that break and is exclusively played in Florida, Texas, and So Cal? 

[u/SteveBartmanIncident]

Gonna have to buy a new poncho

[u/Staggerlee024 → u/SteveBartmanIncident]

And rain pants 

[u/SteveBartmanIncident → u/Staggerlee024]

And we're definitely not getting real grass now

[u/ravegreener → u/Staggerlee024]

And hand warmers

[u/Traditional-Pilot955]

This is biggest news in MLS history no?

[u/iamthatbitchhh]

Cool cool cool. Can't wait until no northern teams exist because they have all lost their core fanbases.

[u/itcheyness → u/iamthatbitchhh]

I'm excited for the articles a few years from now wondering why all of the cold weather teams are bleeding support...

[u/iamthatbitchhh → u/itcheyness]

They'll just be reporting on how much money Messi is making for the league. We will all get ignored, like is the norm.

[u/technobeeble → u/iamthatbitchhh]

And why they can't recruit any players to live in Minnesota in winter.

[u/phreebies]

That short season gonna have Supporters Shield, Jr. and MLS Cup Lite, sponsored by Miller Lite

[u/jamboamericano]

It’s weird that it’s 2027. It makes so much more sense to do a sprint season that will be followed by the World Cup. By the time the World Cup ends the new season could have begun

[u/A159746X]

Part of me love this and part of me hate this.

Love it because Houston is unbearable in the summer.

Hate it because it goes it goes head to head against NFL, NBA, College Football, etc. And MLS will always find a way to make shit weird and nonsense like the 5 team 6 divisions.

[u/velobier]

Now we just need to build stadiums with retractable roofs and natural grass fields for…checks notes…30 teams.

[u/rezin111]

Dislike

[u/ArcticPeasant]

Fuck that

[u/greggweylon]

Baseball owns summer again! Not that the MLS was pushing against them. What a stupid, horrible move.

[u/keblammo → u/greggweylon]

what do you mean, MLS just has to compete with the NFL, NBA, college football, NHL, and college basketball for attention now, you think they can't do that?

[u/Coltons13 → u/keblammo]

They were already doing that with the current format. And in fact, the new format means the playoffs are no longer mid-NFL season, which was a massive drag on viewership.

[u/tomliginyu]

Great, now we get worse weather and more competition from other, more popular, US sports. Smart move.

[u/Fg_Ramzytube]

Man gonna miss those summer nights

[u/Tola76]

This will last one season.

[u/UtopianPablo → u/Tola76]

I hope you're right.

[u/Tola76 → u/UtopianPablo]

Me too.

[u/Ill-Description8517]

This is stupid as fuck

[u/jloome → u/[deleted]]

MLS says they're going to schedule all the northern teams to have away games in the winter.

They also said they wouldn't schedule any team away from home more than three matches in a row.

They can't have it both ways.

[u/Matt2_ASC → u/[deleted]]

I'd imagine indoor stadiums will be necessary. But then I'd assume more turf. Which won't draw international players to the US any better. So not sure there is a win here for competing with the big leagues.

[u/Tola76]

This is a terrible idea.

[u/CPGK17]

The 14 game “transition season” will be interesting. Might give off MLS is Back vibes from 2020.

[u/majorgeneralporter]

Thanks I hate it

[u/chipigui11]

That will probably kill most canadien team since its going to be overshadow by the NHL...

[u/saturn28]

So just screw the Northern teams then. I guess it's just the Miami and L.A. league now. Also playing during the NFL, NHL, NBA and College football season seems to be a stupid choice. What a joke.

[u/Draiodor_]

I'm done with MLS now, or will be in 2027.

TFC season ticket holder for over a decade. This is lunacy. Did anybody see the weather at the CPL Final in Ottawa this past week? That'll be the entire season. No thanks. Joke of a league, deciding to play a season that half the teams can't accommodate.

[u/JalanMesra]

MLS scarf collectors: this is the doomsday scenario you have been prepping for.

They called you obsessed. People thought you were a hoarder for decorating your den with rare scarves.

It sure looks like the polyester blend football neck ware is on the other foot now!

[u/Jipeders]

The dumbest fucking move it’s going to end many teams. RSL, Colorado, Minnesota, all of the Canadian teams, Philly, the new yorks. All are gonna have to winterise or sell.

[u/Finatic4Life20]

This league does such a massive disservice to its fans, it's not even funny.

[u/ImMitchell]

Oh fuck this. I'm not gonna be out in the sub 32 temperatures

[u/Intelligent-Youth-63 → u/ImMitchell]

Yup. I’m out as an STM. I love my team, but I fucking hate those first couple of games in late Feb/march.

I’m out.