MLS tries to build on successes

This week marks the start of Major League Soccer's 12th season, and the debate about the league's financial health is again a topic around at least a few water coolers.

It's not an open-and-shut case.

How, for instance, can MLS be called healthy if 10 of its 12 teams lost money last year, including a reported $14-million loss by the New York Red Bulls?

On the other hand, how can the league be called sickly if Toronto FC, new out of the box this spring, sells all 14,000 of its season tickets months before it plays its first game in its equally new 20,000-seat stadium?

Overall, there seems to be a consensus that, financially speaking, things have never been better for MLS.

"There have been some very, very good developments for the league

Bob Foose, the executive director of the MLS Players Union, is pleased that the league is financially better off but it's how MLS spends its newfound wealth that concerns him.

"From when we started negotiating four years ago, it's a very different landscape," Foose said. "There clearly is a lot more revenue coming in ... [but] they're still much, much too secretive with us on those numbers ... so it's hard for us to get an exact picture of where things are."

Even neutral observers, however, believe that MLS has laid the foundation of a potentially money-spinning league down the road.

"I think the hallmark of this league has been sort of a tortoise approach to building the business, a bit slow and steady," said Paul Swangard, managing director of the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at the University of Oregon. "I think the stadium infrastructure is now in place. They've had good ownership.... I think the addition of some international partners raises their global visibility."

The MLS' biggest marketing story this season, of course, is foreign superstar David Beckham, who will join the Galaxy this summer.

"Beckham's arrival provides sort of that shock and awe for the American sports fan to take notice," Swangard said.

Overall, MLS looks a lot different on the eve of the 2007 season.

* The league started with 10 teams in 1996, expanded to 12, shrank to 10 again and has since grown to 13 with Toronto FC added this season. The plan is to have 16 teams by 2010.

* When the Colorado Rapids open the season in Denver on Saturday and when Toronto opens at home later in the month, seven of the 13 MLS teams will be playing in their own soccer-specific stadiums.