Commissioner: Montreal a strong candidate to land 19th MLS team, pending stadium remodel

MLS would like Montreal to become 19th team

SEATTLE — Major League Soccer would like Montreal to become its 19th team in 2012, if it can get a stadium remodeled.

MLS commissioner Don Garber said Sunday night at the MLS Cup title match that Montreal is a strong candidate for the next round of expansion after Vancouver, British Columbia, and Portland, Ore., enter the league in 2011.

The only existing, soccer-ready stadium in Montreal is 14,000-seat Saputo Stadium. That’s home to potential MLS owner Joey Saputo’s team in a second-division league.

Garber says the league is working with the government of Quebec to find a funding plan for the needed remodeling to Saputo Stadium.

Some cities that missed out on the 2011 expansion are considered candidates for the 19th and possibly 20th MLS teams. Those include St. Louis and Ottawa.

Garber has said he’d like to have three MLS teams in Canada.