User:Mikeylito/Major League Soccer/Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1993-12-17 | World Cup USA 1994 Chairman/CEO Alan Rothenberg announces the formation of Major League Soccer. |
| 1994-03-15 | MLS, ABC Sports and ESPN announce a three-year broadcast agreement. |
| 1994-06-15 | MLS selects its first seven teams: |
| 1994-11-16 | Rothenberg announces that Metromedia partners John Kluge and Stuart Subotnick, the Hunt family, LA Soccer Partners, and API Soccer are MLS’ charter investors and team operators. |
| 1995-06-06 | Jorge Campos, goalkeeper for the Mexican national team, becomes the first international player to sign with MLS. In addition, MLS announces its first official sponsor (Budweiser) and adds Dallas, Denver and Kansas City to its roster of cities for the 1996 season. |
| 1995-11-21 | MLS introduces Douglas Logan as its first commissioner. In addition, Univision is named the official Spanish-language broadcaster of MLS. |
| 1996-04-06 | The first regular-season MLS game is played, D.C. United at San Jose Earthquakes, in front of a crowd of 31,683. |
| 1996-10-20 | D.C. United wins the first MLS Cup before a crowd of 34,643 at New England’s Foxboro Stadium. |
| 1997-04-09 | MLS announces that the league will expand to Chicago and South Florida for the 1998 season, giving the league 12 teams. |
| 1999-05-15 | The Columbus Crew opens the first major league soccer-specific stadium in the United States. |
| 1999-08-04 | MLS names Don Garber its new commissioner, replacing Logan. Garber was previously senior vice president of the NFL International division. |
| 2000-05-23 | MLS and the Women's United Soccer Association agree to coordinate marketing and promotion, scheduling and stadium development. |
| 2001-11-21 | Anschutz Entertainment Group assumes the operating rights to the NY/NJ MetroStars from Kluge and Subotnick of Metromedia. With the move, AEG becomes the investor-operator of five MLS teams. |
| 2002-01-02 | MLS announces a five-year broadcast agreement with [[[ESPN on ABC|ABC Sports]] and ESPN that includes MLS television rights through 2006 and rights to the next two FIFA World Cup tournaments. The deal also includes rights to the 2003 Women's World Cup. |
| 2002-01-08 | Garber announces that the league’s Tampa Bay and Miami franchises will cease operation immediately. |
| 2002-03-05 | Garber announces the formation of Soccer United Marketing, a subsidiary company set up to manage sales, service and broadcast production for MLS and its English-language World Cup properties. |
| 2002-06-22 | MLS and ESPN experience record ratings with the U.S. national team’s run to the World Cup quarterfinals. ESPN’s morning telecast of the United States vs. Germany quarterfinal on June 21 was the network’s most-watched and highest-rated soccer telecast ever. |
| 2002-07-09 | Anschutz Entertainment Group and The Home Depot announce a 10-year partnership surrounding the multisport National Training Center being constructed on the campus of California State University in Carson. |
| 2002-08-14 | MLS announces a partnership with Radio Unica that will provide Spanish-language radio coverage for the league. |
| 2003-04-01 | Fox Sports International reaches a four-year agreement with MLS to nationally televise at least 25 regular-season games and at least eight playoff games per season on Fox Sports World and Fox Sports Español. |
| 2003-04-04 | MLS and HDNet announce a three-year agreement to broadcast live HDTV coverage of MLS games. |
| 2003-04-17 | The Major League Soccer Players Union is designated by MLS players as their exclusive bargaining representative. |
| 2003-07-24 | MLS launches its official four-on-four soccer tournament, MLS Futbolito, a grassrooots program targeting the league’s Latino fan base. |
| 2003-11-19 | MLS announces the signing of 14-year-old Freddy Adu to a multiyear contract. |
| 2003-11-21 | Jorge Vergara, owner of the Chivas franchise of the Mexican League, signs a letter of intent to enter MLS with a club in 2005. |
| 2003-12-08 | MLS announces the multiyear acquisition of the marketing, promotional and broadcast rights in the United States for InterLiga, a new qualifying tournament that will determine the automatic berths for Mexican clubs to the Copa Libertadores, one of the top international club competitions in the world. |
| 2004-01-16 | Adu is selected by D.C. United with the top pick in the 2004 MLS SuperDraft. |
| 2004-02-18 | The Dallas Burn begins construction of a new stadium and entertainment complex in Frisco, Texas. |
| 2004-07-27 | Kroenke Sports Enterprises and officials of Commerce City, CO., announce plans to develop more than 360 acres to house a 20,000-seat soccer stadium, youth soccer fields, retail development and a new civic center. The stadium will be home to the Colorado Rapids. |
| 2004-08-02 | The expansion CD Chivas USA announces plans to share the Los Angeles Galaxy’s Home Depot Center, setting up MLS’ first intracity competition. |
| 2004-08-12 | The Dallas Burn changes its name to FC Dallas. |
| 2004-10-09 | The identity of MLS’ 12th club for 2005, Real Salt Lake, is revealed. |
| 2004-11-10 | MLS and Adidas sign a 10-year deal making Adidas the official athletic sponsor and licensed-product supplier for the league. |
| 2004-11-30 | Groundbreaking is held for the Chicago Fire’s new $85 million, 20,000-seat stadium in Bridgeview, Illinois. |
Research by Jessie Lewis
Sources: MLS, SportsBusiness Journal and SportsBusiness Daily archives