The relaunched Cosmos are only one of a number of groups that could wind up owning Major League Soccer's second New York team.
During a conference call Tuesday to announce this year's MLS All-Star game will be played at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J., on July 27, MLS Commissioner Don Garber said adding a second team in New York remained a priority. But he played down the much-hyped Cosmos.
The Cosmos' new owners bought the rights to the name of the old North American Soccer League team of Pele and Franz Beckenbauer, then hired Eric Cantona as director of soccer and Cobi Jones as his assistant. Cosmos management also includes Terry Byrne, a friend of Los Angeles Galaxy star David Beckham.
''We're in discussions with the Cosmos but also with other ownership groups,'' Garber said. ''While I have lots of respect and admiration for the guys that have relaunched that great brand and have done a good job from a marketing perspective, and they've made certainly a lot of noise, we've got to continue to ensure that any group we speak to seriously about MLS expansion needs to have the financial capabilities, long-term vision, the capability to get a stadium built and developed.''
In the past, MLS has spoken with the Wilpon family that owns the Mets about becoming the league's 20th team, but the Wilpons said last week they were exploring the sale of a minority interest in the baseball club to raise money. The Wilpons were sued last month by Irving Picard, the trustee trying to recover money for the victims of the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme.
