This made me LOL. I'm not saying it's not true but it seems like the equivalent of POTUS stepping in and telling MLBPA or NFLPA they can't go on strike b/c POTUS doesn't want to miss out on games...I figure the monarchy wanting pro/rel in the FA is more a product of them wanting their favorite team playing in the top tier.
And are you hinting at St. Louis and San Diego getting new NFL franchises in the future? I think MLS expanding to non-NFL cities will depend on the ownership group and that city's willing to pony up for a soccer specific stadium and training complex, like St. Louis. The reason MLS went to NFL only cities back in '96 was because no one wanted to build a soccer specific stadium for a team in a league that most of the ownership groups thought would go belly up in less than 10 yrs. It's apparent that MLS isn't going anywhere and every year the league proves that the quality of soccer played is getting better every season. Columbus stepped up and built a soccer specific stadium that is one of the best in MLS now and their fan base is amongst the most passionate in the country. All to keep it from going to Austin. Only 3 teams are avg. less than 15k fans per game with a majority of teams closer to 20k (and Atlanta avg. an insane 49k fans/game). Now Atlanta plays in one of the larger stadiums but most of the soccer specific stadiums are playing to 90%+ capacity. But you're right, Tulsa and OKC and places like that don't have a chance of landing an MLS team. We can't even support local sports teams in any consistent fashion (see TU football). If I'm guessing, the cities next up to get MLS to 32 teams you're looking at Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Vegas, maybe Tampa (although they've already failed at the top level), and maybe Detroit. If an MLS ownership group in Phoenix can score playing games at U of Phoenix Stadium, you might see one there as well. I don't think MLS players or owners would be too keen on playing outdoors in Vegas and Phoenix throughout the summer. Baltimore, IMO, is a natural fit for a team and finding land in the Inner Harbor area to build a soccer specific stadium. That's just me.
BTW, OKC is not a major professional sports town just like Tulsa isn't. The Thunder won't stick around much longer IMO as the owners can't make enough money off of ad sales there. Sure both towns can support teams for a couple of years and make it look good, but long term, just not there...too many fair weather fans.