Part of the concern around the current MLS calendar is the time of year the playoffs are scheduled. The six-week-long postseason conflicts woth some of the biggest games in NFL and college football, as well as the World Series and start of the NBA season. 

The league believes that a new schedule would alleviate some of the competition, with playoffs and MLS Cup due to be played during the slog of the MLB season, but just before the NBA Finals, which will draw plenty of eyes in their own right. 

“We’ll open our season in the middle of July, when the only active men’s professional sports league at the time will be MLB,” said MLS EVP Nelson Rodriguez. “It’s a prime opportunity for us to open under prime conditions. We will end our season, similarly, in prime conditions, with an April run-in and May playoff that’s uninterrupted by a FIFA window.”