Meeting with Associated Press Sports Editors in New York, Major League Soccer president Mark Abbott said the league remains very interested in placing a second franchise in the New York area and its presence would be a good thing for its Harrison, N.J.-based team, the Red Bulls.

"It would be a good thing for the Red Bulls," Abbott said, "and they think that way, too. We would like [New York] to be the next [expansion] team, if we could."

The main stumbling block remains a viable stadium solution. Queens is a "favorable geographical spot" for the stadium, according to Abbott.

Two ownership groups have been mentioned: the Wilpon family, who own the Mets but have become entangled with the Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme, and  the group promoting a revitalized New York Cosmos.