MLS bullish about growth despite lagging behind North America's biggest leagues

As Major League Soccer launched a milestone 25th season over the weekend, the mood was not one of reflection and cautious optimism but bold, even outrageous, predictions of a future empire.

Not content to eventually become one of the most successful leagues in North America, MLS has set its sights on supplanting England's Premier League and Spain's La Liga as the world's top soccer product by the time it celebrates its 50th anniversary.

A splashy 25th season kickoff event on Wednesday at a posh Manhattan hotel overlooking Central Park was not meant as a celebration of the past but of the riches that lay ahead, so there was no need to dwell on a troubling bottom line which is written in red ink.

While all indicators are trending upwards, MLS remains a largely unprofitable venture.

Only a handful of the 24 teams made money last year and even commissioner Don Garber concedes the league will remain a money pit until a new media-rights deal is negotiated sometime before the current one expires at the end of 2022.

"I don't think any owner wants to run a business that is not making money," Garber told Reuters. "Clearly we are expecting that our media contracts will increase. It is a very unique time in the landscape of media.

"We are entirely upside-down compared to all the other leagues. Media as it relates to our revenues is frankly the smallest piece of the puzzle and I believe going forward that will change."

After 25 years, an impressive list of deep-pocketed investors, including NFL owners the New England Patriots' Robert Kraft (New England Revolution) and the Atlanta Falcons' Arthur Blank (Atlanta FC), are still betting on what MLS might one day become.

The league will add another six teams by 2022 and roll out seven new stadiums custom-built for soccer, with owners throwing even more money into academies and infrastructure.

Certainly no one present at the New York kickoff could claim MLS lacks ambition.