The 1997 Major League Soccer season was the second season of Major League Soccer. It was also the 85th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States, and the 19th with a national first-division league.
Following the 1996 season, the Wiz changed names, becoming the Wizards, following legal action from electronics retailer The Wiz.
The regular season began on March 29, and concluded on September 28. The 1997 MLS Cup Playoffs began on October 4, and concluded with MLS Cup 1997 on October 26. D.C. United won their first Supporters' Shield and defended their MLS Cup championship becoming the first team to win back-to-back cups.
Overview
Season format
The season began on March 22 and concluded with MLS Cup on October 26. The 10 teams were split evenly into two conferences. Each team played 32 games that were evenly divided between home and away. Each team played every other team in their conference four times, for a total of 16 games. The rest of the schedule consisted of three games against each team from the opposite conference, with four games against one designated team.
The top four teams from each conference qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs. The conference semifinals and finals were played as a best-of-three series, and the winners advanced to MLS Cup. In all rounds, draws were broken by penalty shootout if necessary. The away goals rule was not used in any round.
The team with the most points in the regular season was awarded the MLS Supporters' Shield. The winner of MLS Cup, and the runner-up, qualified for the CONCACAF Champions' Cup.
Stadiums and locations
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:left"
|-
! Team
! Stadium
! Capacity
|-
| Colorado Rapids
| Mile High Stadium
| 76,273
|-
| Columbus Crew
| Ohio Stadium
| 102,329
|-
| D.C. United
| RFK Stadium
| 46,000
|-
| Dallas Burn
| Cotton Bowl
| 92,100
|-
| Kansas City Wizards
| Arrowhead Stadium
| 81,425
|-
| Los Angeles Galaxy
| Rose Bowl
| 92,542
|-
| New England Revolution
| Foxboro Stadium
| 60,292
|-
| NY/NJ MetroStars
| Giants Stadium
| 80,200
|-
| San Jose Clash
| Spartan Stadium
| 30,456
|-
| Tampa Bay Mutiny
| Houlihan's Stadium
| 74,301
|}
Personnel and sponsorships
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: left;"
|-
! Team
! Head coach
! Captain
! Shirt sponsor
|-
| Colorado Rapids
| Glenn Myernick
|
|
|-
| Columbus Crew
| Tom Fitzgerald
| Marcelo Carrera
| Snickers
|-
| D.C. United
| Bruce Arena
|
| MasterCard
|-
| Dallas Burn
| Dave Dir
|
|
|-
| Kansas City Wizards
| Ron Newman
|
| align="center" colspan="1" style="background:#ececec; color:gray |—
|-
| Los Angeles Galaxy
| Octavio Zambrano
|
| align="center" colspan="1" style="background:#ececec; color:gray |—
|-
| New England Revolution
| Thomas Rongen
|
| align="center" colspan="1" style="background:#ececec; color:gray |—
|-
| NY/NJ MetroStars
| Carlos Alberto Parreira
| Tony Meola
| Fujifilm
|-
| San Jose Clash
| Brian Quinn
| John Doyle
| Honda
|-
| Tampa Bay Mutiny
| John Kowalski
|
|
|}
Coaching changes
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Team!! Outgoing coach!! Manner of departure!! Date of vacancy!! Incoming coach!! Date of appointment
|-
| Los Angeles Galaxy
| Lothar Osiander
| Fired
| June 10, 1997
| Octavio Zambrano
| June 10, 1997