Las Vegas won’t be getting an MLS team any time soon. That’s the news MLS commissioner Don Garber delivered to Las Vegas mayor Carolyn Goodman in the form of a letter informing Las Vegas officials that the league had been dropped from the field of cities vying for an MLS expansion team. That leaves Sacramentoand Minneapolis as the competitors for the league’s 24th team, assuming Miami gets its team.
The news was not a major surprise. Sacramento (with an energetic grassroots campaign led by MayorKevin Johnson) and Minneapolis (with competing bidders) have been much more visible. Both their campaigns include strong soccer components: Sacramento’s bid isbeing made by the USL club Republic FC while the NASL’s Minnesota United is one of the two Minneapolis bidders.
Las Vegas’ bid hung on the strength of the city’s support for a $200million, 24,000-seat soccer stadium at Symphony Park — and even that was on shaky grounds.
Goodman backed the development effort of Las Vegas-based Findlay Sports & Entertainment andCordish Cos of Baltimore that won 4-3 council approval in December, but one of the dissenters turned around and sued the city. The Symphony Park development plan will be decided by city voters inJune.
“Given the timing of our expansion rollout and the uncertainty as to when we might be able to move forward in Las Vegas,” Garber wrote Goodman, “we are no longer consideringLas Vegas as an expansion market until after 2018.”
Las Vegas will make for a nice market for the MLS someday. Today Sacramento is their best option.
Sacramento is a joke. Is everyone drunk? Tiny city, no TV market, no soccer history. Only 1 year of support for a USL club, no appropriate stadium. You’re crazy if you expand there now.
Typo alert”a letter informing Las Vegas officials that the league had been dropped from the field of cities” The league had been dropped? Does that mean Vegas shunned MLS
The mls should concentrate on medium to large cities that need a professional team. They should go into markets where there are not competing sports.
Andrew, you mean like, ummm, LAS VEGAS??LV officials screwed this up… MLS doesn’t want a city that isn’t 100% on board. Could’ve been a lot of extra $ for downtown businesses…
Enough of this expansion; already, too much mediocrity on the pitch. Why the rush for mediocrity. The majority of teams need quality player(s) help.
What is happening in Montreal and Chicago is a clear proof of why this league. just like any league world wide desperately NEEDS promotion/relegation to maintain their standards, if a market/team is struggling, there shouldn’t be a place for them in the league or they will drag down the standards. Let other markets more avid of success take their place. What happened with Chivas last year is another prime example.
The relegation argument is like beating a dead horse. Except in the U.S., football is king and the relegation system works. Here, soccer is not king and the relegation system won’t work. Bringing up the standards on the pitch has been a failure of Rapids, Chicago, Union, Impact, ownership .
@ GlennI’m not sure what you’re talking about. Sacramento is the 20th largest media market in the country. Over 2.5 million people live in the metro; 480,000 in the city of Sac. The 49ers and Kings are investing in the Republic and are finalizing plans for a downtown soccer specific stadium. The Republic did win the USL Pro in its first year but remember if they are granted expansion, they probably won’t enter until 2018. So the Republic will at least play three more seasons at USL Pro. Glory Glory Sacramento!