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Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber speaks during a league address in this screen grab, Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021.
Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023 | 9:49 a.m.
Las Vegas remains a prime expansion candidate for Major League Soccer, and a decision could be made later this year, Commissioner Don Garber said Wednesday.
Speaking at a season kickoff show at the league’s new studio in New York, Garber said a decision on expanding the league from 29 to 30 teams was anticipated in 2023.
San Diego appears to be the main competition.
“We do need more teams,” Garber said. “The 30th team will come at some point soon. Hopefully, we’d like to get that announced at the end of the year.”
Las Vegas has been trying to get into the MLS picture as far back as 2014 but was not viewed as an option at the time. As early as December 2021, Garber said Las Vegas was “the frontrunner” in landing an expansion team.
In 2019, the MLS announced it was expanding by two teams, Charlotte FC, which began play last season, and St. Louis City SC, which is kicking off its inaugural season this year.
The new MLS season begins Saturday.
Wes Edens and Naseef Sawiris, owners of the Premier League’s Aston Villa franchise, are leading the charge to bring the MLS to Las Vegas. Edens is also a co-owner of the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks
Should Las Vegas be passed over again for MLS expansion, the door wouldn’t be shut completely, Garber said.
“I never thought we’d be at 28, never thought we’d be at 29,” he said. “We say we’re going to stop at 30, but the other major leagues are larger than that. I would never say never in Major League Soccer.”
Garber named Phoenix, Sacramento and Detroit as other markets that could be in play for future expansion.
One hurdle that has hindered Las Vegas from getting an expansion team was the prospect of a new stadium. When Garber announced that Las Vegas was the frontrunner, that came with the idea of having a stadium off the Strip.
Edens and Sawiris would like to have the club play at Allegiant Stadium, whose main tenants are the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders, and UNLV football.
The potential team in San Diego could play at Snapdragon Stadium, on the campus of San Diego State University.
Golden Knights owner Bill Foley had once spearheaded a charge to bring the MLS to Las Vegas but has since backed out. Foley told the Sun in October that the MLS wanted Las Vegas to have a stadium that costs at least $500 million and that expansion fees would be at least $350 million.
Foley purchased Premier League club AFC Bournemouth for close to $150 million.
“Soccer is exploding professionally everywhere,” Garber said. “We’ll see.”
Danny Webster can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Danny on Twitter at twitter.com/DannyWebster21.
