MLS expansion is always a hot topic for commissioner Don Garber, and ahead of MLS Cup, he provided an update on two specific league targets.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday in Los Angeles as part of his State of the League address, Garber discussed the status of expansion bids from both San Diego and Las Vegas, claiming that MLS is having “active discussions” with both cities.
Garber came out particularly strongly on San Diego, a city the league has been considering as an expansion candidate since at least 2014. Garber said that a commitment to expansion to San Diego is “probably closer than ever before.”
“I think there’s a view that San Diego, it’s too nice there and you know, people are out surfing and hanging out at the beach, and I just don’t buy it. I think San Diego is a great sports market,” declared Garber, who used Miami as an example of MLS succeeding in a similar environment. “We’ve got a brand new relationship that is very formal, on and off the field, with Liga MX to think about what the opportunities are going to be if we have a team in San Diego and their connection down south. The player development opportunities in San Diego, we’ve always believed in the market.”
MLS has made major overtures towards San Diego in the past, without success. A 2018 referendum effectively had voters choose between a stadium plan attached to an expansion bid backed by Landon Donovan, and campus expansion that included a football stadium for San Diego State University. The MLS expansion group lost on election day, while that prospective SDSU football stadium became Snapdragon Stadium, which opened in September of this year.
Garber made note of that defeat at the ballot box, but framed the situation as having to “[take] a step back to take a couple of steps forward.”
“I will say, the only public referendum we’ve ever lost was in San Diego,” acknowledged the commissioner. “At that time, we obviously were unhappy that that had happened, but I look at what the university has done in the development of Snapdragon [Stadium] and the success of the women’s team, and all of the energy and momentum behind professional soccer with Landon’s team is fantastic.”
Garber was referring to the NWSL’s San Diego Wave, who — once they moved into Snapdragon Stadium in September — broke NWSL regular season and playoff records for single-game attendance, as well as the San Diego Loyal, the USL Championship club coached and partially owned by Donovan and U.S. men’s national team defender DeAndre Yedlin.
“I think it’s fantastic that they are where they are,” continued Garber. “I hope that we can continue to make progress with the ownership group that we’re talking to. We’re optimistic, but as many of you know, we’ve been at this place before. We’ll see how it all develops.”
The ownership group in question, per an October report in the San Diego Union-Tribune, is led by Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Mansour and the region’s Sycuan tribe.
Las Vegas stadium ‘really expensive’
Garber pivoted from San Diego to Las Vegas, a market MLS has had in mind for nearly a decade. In last year’s State of the League address, Garber called Sin City “the frontrunner” and even mentioned a potential stadium site right on the famed Vegas strip.
A year later, while Garber could hardly be called hesitant on the topic, he didn’t go so far as to repeat that frontrunner claim.
“We still are in discussions in Las Vegas,” said Garber. “We’ve got active discussions there, we’ve got a potential site. We’ve got a lot of work to do, because you clearly need to build a indoor MLS stadium.”
Playing in the brutal desert heat in Las Vegas remains a hurdle, and Garber underlining the need for an indoor stadium, rather than simply a roof or some sort of fanciful air conditioned stadium, made it clear that the sheer cost is going to be a tough hurdle to clear.
“Indoor stadiums are expensive,” said Garber. “Indoor stadiums are really expensive. So, we’ll see how all that plays out. So it’s not a matter of who’s first or who’s second. Both are very active discussions.”
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