Las Vegas has proven itself to be the front runner for the 30th MLS franchise.
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The city of Nevada has seen several groups of owners over the years trying to bring MLS to Sin City, but this seems closer than ever with the Aston Villa co-owners involved in the offer.
In his speech at the State of the League 2021 address, MLS Commissioner Don Garber announced that Las Vegas is at the top of the queue to be the next expansion franchise in MLS. When asked if that was the case, he only said: “Yes”.
That would increase the league to 30 teams, and Vegas would jump over Sacramento, Phoenix and San Diego to become the next MLS franchise.
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What’s the latest update?
Here’s what Garber said when asked about Vegas and whether Aston Villa co-owner Wes Edens (who is also a co-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA) is making progress in bringing MLS to Las Vegas.
“We’re making progress in Las Vegas,” said Garber. “As announced or leaked in Las Vegas. We are excited about the market, like everyone else [sports] Leagues here in North America … Wes is the guy we’ve all had a longstanding relationship with. He’s looked at other MLS clubs over the years. We will continue these discussions and will continue to try to achieve something with our 30th team within the next 10 months. We haven’t determined when the 30th team will start playing, but the 30th team won’t be there until 2023. We hope to have some great news regarding our Las Vegas facility plans.
“I would like to point out that we are still in talks with other markets, both Phoenix and San Diego. Interest in Major League Soccer continues to grow. The value that investors look out for in deciding how to engage in professional football, or even professional sports, is at an all-time high. News will be released in the next 12 months, but a lot of progress will be made. “
The story goes on
Garber added, “We are very optimistic about the market and we will continue to move forward. Hopefully we will have more to discuss at some point in the next few months. “
A subsequent report from Sports Business said Edens and Aston Villa co-owner Nassef Sawiris are the lead players behind the proposed MLS team in Las Vegas and won’t be playing and planning to build a soccer-specific stadium in Las Vegas until 2024 at the earliest Las Vegas as part of the deal.
And yes, the name “Las Vegas Villains” was trademarked back in June by a company owned by Edens, as the billionaire businessman is also a co-owner of an investment group looking to build a high-speed rail link from Southern California to Las Vegas in the coming years.
What are the other options?
According to our NBC subsidiary in Las Vegas, Edens and Sawiris are one of several owner groups that have applied to bring MLS to Las Vegas.
Here’s a little more:
“Other groups that have a common interest in pursuing an MLS franchise include the owners of the Vegas Golden Knights, Bill Foley, and Renaissance Companies, who have proposed building a new stadium in the Cashman Center.”
Of course, the USL Championship’s Las Vegas Lights are the current professional football team in Vegas, but this MLS owning group is in a completely different league.
Finding the right owner group to stand behind an MLS Vegas franchise has always been a concern for the league, and they have always been high on our ranking for an MLS expansion franchise. It now appears that the right owners have been found.
A good fit?
This would really be the perfect solution for the advancement of MLS.
Las Vegas has a huge tourist rush, it fits in with the new MLS teams being lined up in target cities like Nashville and Austin, and the success of holding the Summer Gold Cup final in Vegas demonstrated its growing reputation as a sports-mad city.
With the arrival of the Las Vegas Golden Knights in the NHL in recent years and the potential relocation of the MLB’s Oakland Athletics to follow in the footsteps of the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders, all signs point to an MLS team following up Vegas is moving to further bolster its growth sports portfolio.
From a financial perspective, this is too good an opportunity to turn down MLS.
Just imagine: The year is 2030. Jack Grealish leads the Las Vegas Villains to the final of the Western Conference while head coach Steven Gerrard stands on the sidelines. A sea of burgundy and blue jerseys can be seen everywhere amid the blinding lights of the Las Vegas Strip.
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Las Vegas Approaches the MLS Franchise; The Aston Villa owners involved originally appeared on NBCSports.com
