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BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – After a meeting of the MLS Board of Governors, MLS Commissioner Don Garber announced Thursday that the league was planning to expand to 30 teams. 28 and 29 requiring an extension fee of $ 200 million.
Garber also said the board had authorized the commissioner's office to advance exclusive discussions with St. Louis and Sacramento, both teams being the 28th and 29th.
"Over the past 10 years, we have experienced unprecedented growth for a major league in North America," said Garber following the board of governors meeting. "The expansion has been one of the main drivers of this growth and demonstrates the tremendous enthusiasm and commitment of our fans in the markets, old and new, to support our league and our players and see this sport grow. "
He added that the property groups of the two cities will make official presentations to the league's expansion committee in the coming weeks. Part of the process will involve getting to know the respective ownership groups, both of which have relatively new investors in the process. Garber hopes that a final decision on both cities would be made before this summer's all-star game in Orlando in late July.
"We will ask them for their official and final plans for a business support pledge, the final composition of their ownership group and detailed economic information on financing their team operations and their plans. stage, "said Garber.
Although the league said at times that it would stop expanding to 28 teams, the announcement was not a surprise. Garber said the strength of the nominations for Sacramento and St. Louis were among the reasons that pushed the board to decide to expand its reach to 30 teams.
Sacramento's hopes of building a team were reinforced in January when billionaire Ron Burkle became the new lead investor of the Sacramento Republic football team. The team currently plays in the second division, the United Soccer League.
Burkle is co-owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the NHL with an estimated net worth of $ 2 billion by Forbes magazine.
The St. Louis group includes World Wide Technology CEO Jim Kavanaugh and the Taylor family, owners of Enterprise Holdings car rental company.
In a statement released Thursday, the Republic of Sacramento said, "This is a monumental step in the process and we are closer than ever to our goal of bringing Major League Soccer back to Sacramento.The city and the announcement Today we are witnessing the strength of Sacramento's candidacy and, above all, the confidence and dedication of Republic FC fans, we will continue our ongoing communication with the Commissioner and MLS and hope to finalize all next steps in order to bring PG to Sacramento. "
As for the number of teams that the league will stop increasing, Garber has not committed to a definitive number.
"I do not know if we still have a clear idea of the final number of teams in the league," Garber said. "We have a lot of work to do to determine the future situation of MLS in 10 years and in 20 years." We continue to believe that there are very many cities across the country that could support an MLS team. , with a large stadium and a large fan base and a large local property that will invest in the sport in their community. "
Garber added that MLS "would take our time" in the 30 team, although she remains in discussion with groups like Phoenix, Las Vegas, Detroit and Charlotte.
"We do not want to be unbalanced, but at the same time, I think we need to take a deep breath and integrate the teams that will come in the next few years."
Garber praised the Sacramento and Saint-Louis offers, but also noted that the two groups of owners still had work to do. Garber said Sacramento needed to finalize his sponsorship along with some elements of the stadium plan. St. Louis also needs to finalize its stadium plan, but Garber expects both cities to get their respective bids.
"I have confidence in both markets," Garber said. "We would not be here today without the trust of our property group to try to put in place all the elements in place to give them the opportunity to finalize the transaction."
Associated Press contributed to this report.
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