Major League Soccer will add an expansion franchise to San Diego, Commissioner Don Gerber announced Thursday. Here’s what you should know:
- CEO Tom Penn said it will be called the San Diego Football Club or Football Club of San Diego. is jointly owned by Padres star Manny Machado will also join the investor group, according to the league.
- Team ownership is Reported $500 million expansion costs.
- The club will play at Snapdragon Stadium, which is also home to NWSL’s San Diego Wave FC.
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MLS in San Diego: History, Background and Next Steps
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The reported expansion costs are $175 million higher than what Charlotte FC owner David Tepper paid for the MLS franchise in 2019. It’s also 67 times more than the $7.5 million Real Salt Lake paid to enter the league in 2005.
The St. Louis City SC will start this season, and in 2023, nine new teams will join the league since 2019, marking the seventh consecutive year of expansion for the league.
Garber has previously said he hopes MLS can announce a 30-man expansion team by the end of the year. Garber also said the MLS is open to the possibility of expanding beyond 30 teams. MLS could target two more markets for further expansion, with Garber citing Detroit, Phoenix and Tampa as other possibilities.
“When it comes to the schedule, the players and the MLS ecosystem, I see no reason why we can’t have more teams in the future if we can do that in a timely manner,” Garber said. he said earlier. “But this is just another example of how long life is. We can drive revenue and invest that money in sports.”
The NWSL launched the San Diego Wave last year, breaking the league’s single-game attendance record with a crowd of 32,000 against Angel City FC.
MLS is entering the first year of a $2.5 billion media rights deal with Apple.
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(Photo: Ira L. Black/Corbis/Getty)
