Shoutout to San Diego!
The city of San Diego has been rewarded with a Major League Soccer expansion franchise, according to an announcement Thursday from MLS commissioner Don Garber. The league will now be increased to 30 clubs.
Set to debut in 2025, the San Diego franchise will be playing their matches at Snapdragon Stadium, which holds 35,000 fans. The club will be owned by Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Mansour, the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation and San Diego Padres star Manny Machado. It’s also interesting to note that the Sycuan Band are the first Native American tribe to co-own an American professional soccer team.
The franchise also includes owners such as Zephyr Partners’ Brad Termini and the Right to Dream’s Tom Vernon and Dan Dickinson.
2025 can’t come soon enough.
Welcome to MLS, San Diego! pic.twitter.com/DpILFbx7Gv
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 18, 2023
For their 30th expansion franchise, Major League Soccer played this so well.
When they got to the final two cities, it came down to San Diego and Las Vegas, certainly the two best options in terms of remaining available towns for their league. With San Diego, you get beach flash and dash, while in Vegas, you get the pretty glamorous lights with a grade A nightlife. Either way, they couldn’t have lost.
Obviously, MLS wanted another city with a beach culture involved, can’t blame him there, who doesn’t love beaches (and palm trees at that)? (RELATED: Mega-Brawl Erupts At Virginia High School Soccer Game, Multiple People Severely Injured; Alleged Racial Slurs Thrown)
But when it’s time for that 31st franchise, let’s go ahead and pick up Sin City. And I’m sure that’s what MLS is planning.