According to one council member, the only thing missing from this picture is a Major League Soccer team.
As Major League Soccer executives visit Sacramento this week, Governance Committee members will consider whether to identify financial options to lure the last, planned expansion team to San Antonio.
And “league insiders” tell the
Sacramento Bee, that it is on stronger footing than its southern neighbor Elk Grove, another city competing for the last planned MLS expansion team.
“The city that’s considered Sacramento’s strongest competition? Minneapolis, a metropolitan area of 3.5 million people with a vast corporate base and rich history in professional sports,”
according to a Sunday edition story in the Sacramento Bee. “Two competing deep-pocketed groups in that region are pushing bids for an expansion team and already have met privately with top league executives.”
The newspaper reports that MLS executives are in Sacramento for a two-day visit to assess whether a team in California's state capital would succeed.
San Antonio got a mention in the story, namely, the recently announced expansion of Toyota Field, where the minor league San Antonio Scorpions play. But that’s it, other than a website poll where San Antonio scored 5 percent of more than 1,500 online votes for where the last expansion team should land.
District 10 Mike Gallagher submitted the council consideration request on Aug. 26 and it’s set to be considered Wednesday.
“I request a Resolution affirming this City Council’s desire to assist in bringing Major League Soccer (MLS) to San Antonio,” Gallagher wrote in his request. “Also, I respectfully request that the City Manager direct staff to provide recommendations to City Council identifying any financial options and potential partnerships available to the City to assist in securing an MLS franchise in San Antonio.”
But will the planned multi-million dollar expansion of Toyota Field and council consideration request—if passed—be enough to lure an MLS team to South Texas?
As for the California state capital, it’s planning a downtown stadium for MLS, the
Sacramento Bee reported. And Sacramento and Minneapolis are just two of five cities, not including the Alamo City, that are drumming up local conversations and support for the last MLS expansion team.
Read the consideration request here:
Major League Soccer CCR (1)
