More MLS Bid Details Emerge As Expansion Deadline Nears

As MLS' 5:00pm ET expansion application deadline nears, bid groups continue to make their efforts stand out.

• The Raleigh-area group's bid includes renderings of a 22,000-seat stadium with a "translucent roof." NASL club North Carolina FC Owner Steve Malik, who is leading the bid, said that the group "gave MLS three alternatives for a stadium site," including "upgrading the current WakeMed Soccer Park" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 131).
• Hewlett Packard President & CEO Meg Whitman has joined the Sacramento group (TWITTER.com, 1/31). Her husband, Stanford professor Griff Harsh, is "also joining the group" (SACBEE.com, 1/31).
• An "unsettled stadium situation remains a potential stumbling block" for Indianapolis' bid. NASL club Indy Eleven's updated stadium cost projections are in excess of $100M (INDYSTAR.com, 1/31).
• USL club FC Cincinnati confirmed that it "had submitted its materials to MLS." The application "appears to consist of two spiral-bound packets," one of which includes a stadium proposal (ENQUIRER.com, 1/31).