SMI President & CEO Marcus Smith "wants to bring" MLS to Charlotte and has "already begun courting league executives" for an upcoming expansion franchise, according to Erik Spanberg of the CHARLOTTE BUSINESS JOURNAL. Charlotte was one of 10 markets mentioned on Thursday by MLS Commissioner Don Garber as possible expansion sites, and Garber "described the Smith-led bid as one with 'a lot of energy and lot of professional sports experience.'" Smith "had representatives at the MLS Cup earlier this month, where they met with Garber and other league executives." However, Smith’s pursuit of a club "came as a surprise" to many. USL Charlotte Independence Managing Partner Jim McPhilliamy for the past two years has been "touting the city as a possible MLS city." He also this fall hired a "boutique sports investment firm ... to help him recruit the wealthy investors McPhilliamy said would be needed to power his bid." McPhilliamy said that he is "aware of Smith’s MLS interest, but also said he is uncertain whether or how Smith wants him to be part of his MLS bid." Spanberg noted McPhilliamy and the Independence have negotiated a $25M renovation of Mecklenburg County-owned Memorial Stadium. That proposal is "likely to go before county and city boards early next year with a planned split" of $8M-plus by city and county government and the Independence. A source said that while Smith has "spoken with city and county representatives, he views Memorial Stadium as one of several stadium options" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 12/15). In Charlotte, Katherine Peralta notes Raleigh-based NASL club North Carolina FC, formerly the Railhawks, "recently launched its own campaign to land an MLS team." Garber said that it is "too early ... to say whether North Carolina can accommodate" two MLS teams (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 12/16).
MOTOR CITY MAYBE? In Detroit, Al Willman notes the ownership of a prospective MLS club in the city "hopes the team will play on the former Wayne County jail site" in close proximity to Ford Field and Little Caesars Arena. Garber said that the efforts of Pistons Owner Tom Gores and Palace Sports & Entertainment Vice Chair Arn Tellem to move the Pistons back to downtown Detroit "have stood out to him." Garber: "Tom is a guy that I think is really great, and smart, (and) really experienced in professional sports. He’d make a great owner in MLS and his move with Arn Tellem, who is a good friend of mine, or his planned move to take (the Pistons) to the city speaks wonders for where Detroit is hoping to get to, which is this continuation of a city on the rise" (DETROIT NEWS, 12/16). Garber said that the support for NPSL club Detroit City FC is a "good sign for potential success of an MLS franchise in Detroit" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 12/16).
NASH BRIDGES: Garber said that he is "'encouraged' by the support he has seen so far" for Nashville SC, which is set to begin play in the USL in '18. Garber said that MLS has been "strategically testing potential expansion markets by selecting them to host matches for the U.S. men's and women's national teams, and also international matches." In Nashville, Adam Sichko noted the city has "hosted all of those within the past year-and-a-half, most recently an exhibition game between Mexico and New Zealand that Garber praised for its 'unbelievable' turnout of about 40,000 attendees" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 12/15). Garber also said Nashville fits into a plan for a “geographic rollout in the southeast,” a place where MLS has a smaller presence. In Nashville, Joey Garrison in a front-page piece notes the city's potential MLS investors, who "first met with the league only months ago, is earlier in the expansion process than the other nine cities" (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 12/16).
PLANS IN THE WORKS: In San Antonio, W. Scott Bailey noted Bexar County voters "could be asked next November to approve a plan to expand Toyota Field to accommodate" an MLS team. Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff said that he met with MLS President & Deputy Commissioner Mark Abbott recently about expansion and is "working on a plan to fund the expansion of Toyota Field." Wolff said the county "must also determine how much the city of San Antonio, which jointly owns Toyota Field with the county, is willing to invest." Wolff is "optimistic San Antonio can get a second big-league team." However, it is "clear San Antonio will need to move more expeditiously to formalize a stadium plan that city leaders can sell to MLS" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 12/15).
ARE THEY A TRUE CONTENDER? Garber said if the Chargers were to leave San Diego, it makes the "market more attractive to us." Meanwhile, in San Diego, Mark Ziegler writes there are several things that need to "happen first" before the city can be a viable expansion candidate, including the fact Qualcomm Stadium would "have to be demolished." The city also "would have to gift the lucrative piece of land to a development group" proposing to build a university annex for San Diego State and UC-San Diego with a "mid-sized stadium as a centerpiece." A local ownership group would then "have to ante up an expansion fee." Ziegler: "All this would have to happen in relative haste in a city that doesn’t exactly have a history of building sports facilities quickly" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 12/16).
