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Leagues and Governing Bodies

NASL Expected To Announce San Diego Expansion Franchise To Begin Play In '18

The NASL is "expected to announce a San Diego expansion franchise that will begin play" in '18, first at the Univ. of San Diego's Torero Stadium and "later at a 10,000-seat venue it plans to build at an undisclosed location in North County," according to Mark Zeigler of the SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE. Former EPL club Chelsea F Demba Ba would be majority owner, and his investment group "includes three of his former teammates." The purchase was "finalized last month." However, Ba's group said that it "'purposely delayed' the announcement so it wouldn't conflict with the public debate over the SoccerCity proposal." The yet-to-be-named NASL club's President Bob Watkins said, "We are soccer specific. ... We are not in the real estate development business." He added, "We didn't want to get into the fray or be painted with the same brush of either helping or not helping the [downtown] MLS project. ... We want a clean slate going forward with a team in North County." Watkins said that they "opted against the South Bay" because of its proximity to Liga MX club Tijuana, which "regularly draws several thousand fans from this side of the border." Zeigler noted the expansion NASL club also "stayed away from Mission Valley and the city center" in case MLS expands to San Diego. Architectural firm Populous is "working with the NASL club." Watkins said that he "envisions a 10,000-seat stadium (expendable to 15,000) would cost" $10-15M and be "financed privately." It would take "three to four months to erect on as little as four acres, with completion" as early as August '18. The San Diego expansion is "part of push west" for NASL. The S.F. Deltas are new this season, and an Orange County, Calif., team was "announced last month" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 6/25).

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