FC Cincinnati receiving its formal bid to join MLS leaves two expansion spots still available, and while the league "hasn't established a timetable or procedure to fill them," it is "expected that Sacramento, Detroit, Phoenix and San Diego will be among the early favorites," according to Brian Straus of SI.com. Sacramento Republic FC, which "fell behind Cincinnati when it became clear" that lead investor and CEO Kevin Nagle "needed additional investment," sent out a series a tweets following the MLS announcement yesterday. The tweets read, "This announcement does not impact Sacramento's ability to join MLS. We remain in regular communication with the league and Commissioner [Don] Garber and are working around the clock to secure a new lead investor to finalize our bid" (SI.com, 5/29). Garber said he has "no specific details on the teams or even the timing of the next round" for MLS expansion. Garber: "What I will say is we started with 12 and now we're down to a handful of markets where we still have ongoing discussions. Very productive discussions with Sacramento, as well as in Detroit where we're working with that ownership group on possible modifications of Ford Field that could, perhaps, make that city more MLS ready than it is today." Garber added there is "a lot of engagement going on" in San Diego and Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman "reached out to us very recently." Garber: "San Antonio remains on our list and we have great respect for what the NBA ownership team has done there. So there remains a lot of interest in MLS and we'll continue to get back to work and figure out what the next steps are" (CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 5/30).
STILL IN THE MIX: Garber said that the Detroit bid for MLS expansion "held 'front runner' status at one point." But in Detroit, Vince Ellis notes when the Dan Gilbert-Tom Gores-backed ownership group "abandoned plans to build a soccer-specific open-air stadium, and instead announced in November that it would retrofit Ford Field for soccer usage to save costs, it hurt the effort to put a MLS franchise in downtown Detroit" in time for the '20 season. However, Garber yesterday was "clear that Detroit remains in the mix ... if concerns over the venue are addressed." A site examination by Detroit-based architecture firm Rossetti "concluded that Ford Field, with its 65,000-seat capacity, could easily be modified for MLS specifications." But MLS "wasn't convinced." Garber: "There's a lot of exciting things going on, but you got to have good facilities" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 5/30).
ALL IS NOT LOST: In Sacramento, Ryan Lillis writes while yesterday's announcement is a "setback for Sacramento's long campaign for an expansion franchise, all is not lost." Garber "hasn't provided a timeline" for the next round of expansion, which "gives Sacramento and Republic FC a chance to clear its final hurdle in putting together a complete bid: finding a deep-pocketed investor with the financial heft to not only cover the start-up costs of launching an MLS franchise, but remain financially viable thereafter." The Sacramento contingent, led by Nagle, is "in conversations with potential investors interested in leading the expansion bid," but team officials have "not identified those potential investors." Meanwhile, Republic FC has "approvals from the city of Sacramento to construct a new stadium in the downtown railyard" (SACRAMENTO BEE, 5/30).
