“Viva, Las Vegas. Viva, soccer-specific stadium…”
Okay, so it may not be the first city on everyone’s list for a Major League Soccer expansion franchise but the folks in Las Vegas aren’t deterred.
In the past few weeks we have heard about plans for a soccer-specific stadium to be built in downtown Vegss and now the company planning to build a stunning new facility, at Symphony Park, have been given more time to finalize their design and get this thing off the ground. We brought you the news of Vegas officials and MLS being in discussions last week and that has helped to keep this project going and give planners extra time to build what looks like a stunning venue.
MORE: Las Vegas could be in line for Major League Soccer team
This summer Vegas already boasts a PDL side, the wonderfully named Las Vegas Mobsters, and the development group behind this proposed venue have their sights set on an MLS franchise. Cordish Companies and Findlay Sports and Entertainment Group switched their focus to building an MLS stadium downtown after MGM resorts broke ground on a new arena earlier this month.
With Vegas forever being linked with having a major league sports franchise to call their own, could MLS arrive in the next wave of expected expansion? With Miami, Orlando and Atlanta setting the league up for 23 teams from 2017, one more team will likely be added in the next three seasons. Minneapolis has long been the number option on many people’s list but if Vegas can get this stadium signed, sealed and built, why can soccer arrive in Sin City?
The guys at CBS Las Vegas take up the story, as a new soccer stadium was given more time to be finalized by the local council.
Councilmembers voted 6-1 Wednesday to ink a deal with Baltimore-based Cordish Companies and its new partner, Findlay Sports and Entertainment Group. The deal gives the partners until Sept. 1 to develop a financing plan. The city has maintained an exclusive contract for years with Cordish, which planned to build an arena in the revitalized downtown. But the project failed to materialize, and Cordish has irked some residents by proposing a tax to fund it. After MGM Resorts broke ground on a privately funded arena this month, Cordish announced it was changing directions and pursuing Major League Soccer. The original contract was set to expire June 1.
