A report says that Major League Soccer could potentially still arrive in America's Finest City in the foreseeable future, as soon as 2024.
According to a report earlier this week, sources have informed the San Diego Union-Tribune that the possibility of an MLS expansion team coming to San Diego is still alive and well.
This comes as the hype around Snapdragon Stadium continues to build as August approaches, opening up a 35,000-seat venue for live sporting and entertainment events this fall.
SDSU Athletic Director John David Wicker has been previously asked about the potential of a Major League Soccer team also being part of the venue's plans, a possibility that he says is in the strong interest of the project's officials.
“MLS is very much aware of what we’re designing, what we want to build, all the different pieces,” Wicker has previously stated. “We’ve basically said if Measure G passes on Nov. 6, on Nov. 7 we’ll reach out to MLS and say, ‘Hey, we’re very interested in an MLS team coming to San Diego.’ ” he then added.
And just last week, Wicker doubled-down on his vision of having an MLS team at Snapdragon, be it in the year 2024 or possibly 2026.
“I’m confident we’re going to have MLS in our building,” Wicker mentioned last week. “Whether that’s 2024 or 2026 or sometime after that, I don’t know. But there’s a lot of interest in San Diego, and we have a lot of interest in having MLS."
Wicker says that this idea will be beneficial for everyone involved, as it will generate more revenue to the stadium, and will also help business partners, such as third-party vendors, sponsors, and anyone involved in this new venue.
“It’s big for us because it’s bringing revenue to the building. It helps with all our partners — sponsors, third-party vendors, everyone. The more events you have in there, the better they do. It also helps us deliver on the pledge we made from the beginning, that we wanted to build something for the entire community, not just San Diego State.” Wicker added.
Don Garber, Major League Soccer commissioner, says that they are still discussing the idea of San Diego being a future destination of an expansion MLS team in America's Finest City.
“I want to point out that we’re still in discussions with other markets,” Garber mentioned in December, including San Diego in the mix. “The interest in Major League Soccer continues to grow. The value that investors look at when they’re determining how they want to engage with professional soccer or even professional sports overall is at an all-time high.”
