MLS Commissioner Lays Out What Indy Needs For Expansion Franchise

Source: Icon Sportswire / Getty

COLUMBUS, Ohio. — Major League Soccer is keeping the door open to expansion but is also not committing to anything just yet as Indianapolis city leaders continue to lobby the league to put an expansion franchise in the Circle City.

Mayor Joe Hogsett and his staff have been in Columbus, Ohio for the MLS All-Star Game where they had some informal meetings about the possibility of expansion. Hogsett was back in Indianapolis on Wednesday to welcome Vice-President Kamala Harris to town, but Deputy Mayor Dan Parker stayed for the remainder of the festivities and said he talked up what an MLS franchise would me for the city.

“The Pacers, Colts, Indians, this would add to that as well,” Parker said. “Just think about the number of folks who would come down to games and take advantage of all the amenities we have downtown.”

MLS Commissioner Don Garber had the question about possibly expanding to Indianapolis put to him during his latest media availability in Columbus.

“There isn’t a specific plan to expand, but I know you’ve probably seen the mayor of Indianapolis has been here the last couple of days,” Garber said. “If there is a good market for us to expand and that market makes sense … I think we would strongly consider expanding beyond the 30 teams we have now.”

There are 29 MLS franchises at the moment with a new expansion franchise about to begin play next season in San Diego. Garber said if the league were to expand it would likely bring in two more teams, one east of the Mississippi River and one west.

The city of Indianapolis recently passed a plan for a stadium tax district that would help fund the building of a new soccer-specific stadium. The district encompasses the Indianapolis Heliport, which the city hopes to decommission to make way for a stadium.

It’s that among many other caveats that Garber said needs to be addressed by any city looking to become a part of the league

“You need support from the community, both from the business community and the political community,” he said. “You need to have a proper stadium plan and you need an ownership group who really believes in Major League Soccer.”

Support has been so-so for the city’s latest push for MLS given the turmoil surrounding its exit from a handshake deal with Indy Eleven to build a soccer stadium. There have also been calls for the ownership group Hogsett said he’s been working with to reveal themselves.

The state budget committee will consider the city’s proposal for a stadium tax district next month. It’s said that once (or if) the committee approves the proposal, that’s when more will be revealed about the ownership group.

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