Three markets -- Sacramento, Las Vegas and Minneapolis -- will present their cases to lure a Major League Soccer (MLS) expansion team to their cities Thursday in New York, a statement released Wednesday morning on the MLS website said.
Representatives from the selected cities will make presentations at the MLS headquarters in New York City. After Thursday's presentations, future expansion talks will be discussed at the MLS Board of Governors meeting on Dec. 6.
Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson took a red-eye flight to New York to meet up with the Sacramento delegation, as well as members of the Sacramento Republic FC ownership group. He said he's confident that the group will present the best case for Sacramento to lure the MLS.
"I'm really excited," Johnson said Wednesday evening. "I like our chances. I feel really good about our opportunity to tell our story."
Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson talks to News10's Sean Cunningham about his upcoming trip to New York City to meet with representatives of Major League Soccer (MLS). He talks about what he'll do to try to make Sacramento an MLS city. News10/KXTV
Johnson said Sacramento's biggest advantage were broken into what he calls "the three pillars," almost a direct blueprint of what he used to pitch the NBA to prevent a sale and relocation of the Sacramento Kings.
The first pillar, a passionate fan base and dedicated commitments from the corporate community. Second, a strong ownership group, led by Kevin Nagle, Warren Smith, Larry Kelley and consisting of multiple local investors who have part ownership in the Kings as well. Lastly, the third pillar is the potential downtown stadium to be built in the downtown railyards, should the MLS grant expansion to Sacramento.
With his success in keeping the Kings, one would expect Johnson to have a trick or two up his sleeve, or a bombshell the sport's governing board may not be expecting. Does he?
"We have a very singular focus - to bring MLS to Sacramento," Johnson said. "I think we're a community that has proven we can punch above our weight class, so we intend to do that [Thursday] as well."
New York City FC and Orlando City MLS teams will make their debut in 2015. Los Angeles and Atlanta MLS teams will launch in 2017.
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