Las Vegas still in running for MLS expansion

By Rob Miech

Published Thursday, July 24, 2008 | 11:58 a.m.

Updated Thursday, July 24, 2008 | 4:03 p.m.

At his State of the League address Wednesday in Toronto, Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber said Las Vegas remains on a short list for expansion.

It was Garber’s first public mention of Las Vegas since November, when he talked about MLS expansion at a State of the League talk at the National Press Club in Washington.

The Sun reported in May 2007 about California businessman Mark Noorzai’s efforts to bring an MLS expansion team to Las Vegas.

Noorzai formed the Las Vegas Sports & Entertainment Group (LVSEG) more than two years ago and has planned to assemble a prominent group of investors to house a professional soccer team in a $500 million, retractable-roof, soccer-specific stadium.

Paul Caligiuri, a Hall of Fame defender out of UCLA who played in two World Cups for the U.S. national team, is the chief spokesman for LVSEG. Noorzai and Caligiuri both have signed nondisclosure agreements, with several partners, that preclude them from talking about it.

Garber’s public comments likely boosted LVSEG’s efforts. He also mentioned Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver, Atlanta, Miami, Portland, St. Louis and a possible second New York team when talking about expansion.

Seattle joins the league next season and Philadelphia begins in 2010, which will bring MLS to 16 teams. Thursday morning, the MLS Board of Governors approved expanding the league to 18 teams by 2011. At that meeting, Garber provided updates on the eight prospective markets.

Indications are that Las Vegas and St. Louis could land the next two teams.

Garber said the news teams will need the right owners, the right facilities, the right markets and the right fan support.

“And very, very importantly, we must ensure that our league carefully manages this growth in the context of ensuring that our player quality continues to improve,” he said, “and that our teams and league have managed all of this growth with real focus.”

The future, Garber said, is bright.

“We believe our next five years, our best years, are still ahead of us,” he said. “(Our) goal is to be one of the best soccer leagues in the world and we think we can achieve that.

“Our goal was also to be one of the top professional sports leagues in the world -- with all of the passion that exists for the sport (in Canada and the U.S.), we have no doubt that, at some point, we can achieve that goal.”

Also in Toronto, where the State of the League address took place, a group of MLS All-Stars is playing West Ham United of England at BMO Field on Thursday night.