MLS received a 500 million dollars fee from San Diego for the inclusion of a new team from 2025, local media reported, cited by Reuters.
San Diego will be owned by Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Mansour and the local organization Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation. Among the minority shareholders will be the former international Landon Donovan and the current player of Inter Miami – Deandre Yedlin.
It will be the third club in Southern California after Los Angeles Galaxy and Los Angeles FC.
The new team is expected to play at San Diego State University’s Snapdragon Stadium, which has a capacity of 35,000 seats. The facility has been used by the men’s and women’s soccer teams, as well as the rugby team.
San Diego’s $500 million expansion fee is an MLS record, significantly higher than the $325 million that David Tepper paid to bring an expansion team to Charlotte in 2019. In 2007, Toronto FC paid $10 million in to join the league.https://t.co/BEnvYp7RxM pic.twitter.com/8HrBrLskiA
— Sportico (@Sportico) May 16, 2023
The fee paid by San Diego significantly exceeds the previous record of 325 million, which was given by Charlotte FC. St. Louis City, which joined the MLS this season, paid $200 million to participate in the championship.
San Diego will be the 30th team in MLS.