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Philadelphia Union

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The Philadelphia Major League Soccer team is a professional soccer club to be based in Chester, Pennsylvania, a small city in the Philadelphia area, that will begin play in Major League Soccer in 2010. The team will play its home games at Chester Stadium.

MLS comes to Philadelphia

Major League Soccer (MLS) has been interested in a Philadelphia franchise for several years, with many promises of a team by Commissioner Don Garber, as evidenced by his quote from The Philadelphia Inquirer saying: "It's not a matter of if, but when Philadelphia gets a team."[1]

Initially, MLS was interested in a site in the borough of Bristol, Pennsylvania, about 23 miles north of Philadelphia.[2] Those plans never came to fruition. Later, Rowan University provided details for a soccer stadium near its campus in Glassboro, New Jersey. However, funding from the state of New Jersey fell through in 2006.

Later in 2006, a group of investors led by Rob Buccini, Jay Sugarman, and James Nevels initiated the planning for a soccer-specific stadium in the city of Chester after the funding for the Rowan project failed to pass the New Jersey legislature. After many months of negotiations, Delaware County politicians announced their approval of funding for the stadium in October of 2007.[3]

At the 2007 State of the League address at the end of the season on November 16, 2007, Commissioner Don Garber revised the official list of "priority" candidate cities for future expansion. The list included Philadelphia, as well as the cities of Atlanta, Las Vegas, a return to Miami, Montreal, a second team in the New York City area, Portland, St. Louis, and Vancouver.

Garber had made public statements that the Philadelphia and St. Louis areas were the highest priority candidates for expansion, and closest to becoming the next MLS city. He said that the league expected one of the two cities to join the league in either 2009 along with Seattle, or 2010. Garber also added that the league expected a decision to be made about the future of the league's sixteenth team to be made by the end of January 2008. Philadelphia's chances to become that team hinged on the approval of funds by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

On January 31, 2008, Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell announced a $47 million package to help finance the construction of a stadium in the city of Chester, with an additional $7 million towards a surrounding project comprised of townhouses, apartments, office space, convention center, retail space, and a parking garage.[4]

At a press conference held on February 28, 2008, Commissioner Don Garber formally announced the city of Philadelphia as its sixteenth team, with its inaugural season in 2010.[5] A team name and other details have yet to be announced.

Ownership

The Philadelphia MLS team is owned by Keystone Sports & Entertainment, LLC, a group of investors led by Christopher and Robert Buccini, co-founders of the Buccini/Pollin Group; Jay Sugarman, chief executive of iStar Financial; James Nevels, a former chairman of the Philadelphia School Reform Commission; William Doran, a Philadelphia lawyer; and Nick Sakiewicz, MLS veteran formerly employed with Red Bull New York and the defunct Tampa Bay Mutiny.[6]

Fan involvement in franchise development

For more than a year, a fan-based, grassroots group known as the "Sons of Ben" had agitated and petitioned MLS to expand into the Philadelphia market. The Sons of Ben were included in the expansion press conference, singing their anthem, "Four Leaf Clover", and closing the event by presenting scarves to the ownership group.[7]

References

  1. ^ "Philly's in play for an MLS team". The Philadelphia Inquirer/ FindArticles.com. Retrieved October 24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ "MLS fishing along the Delaware". Philly Burbs. Retrieved October 24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ "Delaware County's Field of Dreams". DelcoTimes.com. Retrieved October 24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ "Major hurdle cleared for Philly expansion". MLSnet.com. Retrieved January 31. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ "MLS awards Philadelphia 2010 expansion team". 2008-02-28. Retrieved 2008-02-28.
  6. ^ "City of Brotherly Love embraces MLS". FoxSports.com. Retrieved March 1. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ "Sons of Ben rejoice in Philly expansion". 2008-02-29. Retrieved 2008-03-05.


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