Major League Soccer will smash its record for an expansion fee with the addition of a 30th team.
The league is set to announce San Diego as the home of its next franchise. Egyptian billionaire and U.K. Tory treasurer Mohamed Mansour is expected to pay $500 million to launch the club, according to the San Diego Tribune.
That figure will destroy the previous MLS record of $325 million set by Charlotte FC in 2019.
The Sycuan Tribe of the Kumeyaay Nation — who are believed to have a roughly 12,000-year history in the area — are also expected to be part of the ownership group.
The team will begin play in 2025 and share the 35,000-capacity Snapdragon Stadium with the NWSL’s San Diego Wave. San Diego State’s Aztecs football team and the American Professional Rugby Union’s San Diego Legion will also play home games at the venue, which opened last year.
San Diego will be the fourth MLS team in California, joining the Los Angeles Galaxy, Los Angeles FC, and San Jose Earthquakes. The San Diego Loyal of the second-division USL Championship have played in the city since 2019 and count U.S. national team legend Landon Donovan as an executive.
