MLS ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR EXPANSION TEAM IN PHILADELPHIA

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According the Mercury News, Major League Soccer’s (MLS) plans to put an expansion team in Philadelphia involve Rowan University’s hopes to build an auxiliary campus outside the city.

A football-specific stadium would be part of a proposed US 1 billion plan to turn a plot of undeveloped land into a second nucleus for the growing university. Under the plan, the university would lease some of the proposed 600-acre site to a developer that would build the stadium as part of a new sports complex that would be home to the school’s Division III programs. The MLS team would begin play in 2009.

Some public money would likely be needed to secure the deal, and MLS President Mark Abbott said any prospective owners would need the plans to finalized first. Abbot also said that MLS has wanted to expand to the Philadelphia area for years.

"We benefit as a growing sport being in a growing region," Abbott said.

Abbott said the league would like to expand to 16 teams from its current 12.