Philadelphia suburb wants MLS club

A group of investors believe they can lure an MLS club to Chester, Pa., a suburb of Philadelphia.

They own a potential site for the club, and say they have the financing. Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell's administration said it would help bring the MLS to Chester.

The group is headed by Jay Sugarman of New York, with investors Christopher and Robert Buccini, among others. An attourney for the group said it had been working behind the scenes for more than a year on the project.

"The short story here is that this is the beginning of a process one that we hope will come to fruition hopefully within the next number of months," MLS commissioner Don Garber said.

The property is owned by Buccini/Pollin Group, a Delaware-based firm that developed a stadium for the Wilmington (Delaware) Blue Rocks, a minor league baseball club.

More than an estimated USD 300 million would be needed for the entire project. There would be an additional USD 170 million outlay for four practice pitches and a USD 30 million franchise fee.

There are no specifics on what cost would be absorbed by the private sector and how much would be put upon the taxpayers.

"We don't have any exact numbers," said Andrew Reilly, Chairman of the Delaware County county council. "That is going to be the subject of the meeting."

Source: euFootball.BIZ © Copyright 2006 - All rights reserved.