Mark Abbott, deputy commissioner of Major League Soccer, graduated from Tartan High School in Oakdale a generation ago, but his knowledge of the former Metro Transit “bus barn” site in St. Paul was limited to what he has seen in maps.

Until Tuesday.

St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman led Abbott on a tour of the blighted, 10-acre parcel of vacant land southeast of Snelling and University avenues in hopes that he could convince him it’s a perfect place for an MLS stadium.

“We’re in the fact-finding mode; we talked a lot about what a great market this is,” Abbott said during a media event with the mayor before their tour. It was held at the St. Paul Saints’ new CHS Field, which was held up as an example of what the city can accomplish.

“What I will say is I am tremendously impressed with the development that’s taken place to date in St. Paul,” Abbott said.

Coleman emphasized that no final decision on where to possibly situate a soccer stadium is imminent.

“Today is just about giving the deputy commissioner a chance just to look around,” the mayor said.

Major League Soccer, which currently comprises 20 teams in the U.S. and Canada, hopes to be established in at least 24 markets in the near future and likely more beyond that, Abbott said. The Twin Cities are on the short list, and an expansion franchise was awarded to Minnesota United FC last spring.

United team owners have offered to privately fund construction of a stadium of about 18,000 seats, though Abbott on Tuesday talked up seating for “roughly 20,000 … and hopefully beyond that.” In 2013, team owner Bill McGuire’s informal renderings called for up to 24,000 seats in St. Paul’s Midway.

To lure MLS to St. Paul, the mayor said a package of benefits would likely include keeping the old bus barn property off the tax rolls, as it has been for more than 50 years, as well as tax relief on stadium construction and materials.

“There’s a few things that they’ve asked for,” Coleman said.

Those decisions ultimately rest with state lawmakers, who have shown signs of exhaustion with big demands from professional sports team owners.

“I know there’s no such thing as a simple request at the state Legislature,” the mayor said, adding, “I’m confident they’ll approve it.”

An equally large unknown is what will happen in Minneapolis, where McGuire and the Pohlad family — the owners of the Minnesota Twins — publicly unveiled stadium plans months ago to tepid reaction from state and local government.

Even with Minneapolis dragging its heels, skeptics have questioned the degree to which United is serious about relocating their stadium proposal to St. Paul.

The St. Paul parcel sits along St. Anthony Avenue, overlooking Interstate 94 and south of the Midway Shopping Center. It’s been vacant since Metro Transit’s bus garage was torn down in 2002.

Coleman repeatedly said Tuesday he has no interest in seeing Minneapolis and St. Paul “played off” each other but added he does believe that St. Paul is ready to host another professional sports team, joining the NHL’s Minnesota Wild and the independent league Saints.

“We think it’s an ideal site for a facility for Major League Soccer,” said Coleman, pointing to the vacant land’s proximity to the new Green Line light-rail corridor.

More than a year ago, the city teamed with the Metropolitan Council to market the 10-acre bus barn parcel, hand-in-hand with 5 adjoining acres controlled by strip-mall owner RK Midway. The city discussed the potential redevelopment of the company’s entire Midway Shopping Center.

Despite McGuire’s enthusiasm for a full-court press, Coleman’s vision for a transit-oriented urban village composed of housing, offices, retail and parkland stalled amid price projections.

“This project could be a real catalytic event … to see more development in the immediate area of the shopping center,” Coleman said. “We want to strategically place these facilities in ways that will benefit the entire region.”

As for what’s next, Abbott acknowledged that Major League Soccer has not formally extended the July 1 deadline it gave Minneapolis in March to come to a decision about a stadium. City officials, including Mayor Betsy Hodges, have said they will begin discussions in September and have a more formal response by the end of the year.

But Abbott said the purpose of his trip was to concentrate on St. Paul.

“The focus today is to look at this site,” he said.

Meanwhile, the site’s neighbors are weighing in. A community meeting Tuesday evening drew about 100 people, with many expressing concerns about traffic, financing and stadium uses.

“It’s a contentious issue, and people have strong feelings on all sides,” said Eric Molho, who chairs the Union Park District Council’s soccer stadium task force. But “right now we don’t have anything to respond to.”

Frederick Melo can be reached at 651-228-2172. Follow him at twitter.com/FrederickMelo.