Pro soccer in Reno? It could happen at Aces Ballpark

Professional soccer could be coming to Reno if negotiations between the United Soccer League and Aces Baseball owner Herb Simon continue to go well, the president of the Reno Aces confirmed Monday night.

Aces President Eric Edelstein said a franchise deal with the United Soccer League has not been finalized, despite what unnamed sources told a national pro soccer blogger.

“We don’t have a franchise at this moment,” Edelstein said. “We have been in talks for some time and we are actively pursuing a franchise that, if awarded, would play at Aces Ballpark and would be owned by Herb Simon.”

A blogger at Scratching the Pitch reported the league entry fee is $2 million, but Edelstein would not comment on the terms of the franchise.

“I can say for a fact that the blogger is incorrect that it would be a 2016 franchise,” Edelstein said. “It would be a 2017 franchise.”

The professional soccer league’s season would overlap with baseball season, running from March to September.

Edelstein said the Aces would continue to be a priority and that Simon would not pursue a soccer franchise if it interfered with baseball.

“We’re still a baseball stadium first,” Edelstein said. “We need to do right by the Diamondbacks (the Aces’ major-league parent club) and baseball. If this were to be a huge detriment to the field surface, we wouldn’t have done it. But the early returns from the other teams show it is not a detriment to baseball.”

Edelstein said two other stadiums — in Louisville, Ky., and Tulsa, Okla. — are shared by baseball and soccer teams.

The USL operates below the level of Major League Soccer, but did establish a player-development deal with MLS in 2013.

The Scratching the Pitch blogger reported USL’s priority is for all of its franchises “to be the primary tenant or owner of a soccer specific stadium by 2020.”

Edelstein said the league is most concerned with having control over the stadium, not necessarily that it be a soccer-specific stadium.

“During the six-month window of the season, we would be in control of the facility,” Edelstein said. “We could control dates and schedules. Baseball comes first and the soccer schedule (would) come at a later date.”

Pursuing a soccer franchise is part of Simon’s goal to increase usage of the ballpark, which was built with a substantial public subsidy. Edelstein said no public money would be a part of the soccer franchise deal.