by Paul Kennedy @pkedit, Jun 20, 2017

The San Diego effort to obtain an MLS expansion team received good news and bad news on Monday. The good news is that San Diego city council agreed to send the proposed SoccerCity development that includes a soccer stadium for a vote. The bad news is the measure most likely will be placed on the November 2018 general election ballot, perhaps too late for MLS's expansion timetable.FS Investors, which backed the MLS bid, had hoped the measure could go to the voters for approval on a special ballot in November 2017, in time for MLS to consider the project as part of the first round of expansion -- the 25th and 26th teams -- by the end of the year.

A week ago, the San Diego city council voted by 5-4 along party lines to reject a plan to conduct a special election in 2017. On Monday, the city council unanimously agreed to put the measure on the November 2018 general election ballot, though FS Investors stressed after the latest vote that nothing ruled out a special election being conducted before November 2018.





SoccerCity is part of a $4 billion plan to redevelop the area around Qualcomm Stadium in Mission Valley. A petition in support of the measure received more than 100,000 signatures from registered voters. The city council could have simply approved the project, but FS Investors, fearing legal challenges, has preferred to take the measure to the public for a vote.



The 32,000-seat soccer stadium is part of a bigger development that includes housing, commercial space, hotel rooms and parkland. Qualcomm Stadium, the home of the departed NFL Chargers, sits on park of the site.



Opponents of the project said the delay could give FS Investors time to present a better plan -- or for other developers to present competing plans for the Mission Valley. Another interested party is San Diego State University, which is looking for a long-term home for the football Aztecs, who will need to find a new home. SDSU had been in talks with FS Investors over a possible partnership but pulled out, prompting the university to request that other plans for the development be considered.



Mayor Kevin Faulconer, who supports the SoccerCity project, issued a statement expressing his disappointment with the decision.



"The council's decision significantly jeopardizes our chance to bring Major League Soccer to San Diego and create a river park at no cost to taxpayers," Faulconer said. "Regardless of whether they personally supported or opposed Soccer City, council members should have given San Diegans the chance to vote when it mattered the most. Despite the council's delay, I will keep working for the park space, housing and economic benefits in the SoccerCity plan."

San Diego is one of 12 markets under consideration for four expansion spots. Another leading contender, St. Louis, failed to secure approval for support for a soccer stadium. MLS has said the timeline for selecting the 27th and 28th clubs will be decided later this year.

Without at least four rival bids winning support for a soccer stadium and making a powerful expansion case, MLS may be willing to wait until after November 2018 to see if San Diego voters will back SoccerCity.