On Wednesday, approval was granted for an agreement that will allow a Las Vegas USL franchise to begin playing at Cashman Field in 2018.
The Las Vegas City Council has unanimously signed off on a 15-year lease with Las Vegas Soccer, LLC and Brett Lashbrook, the one-time COO of former USL and current MLS team Orlando City SC. More information about the club is expected to be revealed during a formal announcement in the middle of August.
“We are delighted the Las Vegas City Council has approved this agreement, which will open the door to professional soccer at Cashman Field,” said USL president Jake Edwards in a press statement. “Las Vegas is a market that has all of the ingredients to be the home to a strong professional soccer club, and one that would fit ideally into the USL’s current landscape and future vision. The USL continues to lead the next phase of growth in professional soccer across the United States.”
Cashman Field is also home to baseball’s Las Vegas 51s (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League). That arrangement would make Las Vegas the latest example of a city that has its USL and Minor League Baseball teams playing out of the same facility, with Tulsa, Harrisburg, Reno, and Louisville among the cities doing so in 2017.
Additional plans for future USL expansion still need to be finalized, as Fresno and Birmingham are expected to join the league next season. Nashville SC is currently slated to make its USL debut in 2018.
Edwards has also said that USL is talking to eight additional groups about the possibility of joining the league in 2019 and beyond. USL is playing the 2017 season at 30 teams.
Image courtesy USL.
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