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Sacramento and St. Louis bid for MLS slots at **$500M** after San Diego reset pricing; league needs **30 teams** by 2028 for Apple content quotas.
29th
franchise slots
$500 million
entry fee as the new reference price
$325 million
paid by Charlotte FC in 2019
$458 million
downtown stadium bond package in 2017 but withdrew its…
Sacramento and St. Louis submitted formal expansion presentations to Major League Soccer's committee this week, renewing bids for the league's 28th and 29th franchise slots. Both markets withdrew or stalled prior applications during MLS's 2017–2019 expansion cycle; both now return with San Diego's $500 million entry fee as the new reference price.
San Diego's approval, finalized last week with British-Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Mansour paying approximately $500 million, reset league economics. The previous high was $325 million, paid by Charlotte FC in 2019. Sacramento's ownership group, led by billionaire Vivek Ranadivé and including the Wilf family (Minnesota Vikings), has been working stadium financing with Sacramento County since 2018. St. Louis, backed by the Taylor family (Enterprise Holdings), secured a $458 million downtown stadium bond package in 2017 but withdrew its bid in 2018 after MLS prioritized Nashville and Miami.
The league now projects 30 teams by 2028, though expansion revenue has become a material line item in central league finances. MLS distributed approximately $1.6 billion in expansion fees across the 2017–2022 cycle, with proceeds shared among existing ownership groups as capital distributions. San Diego's fee alone exceeds the combined payments from Austin, Nashville, and Charlotte. Sacramento and St. Louis are expected to pay at or near the $500 million benchmark, though neither group has confirmed figures publicly.
Sacramento's pitch centers on Northern California market isolation—120 miles from San Jose, 380 miles from Los Angeles—and Ranadivé's existing sports infrastructure (Sacramento Kings, Golden 1 Center). The proposed stadium site, a 25,000-seat venue in the downtown Railyards district, still requires final county approvals. St. Louis presents as the largest U.S. market without top-division soccer, population 2.8 million, and carries symbolic weight as the former home of the sport's earliest American professional leagues. Its stadium, already under construction downtown, is scheduled to open in 2025 regardless of MLS approval.
The expansion committee, chaired by New England Revolution owner Robert Kraft, has not announced a decision timeline. League sources indicate final votes could occur at the December Board of Governors meeting in New York. Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Detroit have been named as alternate markets, though none have submitted formal bids this cycle. Quietly, the league's broadcast negotiations—its national deal with Apple TV runs through 2032 for $2.5 billion—have shifted franchise valuation models. Apple's per-game inventory requires 30 teams to meet minimum seasonal output; expansion is now partly a content-supply obligation.
Mansour, who also owns a minority stake in the Golden State Warriors, paid his San Diego fee in full at closing. Sacramento and St. Louis are expected to structure payments across 18–24 months, standard for recent entries. Both markets have committed to launch in 2026, though construction timelines suggest 2027 is more realistic.
Watch whether Sacramento's stadium financing clears county approval by year-end. St. Louis continues construction with or without a franchise; its stadium becomes a NWSL or USL venue if MLS passes. The Board of Governors meets December 14–15.
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