By Ben Nicholson
August 6 – The speculation surrounding the future of Chivas USA continued this week as the MLS community was gathered in Portland for the MLS All-Star game activities. Deputy commissioner Mark Abbott stressed that the league wants to keep Chivas USA in Los Angeles, suggesting a possible stadium location in downtown LA.
MLS bought the Chivas USA franchise from Jorge Vergara and Angelica Fuentes in February, after a controversial reign in which Vergara found himself in trouble for racially discriminating against non-Mexican players. Vergara is also the owner of Chivas Guadalajara in Mexico.
The club was meant to tap into the Californian Hispanic population, but struggled on and off the pitch as results wavered and staff personnel changed all too quickly to build a successful club.
MLS bought the club in view to selling it to new owners in 2014, who would rebrand the franchise; new name, new logo, and hopefully a new stadium too. Chivas currently share the StubHub Center with LA Galaxy, and often get second choice when it comes to kick of times which in turn leads to low attendances.
MLS commissioner Don Garber was optimistic about the prospects of selling, stating at the time of the purchase: “We have already had initial discussions with a number of very qualified potential owners and it is our intention to transition the team to a new owner sometime this year.”
MLS have been reported as asking $60 million for Chivas USA, though Abbott has said that they are looking for more than was paid by Orlando for their expansion bid, which cost about $70 million.
“We’ve been spending a lot of time talking to potential buyers. I am very optimistic we can find a wonderful ownership group. I don’t have a specific timetable yet but it is an area of high focus for me,” said Abbott.
“I anticipate in a reasonable period of time we will have a new buyer for that club. We have been looking at USC as a potential site for a stadium. Our focus is on a central LA location. We are not going to publicly negotiate the price but it will be more than was paid by Orlando.”
Abbott has left little room for any of the cities currently vying for an expansion bid to take Chivas USA out of LA, eager as these cities are (rumors had emerged that Sacramento FC would jump at the purchase if it was available to them). Nor does it seem likely that Beckham will switch his sights from Miami back to his previous stomping ground LA.
The criteria Abbott has set out is pretty strict in terms of keeping the franchise in LA, and wanting a new stadium built there too. And since this all comes at a hefty fee it may prove difficult for MLS to find a buyer quickly.
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