Landon Donovan speaks exclusively to Prost Amerika
By Jonny Rico
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Friday morning brought big news to the city of San Diego. America’s Finest City is one of 12 cities across the United States that is fighting for four Major League Soccer (MLS) expansion franchises. There are a lot of people putting in a lot of hard work and lots of their personal money into the project so that San Diego can have an MLS team. One of those people is former United States Men’s National Team captain Landon Donovan.
Donovan was present on Friday morning at SeaPort Village where FS Investors held a join news conference along with San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and City Councilman Scott Sherman. It was announced that both the Mayor and Councilman, whose district includes the Mission Valley site where Qualcomm Stadium currently sits, have officially endorsed the SoccerCitySD Plan.
After the news conference Donovan spoke exclusively with Prost Amerika’s Jonny Rico. Donovan talked about what the project means to him and even mentioned that he’d be willing to come out of retirement and suit up for SDFC if it were necessary.
WATCH FULL INTERVIEW WITH LANDON DONOVAN
San Diego looks to be the front runner of all cities with the support and financial backing of one of MLS’ biggest media partners in Univision Sports CEO Juan Pablo Rodriguez.
But the entire plan lays in the balance of whether the ownership group, FS Investors, can get a stadium built. And that aspect of the plan all depends on whether the City of San Diego agrees to sell to FS Investors the land in the Mission Valley neighborhood where Qualcomm Stadium and its enormous parking lot currently sit.
There has been some roadblocks along the way, especially in the cooperation with from San Diego State University (SDSU) who also want the land for themselves for an American football stadium and campus expansion. FS Investors have done all they can to accommodate the needs of SDSU. On Thursday FS Investors made their plan public, San Diego Union Tribune’s Kevin Acee covered the details.
The Mayor and Councilman’s endorsement should mean a lot for the plan going forward. The citizens of San Diego will have an opportunity to vote on the proposal on November 7th. It needs 50% +1 in order to pass due to the fact that FS Investors are not asking for public money.
WATCH THE ENTIRE NEWS CONFERENCE FROM FRIDAY MORNING WITH SAN DIEGO MAYOR
