Stadium sale puts San Antonio back in MLS hunt

Hartman will still retain ownership of the Scorpions for the time being, but the team could nevertheless be on the move to another league soon.

The city and the county want a Major League Soccer team here, but it might still be years away still.

SSE issued a statement to Examiner.com that it looked forward to discussions "to bring a United Soccer League experience to San Antonio in 2016, as well as begin the campaign for Major League Soccer". The city and county will split the $18 million price tag, with Spurs Sports and Entertainment contributing another $3 million, bringing the total purchase price to $21 million.

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But if the nation's premier soccer league does grant the Alamo City a franchise in the future, an announcement made today by Mayor Ivy Taylor and Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff will have played a key role.

The City and County will own Toyota Field throughout the lease term and will continue to own Toyota Field in the event an MLS franchise is not awarded to the Spurs, officials said.

This item will be on the agendas of city council and the Bexar County commissioners court next week with the goal of the start of expansion in about a year with the possibility of MLS starting here in San Antonio in as early as five years, if the league approves the bid.

In order to mount a viable bid for expansion, any prospective investor/operator must fund extensive renovations at Toyota Field.

Notably, no representative from the San Antonio Scorpions was on hand to address the media. Sacramento Republic officials maintained their quest to secure a bid by releasing a team-commissioned study on Wednesday touting Sacramento as a comparable partner to cities like Kansas City, Orlando, Portland, Salt Lake City.

And he said San Antonio would be ready to make a pitch then.

Taylor says the plan is for Bexar County to purchase Toyota Field, which is on the city's northeast side and is home to the San Antonio Scorpions for $18 million, and Spurs Sports and Entertainment would own the team. "We sincerely appreciate this strong demonstration of interest in MLS". MLS will grow to 24 teams in the near future, as it adds clubs in Miami, Minnesota, Los Angeles and Atlanta to the 20 current franchises.