Soccer goal: Play big, play pro in Vegas

Do you remember that feeling...

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when you met your wife (or husband) for the first time? When you were just knocked, out, the way your head swam and you couldn't really think?

I got that feeling again this morning:

Quote:

The sports group hopes to build a high-tech, state-of-the-art stadium with a retractable roof that will be linked with a casino.

Oh. Dear. God. Please. Let. This. Happen.

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May 09, 2007

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/lv-other/2007/may/09/566684655.html

Major league team and sports complex envisioned by 2010

By Rob Miech
Las Vegas Sun

Major League Soccer might beat the NBA and other big-league sports to Las Vegas, and in a big way.

Banking on the international appeal of soccer and of the city, the Las Vegas Sports & Entertainment Group could have an MLS team playing in Las Vegas by 2010.

Anyone for Las Vegas Football Club season tickets?

"We're excited and doing our homework," Mark Noorzai, the sports group's president, said. "We are committed to bringing an MLS team to Las Vegas.

"I think Las Vegas (Football Club) would be the premier franchise in MLS. If I didn't think so, I wouldn't be doing this."

Noorzai, a 40-year-old high-tech businessman, has been negotiating with MLS owners and Commissioner Don Garber for three months, during which Noorzai has made 10 trips to Las Vegas to involve local soccer officials and explore land options.

The sports group hopes to build a high-tech, state-of-the-art stadium with a retractable roof that will be linked with a casino.

Several race and sports books in Las Vegas take wagers on MLS games. Unlike commissioners of other leagues, however, Garber has told Noorzai he has no issues with the gaming industry.

Noorzai, who founded three high-technology companies and is based in Camarillo, Calif., conducted his latest investors' meeting over the weekend at Caesars Palace.

He declined to name those investors, but he said the group is worth several billion dollars and won't seek public help in financing the construction of the complex.

MLS President Mark Abbott, who manages expansion for the league, confirmed meeting with Noorzai.

"Major League Soccer remains interested in Las Vegas as a future expansion market," Abbott said Tuesday. "We look forward to learning more about (Noorzai's) interest in bringing an MLS team to Las Vegas."

Garber, who is traveling and could not be reached for comment, had a general discussion with Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman at City Hall last year and said Las Vegas could be a "terrific market" with an "appropriate indoor stadium."

Former U.S. national team defender and Hall of Famer Paul Caligiuri serves as the sports group's main spokesman and would play a major role in the soccer operations of Las Vegas Football Club.

Noorzai is bullish that the team could meet a league mandate of 7,500 to 10,000 season tickets, with proper marketing, and by tapping into the grass roots of the sport in the city and the Hispanic community.

"And we have three years to do it," he said.

Caligiuri (pronounced cal-a-JURY) played 15 professional seasons, nine in Germany and six in MLS, and currently coaches Cal Poly Pomona's men's team in Southern California.

"If it's done right," Caligiuri said, "it can change the face of soccer, add to the Las Vegas community and build the game."

Daren Libonati, director of the Thomas & Mack Center and Sam Boyd Stadium, said an MLS team in Las Vegas is a great idea.

"This is the world's sport," he said. "I wish them all the luck in the world. This is the sport that is just ready to explode in the next 15 years."

According to Caligiuri, Alan Rothenberg, one of the country's most influential soccer figures who helped start MLS in 1996, supports the Las Vegas' effort. Rothenberg's son, Brad, has been hired by the sports group as a consultant.

The elder Rothenberg is on the MLS Board of Governors, and he, Garber and Caligiuri are on the U.S. Soccer Federation Board of Directors.

That board reconvenes May 19, when those parties will further discuss Las Vegas and MLS.

Noorzai said Goodman will meet with him, Caligiuri and Garber, as soon as Garber's travel schedule lightens, probably within the next two weeks.

The sports group values Goodman's input and opinions, even though the mayor's jurisdiction does not extend beyond downtown.

"We understand he wants to leave a legacy in sports," Caligiuri, 43, said. "We want to be that professional franchise that comes to Las Vegas and adds to the wonderful changes that have happened in the city over the past 10 years."

Noorzai expects to have more definitive information, after he narrows his land options and reviews feasibility studies with Garber, by the end of June.

Noorzai and Caligiuri have met with Garber in his New York headquarters, at a game in Oakland, Calif., featuring Mexico and Ecuador, and at the MLS season kickoff game between Colorado and D.C. United in Denver.

Noorzai also attended the MLS preseason match between Colorado and Real Salt Lake at UNLV.

He has identified half a dozen sites for the stadium complex.

"It would be the jewel of soccer," Caligiuri said, "and Las Vegas would be one of the biggest soccer clubs in the world."

Toronto paid a franchise fee of $10 million and joined MLS this season to make it a 13-team league.

In a preseason national teleconference, Garber talked about the league expanding to 16 franchises - with a 30-game schedule, or 15 home games - by 2010.

Garber said he expects to announce a 14th club by October. Sources indicated that could be Las Vegas.

Garber did not list Las Vegas among a half - dozen or so prospective cities during the 75-minute conference call. However, he acknowledged that "very active discussions" have taken place in many cities, not just those he highlighted.

"We continue to work on the right market, the right facility and the right owner," Garber said.

MLS operates under a single-entity system, in which all owners share the costs and revenue of the league to safeguard its future.

Moreover, it wants one owner for each team. In the past, as another safeguard, owners could own multiple teams.

"They want people in it for the right reasons and intentions," Caligiuri said, "and to be there for the long run."

He sees a spiffy Las Vegas stadium as a natural site for world-class exhibitions, like Chelsea vs. Real Madrid, and national matches, like the U.S. vs. Mexico.

"There's no substitute for Las Vegas," Caligiuri said. "It has more potential for the sport than any other city on the planet."

Rob Miech can be reached at 259-4087 or at miech@lasvegassun.com.

Kicking around a possibility Key questions and, hopefully, an answer or two regarding Las Vegas Sports & Entertainment Group's effort to bring a Major League Soccer franchise to Las Vegas. What is LVSEG? The group is led by Mark Noorzai, founder of a computer component firm in Camarillo, Calif. Paul Caligiuri, a Hall of Fame soccer player, is its main spokesman. Its investors reportedly are worth several billion dollars. What is its goal? To have a Las Vegas team begin play in MLS for the 2010 season. Where will it play? In a complex that would include a stadium, probably with a retractable roof, connected to a casino. It would feature adjacent fields for public use. Noorzai has earmarked a half - dozen possible sites. Will it seek public help in financing construction? Noorzai says no. What will the team cost? The franchise fee for Toronto FC, which made MLS a 13-team league this season, was $10 million. What will the Las Vegas team be called? It's way, way, way early, but we're hearing Silver Spurs. When could be the earliest official announcement? MLS Commissioner Don Garber plans to announce a 14th franchise by October. What's with 2010? Garber envisions a 16-team league that season. Why Las Vegas? MLS owners believe the international flavor of the city is a natural fit with the world's game. They think Las Vegas would be the league's marquee city and boost the bottom line of a single-entity system in which all owners share costs and revenue .