MLS Team Appears Headed To Nashville; No Word On Detroit

DETROIT (WWJ) - Detroit's hope to land a Major League Soccer franchise has taken a hit.

With MLS officials announcing they will make a "major announcement" in Nashville on Wednesday, it appears the Music City will be awarded one of the league's next two soccer franchises — meaning Detroit will likely be passed over in this round of expansion.

This comes after Dan Gilbert, the William Clay Ford family and Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores, all billionaires with professional sports ownership experience, tried to convince an MLS Expansion Committee, that Ford Field provided a better alternative than building a new, soccer-specific stadium on the site of the failed Wayne County Jail.

MLS in November announced it had selected Cincinnati, Detroit, Nashville and Sacramento as the finalists for the first two expansion spots. Owners and officials from the four markets earlier this month made formal presentations to MLS Commissioner Don Garber and the league's expansion committee in New York.

With Sacramento the apparent favorite to be awarded the second franchise, Detroit could still be in the mix when two additional expansion teams are expected to be added in 2022.