Major League Soccer awarded its 26th franchise to Cincinnati for the 2019 season and moved Las Vegas closer to team 28, with Aston Villa ownership co-leading the Nevada bid. The Cincinnati deal closed at a $150 million expansion fee, triple the $50 million Orlando City paid in 2013. Las Vegas would enter no earlier than 2020, pending stadium specifics and formal approval before December.
The Cincinnati franchise, led by Carl Lindner III, guarantees a 25,000-seat soccer-specific stadium by 2021 and plays USL matches at the University of Cincinnati's Nippert Stadium until then. The club drew USL-record crowds north of 20,000 per match in 2017, signaling demand MLS views as bankable. The Las Vegas bid pairs Findlay Sports & Entertainment with Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens, the Aston Villa principals who bring Premier League operating experience and a willingness to write the check. MLS has not disclosed the Vegas fee but league sources expect it to match or exceed Cincinnati's $150 million, reflecting the city's tourism infrastructure and the expansion scarcity premium.
The fee inflation matters for two groups. Existing owners see their equity stakes appreciate as the marginal franchise cost rises; the spread between what Atlanta United paid in 2014 ($70 million) and what Cincinnati just paid ($150 million) represents a 114 percent nominal gain in three years, ignoring stadium costs. That math underpins the confidence family offices and sovereign wealth funds now express when sizing MLS minority stakes, treating clubs as real estate proxies in markets where land use is locked and population density is climbing. For incoming owners, the higher barrier filters dilettantes and aligns incentives: no one spending $150 million tolerates a half-built academy or a marketing director who can't close a jersey sponsor.
The Las Vegas timing is fluid but the skeleton is visible. Findlay owns land near the Strip suitable for a 20,000-seat venue, and the Aston Villa group has already navigated English football's governance maze, which makes MLS's single-entity structure feel orderly by comparison. The league wants Las Vegas inside the 2020 window to pair with a national media rights negotiation that begins in 2019, when the current deals with ESPN, Fox, and Univision expire. Adding a franchise in a top-30 Nielsen market with meaningful tourist impressions strengthens the league's hand when talking to broadcasters about prime-time inventory and shoulder programming.
Cincinnati's USL attendance—averaging 21,199 in 2017—created leverage the ownership group used to jump Sacramento and other finalists who fielded stronger infrastructure pitches but lacked the crowd proof. MLS Commissioner Don Garber has repeatedly prioritized "fan passion" over stadium readiness, a posture that makes sense when the league needs to justify expansion fees that have doubled twice in five years. The risk is obvious: if Cincinnati builds a stadium that opens half-empty in 2021, the narrative shifts from scarcity to overexpansion, and the next bid group negotiates harder.
Watch for MLS to formalize the Las Vegas award before the December Board of Governors meeting, which would let the league sell the 28-team footprint as complete during media rights talks next spring. Cincinnati's stadium site announcement is expected in Q1 2018, and the choice between Oakley and Newport, Kentucky, will clarify how much political capital Lindner spent to close the deal. The league's next expansion cycle—teams 29 and 30—likely opens after the 2026 World Cup, when the U.S. co-hosts and MLS attempts to present itself as a top-10 global league by attendance and commercial firepower.
The $150 million fee Cincinnati paid is now the floor, not the ceiling, and every delayed bid gives MLS another year to point to rising franchise values and tightening supply.
The takeaway
MLS expansion fees tripled in four years; Las Vegas enters with Premier League operators, strengthening the league's media rights posture before 2019 negotiations.
mlsexpansioncincinnatilas vegasfranchise valuationaston villa
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