Formula One racing will arrive before an MLS and MLB franchise in Las Vegas.
Las Vegas is getting another sports franchise but it is not Major League Baseball nor is it Major League Soccer. Formula One racing is going to make an annual stop in Nevada beginning in 2023. A letter of intent from Liberty Dice has November 18th as the target date for the F1 event which will be the third in the United States in 2023. Austin and Miami Gardens will host other races. F1 racing disappeared from America in 2007 and went dormant until 2012. Liberty Media, which owns Formula One racing, is building a permanent facility that will include a pit and paddock in Las Vegas.
Meanwhile all is quiet on the proposed Las Vegas Major League Soccer expansion franchise. In February, it appeared that all the due diligence was done and that Wes Edens would own a Las Vegas MLS team. It has been six months since MLS Commissioner Don Garner said, “It’s not fair to say Vegas is all but done. Expansion deals are complicated in any market,” Garber said. “Going to a place that requires a soccer-specific stadium, you have to be sure that everything is aligned. Everything needs to be aligned with the community, fan base and politically. We are making a lot of progress. We hope to finalize something in the first third of the year. I could not be more excited about working with Wes.” It is now the second third of the year and there has been no announcement. The league and the Edens group entered into an exclusive negotiating agreement that was designed to get Las Vegas into the league. There is nothing new going on with the possibility of Major League Baseball’s Oakland Athletics franchise relocating to Las Vegas. Athletics owner John Fisher has succeeded in pitting Oakland against Las Vegas in the stadium game.
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