DETROIT – The city of Nashville, Tenn. is expected to land one of Major League Soccer's new expansion teams.
The Tennessean reports an announcement from MLS is expected Wednesday in Nashville. That means there is only one expansion team left to be awarded. Detroit is among three remaining finalist cities with bids for a team.
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The league announced last week its Board of Governors talked with ownership groups from Cincinnati, Detroit, Nashville and Sacramento. The new teams will not begin play until 2020.
"League officials and the MLS Expansion Committee will continue to work with the four finalists and plan to have more details shortly," a MLS statement reads.
Pistons owner Tom Gores, Bill Ford Jr. and Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert have all partnered to get a team. The group has identified Ford Field as an "ideal home" for a soccer team. However, MLS has made it clear the league prefers soccer-specific stadiums, something the city of Detroit does not have.
Pro soccer in Detroit
Fully professional soccer hasn't been represented in Metro Detroit since the early 1980s when the Detroit Express of the now-defunct North American Soccer League played at the Pontiac Silverdome. There have been several pro indoor soccer teams in the area over the past few decades, too.
Meanwhile, several semi-pro teams call the region home, including Detroit City FC who play home games at Keyworth Stadium in Hamtramck.
But the region known for its loyal sports fan base has largely missed out on pro soccer.