Mexican giant Pachuca may choose the Phoenix area for a United Soccer Leagues expansion franchise as early as Wednesday, reports Jose E Garcia. Senior officials from the team are in the Valley for a meeting with the mayors of Tolleson and Mesa, both possible venues for the team, which according to the business plan of a local group would begin USL play in 2009 with an eventual view to joining Major League Soccer.
San Antonio and San Francisco are also courting Pachuca, but former businessman Stuart Starky, a teacher who is part of a local group that roused the Mexican team’s interest in the Valley, said that he can not believe “there is another place that is better suited for the vision of their brand.”
Local accountant Adrian Quintero, also part of the group, added that “five years ago the possibility of luring a pro Mexican club to the U.S. wouldn’t have happened, because Mexican teams didn’t believe that the U.S. was committed to soccer. But that’s beginning to change.”
Garcia reports that Pachuca may announce its choice at a public meeting Wednesday evening with local fan group, MLS Phoenix Rising. Its long-term plan for the expansion team would be to join MLS, build an indoor soccer-specific stadium, and develop a youth academy that mirrors its own impressive set-up back in Pachuca.