Atlanta's chase for an MLS franchise appears to be reaching the finish line.
MLS announced on Monday that NFL's Falcons owner Arthur Blank and Commissioner Don Garber will make a "major" and "important" announcement in Atlanta at 5 pm ET on Wednesday. They will be joined by mayor Kasim Reed and Frank Poe, executive director of the Georgia World Congress Center Authority, at the event held at Ventanas in downtown Atlanta.
The event will be streamed on MLSsoccer.com.
Blank told an Atlanta radio station last week that he was in the final stages of his expansion negotiations with MLS and that he hoped to have an announcement within the coming days.
He has long professed an interest in bringing MLS to Atlanta, and the Falcons are expected to open a new, 65,000-seat stadium in 2017, one that could use "downsizing technology" to house an MLS team.
"We think it will be unique and the only one of its kind anywhere in the world," Garber said of the technology back in December. "We’ll need to continue to work hard with Atlanta to see if this whole project makes sense for them. But I’m encouraged by the discussions and hope to be able to finalize something."
Stay tuned to MLSsoccer.com for more details from Wednesday's announcement.
