Word of the pending announcement triggered jubilation in local soccer circles.
"We're so excited," said Bryan James, president of the Sons of Ben, a 1,100-member fan club for a team that doesn't exist. "We're really hopeful this is the final turn, and we might have a team to cheer for soon."
For months, a group of local investors seeking to secure a Major League Soccer club has sought $45 million in state money as a final piece of the financing needed to win what has become a two-city contest for a single expansion team. Yesterday, an official familiar with the funding package said the state action all but assured that Philadelphia would be awarded the team over rival St. Louis, and an announcement by the league could come soon.
"It's imminent," said the official, who declined to be identified because the announcement had not been made.
Others familiar with the trials of MLS expansion and stadium construction urged caution, having seen other can't-miss projects fall apart at the last minute. Last summer in Washington, three years of work to secure a stadium for DC United collapsed, and now the team is being courted by Maryland.
Reached out west yesterday, the leader of the St. Louis expansion effort had only kind words for Philadelphia's rising chances to become MLS's 16th team, even as he acknowledged his bid was likely to fail.
St. Louis fought to become the 15th team, and then the 16th team, "and now we're chasing team 17," said Jeff Cooper, a millionaire lawyer who leads St. Louis Soccer United.
"Philadelphia is a great market," he said. "I think it's a great decision by the state. . . . The only competition I'm interested in with Philadelphia is the one that will happen on the field. We are so close here to the finish line that we'll be able to get team 17."
