Detroit moves a kick closer to its goal of a fifth pro team. It's one of four cities on the short list for two Major League Soccer franchises. Eight others had been semi-finalists.
Dan Gilbert, Tom Gores and other local boosters make a final pitch to MLS commissioner Don Garber and his expansion committee in New York next Wednesday, Rod Beard writes at The Detroit News.
The other finalists are Cincinnati, Nashville and Sacramento. . . .
The prospective soccer franchise would play games at Ford Field, as Lions owner Martha Firestone Ford joined forces with Gilbert and Gores to help bolster Detroit’s bid.
"Bringing a team downtown will further energize Detroit's urban core and impact the community both on and off the field," says a statement from the pitch committee. The league has 22 teams now and adds Los Angeles in 2018.
Three more concept illustrations from the local Rossetti design firm show what would be ahead if Detroit snags a team:
