Bournemouth‘s new American owner Bill Foley has said the Premier League club was a “bargain” compared to the price it would take to bring a Major League Soccer expansion team to Las Vegas.
Foley, owner of the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights, acquired a 50.1% stake in Bournemouth this week through his Cannae Holdings firm for a fee of $126 million.
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Previously, Foley was leading the charge to bring a new MLS team to Las Vegas. He has now explained, though, that the bill for such a proposal would be significantly more expensive than purchasing Bournemouth in the world’s richest soccer league.
“I’ve looked at it, I’ve examined it and I was pretty serious about it,” Foley told the BBC.
“The MLS, unfortunately, requires a stadium to be built and, in the United States, that is costing $600-700m,” he said.
“The franchise fee itself, I think, is $300m so you are into it for a billion dollars before you have a team.
“I thought Bournemouth was a bargain. I’m buying a Premier League team that already has a stadium, already has players and I can improve it. I don’t see us being involved in the MLS. I’m just not that interested.”
