Legends push to San Diego MLS baby steps

Article posted by Coliseum, June 8^th, 2023

Image: Legends

San Diego MLS (US), the newest team in Major League Soccer (MLS), and Legends, a global premium experiences company, announced on June 5^th a new multiyear partnership focused on delivering a first-class experience for fans and partners with Legends managing global partnerships, premium seating and season ticket sales for the club.

‘Legends’ stated that Legends is working with the San Diego MLS ownership and head honcho Tom Penn to create lasting partnerships and season ticket memberships for the club as it enters the next phase of its journey towards a 2025 kickoff. This partnership will place an increased focus on expanding the club’s reach not only in San Diego, but across the nation, beyond the Mexican border and throughout the world.

The Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men’s professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport’s highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams – 26 in the United States and 3 in Canada – since the 2023 season. The league is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, US.

Apply for membership

The San Diego MLS team is a Major League Soccer (MLS) expansion franchise that is scheduled to begin play in 2025. The team will play their home matches at the Snapdragon Stadium, a multiuse venue in San Diego, California, United States.

The 35,000-capacity Snapdragon Stadium, known during its planning and early construction phases as the Aztec Stadium, is an outdoor stadium in San Diego, California, US. It is located on the campus of the San Diego State University at the SDSU Mission Valley, a 166-acre non-contiguous expansion parcel West of the main campus.

The San Diego State University is a public research university in San Diego, California, US. Founded in 1897 as the San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and Southernmost in the 23-member California State University system.

The SDSU Mission Valley is being designed as a vibrant, medium-density, mixed-use, transit-oriented development that will transform the university and the City of San Diego. The SDSU Mission Valley will be a community asset, expanding the university’s educational, research, entrepreneurial, and technology programs and supporting community engagement. The SDSU Mission Valley will also include the Snapdragon Stadium, an Innovation District, housing, a hotel, retail, and more than 80 acres of community parks and open space, including a 34-acre River Park.

New York (US)-based Legends are a global premium experiences company that specializes in delivering holistic solutions for sports and entertainment organizations and venues. Founded in 2008, Legends has six divisions operating worldwide – Global Planning, Global Sales, Hospitality, Global Partnerships, Global Merchandise, and Global Technology Solutions – offering clients and partners a 360-degree service solution platform to elevate their brand and execute their vision.

Said Penn, “Legends brings an incredible amount of sport and soccer expertise that will help us in our journey to build a successful club for San Diego and the legions of dedicated fans. Legends’ data-driven approach coupled with the leadership and local market knowledge will maximize our partnerships opportunities and help create the best experience for fans.”

Stated Shervin Mirhashemi, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Legends, “We are proud to partner with the San Diego MLS to help deliver an exceptional experience for the San Diego soccer fans when the club takes the field at the Snapdragon Stadium in less than two years. Our team has extensive experience working on sales campaigns, premium programs and founding partner engagements with global soccer entities and in the Southern California market. We will deliver an experience that is unique to San Diego and positions the club for long-term, sustainable success.”

The San Diego MLS is a partnership between Right to Dream (RTD), the global soccer community of world-class academies, clubs and educational partners, and the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation, the first Native American tribe to have an ownership stake in professional soccer in the United States.

The RTD is owned by the distinguished entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist Mohamed Mansour who will serve as the San Diego MLS Chairman. Also joining the investor group is club partner and San Diego Padres player, Manny Machado.

Legends’ expansive experience in worldwide football includes supporting MLS clubs the Columbus Crew with the ground-up development and operation of their residence – the 20,371-capacity Lower.com Field in Columbus, Ohio, and the MLS team Los Angeles FC similarly with the 22,000-capacity Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles, California (now the BMO Stadium).

‘Legends’ further stated that Legends oversaw planning, project development, premium seating, ticket sales, global partnerships, and naming rights for both the highly successful projects. Recently, in San Diego, Legends led commercial sales, including premium ticketing, global partnerships and naming rights for the opening of the Snapdragon Stadium, the new home of the San Diego MLS and one of the premier soccer venues in the United States and across the world.

Soccer fans can reserve their place on the priority selection list for season tickets to San Diego’s inaugural MLS season by paying $18 at SanDiegoFC.com. All proceeds will be donated to the San Diego Foundation to fund nonprofits investing in the development of youth soccer across the San Diego County.

San Diego (US)-based the San Diego Foundation’s mission is to inspire enduring philanthropy and enable community solutions to improve the quality of life in the region.

Continue to follow Coliseum for latest updates on venues business news. Coliseum is dedicated towards building the best global community of sports and entertainment venue executives and professionals creating better and more profitable venues.

Become a member of the only Global Sports Venue Alliance and connect with stadiums, arenas and experts from around the world. Apply for membership at coliseum-online.com/alliance and make use of the 365Coliseum Business.

Watch 250 member-exclusive videos with valuable tips for your venue