Manchester City join with Yankees to create New York City FC

The bright lights, big money and glamor of New York has always tantalized MLS. The city was the heart of its plans to bring soccer to the masses, but for 18 years it and everything that MLS has craved has teased the league, remaining just out of its reach.

Today, with New York City FC, the league is betting that it has finally lured its mistress -- The Big Apple.

New York City FC was officially unveiled as Major League Soccer’s 20th team on Tuesday. They are slated to begin play in 2015 at a still undecided location. They will begin their inaugural season in a temporary home.

While the announcement has been expected for quite some time, there was a new wrinkle added: The New York Yankees will be part of the ownership group that is led by England’s Manchester City. New York City FC is not a private venture by Sheikh Mansour, as previously reported, but will be run by Manchester City itself.

So far, MLS has taken the lead on acquiring land and permits in Queens, but nothing has become official. The hope is for the league to have a shovel-ready project ready for whoever owns the team, vastly increasing its potential value.

By now, it’s so undeniably obvious that MLS has every intention to put the next expansion team in New York City that seriously discussing alternatives seems a rather pointless endeavor. The latest step in that direction was commissioner Don Garber holding a town hall meeting in Queens, where he laid out all the reasons MLS is not only interested in spearheading the effort but also why locals should be excited about it.

Garber outlined all the jobs the construction would create, the park land that would be rehabbed, the money that would flood into the neighborhood. The league even operates a website that explains what a wonderful endeavor this is.