By Ryan Clarke | Cronkite News
TEMPE — In a dirt lot, trucks whir and beep, their sounds filling gaps in the sound of passing traffic. Construction is underway on a temporary soccer stadium for Phoenix Rising FC.
The owners of the team hope that someday the sound is replaced with the roar of thousands of fans supporting a Major League Soccer franchise. They believe they have laid the groundwork — literally and figuratively — to achieve that goal.
Phoenix Rising, a Division II team in the United Soccer League, submitted its bid at the end of January to join MLS as an expansion franchise in the 2020 season. The ownership team recently was invited to New York and presented its case to the league, which granted the organization an application.
