MLS a step closer to Atlanta

Falcons owner Arthur Blank is in significant discussions with Major League Soccer about bringing an expansion franchise to the city, according to two people with knowledge of the situation but who wished to remain anonymous because the discussions aren’t complete.

Blank has long expressed an interest in a team. The recent approval of the new Falcons’ stadium accelerated the talks between Blank and the league. The construction of the stadium is scheduled to be finished in 2017 and the two parties have discussed opening the stadium with an MLS game featuring the expansion team.

The league is targeting adding four expansion franchises between 2015-20, and MLS commissioner Don Garber told TSN on Wednesday that three of the four franchises “are spoken for.”