The San Diego Loyal’s first employee is headed to Major League Soccer.
Ricardo Campos, the Loyal’s president, will be an executive vice president for club operations with the MLS expansion franchise launching in 2025. He begins his new post Sept. 18, with six games remaining in the regular season plus a likely playoff berth, although he’ll serve as a consultant with the second-division team.
The Loyal, in its fourth year in the USL Championship, announced last month that it will cease operations at the conclusion of this season. The official reason was an inability to secure a venue solution more lucrative than 6,000-seat Torero Stadium at USD.
Not mentioned in releases from the club or league, however, is perhaps a bigger reason for its demise: the impending arrival of MLS. Only one USL Championship team currently operates in an MLS market (Miami); the others have all been absorbed, moved or folded.
Campos has spent nearly two decades working in U.S. soccer in an istrative capacity. Before the Loyal, he served as technical director of MLS’s New York Red Bulls. He was the first hire by Loyal co-founder Warren Smith after San Diego was awarded an USL Championship franchise in June 2019. He became club president in January 2022.
With San Diego’s new MLS team, according to its release, Campos will “provide line management direction and for the leaders within the departments of Brand, Community Communication, Facilities and Retail Operations, and the IT/Technology.”
Travis Lamprecht, vice president of marketing and communications, was named the Loyal’s head of business operations for the remainder of the season.
MLS announced its 30th team on May 18, with majority ownership by Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Mansour and the Sycuan tribe. Since then, it has been collecting $18 season ticket deposits and hiring front-office staff. It won’t begin securing players for another year, with an MLS expansion draft after the 2024 season.
The team has not formally announced a name, crest or colors, going by San Diego MLS in news releases. However, its Twitter handle is @SanDiegoFC and that’s a good bet to be the final choice. A crest and colors are expected to be unveiled next month.
