Major League Soccer (MLS) has announced that it shut down its Chivas USA franchise on Monday.
The team, which experienced ten years of financial difficulties and unsuccessful attempts at reaching franchise goals, will be replaced by a new Los Angeles-based team.
"The Chivas USA experiment never worked how it was planned. It was never a beacon to Hispanic fans and players and even when people were showing up to games, the core fanbase never seemed to grow beyond the dedicated few," SBNation writes in a thorough explanation of the shut-down.
"The Chivas USA brand is worse than worthless at this point and it makes a lot of business sense for the new owners and the league to get as far away from that dumpster fire as humanly possible. This move is the equivalent of simply agreeing to allow that fire to burn itself out while the world moves on in another part of town."
MLS is planning on launching a new LA-based soccer team in coming years with 2017 as its starting year. For now, the league will consist of 20 teams around the continent, with New York City and Orlando among the newest additions.
Its Mexican counterpart, Chivas Guadalajara, remains successful despite that league's investors also having significant stakes in Chivas USA since its 2004 inception.
MLS has not announced the name of its new LA-based team nor an exact launch day.
