The relocation of American football franchise San Diego Chargers to Los Angeles could pave the way for the construction of a Major League Soccer (MLS) stadium in the city.

An investment group led by the ex-vice chair of Qualcomm Steve Altman and FS Investors founder Mike Stone have put together a proposal to bring a soccer franchise to the south Californian city, and build a 40,000-seat stadium on the site of the Chargers’ former home, Qualcomm Stadium.

The National Football League (NFL) franchise will move to Los Angeles for the 2017 season, leaving the stadium vacant.

According to local reports, Gensler is the architecture firm working on the US$200m (£160.7m, €186.4m) stadium, which will be co-financed by the MLS club and San Diego State University.

The venue would be part of a larger US$1bn (£803.4m, €932m) development that would include a residential, shopping and entertainment district.

MLS commissioner Dan Garber met with the city mayor Kevin Faulconer about the possibility of a San Diego expansion.

Garber said: “I think it [San Diego] would be a great MLS city.”

A number of cities are pushing for an MLS expansion team, rivalling San Diego’s bid.

St Louis, Sacramento, Detroit, Cincinnati, San Antonio, Nashville, Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham are all vying for a spot, and have until the 31 January 2017 to apply for the next round.