From the Diamond to the Pitch: Bautista and Neglia Team Up for Las Vegas Lights Success

Bautista and Neglia have turned things around at the USL club thanks to a connection developed while with MLB’s Toronto Blue Jays.

Gianleonardo Neglia sank into the couch in his Venice apartment. The television was on, and NFL Red Zone was ready to go. Then the deputy sports director of Venezia FC, his club had just returned from a difficult road trip in Bari. It’s time to rest.

Then, a text arrived.

“What do you think of the Las Vegas Lights?”

The message quickly drew Neglia’s attention. The text came from his close friend and soon-to-be Las Vegas owner, former Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista. This was not a straightforward check-in. This was something larger.

Their connection has a long history. Neglia was previously a Blue Jays batboy, spending practically every day with the famed Dominican outfielder for ten consecutive summers. The two became good friends and, bonded by their love of football, later reconnected as coworkers. Neglia eventually became the sporting director for Bautista’s USL squad, the Las Vegas Lights. It was the end of an unexpected trip from America’s pastime to his dream sport.

It was November 2023, and Neglia was seeking a more senior position. He was the No. 2 in Venezia’s front office at the time, and his duties included overseeing the day-to-day operations of a soon-to-be Serie A club. But he realised he could have to wait for a promotion, especially given the competitive European football job market.

“At my age, realistically, in Italy, I was probably three, four, or five years away from the potential to be a sporting director. “That’s just the reality,” Neglia told GOAL. “So the opportunity to be the head guy and work under an owner who I have this relationship with, I mean, it was really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I couldn’t pass up.”

Bonding in Toronto.

But Neglia took a different route to reach the Lights. For a long time, his career looked destined to be in baseball. Neglia, who was born near Toronto to Italian immigrants, has always had a passion for football. However, a lack of strong interest in the sport in his home nation prompted him to pursue other avenues.

“MLS hadn’t arrived in Toronto yet. It began in 2007, when football in Canada was still in its early stages. So there were almost no opportunities to play football at the time,” Neglia added.

And then an opportunity arose, although unexpectedly. A family friend suggested Neglia get associated with the Blue Jays organisation. The American League East squad required a batboy to get through the summer. So, Neglia, who was then in college, concluded his final examinations and accepted the job under the pretence that it would help him pay tuition to complete his university degree.

The Blue Jays acquired Bautista in the summer of 2008, trading the outfielder with the Pittsburgh Pirates for a player to be named later in a minor league baseball transaction. Over the course of his 15-year MLB career, the Dominican hit 344 home runs and was named a six-time All-Star. This is one of the great legacy stories of North American sports.

Over the next few months, Neglia and Bautista became friends, drawn together by their love of football. Neglia was a devoted Juventus fan, whilst Bautista bleeds Barcelona Blaugrana.

“We grew close,” Neglia added. “Ironically, football helped develop our connection. I was the one who was continuously watching Champions League matches at two or three in the afternoon. You sit next to each other and begin connecting over who you are rooting for.

Gian Leonardo Neglia.Trey Higdon/The Las Vegas Lights

Bautista left Toronto via free agency after the 2017 season and spent 2018 with the Atlanta Braves, New York Mets, and Philadelphia Phillies. Neglia remained with the organisation for an additional five years. They did, however, stay in touch throughout. Neglia’s football administration career skyrocketed. He returned to school, travelled to Italy, and began working as a scout for his family’s hometown club, Pescara.

He presented Bautista with his initial proposal of club ownership. Pescara was struggling. They required a willing owner who was willing to take on debt in order to resurrect a club that had formerly employed Marco Verratti, Ciro Immobile, and Lorenzo Insigne. And, while the MLB legend declined at the time, the concept never went away.

“Nothing came of it; it was just a talk we had. He did not laugh at us. “He was just like, ‘That’s interesting,'” Neglia recalled.

But it made Bautista, who retired from the Blue Jays in August 2023, think. When the Lights opportunity arose at the conclusion of the year, Neglia was brought into the discussion.

“I needed to rely on people that I trusted to evaluate the situation,” Bautista told GOAL. “So, when the occasion arose, his name quickly came to me. I contacted him, and we discussed various aspects of the agreement together.

In contrast, Neglia required little persuasion. A sporting directing position was too excellent to pass up. However, putting it all together proved difficult. The Lights were a mess until Bautista invested to become the majority owner in January of this year. An ill-fated connection with Los Angeles FC has led to the team’s demise. The MLS club, which had a contract with Las Vegas, absorbed the entire USL roster and coaching staff when it formed its MLS Pro side in 2023, leaving the Lights with nothing.

Gutted and with little time to rebuild a roster, the team finished last in the Eastern Conference, winning only three games.

Gennaro NigroTrey Higdon/The Las Vegas Lights

Rebuilding from a fragile foundation Bautista’s purchase led to a hectic two months. When Neglia took over as sporting director, there were no players on the Lights’ roster. He met head coach Dennis Sanchez via video chat. There was no time to fly across the country to scout, so the duo began creating a database of prospects, largely through video scouting. Every possible criterion was considered, including MLS free agents, USL free agents, players with American passports in Europe or South America, and pre-existing contacts from Neglia’s past roles.

The initial list was ultimately too long.

“Over the span of two, three weeks we probably looked at over 70, 80 players,” Neglia told the media.

It was eventually reduced to a roster-worthy number. It was an intriguing group, but one that Neglia believed was powerful enough to compete. Gennaro Nigro was a superb archetype. The New Jersey native was a journeyman midfielder who had played for four different clubs in two years before Neglia made his move. What’s the angle? Join early and be a part of something that has the potential to take off.

“It was almost like getting in on the ground floor of something. It was a gamble that I believed was both necessary and maybe worthwhile in the end. It was rather clear on all sides,” Nigro stated.

Nonetheless, by the time training camp began on February 11, less than half of the players officially signed by the club were able to participate.

Instead, Neglia and company rounded out the roster with trialists and training camp invitees. It became so chaotic that, two days before the season began, Neglia was on the phone with the USL, pleading with authorities to expedite federation approval for three players, or the team would be unable to field a full roster.

“It was a sprint to put together a team, appoint a coach, and get the support personnel in place before opening day. “It was an interesting two months,” Bautista stated.

Jose Bautista Trey Higdon/The Las Vegas Lights

Rebuilding trust with supporters

But the real issues for Bautista and Neglia occurred off the pitch. Before the Covid-19 outbreak altered the sporting environment, the Lights would draw an average of 9,000 fans to Cashman Field, a converted baseball venue near downtown Las Vegas. The Lights’ home opener in 2024 drew fewer than 1,000 fans.

The duo admitted that the club’s connection with its followers had deteriorated, which came as no surprise.

“Understandably, they have been jaded what what they’ve seen over the last several years, they weren’t going to say, ‘All right, put your money where your mouth is, and let’s see’,” Neglia told CNN.

So Neglia and Bautista met with supporting organisations to hear their concerns. They added to the stadium, enclosed it to make it feel more like a regular soccer pitch, and attempted to create a game-day atmosphere. A few months into the campaign, attendance has increased.

Valentin NoelTrey Higdon/Las Vegas Lights are making their imprint.
And now the chances look better than ever. The Lights have made some savvy moves, and with a clicking roster, they are on track to make the USL playoffs for the first time in franchise history – a target they set before the season. The club is presently sixth in the USL Championship Western Conference standings, tied with Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC.

This is not a complete team, but all of the pieces are in place.

“We’ve been working on this project for six months and are still far from completing. “But we have a solid foundation,” Neglia stated.

Still, French midfielder Valentin Noel, who was recruited from Austin FC, appears to be one of the USL season’s top additions. They embarked on a 10-game unbeaten streak from late June to early August, winning three of four on the toughest road schedule of the season. A dissatisfied fan base suddenly has something to root for.

This team did not exist in its current form six months ago. One text message between a baseball legend and his former bat boy may have turned one of American soccer’s biggest failures into a true soccer success story.