Good crowds from some of the debutante clubs: New Mexico, El Paso, Memphis. Solid stuff from Vegas, Sacramento, and San Antonio as well.
Alphabet Soup: the NASL/USL/CPL/NISA/PDL/NPSL/UPSL/NCAA Soccer Thread
- Thread starter Titans Bastard
- Start date
Agreed, he covers youth more closely than anyone else. Dude is going to jump off a cliff if Richie Ledezma and Alex Mendez don't turn into stars or play for Mexico, though.
His podcast partner has a fairly awkward delivery, but is generally a strong analyst too.
Agree all around. They actually complement each other well with Velazquez’ pessimism/realism and deeper tactical nous offsetting Belz’ generally feverish optimism and focus on individual player technique.
But yes, if Ledesma or Mendez switch to Mexico, suicide hotline in Minneapolis needs to be on alert.
But yes, if Ledesma or Mendez switch to Mexico, suicide hotline in Minneapolis needs to be on alert.
Tonight is the first D3 pro game since 2016, when USL Division One will kick off. I find it pleasing to see how many professional teams are in operation these days. In 2018, we had 23 MLS clubs and 33 USL clubs (=56 total). In 2019, we have 24 MLS clubs, 36 USL Championship clubs, and 10 USL League One clubs (=70 total). In 2010, there were 34 pro clubs at all levels.
Would renaming New York Red Bulls II as New York Sugar Free Red Bulls be genius or merely brilliant?
They should do what they did in Formula 1 and called them New York Toro Rosso
The first round draw for the US Open Cup was made recently. This includes the six eligible USL League One clubs (the only pros involved right now), plus ten clubs from USL League Two (the artist formerly known as PDL), 14 from the NPSL, and eight from local qualifying tournaments.
The USSF doesn't sanction any leagues below the top three tiers, but informally USL2 and the NPSL are considered a fourth tier, with various USASA leagues comprising the tiers below that. Functionally, USL2 and NPSL are summer leagues made up mostly of college leagues, the soccer equivalent of the Cape Cod League.
The one local New England connection is Black Rock FC, a USL2 club that's an outgrowth of a youth club in Western MA, although they played home games at Hotchkiss in CT last year.
Impressively, NTX Rayados have made it through local qualifiers for the eighth consecutive season.
FC Baltimore Christos (NPSL) vs. West Chester Predators (LQ)
Richmond Kickers (USL1) vs. Virginia United FC (LQ)
Lakeland Tropics (USL2) vs. The Villages SC (USL2)
South Georgia Tormenta 2 (USL2) vs. Chattanooga Red Wolves(USL1)
New York Cosmos B (NPSL) vs. Black Rock FC (USL2)
NYRB U23 (USL2) vs. FC Motown (NPSL)
Milwaukee Bavarian (LQ) vs. Forward Madison (USL1)
Laredo Heat (NPSL) vs. Brazos Valley Cavalry (USL2)
Academica SC (LQ) vs. El Farolito (NPSL)
Cal FC (LQ) vs. FC Mulhouse Portland (NPSL)
Orange County FC (NPSL) vs. FC Golden State Force (USL2)
Lansing Ignite (USL1) vs. AFC Ann Arbor (NPSL)
Reading United AC (USL2) vs. Philadelphia Lone Star (NPSL)
Erie Commodores (NPSL) vs. Dayton Dutch Lions (USL2)
Greenville Triumph (USL1) vs. South Georgia Tormenta (USL1)
Miami FC (NPSL) vs. Florida Soccer Soldiers (LQ)
Little Rock Rangers (NPSL) vs. NTX Rayados (LQ)
Des Moines Menace (USL2) vs. Duluth FC (NPSL)
Midland-Odessa Sockers (NPSL) vs. FC Denver (LQ)
All eligible USL Championship clubs enter in the second round.
The USSF doesn't sanction any leagues below the top three tiers, but informally USL2 and the NPSL are considered a fourth tier, with various USASA leagues comprising the tiers below that. Functionally, USL2 and NPSL are summer leagues made up mostly of college leagues, the soccer equivalent of the Cape Cod League.
The one local New England connection is Black Rock FC, a USL2 club that's an outgrowth of a youth club in Western MA, although they played home games at Hotchkiss in CT last year.
Impressively, NTX Rayados have made it through local qualifiers for the eighth consecutive season.
FC Baltimore Christos (NPSL) vs. West Chester Predators (LQ)
Richmond Kickers (USL1) vs. Virginia United FC (LQ)
Lakeland Tropics (USL2) vs. The Villages SC (USL2)
South Georgia Tormenta 2 (USL2) vs. Chattanooga Red Wolves(USL1)
New York Cosmos B (NPSL) vs. Black Rock FC (USL2)
NYRB U23 (USL2) vs. FC Motown (NPSL)
Milwaukee Bavarian (LQ) vs. Forward Madison (USL1)
Laredo Heat (NPSL) vs. Brazos Valley Cavalry (USL2)
Academica SC (LQ) vs. El Farolito (NPSL)
Cal FC (LQ) vs. FC Mulhouse Portland (NPSL)
Orange County FC (NPSL) vs. FC Golden State Force (USL2)
Lansing Ignite (USL1) vs. AFC Ann Arbor (NPSL)
Reading United AC (USL2) vs. Philadelphia Lone Star (NPSL)
Erie Commodores (NPSL) vs. Dayton Dutch Lions (USL2)
Greenville Triumph (USL1) vs. South Georgia Tormenta (USL1)
Miami FC (NPSL) vs. Florida Soccer Soldiers (LQ)
Little Rock Rangers (NPSL) vs. NTX Rayados (LQ)
Des Moines Menace (USL2) vs. Duluth FC (NPSL)
Midland-Odessa Sockers (NPSL) vs. FC Denver (LQ)
All eligible USL Championship clubs enter in the second round.
The USL is teasing an expansion announcement for League One next week. Based on old murmurings, I wouldn't be shocked to see it be Omaha. Who knows really.
One of the proposals for the redevelopment of McCoy Stadium is for a USL team.
https://www.providencejournal.com/news/20190426/6-proposals-submitted-for-reuse-of-mccoy-stadium
https://www.providencejournal.com/news/20190426/6-proposals-submitted-for-reuse-of-mccoy-stadium
I don't know anything about this guy or the likelihood of his plan coming to fruition.
It's Omaha. The owners are the same group that owns the AAA Omaha Storm Chasers; the soccer team will share the stadium. That takes League One to 11 clubs for 2020, with the (tenuous?) possibility that the Rochester Rhinos and Penn FC will come back from hiatus as well.
https://www.uslleagueone.com/news_article/show/1017377
Might have to update the thread title, TB. We have a new league in the Great White North, eh? The Canadian Premier League:
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/apr/30/will-the-canadian-premier-league-turn-the-country-into-a-football-power
This can only be a good thing IMO. Canada's national program has been a joke for so long, roughly akin to one of the Caribbean islands in the CONCACAF pecking order, and never a serious threat to make the Hex. A stronger Canada would produce more good prospects for the region and MLS, and also elevate CONCACAF. Better competition for the USMNT is a good thing.
It says later in the article that pro/rel is a long term goal. That's a very interesting question w/r/t the three Canadian MLS franchises, and pro/rel in the US, right? Would there be a fixed number of Canadian franchises in MLS and pro/rel from those designated Canadian spots to/from the CPL? Could/would the Canadian franchises break from MLS to the CPL? That would be hard to imagine, and I wouldn't think Vancouver would want to abandon its Seattle and Portland rivalries.
All fun to think about, and all good stuff.
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/apr/30/will-the-canadian-premier-league-turn-the-country-into-a-football-power
That's a very nice crowd. Of course, once the novelty wears off, we'll see what happens across the season and across all franchises.
This can only be a good thing IMO. Canada's national program has been a joke for so long, roughly akin to one of the Caribbean islands in the CONCACAF pecking order, and never a serious threat to make the Hex. A stronger Canada would produce more good prospects for the region and MLS, and also elevate CONCACAF. Better competition for the USMNT is a good thing.
It says later in the article that pro/rel is a long term goal. That's a very interesting question w/r/t the three Canadian MLS franchises, and pro/rel in the US, right? Would there be a fixed number of Canadian franchises in MLS and pro/rel from those designated Canadian spots to/from the CPL? Could/would the Canadian franchises break from MLS to the CPL? That would be hard to imagine, and I wouldn't think Vancouver would want to abandon its Seattle and Portland rivalries.
All fun to think about, and all good stuff.
Feels like the MLS II teams in USL are apples and oranges. Galaxy II and RBNY II are drawing essentially high school game crowds.Good crowds from some of the debutante clubs: New Mexico, El Paso, Memphis. Solid stuff from Vegas, Sacramento, and San Antonio as well.
Not that it's on the table yet, but you also wonder what pro/rel would look like with these subsidiary teams.
PL teams have U23 squads that compete in PL2. I follow Everton's decently closely - they just won the PL2 (I like seeing someone in an Everton kit hoist some silverware, even if it's in a cow pasture with five people watching). That might be a better model for MLS rookie squads.
I think pro/rel in the CPL would be internal with a CPL2 league. It's hard to see it meshing with MLS at all. If MLS ever has pro/rel, I think it will be with a second-division league under MLS control.
Canada is already on the upswing. In the last couple of years, Montreal sold Tabla to Barcelona, Vancouver sold Davies to Bayern Munich, and Orlando sold Larin to Besiktas. Weirdly, Canada has a lot of interesting attackers but their defense sucks. Their depth is pretty poor, and the hope for them is that the CPL will help with that. Making the Hex in 2021 is definitely a possibility, though.
MLS once had a reserve league, but it was viewed as inadequate. There was a desire for academy kids and reservists to be able to play in meaningful games against adult professionals in front real crowds (on the road, anyway).
I don't think MLS wants the PL2 model. And if they could, I also think the EPL would go to a German/French/Spanish model where U23 teams are in the pyramid somewhere.
Over the last ~5 years, there's been a highly productive marriage of convenience between MLS and USL. USL came back from the brink, in part because so many MLS II teams have helped fill the map and reduce travel. For MLS, their teams now have a way to build a bridge between the academy and the first team.
Now that there are a ton of relatively stable (relative to historical norms) independent D2 clubs and a new D3 league, there's a real possibility that some cracks in the alliance may emerge. USL fans generally don't like MLS II teams because of the poor crowds and the variable quality of a given MLS II squad from week to week. For example, Sacramento played Tacoma in the one game where Seattle sent down a ton of first-teamers for fitness and lost what would otherwise have been an easy three points.
I suspect that the USL will be encouraging MLS II teams to drop down to D3 over the coming years. However, not all MLS II teams are the same.
- Some are making a real attempt to forge their own identity in near or near-ish markets (e.g. Tacoma Defiance, Rio Grande Valley FC, and formerly Bethlehem Steel*)
- Some employ mostly early-20s players, while some are going super young. The very young teams like Tacoma get slapped around in USL, but NYRB II and Timbers 2 lead the East and West respectively right now.
Hartford Athletic got their first win in club history by defeating the New York Cosmos in the Open Cup.
Since the demise of the NASL, the B team in the NPSL is now the only New York Cosmos. Some of their old mainstays like Danny Szetela are still playing there.
Oh weird. Never boring in the Alphabet Soup.
I went to the Austin Bold-Tulsa Roughnecks USOC game. I was really impressed with the operation -- super easy getting in and out, reasonably priced beer, the Bold were pretty dominant on the field. Attendance has been lacking, and the Bold sent out an olive branch of sorts on Twitter in the direction of the Austin FC community, which has been boycotting the USL team in response to the Bold's attempts to prevent the MLS team from coming into town.
I went to the Austin Bold-Tulsa Roughnecks USOC game. I was really impressed with the operation -- super easy getting in and out, reasonably priced beer, the Bold were pretty dominant on the field. Attendance has been lacking, and the Bold sent out an olive branch of sorts on Twitter in the direction of the Austin FC community, which has been boycotting the USL team in response to the Bold's attempts to prevent the MLS team from coming into town.
A couple of the clubs that were supposed to play in the NPSL Founders Cup pro effort at one point have defected to NISA.
http://midfieldpress.com/2019/06/10/miami-fc-cal-united-accepted-into-nisa-pro-soccer-for-baton-rouge-other-news-from-nisa-board-of-governors-meeting/
Both seem like shaky propositions at best. NPSL Founders Cup consists of clubs that actually exist and in some cases have proven support at the NPSL level (Detroit City, FC Chattanooga), but they aren't even D3-sanctioned because too many of the clubs have fly-by-night ownership that can't meet D3 capitalization requirements.
NISA somehow got provisional D3 sanctioning, but they are still talking about a short-season fall launch even though the majority of their clubs still have no branding, no marketing, and no players.
I'm curious to see how many more clubs USL can get on board their D3 league for 2020.
http://midfieldpress.com/2019/06/10/miami-fc-cal-united-accepted-into-nisa-pro-soccer-for-baton-rouge-other-news-from-nisa-board-of-governors-meeting/
Both seem like shaky propositions at best. NPSL Founders Cup consists of clubs that actually exist and in some cases have proven support at the NPSL level (Detroit City, FC Chattanooga), but they aren't even D3-sanctioned because too many of the clubs have fly-by-night ownership that can't meet D3 capitalization requirements.
NISA somehow got provisional D3 sanctioning, but they are still talking about a short-season fall launch even though the majority of their clubs still have no branding, no marketing, and no players.
I'm curious to see how many more clubs USL can get on board their D3 league for 2020.
USL announced an expansion team in San Diego for 2020 or 2021. It's backed by one of the co-founders of Sacramento Republic, Warren Smith, who has since sold his stake in the team. Landon Donovan has an executive position in the organization as well.
https://www.uslchampionship.com/news_article/show/1029745
San Diego is one place that really needed a pro team. Way too much local talent and interest in the game to not have a club.
https://www.uslchampionship.com/news_article/show/1029745
San Diego is one place that really needed a pro team. Way too much local talent and interest in the game to not have a club.
This conflict has been brewing for a while. Padding out what's now USL Championship with MLS reserve teams gave USL an edge in their battle with the NASL and helped provided stability that attracted new independent teams well. The USL-C is now huge, with 36 teams, and like the Old Big East, there are now different factions with different goals.
Kicking MLS reserve teams out of the second division will both improve the average attendance and overall off-the-field vibe of USL-C, and it will also seed the USL-1 third division with teams around the country that will expedite the growth of more regional divisions. (It's probably a hard sell to get a USL-1 team in, say, Bakersfield when most of the league is east of the Mississippi right now.) So, I understand where this is coming from.
I mentally divide MLS reserve teams into two categories. The ones that mostly play teenage players from their academy would be well-served by dropping to USL-1 anyway. Tacoma Defiance (Sounders), Swope Park Rangers (KC), Loudoun United (DC) are skewing very young this year. Tacoma has a lot of interesting prospects, but is getting smacked by teams filled with mid-20s veterans and it can't be ideal for their kids to be losing 4-0 every week.
On the other hand, there are other reserve teams that have a few young kids, but mostly a lot of 21-23 year old players. These teams are a lot more competitive, although they still mostly suck off the field. Despite their success with Miazga, Adams, and a bunch of current first-teamers, NYRB has never loaded their USL team with really young teenagers. They've actually had a ton of success coaching up random early-20s players and turned a lot of them into surprisingly good players. Aaron Long is basically a USMNT starter now, plus lots of solid MLS contributors like Brian White, Vincent Bezecourt, Florian Valot, et al. Since they've done well at USL-C and even won the title a few years ago, I can see why they see no value in sticking around.
Hopefully, they can reach some sort of flexible compromise where 50-70% of the MLS2 teams get pushed down and a handful stick around.
This has been rumored before, but there's now some solid reporting on a proposed USL team in Queens. It would launch in 2021, be called Queensboro FC, and David Villa would be a minority owner.
https://theathletic.com/1084118/2019/07/18/sources-ownership-group-team-name-revealed-for-proposed-nyc-usl-expansion-club-david-villa-involved/
The project hasn't yet been awarded a team, but they are taking about Citi Field as a temporary venue.
Lower league teams in big cities are tough for various reasons — this would have to contend with two MLS teams, and finding a permanent venue in NYC is a nightmare. There is talk of a modular stadium at Willits Point. Still, there is legitimacy behind this group, so it would be interesting to see how it works out.
https://theathletic.com/1084118/2019/07/18/sources-ownership-group-team-name-revealed-for-proposed-nyc-usl-expansion-club-david-villa-involved/
The project hasn't yet been awarded a team, but they are taking about Citi Field as a temporary venue.
Lower league teams in big cities are tough for various reasons — this would have to contend with two MLS teams, and finding a permanent venue in NYC is a nightmare. There is talk of a modular stadium at Willits Point. Still, there is legitimacy behind this group, so it would be interesting to see how it works out.
Orange County SC signed a player so young, he's even younger than Freddy Adu was in November 2003.
https://www.espn.com/soccer/united-soccer-leagues/story/3919297/usl-side-signs-youngest-american-male14
Not too many independent USL clubs can get youth players to sign. OCSC has been able to do so, and in fact their starting GK is 17 year old.
https://www.espn.com/soccer/united-soccer-leagues/story/3919297/usl-side-signs-youngest-american-male14
Not too many independent USL clubs can get youth players to sign. OCSC has been able to do so, and in fact their starting GK is 17 year old.
Woo, USL clubs now making a real fortune. $200k!
View: https://twitter.com/jeffrueter/status/1166720151158497283
More seriously, I think it would be nice for some USL clubs to emerge as real talent developers. The country is big, MLS academies can't cover all the ground, even if they establish well-run residential facilities. The reality is that some players and families won't/can't move hundreds or thousands of miles away.
But USL clubs can't do that if they can't sell players. This $200k transfer is to a foreign club. They rarely, if ever, get transfer fees from MLS and it's a bit of a chicken-and-egg problem.
View: https://twitter.com/jeffrueter/status/1166720151158497283
More seriously, I think it would be nice for some USL clubs to emerge as real talent developers. The country is big, MLS academies can't cover all the ground, even if they establish well-run residential facilities. The reality is that some players and families won't/can't move hundreds or thousands of miles away.
But USL clubs can't do that if they can't sell players. This $200k transfer is to a foreign club. They rarely, if ever, get transfer fees from MLS and it's a bit of a chicken-and-egg problem.
Not to mention it could encourage more teams to give talented players that can't afford the pay-to-play model a chance.
Phoenix Rising have won 18 consecutive games. That's an impressive feat at any level.
Down in USL League One, there's a rumor that the league will add four new teams beyond the already-announced Omaha club.
https://www.soctakes.com/2019/09/10/usl-league-one-adds-4-clubs/
The second teams for Portland and LA Galaxy would drop down from USL Championship, the Revs (!!) would add a reserve team, and there'd be a new independent team in Riverside backed by AS Roma.
We know the USL would prefer that most/all MLS reserve teams eventually make their way to USL League One, but I suspect that will take time. Not all MLS clubs are interested in doing that. In the meantime, this will help seed a Western Conference, and FC Tucson won't be all by themselves out there. Hopefully this will spur the development of more independent clubs for the 2021 season.
Down in USL League One, there's a rumor that the league will add four new teams beyond the already-announced Omaha club.
https://www.soctakes.com/2019/09/10/usl-league-one-adds-4-clubs/
The second teams for Portland and LA Galaxy would drop down from USL Championship, the Revs (!!) would add a reserve team, and there'd be a new independent team in Riverside backed by AS Roma.
We know the USL would prefer that most/all MLS reserve teams eventually make their way to USL League One, but I suspect that will take time. Not all MLS clubs are interested in doing that. In the meantime, this will help seed a Western Conference, and FC Tucson won't be all by themselves out there. Hopefully this will spur the development of more independent clubs for the 2021 season.
The owner of the Des Moines Menace is trying to move the club into the professional ranks if he can swing a stadium deal. They would join the USL Championship if it works out.
https://theathletic.com/1222755/2019/09/18/des-moines-to-get-usl-championship-club-pending-stadium-deal/
Elsewhere, the Philadelphia Fury have withdrawn from NISA's "fall showcase" that is trying to be a sort-of-exhibition season leading into a full launch in 2020. I am very skeptical that the league will go anywhere because it seems to be mostly attracting owners who would probably get rejected by USL, and in a number of cases is trying to operate clubs in cities with established teams. Case in point: the Fury's withdrawal was trigged by losing a key investor.
https://www.inquirer.com/soccer/philadelphia-fury-nisa-matt-driver-franklin-field-20190918.html
https://theathletic.com/1222755/2019/09/18/des-moines-to-get-usl-championship-club-pending-stadium-deal/
Elsewhere, the Philadelphia Fury have withdrawn from NISA's "fall showcase" that is trying to be a sort-of-exhibition season leading into a full launch in 2020. I am very skeptical that the league will go anywhere because it seems to be mostly attracting owners who would probably get rejected by USL, and in a number of cases is trying to operate clubs in cities with established teams. Case in point: the Fury's withdrawal was trigged by losing a key investor.
https://www.inquirer.com/soccer/philadelphia-fury-nisa-matt-driver-franklin-field-20190918.html
There's also an effort to bring a USL League One team to Portland, ME.
USL has been tweeting about this from official accounts, so there's definitely mutual interest. As is so often the case, it depends on an appropriate stadium situation.
https://www.pressherald.com/2019/09/18/pro-soccer-in-portland-its-a-possibility/
USL has been tweeting about this from official accounts, so there's definitely mutual interest. As is so often the case, it depends on an appropriate stadium situation.
https://www.pressherald.com/2019/09/18/pro-soccer-in-portland-its-a-possibility/
An update on the Canadian Premier League ..
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Canadian_Premier_League_season
The local 11 - the Halifax Wanderers (named after the venerable downtown town baseball ground on which their pop up stadium sits ) are last in the results table , but second in attendance which is outstanding. The real test comes next year when the novelty wears off and the results start to matter. They also need more seats which is going to be tricky. If the oft-rumoured CFL franchise ever comes to fruition they may ultimately move over to the new stadium. Not sure that’s a good idea as the atmosphere would take a hit - nothing like a easily access downtown stadium close to pubs.
The league overall seems to be doing well as expansion is planned. Not surprisingly the two franchises struggling the most - York (Toronto) and Pacific FC (Vancouver) have MLS franchises. It would be nice to get a Quebec team into the league. Seems like Quebec City might be a good fit.
Tenuous situation in Fresno right now.
https://theathletic.com/1259214/2019/10/01/sources-usl-championships-fresno-fc-50-50-to-have-a-team-next-season/
https://theathletic.com/1259214/2019/10/01/sources-usl-championships-fresno-fc-50-50-to-have-a-team-next-season/
Sad news: Austin Bold player Promise Isaac died yesterday. I've read on Twitter that he apparently collapsed at the gym.
https://www.austinboldfc.com/news_article/show/1053980
North Texas SC are moving to the Texas Rangers' old stadium in Arlington, which will also be used by a XFL team. They will continue to train in Frisco with the FC Dallas first team. The club's digs in Frisco are a massive piece of infrastructure that includes the MLS stadium, and also a huge youth complex. I wonder if the first team will ever consider relocating somewhere more central to the metro area... FC Dallas does so many good things with their academy, but they really haven't made much of a dent in the DFW sports market in terms of fan interest.
https://www.fcdallas.com/post/2019/10/03/north-texas-soccer-club-play-globe-life-park-2020
Sam Stejskal reports that the Revs' rumored reserve team is a done deal and will be announced within a week. They will play at Gillette, which I'm sure will make for some great crowd pictures!
https://theathletic.com/1265886/2019/10/03/new-england-revolution-to-field-usl-league-one-side-starting-next-season/
https://www.austinboldfc.com/news_article/show/1053980
North Texas SC are moving to the Texas Rangers' old stadium in Arlington, which will also be used by a XFL team. They will continue to train in Frisco with the FC Dallas first team. The club's digs in Frisco are a massive piece of infrastructure that includes the MLS stadium, and also a huge youth complex. I wonder if the first team will ever consider relocating somewhere more central to the metro area... FC Dallas does so many good things with their academy, but they really haven't made much of a dent in the DFW sports market in terms of fan interest.
https://www.fcdallas.com/post/2019/10/03/north-texas-soccer-club-play-globe-life-park-2020
Sam Stejskal reports that the Revs' rumored reserve team is a done deal and will be announced within a week. They will play at Gillette, which I'm sure will make for some great crowd pictures!
https://theathletic.com/1265886/2019/10/03/new-england-revolution-to-field-usl-league-one-side-starting-next-season/
Omaha's new D3 team gets a name and logo:
View: https://twitter.com/jeffrueter/status/1179909534036320256
View: https://twitter.com/jeffrueter/status/1179909534036320256
This has been rumored for a while, but it's now official. The Revs will have a reserve team in USL League One next year. This is honestly wild to me. I never thought the Revs would make this kind of investment. I do hope they are smart with how they set things up. The strength of New England's academy is definitely below-average, in part because New England in general produces a below-average amount of talent. The Revs have shown limited initiative in recruiting players from around the country to their academy, but I wonder if that changes. Kansas City is also not a major hotbed of talent, but they've recruited and ultimately signed a number of interesting prospects from around the country.
View: https://twitter.com/NERevolution/status/1181948030058209280
Inter Miami announced they are launching a USL League One team too:
https://www.intermiamicf.com/en/post/2019/10/09/inter-miami-cf-field-usl-league-one-team-2020
View: https://twitter.com/NERevolution/status/1181948030058209280
Inter Miami announced they are launching a USL League One team too:
https://www.intermiamicf.com/en/post/2019/10/09/inter-miami-cf-field-usl-league-one-team-2020
Lansing Ignite are folding after one season. That's too bad, as USL League One needs to strengthen its base of independent teams. Union Omaha are coming in, but the othe additions for 2020 are MLS2 teams.
There will always be volatility at the lower levels (Fresno FC are rumored to be in a tight spot at the moment), but USL Championship feels more stable than I can ever remember an American lower league being. USL League One has one season in the books — a North Texas SC squad filled with FC Dallas youngsters won the title over the weekend — but it does not yet have the same feeling of permanence IMO.
https://www.uslleagueone.com/news_article/show/1058296
There will always be volatility at the lower levels (Fresno FC are rumored to be in a tight spot at the moment), but USL Championship feels more stable than I can ever remember an American lower league being. USL League One has one season in the books — a North Texas SC squad filled with FC Dallas youngsters won the title over the weekend — but it does not yet have the same feeling of permanence IMO.
https://www.uslleagueone.com/news_article/show/1058296
The USL announced a new team in New York that will begin in 2021: Queensboro FC. It's backed by David Villa.
https://www.espn.com/soccer/united-soccer-leagues/story/3987910/david-villa-involved-in-group-granted-queens-based-usl-franchise
They are playing at a modular stadium at York College. Lower level soccer in a major league city is a tough sell, but who knows.
https://www.espn.com/soccer/united-soccer-leagues/story/3987910/david-villa-involved-in-group-granted-queens-based-usl-franchise
They are playing at a modular stadium at York College. Lower level soccer in a major league city is a tough sell, but who knows.
This club is really something else.
View: https://twitter.com/ForwardMSNFC/status/1196465972724539392
View: https://twitter.com/ForwardMSNFC/status/1196465972724539392
The former league-less Cosmos ride again in NISA, which is still trying to find its footing.
View: https://twitter.com/NISALeague/status/1197243602289778690
View: https://twitter.com/NISALeague/status/1197243602289778690
A “special economic development announcement” has been scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Monday at the Blackstone Valley Visitor Center in Pawtucket and it appears that one of the two proposals to bring soccer to the city will be the winning proposal, with the Brett Johnson/Fortuitous Partners/USL plan being the frontrunner. Brett Johnson is a Brown University graduate, part of the Fortuitous Partners leadership team and Co-Chairman/Alternate USL Governor with Phoenix Rising. It's supposed to be a $400 million project that will be right on the other side of Route 95 from where the PawSox were planning on building The Ballpark at Slater Mill. The new stadium would be right on the west side of the Seekonk River in the Taft Street Community Garden area with development directly across the river to the east in the 45 Division Street area, with McCoy Stadium turned into community sports fields.
The other soccer proposal, from AJAX Advisors, would bring independent professional soccer (the rumored NISA team that's supposed to start next year?), to downtown Pawtucket and would convert McCoy to light industrial use.
One of the teams behind a soccer proposal hired a RI State House lobbyist in September, registered as Rhode Island Riptide FC.
I got that information from the article in the quote in addition to the following articles:
https://www.providencejournal.com/news/20191127/plans-for-mccoy-stadium-downtown-pawtucket-to-be-announced-mondayhttps://www.valleybreeze.com/2019-11-05/pawtucket/fortuitous-partners-touts-400-million-downtown-project#.XeEzY-hKi70
The article from the Valley Breeze also shows a rendering of what the project could look like.
I'm torn on this. Pawtucket, and northern RI in general, can use any and all investment possible and $400 million is quite an investment, as a Rhode Islander who is deeply wounded by the PawSox leaving the state I wouldn't mind this being successful in a "this could have been yours" way, and the rendering looks impressive. That said, I'm just not sure how successful an unaffiliated minor league soccer team would be. You already have an MLS and a USL League One team 16 miles away. Hopefully for all parties those teams will be moving to Boston, but I'm just not sure where a fan base comes from. This feels like a cheap backup plan for the PawSox leaving.
Interesting stuff. I've heard about the possibility of a USL team there, but I didn't realize it was so close to happening. I think the Fortuitous Partners venture would be a better idea, primarily because USL is an established and reasonably (by lower-level American soccer standards) stable league, whereas NISA is a real shot in the dark.
I think the Revs' USL League One team is a non-issue. They will probably draw less than 300 fans a game. Whether Providence can support an indy team in the "shadow" of the Revs is a legitimate question. I think the Revs' presence is weak enough that it's possible if they get the right people in the front office.
Would you go to games?
Also, USL sold franchise rights in Buffalo earlier this month.
https://buffalonews.com/2019/11/19/usl-to-buffalo-the-magnitude-of-professional-soccers-probable-return/
It's contingent on a stadium deal that's not especially close, so if they are eventually awarded a franchise they probably won't play until 2023. Buffalo seems like it could be a tough market, but I don't really know. Some cities are surprising.
https://buffalonews.com/2019/11/19/usl-to-buffalo-the-magnitude-of-professional-soccers-probable-return/
It's contingent on a stadium deal that's not especially close, so if they are eventually awarded a franchise they probably won't play until 2023. Buffalo seems like it could be a tough market, but I don't really know. Some cities are surprising.
I'm not a huge soccer fan and I don't have any kids, so probably not often. I'm sure I'll go once the first year if the stadium looks good enough just out of curiosity and if the tickets are cheap enough and I have enough fun I might go to a weekend game here or there. That area of Pawtucket is kind of a pain in the butt for me to get to, to the point where it would be easier for me to go to Gillette for a Revolution game and if I'm going to invest time in going to soccer I'd rather just go to the better product where they're both so close. That calculus obviously changes if and when the Revolution move to Boston and if I end up having kids.
And it is the Brett Johnson/Fortuitous Partners/USL plan, with Johnson and Fortuitous having four months to finalize plans. The development at the 45 Division St. site will include 200 housing units, a riverwalk park, a pedestrian bridge and some retail. They also plan on using the Apex site (which still needs to be purchased) for some kind of event center, which might be the hotel that's being talked about as part of the project. One big key to this project going through is it will not require approval from our dysfunctional General Assembly. Taxpayers will pay between $70-90 million of the $400 million through sales and hotel tax money collected from the new development, with the state saying we should take in about 7 times more than we would have compared to the PawSox proposal that didn't come to fruition.
View: https://twitter.com/TheStoryShorey/status/1201554339757789184?s=20
View: https://twitter.com/TheStoryShorey/status/1201554826318008325?s=20
https://www.wpri.com/business-news/soccer-stadium-part-of-400m-redevelopment-plan-for-pawtucket/
View: https://twitter.com/TheStoryShorey/status/1201554339757789184?s=20
View: https://twitter.com/TheStoryShorey/status/1201554826318008325?s=20
https://www.wpri.com/business-news/soccer-stadium-part-of-400m-redevelopment-plan-for-pawtucket/