What about a W-League team for St.Louis?

Discussion in 'Saint Louis Athletica' started by REALfootballRulez, Nov 22, 2010.

  1. REALfootballRulez

    May 25, 2007
    Club:
    Saint Louis Athletica
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    On the bright side it would be a lot easier to handle financially but on the minus side there would be no Lori or Hope.

    Where could they play? Where is the closest W-League team to here.

    I would estimate the crowds would be 300 to 500 for a W-League team. Sound about right?
     
  2. SiberianThunderT

    Sep 21, 2008
    DC
    Club:
    Saint Louis Athletica
    Nat'l Team:
    Spain
    The St. Louis Archers played in the W-League in 04 and in WPSL 05.They rebranded as River Cities FC for 06 & 07. Lori apparently played for them those two years.
    FC St. Louis started in WPSL in 06 and played through at least 08 - not sure if they're still active. FC Metro Magic (same team?) and STL Scott Gallagher Elite were active in WPSL as of this past summer.
    I can't find any numbers or WPSL attendance, but it seems W-League game usually draw 50-500, with a couple teams being able to get 1000+ on occasion.
    (All that just from a very cursory search through Wikipedia and the leagues' homepages.)
     
  3. StarCityFan

    StarCityFan BigSoccer Supporter

    Aug 2, 2001
    Greenbelt, MD
    Club:
    Washington Freedom
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I think the W-League Freedom approached four digits on some occasions - I remember once when the line for burgers was almost the same length as the field! But a couple hundred was probably more typical.
     
  4. REALfootballRulez

    May 25, 2007
    Club:
    Saint Louis Athletica
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Scott Gallagher Elite actually sounds like a level below the W-League but if we actually had a W-League team here with a catchy name like the Athletica had then maybe Laclede's Army could get back together over there and see how we like it.

    Of course it won't be like the Athletica but it's the best option. I would think a W-League team here could at least get a few hundred.
     
  5. AlwaysAthletica

    May 28, 2010
    St. Louis, Missouri
    Club:
    Saint Louis Athletica
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I never knew we had these teams in STL! Please, if there are still teams, tell us on this board! I'd attend some games! Heck, driving to Chicago would give me a fix (like the USA game this past weekend), but the CRS are not guaranteed for next season...
     
  6. REALfootballRulez

    May 25, 2007
    Club:
    Saint Louis Athletica
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Aren't the Red Stars officially dead for next season?

    It's just be nice if there was somewhere for the Army to get together again in the local area.

    Don't mention AC StL since some Athletica fans, like me a Cville, won't step foot in there.

    There should be a reunion for the purpose of women's soccer.
     
  7. SiberianThunderT

    Sep 21, 2008
    DC
    Club:
    Saint Louis Athletica
    Nat'l Team:
    Spain
  8. Cville K C

    Cville K C Member

    Nov 3, 2008
    Collinsville, IL
    Club:
    Saint Louis Athletica
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I see that Alyssa Mautz, who was drafted by Sky Blue, played for SLSG last year. Where does the FC Metro Magic play?
     
  9. SiberianThunderT

    Sep 21, 2008
    DC
    Club:
    Saint Louis Athletica
    Nat'l Team:
    Spain
    That is a very good question.... I can't find it anywhere on the WPSL site (besides a very general "St. Louis, MO"), their website doesn't work, and it's not explicitly listed on their Facebook page. I did see, though, on their Facebook page that their home opener last year was held at Oakville High School, and if you go to SLSG's schedule you can see that the second time the two teams played each other (the first and third were at Soccer Park) the game was held at "LHS Stadium". Which makes me think they're a team w/o a permanent home ground.
     
  10. REALfootballRulez

    May 25, 2007
    Club:
    Saint Louis Athletica
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    LOL...isn't it kind of funny naming a women's team after a guy?

    Where will this women's team play? How much of the Laclede's Army you think would show up for at least one game, such as the opener?
     
  11. REALfootballRulez

    May 25, 2007
    Club:
    Saint Louis Athletica
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
  12. SiberianThunderT

    Sep 21, 2008
    DC
    Club:
    Saint Louis Athletica
    Nat'l Team:
    Spain
    Scott Gallagher isn't just the WPSL team, it's a entire youth organization, one that Cooper helped put together by merging three existing youth clubs. (And, while I've been getting SLSG e-mails recently, I notice that since the article I previous linked came out, SLSG must've withdrew its team from WPSL.)

    Well, now it does list St. Louis, at least in the left sidebar. =-) Still no set venue, though. I think FCMM just doesn't have a set venue and tries to be a club for the area in general - at least in previous years they've played at various high school stadiums over the course of a season. This year though, from the looks of the schedule, they'll be playing at the Sportport each game.

    I'm interested to see that another new team, PAO St. Louis, seems to have stepped in. I remember hearing around the time of the MLS bid that PAO was considering starting an academy here in STL - cool to see it's apparently actually happened. They will play all their games at the Sportport as well.

    FCMM got slammed 0-7 by Ft. Wayne FC in their first game of the season. No home games for either team until the 8th.
     
  13. REALfootballRulez

    May 25, 2007
    Club:
    Saint Louis Athletica
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    When I clicked on that schedule link it listed some results but nothing from FCMM. Then when I clicked on the "teams" tab it listed FCMM but no address, phone, or venue. It just said St.Louis.

    PAO does list that address on Chesterfield Airport rd.. Of course it's nice and all that but it's just not the same as having well known players like Chalupny and Solo.

    But it's better than nothing.
     
  14. SiberianThunderT

    Sep 21, 2008
    DC
    Club:
    Saint Louis Athletica
    Nat'l Team:
    Spain
    Well, today's the 8th, and I just checked on the WPSL site. All evidence of FCMM and PAO St. Louis have become completely erased.
    =-/
     
  15. SiberianThunderT

    Sep 21, 2008
    DC
    Club:
    Saint Louis Athletica
    Nat'l Team:
    Spain
    Reviving thread, if only on the shaky ground of a placeholder for an STL team has been added to the WPSL site. No info yet besides a contact name.
     
  16. StarCityFan

    StarCityFan BigSoccer Supporter

    Aug 2, 2001
    Greenbelt, MD
    Club:
    Washington Freedom
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I Googled on the contact name and came up with this:

    http://www.linkedin.com/pub/jamie-frisella/3b/400/82a
     
  17. time4wine

    time4wine Member

    Mar 13, 2009
    St. Louis
    Club:
    St. Louis Lions
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
  18. REALfootballRulez

    May 25, 2007
    Club:
    Saint Louis Athletica
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    So St.Louis does have a WPSL team?? What are they called? LOL
     
  19. StarCityFan

    StarCityFan BigSoccer Supporter

    Aug 2, 2001
    Greenbelt, MD
    Club:
    Washington Freedom
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    They don't seem to have a name yet, just a placeholder page on the WPSL website:

    http://www.wpsl.info/team/index.php?tid=156
     
  20. REALfootballRulez

    May 25, 2007
    Club:
    Saint Louis Athletica
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Any update on a St.Louis team? Maybe they can get a team in the new women's league! LOL
     
  21. Cville K C

    Cville K C Member

    Nov 3, 2008
    Collinsville, IL
    Club:
    Saint Louis Athletica
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I have neither heard nothing nor read anything recently about any St. Louis women's team. My guess is that as long as SLSG rules the roost, St. Louis will have nothing higher than youth age teams at the amateur level for women. Likely, the Lions will be as high as a men's team as we will ever see anytime in the near future, but at least there is something in men's soccer.

    As for a team in the new league...not in my lifetime, probably not in yours, nor anybody that has been born yet or will be born in the next 50 years. After the Cooper/Athletica debacle, no league would take a chance on a team in St. Louis, unless someone comes forward with mega bucks and nobody in this community seems to want to do that, nor care to do that.
     
  22. time4wine

    time4wine Member

    Mar 13, 2009
    St. Louis
    Club:
    St. Louis Lions
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I don't think it's fair to say that we definitely won't have a women's team and that the highest men's will be the Lions, it's not that small of a city.
    As far as I know, there's still a lot of talk on the possibility of both a men's and women's team. I think we as fans are just impatient, living in an impatient world. I think one of the biggest lessons learned from the Cooper fiasco, is that you need plenty of patience and planning to make sure that you don't end up with a 1 season and done team.
    So, as easy as it is to dismiss a pro team at any level coming through just because we haven't heard anything lately, doesn't mean it's going to happen. There are multiple parties trying to create their own teams, we just have to do the only thing we can do and wait and see if any of them really happen. And of course, there's always the possibility that nothing will come out of all these different talks, but it's not to say that it "definitely won't".
     
  23. Cville K C

    Cville K C Member

    Nov 3, 2008
    Collinsville, IL
    Club:
    Saint Louis Athletica
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I think I'm just being realistic. There's no stadium (at least that is one problem that Cooper had solved, although a lot of people didn't like his solution) and no one rich enough that's willing to step forward. The only stadiums that could be used are probably Soccer Park (and you'd have to go through SLSG to use it and they would charge an arm and two legs), SLU's field (and it's highly unlikely they would allow more than one or two games to be played there, if that) and SIU-E's field (which most people on the west side of the river don't want to go to because, goodness knows, the east side of the river is so scary). So what would we need for a team:

    1) An owner with a reasonable amount of riches and a love for soccer.
    2) A stadium with an affordable rent situation and dibs on the concessions.
    3) Local corporate support.
    4) A reasonable expectation that the team would attract enough fans to pay off.

    What we have is:

    1) None, as past history has shown.
    2) Nothing in the works for a new stadium and present stadiums don't present good options.
    3) Zip, nada, none, not in St. Louis above the youth level. There was almost no corporate support for Athletica.
    4) We have a good hardcore fan base, but it is too small to support a team by itself. The casual soccer fans of this town don't come out to anything but their kids' games.

    We would also have to get the league to approve us and I have to feel that would take a real leap of faith for most of the soccer powers that be. There would need to be some heavy-duty convincing, some arm-twisting, and oh yes, we're back to....MONEY.

    Sorry to be so negative and sorry to time4wine, because you've been a strong supporter of soccer in the area and a loyal fan of Athletica when they were here. I do respect your opinion, your hope, and your optimism. I just don't see it happening though.

    But if it does ever happen, I will be there.
     
  24. SiberianThunderT

    Sep 21, 2008
    DC
    Club:
    Saint Louis Athletica
    Nat'l Team:
    Spain
    RE The stadium situation, there is one you didn't mention (and maybe with good reason): WashU's Francis Field. I honestly don't know the logistics of it, but the stands could definitely could hold at least 2k (maybe up to 4k) and it's almost as centrally located as SLU. SIUE, Soccer Park, and the Lions' stadium are all way too far out. As I mentioned, I don't know the logistics of it; I have no clue what it would cost, and admittedly parking, concessions, and facilities aren't great (though I think WashU is FINALLY drawing up plans to improve the latter two).

    The St. Louis placeholder on WPSL's main site is still there, though it hasn't been updated since April either.

    As for future STL soccer, I have heard in several places small mentions of higher-level men's and women's soccer over the past few months. Nothing solid, nor anything consistent, though.
     
  25. time4wine

    time4wine Member

    Mar 13, 2009
    St. Louis
    Club:
    St. Louis Lions
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    yeah, it's a waiting game. and like I said, there's a good chance that nothing will materialize, in any league. So, CVille KC, you're most probably right on that, but you never know.
    There's also Lindenwood University. Problem with them is too far out as well (for most) and
    that it's a dry campus, so no alcohol sales at the games.
    So without a new small stadium being built, really the only hope is to go through SLSG and use Soccer Park. Which is very likely and might not cost as much as you'd think. I really do believe that now that Cooper is out as a head honcho of SLSG and Soccer Park is in better hands that something can be worked out.
    here's a refresher on where they stand right now:
    http://soccermadeinstlouis.com/Socc..._STL_Scott_Gallagher_control_its_destiny.html
     
    Cville K C repped this.

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