Since the PDL regular season is over, we can now look to see who is entering, staying, and going for next season. Just like last year. Possible new club: https://www.facebook.com/capehurricanes
Found another possible Florida club. This one from Fort Myers. SWLFC: https://sites.google.com/site/swflsoccerclub1/home
The club in Fort Myers was announced for 2013 earlier this year. Assuming no losses, it would likely push Mississippi Brilla out of the Southeastern Division.
They could go into the MidSouth. Go west to Texas for games instead of east to Florida. It's a couple hundred miles farther from Jackson to El Paso than Jackson to Ft. Lauderdale.
They've played over here before, in 2008. And there's the reasonably convenient New Orleans team. Then again, if they stay over there with a 9-team league, you get a nice home-away season. But it's way too early to be thinking about all of this. There's always teams folding, so it will be January before the PDL shuffle gets any where near settled out.
It looks like the mortality rate since 2000 in the PDL (just among teams that began play in 2000 or later) is around 58% over time. Just about half (50.5%) of the new PDL teams that began play in 2000-2008 have lasted five years or more (anyone founded in 2009 or since obviously hasn't had a chance to play five years yet). So despite the fact PDL teams have one very large line item (player wages) taken out of the equation (and some related ones like workman's comp, etc.), there's no guarantee you can make it work in the long term. There are still many people who get into it because it's less expensive and then do it on the cheap and are as bereft of vision as they are of resources.
I haven't analyzed the history the way Kenn has, but as a first guess, I'd look at the bottom of this list, and the bottom of this set of standings. Granted, there are special cases like Bermuda and Bradenton, where there are other things involved besides attendance and results. But I wouldn't be surprised if the teams that go away are usually ones that have done poorly both on and off the field over a few years.
There have been a significant number of one-and-dones (about 26% since 1996), and 67% are done within three years, which makes some sense. If the club isn't an abject failure in year one, they'll make an attempt to correct the problems of year one in year two. Sometimes they can be convinced to give it one more year, but there's a decent-sized break between those that last three years and those that last four, lending some credence to the rule of threes. If you were looking for folding candidates, just based on a quick examination, first-year teams that do terribly and teams that have muddled about for three years would be reasonable candidates.
The man who runs this page says that they will be in the NPSL next year. Who knows? Just some more speculation for posting. https://www.facebook.com/ZanesvilleAthletic
I just saw the SWFL SC thing. The team that was announced at the beginning of this year was actually Cape Coral. SWFL SC will be playing at FGCU. Their training facility is out in the boonies, beyond the airport, roughly equidistant to Fort Myers and Estero. As for Cape Coral, they're playing at Cape Coral High School. Both teams have been playing exhibition matches this year, including current PDL teams, so it's not like they're just going to appear out of thin air come next year. Cape Coral's claiming their biggest achievement as a 3-3 draw with FC Jax Destroyers, while SWFL SC has been smacking around Orlando City's Super-20 squad. They faced each other on July 14; SWFL SC won, 3-1. Oddly enough, five of the players for SWFL SC, and two of their goal scorers, were actually Hurricanes players who went the other way for this match to fill out the roster. I don't understand how that worked. Having two teams in Fort Myers will be interesting. Cape Coral said they had 500 for their opening scrimmage. Don't know about SWFL SC.
The part where Cape Coral players played for SWFL SC. The best I can reckon is that they were originally "signed" by SWFL SC, shifted over to Cape Coral, and were "activated" to SWFL SC for this particular match.
It wasn't a league match, was it? I mean, it's borderline pickup soccer in the park, isn't it? Technically, USSF won't "register" you for more than one team at a time, but if it's two teams that aren't in a league (yet) and are just pretending to have a schedule and get together for a match, they can have Humpty Dumpty play for them. You're overthinking. (And if it was a league match, no, you can't just "shift" and "activate." USSF doesn't work that way. They'd have to loan players and they'd have to have it done by a deadline. But if it's a glorified scrimmage, knock yourself out.)
They're both in exhibition. They don't officially start until 2013. I wasn't saying that seriously, I was just curious.
Announced 2013 Expansion Teams D.C. United U-23 New York Cosmos U-23 this is what I found on Wikipedia
Wiki as your only source? The Cosmos page has already been deleted from Wikipedia. If the current Cosmos clan had made reserve team plans, I am sure they would have been posted on the league website. As far as DC United, I double checked their own website and nothing has been announced about future PDL plans. I went back all the way to when Jaime was appointed u23 coach. Not saying these groups won't be in the PDL, just nothing official yet. Not sure where the Wiki stuff comes from.
Oy. The Cosmos U23 played a handful of games (mostly against PDL teams) in the summer of 2011 and were supposed to play a full schedule in the PDL in 2012. With all the upheaval surrounding their ownership, that didn't come to pass. And I do not believe plans for 2013 have actually been announced.
I have no idea either, but normally I more or less trust information on wikipedia This time they got it totally wrong