if there is going to be a california franchise, does anyone have a clue where it will be? is it the orange cty group? is that fullerton?
(There IS an expansion forum, you know.... Mods move plz?) The most likely one IMO is the Orange County Waves, they're the ones who almost always have WPS mentioned in articles about them, though there are several CA pro teams in WPSL that could all eventually make the jump (including the Waves' partner club, Bay Area Breeze - both were formed by the large ownership group that was talked about before and as FCGP was going under). Abner Rogers, previously of the Sol, is the name to watch for those clubs. Interestingly, Charlie Naimo, of Pali Blues (W-League) and LA Blues (USLPro) tweeted earlier this month ago about bringing WPS to "LA Land". So watch that name as well, I guess.
Reviving this thread* since I just noticed that the Bay Area Breeze have used #nwsl in their most recent tweet: https://twitter.com/BayArea_Breeze/status/299199454223925248 Not sure what to make of this. As I mentioned in the post above, Bay Area Breeze has been flirting with ProWoSo since its formation, so maybe they're looking at 2014? I can't imagine it would happen unless the Pali Blues/LA Strikers bid was re-submitted at the same time. *It's not substantive enough to go into the main forum's "news" thread, but at least it's something (soft if not hard evidence), as opposed to the wild speculation threads currently active in the expansion forum....
That would fit the "local pairs" format the league has adopted so far (two Pacific NW, two midwest, etc.). And I personally will be gutted if a team appears in the Bay Area and not down here in sunny So Cal . . .
There are actually three California franchises that have potential interest in this league last I heard. One of the three was a joint effort. Bay Area and LA are the two markets the league needs to adopt. Not sure there is room for a 3rd California franchise in Southern California. Keep it in LA, and one up north in Bay Area. And Bay Area has a Fakking fantastic logo that should not be altered.
A Sacramento team might also be close enough to the Bay Area to form a pair. And aren't they losing a basketball team or something right now? Or was it hockey? They might be left with a void of sorts.
I should also add I think Tijuana/SD (Xolos women?) would be ideal, perhaps more so than either of the others.
The Pali Blues and LA Strikers have now officially merged. Team name is now LA Blues SC. A choice quote from the release says: "Many of us are still shaken by the loss of the LA Sol and a professional women’s soccer team in the SoCal area. I am confident this merger is a major step in filling that void for all the local fans." This might be a sign that they intend to join the NWSL in 2015. Lastly they say: "The Blues expect to make more announcements soon with plans for a new venue underway." My guess is that they will be playing in Titan Stadium like their men's side. Which means I won't be going to as many games this year.
So we have the Blues from Kansas City and the Blues from L.A. I still want a Salt Lake team, but it doesn't have to be called Real Salt Lake. I like the name "Rocky Mountain FC". They could advertise their franchise at BYU college soccer matches. I think it would make major news headlines in the U.S. soccer world to have a Rocky Mountain women's team.
Ah, what could have been. If the NWSL had expanded this year and brought in the LA Blues they could have seeded the franchise with Cali girls Christen Press and Whitney Engen.
There's likely going to be a shuffling of allocations when expansion happens, though. Players are going to be moved.
There will likely be a draft where teams can protect players. I would see both those players protected. The good news is there r so many big Cali players to build around. Maybe Morgan gets her own team to build back home in LA after two years in Portland. Maybe Leroux returns to her college stomping ground. Still, this year would have been perfect.
2015 allocations Boston: Sydney Leroux, Heather O'Reilly, Leigh Ann Robinson Chicago: Sarah Hagen, Shannon Boxx, Julie Johnston FCKC: Lauren Cheney, Becky Sauerbrunn, Erika Tymrak Portland: Alex Morgan, Tobin Heath, Rachel Buehler Seattle: Kristie Mewis, Megan Rapinoe, Hope Solo Sky Blue: Kelley O'Hara, Christie Rampone, Jill Loyden Washington: Morgan Brian, Crystal Dunn, Ali Krieger WNY: Abby Wambach, Carli Lloyd, Adrianna Franch ---------------------------------------- L.A. Blues: Christen Press, Whitney Engen Salt Lake: Kealia Ohai, Ashlyn Harris Toronto: Meghan Klingenberg, Yael Averbuch Vancouver: Amber Brooks, Nicole Barnhart *32 allocations in 2015 (the original 8 NWSL teams get 3 each. the 4 expansion teams get 2 each) *Amy Rodriguez, Lori Lindsey, Keelin Winters, Heather Mitts, and Amy LePeilbet are not allocated in 2015 *A-Rod plays with LA. Lindsey plays with Washington. Winters plays with Seattle. LePeilbet with Chicago. *Lindsey Horan is not allocated as she stays overseas *Salt Lake signs Lindsi Cutshall, Carli Payne, and trades for Cloee Colohan. They also sign Nikki Marshall Salt Lake (2015) F - Kealia Ohai, Taylor Uhl, Hannah Wilkinson (New Zealand), Sofia Huerta (Mexico), Carli Payne MF - Nicholette DiGiacomo, Katrina Gorry (Australia), Cloee Colohan, Rachel Manning, Melissa Busque (Canada) D - Nikki Marshall, Lindsi Cutshall, Melinda Mercado, Marissa Diggs, Amy Barczuk, Katie Larkin, Kaley Fountain GK - Ashlyn Harris, Jordan Day (Texas A&M)
Well this is interesting... they tweeted this a couple days ago: Doubleheaders with the @LAGalaxy and @cdchivasusa with some Radio Disney talent joining the mix - it's going to be a #happyBluesyear !— LA Blues SC (@LABluesSC) January 3, 2014 So... perhaps they will be playing in Carson instead. Maybe in the smaller track & field stadium? Also maybe a sign that one (or both?) of the LA MLS teams are interested in partnering with the Blues for a NWSL team.
As I've said, Galaxy are tied into the Dynamos via AEG. I wouldn't be surprise if they are sitting on this curve this season and watching how things unfold.
I think that's really reading in to things more than what's real.... Seattle, RSL, Vancouver, Chivas, and Dallas have all partnered with WPSL/W-League teams before, several of those partnerships still in existence, and not much has come of it. I think there needs to be more than just a partnering- or venue-sharing-argreement to suggest NWSL ambitions.