General PDL

TSS FC Rovers join the PDL and will play out of Swangard Stadium

 

Yes, I was going to post this in the Canada forum. There was a plan to create a "tier three" league in British Columbia (like currently in Ontario and Quebec), but the last time I checked it was still in the "idea" phase.

Specifically, it is listed in their strategic plan (last page): https://bcsoccer.net/files/AboutUs/...16MarchBC Soccer 2016-2019 Strategic Plan.pdf

update: February 2016 meeting minutes: https://bcsoccer.net/files/AboutUs/CommitteeInfoAndBoardMeetingMinutes/BoardMeetingMinutes/2016/BC SOCCER BOD Minutes 27 February FINAL.pdf
16. Regional Tier 3
The Committee Chair provided a verbal update on the committee priorities which included status on:
-- Engagement with the consultant to:
-- -- Develop a Business Plan for the League.
-- -- Develop the Franchise application for 'Request for 'Tender' process.
-- -- Develop the Technical Standards of Operation for the League.


update: April 2016 meeting minutes: https://bcsoccer.net/files/AboutUs/CommitteeInfoAndBoardMeetingMinutes/BoardMeetingMinutes/2016/BC SOCCER BOD Minutes 9 April Finalweb.pdf
-- Consultant pieces of work are finalized as of March 31, 2016 for the following:
-- -- Regional Tier 3 League.
13. Regional Tier 3
The Committee Chair provided a verbal update on the committee priorities which included status on:
-- Engagement with the consultant to:
-- -- Develop a Business Plan for the League.
-- -- Develop the Franchise application for 'Request for 'Tender' process.
-- -- Develop the Technical Standards of Operation for the League.
-- The committee chair further advised that;
-- -- the committee is waiting on information/clarification from the Governance and Membership Committee regarding what level of membership would a league of this nature be and the process to ‘recognize’ it Summer Games Coaches Meeting is in the process of being confirmed by the Summer Games Society.
-- -- There are plans to reach out to the Pacific Coast Soccer League and discuss the league plans with them as the only full member adult league who operates at the same time in the season.

update: July 2016 meeting minutes: https://bcsoccer.net/files/AboutUs/CommitteeInfoAndBoardMeetingMinutes/BoardMeetingMinutes/2016/BC SOCCER BOD Minutes 16 July 2016 Final.pdf
15. Regional Tier 3
The Committee Chair provided a verbal update including:
-- The committee had not met within the last few months,
-- There are strong drafts of both the Business Plan and Operations Manual for the league,
-- Next step is to develop the Franchise application for 'Request for 'Tender' process.

update: August 2016 meeting minutes: https://bcsoccer.net/files/AboutUs/CommitteeInfoAndBoardMeetingMinutes/BoardMeetingMinutes/2016/BC SOCCER BOD Minutes 20 August 2016 FINAL.pdf
14. Regional Tier 3
-- The Regional Tier 3 Committee Chair spoke to the Committee/Staff Liaison Report circulated prior to the meeting.

 

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1335390919847112&set=gm.580597312131202&type=3&theater Portland Timbers trying to sell their PDL franchise, deciding to use the T2 team instead of u23 for youth development. This may be partly due to the college draft becoming less important and getting 18-22 yr old's training full time and playing at a higher level. Timbers could use the PDL for U19 and really push those players but the expense of the PDL probably makes it too expensive for what it is. I can't see too many team's interested in buying the franchise either, Lane United may become isolated in the PDL distance wise.

 

A new PDL team in Texas. And the Dynamo have another hybrid affiliation.

http://www.houstondynamo.com/post/2017/01/16/premier-development-league-soccer-headed-brazos-valley

The Brazos Valley Bombers are a collegiate summer league team. Their season runs May through August. Nutrabolt Stadium is in Bryan, TX which is adjacent to College Station, home of Texas A&M University.

 

If you got to the bvsoccer2017 link in the article, it goes to a website that's not really connected to the PDL websites ... but it shows a "standings" with potentially 3 teams that we don't know about? Houston, Grand Prairie, and Cleburne? It also has Mississippi Brilla and OKC Energy U23 ... so I'm not sure if I'm reading too much into it or they just outed a group of future teams accidently, but it's interesting.

Also ... the Bombers (who are going to run the day to day operations) also operate a Summer League baseball team at the stadium (where they'll share).

 

PDL Director squashes talk of league moving into DIII.

https://www.soccernation.com/soccernation-exclusive-with-pdl-director-todd-eason/

 

As they should...it's a PRO division.

I'm really tired of people speculating/questioning if PDL will move into that division. There is a reason these teams in PDL are in PDL and not previously in USL...

 

822919984082919424 is not a valid tweet id

 

And the answer was, "The PDL will always remain as an amateur league for talented college-aged players" with the rest of that paragraph talking about individual teams going pro if they want to (i.e. the as-always case).

...and a minor plaint about their top-menu of their website. Float your mouse over the "Pro" in the header, and you see that NPSL is listed as a pro entity under NASL (and the URL end in ".../pro/npsl/"). This just adds to the confusion that NPSL is somehow directly under the NASL umbrella.

 

North County Battalion have changed their name to Southern California Surf due to their merger with the San Diego Surf youth program.

http://www.socalsurfsoccer.com/

They're also moving their games further north to Carlsbad Village at Maffucci Field.

 

Lame, North County Battalion was one of the coolest name out there.

 

I'm inclined to agree. They even had a beer named after the team at Bay City Brewing (which was frankly astounding for a sub-D3 team). I mean I understand the change as trying to appeal to a broader audience and due to their merger with the San Diego Surf Youth Soccer group, but it does feel like a misstep. And it no doubt has something to do with their attempt to "go pro", though it remains to be seen if they're tied at all to the USL bid.

But the name change makes even less sense now that they moved from Rancho Penesquitos into the heart of North County up in Carlsbad (at a good location too right off the Coaster train line no less).

 

Just occured to me too that San Diego now has 2 USL PDL teams and they've both got waves in their painfully generic logos and pretty lame names. Southern California Surf and San Diego Zest FC.

 

So far, announced new PDL teams for 2017:

• Lakeland Tropics (Lakeland, Florida)
• Nashville SC U23 (Nashville, Tennessee)
• Wilmington Hammerheads (Wilmington, North Carolina)
• Tobacco Road FC (Durham, North Carolina)
• Myrtle Beach Mutiny (Myrtle Beach, South Carolina)
• Southern California Surf (Carlsbad, California)
• Weston FC (Weston, Florida)
• TSS FC Rovers (Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada)
• FC Boulder (Boulder, Colorado)
• SIMA (Montverde, Florida)

Am I missing any?

 

There will be a new team in Bryan-College Station, Texas. It doesn't have a name yet but it will be Brazos Valley or BCS something.

http://www.bvsoccer2017.com/

 

Good call! I do remember that announcement.

 

I might have missed this, but what does TSS stand for?

 

The Soccer School

 

http://www.uslpdl.com/news_article/show/753023?referrer_id=2242498

Tampa Bay Rowdies U23 Unveiled as PDL Franchise
2/2/2017, 4:45pm EST
Ninth Florida-based PDL franchise set to take part in the 2017 season

 

Well, one question answered. Houston FC is joining the PDL.

http://www.uslpdl.com/news_article/show/753359?referrer_id=2242498

I guess Cleburne and Grand Prairie are on the way.

 

Let's add a few more, now that some are official:

• Brazos Valley (Bryan-College Station, Texas)
• Tampa Bay Rowdies U23 (Tampa, Florida)
• Houston FC (Houston, Texas)
• Texas United (Grand Prairie, Texas - west of Dallas)
• FC Cleburne (Cleburne, Texas - south of Fort Worth)

 

Rowdies U23 have announced they are playing in the same Waters Ave. Soccer Complex that the NPSL team played at. I thought there were facility requirements with PDL? The complex has no seating, no concessions, nothing other than the fields (which are nice). The only "concessions" is the Wawa gas station next door that shares a parking lot.

 

Hmmmmm. That is odd.

I know there were 1,000-seat facility requirements at one point in PDL-land.

Maybe a waiver was part of the deal that brought the Rowdies over from the NASL.

 

What is the average in PDL these days attendance wise Kenn? Maybe PDL is finally cluing in that 1000 is a bit steep in some markets.