I don't even think TFC2 is going to be around next year. With the accidental news that Ottawa is jumping ship to CPL (not a surprise) next year and the fact they are playing several home games in Rochester this season the writing is on the wall. TFC2 will probably become the new Rochester Rhinos in USL DIII next season.
I'm not sure that means TFC2 is going away next season. Rebranding, sure.. But if it happens as you described, it sounds like it is going to be similar to the Union's Bethlehem Steel.
Jonathan Tannenwald @thegoalkeeper 8m8 minutes ago Toronto FC II becomes the first MLS-run USL team to move to the USL’s third division for next year.
USL on Reddit @USLonReddit 1h1 hour ago https://ift.tt/2Nnd3ts #USL Orlando City SC is “in the final phases” of relaunching OCB as a USL Division III club in 2019.
Nipun Chopra, PhD @NipunChopra7 41m41 minutes ago Retweeted USLD3 OCSC-2 next, bringing # of teams to 6. At one point, I was hearing rumors that Brazilian legend Kaka would be head coach of OCSC-2, but, I was never able to confirm them. I'm glad we will have a D3 league in 2019!
Final Four for the naming of the Madison team. Forward Madison FC/SC vs Isthmus City FC/SC AFC Madison vs Madison Blues FC/SC
Chattanooga FCVerified account @ChattanoogaFC 21m21 minutes ago we understand that an investor from Utah has purchased the rights to the Chattanooga area in USL D3
Check out @ChattanoogaFC’s Tweet: This bid is in no way associated with Chattanooga FC.Our commitment remains to our community, our fans, and the city we love.— Chattanooga Football Club (@ChattanoogaFC) July 27, 2018
https://www.soctakes.com/2018/07/27/possible-usld3-expansion-chattanooga/ Have a few updates but I don’t have my computer to update the article so here is a thread - 1. McDaniel resigned from his position as Treasurer of the executive board of NPSL last night. @NPSLSoccer will be releasing a statement this evening. https://t.co/Vwxwopn0Th— Nipun Chopra, PhD (@NipunChopra7) July 27, 2018 Big drama in Chattanowhere
Yes, he did. CFC is threatening a lawsuit because they believe he did them dirty by negotiating with the USL team “for months” while continuing to do work for NPSL and CFC.. That seems odd, unless he was leaking information about CFC to the USL team during that time..
That's not really the problem. My bet would be that he probably wanted CFC to join USL, but Tim Kelly wasn't interested, so they found a willing suitor. The real issue is that he was not only acting in a role in the process of CFC (and others) trying to get NPSL Pro off the ground, but CFC's lease with Finley Stadium expires this year, and as GM would be involved in that, as well.
Chattanooga has shown that the interest is there to support a professional team. No doubt there would be a significant rift in the fanbase should a USL team exist alongside CFC. That's unfortunate and makes things harder for everyone. It would be easier if CFC's owner weren't stubborn about the USL. https://www.timesfreepress.com/news...8/jul/27/two-cfc-board-members-resign/475875/ Kelly claims to have concerns about the stability and sustainability of USL, but has spent time pursuing nonsense like NISA and NPSL Pro. That doesn't make sense to me.
You're misinterpreting what he said: " Kelly said the USL has a "history of failed teams." "It's not a sustainable business model, we don't feel," he said. "We're not going to (make a move like that) just to say we're a pro team." " He's not saying that the league isn't stable, he's saying clubs are unnecessarily taking massive financial losses each year because of how the league is set up. And he's at least right on the part that if soccer requires extremely rich owners to be patient with flushing lots of money down the toilet, that's not a sustainable model. Now, it's possible that there are no alternatives to that. That's certainly the reality on the ground when it comes to fielding a pro soccer team right now. What he and the others trying to get this NPSL pro league idea going are shooting for is a league that lets you grow more organically. Establish your team first in the very cheap NPSL summer league. Grow your support. Once you've hit the ceiling there, field a semi pro team in a full season league. As financial fortunes rise and fall, field a team accordingly, but the point is that it grew naturally and at its own pace. Which is really different from selling a pro franchise in a market and letting them figure out how to not only garner a following, but stanch the financial bleeding. This is the way pro sports have historically worked in the U.S. But, definitely, there is nothing currently in place for Kelly to see his vision for the team work, and there may never be. Certainly there never will be if the more successful amateur sides decide that the simplest path to a pro team is USL.
Owning a minor league pro team is never going to make you money no matter what sport. That is an incredibly ignorant statement IMO. This current form of USL have had 48 total team since it's first season in 2011 and out of those teams 6 actually folded. Antigua Barracudas for obvious reasons, FC New York, VSI Tampa Bay, Austin Aztex and the Montreal and Vancouver MLS2 teams that no one cares about. Now there are teams that self relegated, Charlotte Eagles who won the PDL in '17, Dayton Dutch Lions, Wilmington Hammerheads and the 3 Puerto Rican clubs that just rejoined the Puerto Rican league. Toronto FC have already announced they are joining USL3 and Rochester Rhinos and Orlando B are on hiatus and rumored to move there as well. So the moral of that history lesson is that the "failed teams" statement is overblown and that the league has a much higher success rate then I even expected before researching this. There are teams that left to find their level but failed in my mind sounds like folded and it just doesn't seem like that's the case.
No one is talking about "making money". But if you don't have something nearer financial equilibrium, it's not sustainable in the long-term. Who's going to continue to burn money in a system where there is literally no reward in spending more money? There will be a handful of rich people who really want to own a sports team (i.e. the way it is now) in places where these rich people want a soccer team. But communities without a sugar daddy are SOL. I'm not sure how you are counting teams that have relegated themselves to amateur summer league and on extended hiatus as proof of the league's sustainability. My beef here is not with the USL, let's be clear. But it's disingenuous to point at massive expansion, ignoring the fact that more than a quarter of the teams that have been in the league since 2011 are no longer playing in the league, whether that means not at all, or at a much lower level. 25% attrition rate is not exactly the hallmark of a healthy business model if you're an owner with a successful team looking to grow. And what, exactly, is the payoff for the risk? I do firmly believe that USL D2 will probably stabilize eventually, that a lot of what we're seeing are startup costs and revenues will begin to approach expenses. It certainly better. But there's also a bit of moonshot mentality here: pour everything into the one shot at paydirt. That necessarily means there going to failures. I really don't understand the derision lobbed at owners that are interested in finding a more sustainable or less capital intensive approach to growth. In any other facet of society, this is considered sensible. No one insults renters for holding out on taking a mortgage in places housing prices are more than they can afford. Their vision may or may not happen, but it's also their decision how they invest their money.
Chattanooga is now official for USL D3. https://www.usld3.com/news_article/show/938670 Also from the same article: That names six teams but says they met with 11 ownership groups.
I'm guessing that Kyle Krause from DM was one of them. The Menace have been a rumor for a while and the league visited DM in the early stages. Because the Menace were having such a great season (best record in the PDL), everything was hush-hush through the PDL playoffs. Then there is this little tidbit on the team's website:
I remember when someone from USLd3 had a great hottake about this tweet and "sources". We are now 6 days away from the expiration of the sanctioning deadline, & USLd3 still need 2 more teams, as of yesterday had not applied for sanctioning AND prematurely forced thru Chatta-USL. https://t.co/bKNYe25qSC— Nipun Chopra, PhD (@NipunChopra7) August 9, 2018
Orlando City B is now official for USL D3 in 2019. https://www.uslsoccer.com/news_article/show/947595 That brings the official D3 total to seven teams for 2019 at this point. Rochester is on schedule for 2020. Chattanooga Greenville Triumph SC Madison Orlando City B South Georgia Tormenta FC Toronto FC II FC Tucson
Nipun Chopra said today that he is hearing: Penn FC and Richmond Kickers are likely to drop to d3. A Dallas2 team will join, and is hearing a Minnesota2 will join- although that is more questionable. That would make 11 teams for 2019, (and 12 with Rochester for 2020).