Fitting, I just come across this from SocTakes. Granted, that speaks mainly of "ownership." But, it's not a financially healthy endeavor. It won't be for a long while. There's a lot that needs to happen to actually say soccer in America is "safe."
I can agree that no US soccer league is truly safe. Stability should be the goal and I believe it is for both USL and MLS. I would not be surprised that their definition of stable is different from yours. And mine may well be different from yours and theirs. Austin is a real headscratcher for USL let alone MLS.
I just saw this. If you are trying to sell potential investors in USL that you are on your way to being one of the world's strongest 2nd division leagues... and then they see this? Why there are 10s of people in the stands. You could count all the people in the stands. NYRBII says there were 627 people. (??) But you got to love that 5000 seat stadium. If USL is serious about being a strong 2nd division league, then, yeah, optics have to matter when you are trying to attract investors. Las Vegas: over 86,000 attendance in 12 matches (for a bottom of the table team). NYRBII: over 10,000 attendance in 14 matches (for a playoff team). Because nothing says "We're a World Class D2 League" like 733 fans per game. NYRBII - USL D3 champions 2019 !!
I can't access the USLd3 website right now (maybe it is filled with people from central PA). But from reading the post on the USLsoccer website, it sounds like by ceasing operations next year they can get out of their contract at the baseball field. Maybe they are planning a return to the "Island" at the Skyline Sports Complex. Since d3 has lower stadium requirements, they might be able to make a go of it there. It think that would be a good thing. They have time to make some improvements before 2020.
Looks like a done deal with Lansing joining USL League One giving the league nine confirmed teams for the inaugural season as of now expecting 1-3 more depending on whats going on with more of the MLS2 teams. With Rochester and Penn joining in 2020 I expect the league to see some real growth in season 2 as some are taking a wait and see attitude. It really does leave Tuscon out on its own little island, guess its similar to what the LA Blues faced. https://www.lansingstatejournal.com...-club-gets-go-ahead-play-downtown/1570200002/
The league is at 10 teams this year and going to 12 if Penn and Rochester come off hiatus as planned or rumored. I don't know if I would automatically have all the MLS "2" teams down nationwide until i see how these 10-12 fare. If all goes well, then maybe I would start on the East Coast first and maybe have Bethlehem , NYRB2 and Loudon drop down as they will have other teams in area to bus to for travel cost savings (and maybe build some rivalries D3 style. Then maybe also ATL2 as would also have some nice rivals with Greenville, Chattanooga, Tormenta and even ORL-B. This would get the league to a nice round number of 16 ( of course with a heavy east coast bias) Then consider a separate western conference so Tucson and North Texas have some company, so if you could dig up 14 more teams, either MLS2 drops or new markets, you could possibly get this league to mirror what MLS will probably get to one day and what USL-Premier should stabilize to, 32 teams, 16 west, 16 east. COULD you possibly imagine our top 3 leagues with 32 teams each x 3= 96 "professional" teams ?! - Which then begs the question, do we then set this up baseball style with each MLS team having an affiliate in USL-P & USL-3? Or some other kind of relationship.
Tbh the only team I’m interested in watching at this point is NTSC... but I’m very interested in seeing them this year
Austin is probably not going to end pretty. The man who owns the Bold has proven he's pretty low, character-wise, and people who are on board the FC train should be aware of Precourt's antics. It's essentially a pissing content with Bobby Epstein having a two year head start.
If you are right about this I feel sorry for the good fans in Austin. The Precourt stuff is not going to be surprising but had not heard about the Bold issues.
------------- Then I am thinking that Austin MLS using Austin USL as their affiliate would never happen. Would have been convenient for keeping track of players. But I am thinking the owners egos will not let that happen.
To put it mildly, Epstein supported a local political action committee that was against the construction of a new stadium for Precourt's expansion Austin FC, and the group (IndyAustin) ran multiple ads opposing the campaign of the incumbent mayor of Austin, Steve Adler. Except, during that campaign, the PAC came under fire for the way members acted during pledge drives, and also during those ads, where they used Pepe the Frog (of course, people who are into Pepe that way would go "Pfft, it's teh Groyper now!"), claiming "We didn't recognize it as anything other than a funny face." Steve Adler is Jewish, by the way. I don't mean to invoke politics on the board, but I believe that Epstein supported IndyAustin primarily so Precourt would have an obstacle towards getting Austin FC an official stadium and would have to fumble around Darrell K Royal Stadium for a while.