Looks like it’s a done deal to begin play in 2020. Warren Smith of Sac Republic pedigree and Landon Donovan are the initial investors and they’ll be playing at University of San Diego’s Torero Stadium. Expansion agreement is in place and they’ve got a 3 year lease on the stadium with options for more. https://www.si.com/soccer/2019/06/19/usl-san-diego-landon-donovan-warren-smith?utm_source=reddit.com
This may be interesting if San Diego begins play in 2020; the Nashville USL team presumably bites the dust as Nashville begins MLS play. Would USL try to get Ottawa out to go from 36 to 34 teams? Would anyone change conferences? With a 2021 start date, East Bay (Oakland) and Chicago are scheduled to join USL-C also. Presumably Austin Bold dies in the wake of Austin FC; what remains to be seen is if one of Saint Louis or Sacramento move up in 2021 as well, or if MLS even just goes straight from 26 to 29 (Austin, Saint Louis, Sacramento) or even 30 Las Vegas/Indy Eleven/whomever).
awesome news! stoked SD will finally get an outdoor pro soccer team again. Best thing about it, decent people behind it with Landon Donovan and the USL Sacramento start up guy.
Excited. happy, and ready to plop down a season ticket deposit but you'll forgive us for still being cautious after the numerous false dawns that we have seen.
Yeah I mean how many have we had in just the last few years? SoccerCity, 1904FC, Albion, and I’m sure I’ve forgotten a few. That said, this seems far less pie in the sky since it’s has known successful quantities fronting it, an actual venue, etc...
Albion is still playing. Four years of NPSL action under their belt, but no mythical angel investor to propel them up the tiers.
USL San Diego is awesome news. I received a phone call from USL San Diego's front office, yesterday to thank me for signing up for the newsletter. When I ask about season seats they told me to read the newsletter. I ask about the names under consideration for the club. Especially about "San Diego FC". Which I was informed that it's one of the favorites. I told them that I had created a crest for the club when they were looking to get into MLS. He then encouraged me to post it on social media. So here you go, my idea for the San Diego Football Club.
Definitely a lot going on in the logo. Seeing it without the background they presented on initially it is a bit better looking than I initially feared.
It’s sounding like this name wasn’t their first choice. But all the better options they were considering came with a variety of TM issues.
Did a quick search: SD SC is taken already. However they still could have gone without one, like San Diego AFC for example, with the nod to Americas Finest City. Love the colors, the crest grew on me too, even if it’s busy, were it not for that distracting Loyal word mark focus.
Lots of different shades of color here. I like bright, crisp colors. The Dutch NT has always used orange, as far as I remember, and now (or recently) they've had a rather crisp aqua jersey. That's the kind of thing I'd kind of like to see.
I went, was in the "Locals" section so can't really comment to much on the nuances of the match but was a good atmosphere seemed like people had a lot of fun. Most of the crowd stayed until the end which was nice. Felt like things went relatively smoothly considering it was their first full match. This was my first ever USL match. Some takeaways is the league seems physical and the ref was happy to let a lot of stuff happen. Quality not great, with the exception of Vegas' goal, but it wasn't as bad as I feared it would be. Thought it was better than 90's era MLS as a comparison. A major positive was the Loyal didn't look like a team playing their first competitive game.
Not a bad group for us from a logistics point of view. Easily bussable with LA and OC not even requiring overnight stays. Sac got some serious road trips and everyone in group C are going to rack up the mileage. With all the positives in MLB's reopening and cases rising I hope we actually get to pull this off.
I wouldn't hold my breath. Leagues not doing this in a bubble like the NHL or NBA are flipping dreaming.
Anybody have pics of a supposed SD scarf that was part of the season ticket holder or inaugural game package? It has an alternate logo (green outside circle, orange gradients at the center and a the SD in white in it, instead of the loyal/flower)