I don't think NASL is in the cards right now. While I think Milwaukee could support a team on that level, it is more likely that any new owner would start out at a lower level, test the market, build support and then make the jump. That being said, I don't think Peter ever really stopped trying to build a team here. It seems league rules require a local owner to have a substantial stake, so even if Manchester United wanted to put a usl pro team here they'd still need local investors, and that's always been the tough part. Still, with the supporters we have here, the stadium options ready to go, and the overall size of the market, I have to believe that it's just a matter of time. Someone is going to do it, and it's going to be successful.
I think right now Hart Park is the best option. It seats better than 4,500, has a nice artificial surface striped for soccer (and football), plenty of parking, player facilities (though I'm not sure what usl pro requirements are), and a nice central location. I think if someone wants to start out with a PDL team and build up from there, the uwm stadium on campus would be great. It seats about 1,500 and is right in the east side. Perhaps NASL has higher standards, so maybe the Marquette field in the valley could be upgraded?
For NASL it has to be at least 5,000. So they would either need to build a new stadium or, more likely, add on to one of the current ones.
Hart Park has a track around it, which is less than ideal, but I think it could be expanded relatively quickly and cost effectively. I think it has everything we'd need. Anyone see any deal breakers with it?
I know, but it's not far from the highway, is easy to get to, and its right in the middle of the entire metro area, making it convenient for anyone to get to. We'd just have to make sure not to have games scheduled during brewer games.
The current Indy Eleven stadium is also a track stadium (was built for the Pan Am games back in the 80's). So I would imagine taking a similar approach as the Indy Eleven would be doable.
While true, I'm not sure he really would be able to be much more than an adviser with his current role with the Indy Eleven.
Well, if you are aiming for NASL you need at least one $20 Million dollar man in the ownership group. That is D2 status regulations for ownership groups.
Well adding 500 extra seats seems doable. but is a college stadium, I guess that as long as rent is ok and they are allowed to sell beer, it would be a good place to start. I guess flooding could be an issue in years with large rain storms. http://www.mmsd.com/floodmanagement/hart-park
And it's owned by the city of tosa, so you can sell beer. I think you might even be able to sell beer on a college pitch, like if you wanted to start out with a PDL team on uwm's field, but hart park is no problem. I wish it wasn't striped for football, but apparently a pro/am football team played there. Can't imagine they didn't sell beer!
The more I think about this, the more I think it has to be NASL for Milwaukee. The way USL Pro is going, it makes me think they are just going to become a minor league for MLS, where eventually all of these USL players will be under contract with MLS. I hate the thought of a baseball type system coming to American soccer. I'd like an independent club, with our own players who can represent our city. I don't want a revolving door of players being sent down from whatever MLS club "partners" with the club. To paraphrase Peter Wilt, the difference between a minor league and a lower division team is when fans leave a lower division game, they care whether their team won or lost. The same can't be said for minor league sports. I think its worth the longer wait if it means getting an NASL team. The ceiling is just so much higher.
Hey Caleb, I agree that usl pro is likely going to be the minor league for mls, and the downsides you point out are all true. But if we had a usl pro side with an affiliation to an mls team, we'd have that connection to mls and a major league team, which is something we don't have now. We'd one day be able to see players in mls who we once playing in milwaukee and got their start here, and I think that's exciting for fans. We wouldn't have that if we just had an independent team. And a connection to an mls team would likely provide better players and a more stable structure. Naturally, I'd rather have an NASL team too, but usl pro can be a great start. Given the level of investment needed for an NASL team, I think it's almost better to have a successful product in place, such as a usl pro team, to provide the confidence to the investors that the team will be successful.
You realize that's like 500+ players, right? Until they get a better offer and go play for another team and represent that city. You know professional athletes only "represent your city" until they go represent someone else's city, right? Well, right now, you got nothing, so enjoy the wait. We've now gone from Eurosnobs to Independosnobs. (BTW, not every USL Pro club is going to be a fiefdom for an MLS club. Portland 2 and Seattle II and LAII are as you describe. The others are independent, with affiliates loaning them around four players, who have, for the most part, stayed in that city the whole season and not been yo-yoed back and forth. You know, like any lower-division team with players loaned to it. Anywhere else in the world.)
I've gone to many a minor league game in my life and I gave a crap each time about who won or lost if it was a local team or an affiliate of the top tier team I support.
Well I have gone to minor league baseball at Wrigley field to watch the cubs, I never cared (and seem like many of the people there never care) about who wins or not.
For the record, Hart Park is less than 5 miles straight down State Street from downtown. Would be easy busing from downtown pubs. Definitely the best temporary option available right now. https://www.google.com/maps/dir/43....efcd6ffced74!2m2!1d-88.004311!2d43.046152!3e0
There has been yo-yoing going on this season and very likely it will increase in the next years. In the rest of the world, loans are for a fixed period, mostly one season or half a season (in England often shorter periods). Also it is very likely most USL Pro players WILL be connected to MLS teams (wether on contract or on MLS-rights) in the near future.
Well all of this sounds pretty good, wouldn't the best first step be to go start supporting the Milwaukee Bavarians next season? There is a team you can support that would help build a network between fans, possibly building things up Brickyard Battalion/SoB style. The team is coming back from a hiatus next year with an upgraded stadium. Might be worth getting behind
there is no mention of the NASL but just wanted to post on the new Milwaukee soccer team: http://www.wisconsinsoccercentral.com/news_article/show/484681?referrer_id=776837 It hasn't been determined yet in which league the team will play. Davi has had discussions with the NPSL, the USL PDL and the new Great Lakes Premier League, which all are in the fourth tier of the U.S. soccer pyramid. He's hopeful that the team will have its league affiliation finalized by the end of March.