Reno 1868 FC: USL affiliate of the Earthquakes

Come on, Don, Buffalo tough!

 

I hear the road has improved over the last 170 years.

 

They are part of that chain now, but is there anything preventing Reno from affiliating itself with another MLS team at some point? There's already the possibility of teams being able to claim players from outside their determined regions, and if there are any guidelines on how USL affiliations are handled, I could see that changing as well.

Because here's the scenario I'm anticipating:
Reno continues to make the USL playoffs at a regular rate, with players who perform very well at that level. San Jose brings some of those players up each year, and they all fail to make an impact for San Jose. At some point, the Quakes have to wonder what they are getting out of the relationship with Reno, specifically. Sure, they can get guys they aren't using some playing time to stay match fit, but Reno is using those players to succeed on the field and the Quakes get no real player development in return. If I'm San Jose, I would start to look elsewhere for player dev than Reno.

Or you look at it from the other side where Reno feels obligated to take on some Quakes players that aren't particularly good and that Reno doesn't care about and aren't interested in developing, yet their roster is hamstrung with these guys that they don't own and aren't even using.

There is a lot of room for problems here, and I think for the most part, you're right in that their respective season performances year to year don't really factor in, but I'm talking over a longer term.

Long standing relationships between minor and major league clubs get broken quite often, so just because Reno is part of the Quakes' overall system now doesn't mean they will be forever. The Quakes don't own Reno, after all.

 

It started as a two-year deal beginning in 2017, and then last offseaon they extended it two years through 2020.

If they look elsewhere, they would have exactly the same situation, just a different geographic location. The Quakes would control the roster and coaches of the new affiliate just the same as they currently do in Reno.

 

Would we at some point create our own Quakes II?

 

And risk the ignominy of losing to them?

 

1. Heavily involved is not the same thing as owning both teams, so while they have a close relationship now, it doesn't mean they always will or can't dissolve their partnership.
2. I agree that affiliation makes more sense for most teams than owning a complete second team, which increases the odds that affiliations could be juggled around a bit. Look at how often teams switch affiliates in baseball.
3. You really can't imagine a team like Salt Lake perhaps being interested in affiliating with Reno? Or even Colorado? Geography is one component of affiliation, but looking to baseball again, why would a team in Oakland be affiliated with a team in Nashville? I don't know the answer, but they are affiliates.

So, while I certainly don't expect the relationship to dissolve between Reno and the Quakes overnight or anything, I also don't think it's a ridiculous thing to be curious about, especially since the nature of talent development in the US is likely to continue to change pretty drastically over the next decade.

 

I would hope that the Quakes keep their affiliation with Reno, and then get an affiliate with a D3 team then either start up or affiliate with a PDL or some other amateur/semi-pro team. That way they can have a full development system from the academy on up to the first team.

 

5k seats, I assume you mean. If it was 5k dollars, then I would have no trouble believing they'd eat that loss if a better situation presented itself.

Admittedly, my examples didn't serve my purpose very well, but Colorado having previously been an affiliate with Charlotte does indicate that some teams don't have an existing USL team nearby, and could go outside of their geographic area to hook up with a team. I also think you're getting a bit hung up on the details for a hypothetical scenario, and not really considering my overall point.

The fact that San Jose also only has signed two year deals with Reno suggests that things could change, especially if there was a USL team somewhere in the Bay Area or San Joaquin Valley that they thought might serve them better. The Sacramento affiliation is an interesting point, too, since there is the possibility that MLS could continue to expand into areas where USL teams already exist and could be looking to "promote" rather than start whole hog. Not sure how many markets could play into that, but I would guess more than zero.

 

I am jealous that they will have a soccer specific stadium next year. Our owner can easily afford one with his spare change but will try to get the city to pay for it.

 

Where would you put such a stadium? Greater Nevada is right in the heart of downtown. The location is perfect. Is there another site, in or close to downtown? (I've no idea, just asking for data here.) As long as the current stadium works for both teams, I wouldn't expect them to make a change. The Aces are successful, yes?

I get that an SSS would be great, and I don't blame you for wanting one, I'm just not sure where it would go?

Go Quakes!!

- Mark

 

There are areas downtown that could be used but they are generally at the edges though. The Aces are successful. The owner of the Aces also owns 1868 so we will not have a SSS until USL mandates it.

 

Yes, I knew that the Reno Aces owners own 1868. Sweet deal for them, because we pay the coaches and players. I think it's working well for both sides, and clearly, Fisher and your owners get along well. I don't see this changing unless USL (or more likely, USSF) require SSS.

Go Reno!!

- Mark

 

San Jose only pays the players they have signed and assigned/loaned to Reno. Any players signed by Reno are paid by Reno.

 

Could have left him with Reno, might have gotten to the USL Championship.

 

Not likely. I was at the OC game. Reno was poor converting their chances and the one goal scored the defenders left Bersano one on one with the scorer for all intents and purposes.