Poll: 1) Which NASL teams, including confirmed expansion teams, do y'all think are the most likely to defect to USL; and 2) Which teams would be the best fit for USL?
Likely, NC, Indy, San Diego and possibly OC. Best fit the first 3 unless OC relocated to the Inland Empire.
OCSC moving there would be ideal. It would do well to grab a larger soccer audience in the region. I could see Jacksonville moving to USL if the owner is able to play nice. Cosmos are too stubborn so I'm guessing they fold or go to NISA. Ditto for Miami FC. SFD seems entirely listless. I don't think they last, especially with the SFFC hullabaloo. Puerto Rico could be a possibility if USL moved to three conferences, or two conferences with regional divisions. Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa Bay, Miami, and Puerto Rico. Maybe toss NC in there. One regional conference down if USL is able to make a grab for clubs worried about their future.
There is already an OCFC in USL. No way they put OCSC, unless they relocate...... Indy is a natural fit with close rivalries built in... St Louis, Louisville, Cincy.... North Carolina, I don't know. Do they draw any crowds? Love the idea of El Paso joining, with RGV, San Antonio, Austin, Phoenix relatively closer rivals, even Colorado Springs ? I wonder about Albuquerque ? I think Swope Park should relocate where they might draw a fan base. Omaha or Wichita ?? Still close to KC.
North Carolina FC, Indy Eleven will definitely go to USL. FC Edmonton will now I assume go to the new Canadian DII League. After that I really dont know. The 2 expansion clubs I feel only joined NASL bc they didnt meet USL requirements. Whats crazy is NY Cosmos, Jacksonville, and Miami FC could be hugely successful if they partnered with MLS clubs, but I don think that will happen...
I mean they're averaging 4300 a game this year. It would be good for mid-table in USL and is above the USL average.
With the OC NASL expansion club I agree. They only joined NASL because USL wouldn't have them for obvious reasons, they already have an OC team that's finally getting its figurative feet under itself. With SD I'm less certain. They had claimed they were only denied USL in the first place because of the MLS bid and USL not wanting to interfere with that previously. Now they're saying they looked at USL and were offered to join but decided they liked the NASL model better. On top of that they seem to have a fairly extensive long term plan for their organization backed by $$$.
With the league no, not anymore it would seem. With the team, absolutely there is. They plan to build their own stadium and have it open by fall of 2018, they're already looking into purchasing a women's franchise and a lower level team, and they're planning an academy. Your premier team can be a member of a all but dead league and still have a long term plan for your organization.
This always seemed too ambitious to me. A women's team and a lower level team will be additional costs and the academy market in San Diego is already very competitive. For a team that hasn't seen any revenue, the seem to be planning for a bunch of extra expenses.
Go big or go home? I mean they're going to ostensibly be representing the 8th largest city in the US and for now have the market to themselves. A stadium as we know is key to controlling your own revenue and destiny, so that's a box checked by building their own so not really added cost. Having a ready stream of incoming players helps with player development, hence the academy and lower level team, so again, not really an extraneous expenditure. Really the only extravagance and truly extraneous expense would be the women's team.
Ok all that sounds real cool but who is your team going to play? There's not going to be a league in 2 weeks.
Sounds like its a fluid situation all around for USL accepting NASL teams and the San Diego group perhaps defecting to USL. I find it curious that there hasn't been a statement from the SD NASL team since Tuesday.
Well they were interviewed by the San Diego Union Tribune so in that respect they've responded. This is the SD NASL president Watkins responding to the news of NASL losing its sanction... “It’s too early for me to even comment on it at any kind of educated level,” said Bob Watkins, the president of the nameless San Diego club announced in late June. “I’m still trying to absorb what all this means, if it means anything. “It’s not going to deter us. Our investors are committed, Demba and the boys are all committed. We’re just going to move on and bring (pro) soccer to San Diego … I’m assuming at some point it will become critical decision time, but right now there’s no critical decision that needs to be made.” http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/aztecs/sd-sp-nasl-third-division-20170905-story.html So in that respect they've responded publicly. For now they're standing pat publicly. As they kind of have to since they're members of NASL and it hasn't folded... yet. But once teams start jumping ship the situation will be even more fluid. And per other reports they've supposedly been hinting at interest in USL.
A friend of mine had a second round interview yesterday with the NASL front office staff. They are still moving forward with recruiting/onboarding for now. I imagine that is a good thing.
Yeah if nothing else it definitely shows they intend to play somewhere in 2018. So we will get pro soccer. Question is less if we'll get to see the San Diego team play, as is it is who will be coming in to play them. NASL, NISA, USL?
Why are people so obsessed with this? It's a developmental team. Who cares? Why on earth would they be so much more popular in Omaha or Wichita to justify setting up an entire organization hours away when their purpose in life is to develop young players, which can be done more efficiently in Swope Park than in Park Slope or somewhere else? If you're an MLS team, you know why you created a 2 team, and it's not "to draw a fan base." Player development first. All other protocols, including brand extension and selling tickets, are secondary or tertiary. This obsession with trying to find a place for the Swope Park Frigging Rangers to land is just mind-boggling to me.
Is there any benefit in growing the brand regionally, developing broader interest in your product? If what you say is completely true, why Seattle 2 bother to move to Tacoma and not stay home? Or why Portland Timbers looking to setup in Boise? Basically the same thing.
Not at all the same thing. Tacoma is just down the road so you can have the best of both worlds. Boise is far from Portland. You aren't going to be able to have nearly the same level of integration between academy and USL teams in Boise. If you have a Tacoma or Bethlehem nearby, great. Not all cities have a nearby option like that that makes sense.
Plus (and I think this is the biggest issue I have against putting a "2" team in another market) ... this takes away from Boise's ability to have a fully independent lower level soccer team. Which I think is unfortunate. Tacoma wasn't likely to get one IMO ... Boise could. That's why I'm not rooting for Swope Park Rangers to move to Omaha. Lawrence, KS might work since SKC is on the Kansas side of the Kansas City metro anyways ... but I like it on the Missouri side of the metro as well.
Well yes and no. I mean with other top level pro sports those in Boise are used to rooting for distant teams no? I'm not a Boise expert by any means but most pro fans I know there root for Seattle or Portland teams. They traditionally associate with those NW squads so it would stand to reason the same extension into soccer would work?
I did a minor edit to your post to highlight an important fact. Cascadia has only 1 team per league, except for soccer. As such, people in the Northwest often root for other Northwest teams, regardless of which city they are from. Soccer is fascinating because we have three teams and so we can actually express our brotherly rivalries.