USL Expansion General discussion

Interview the Fresno Fuego this week. and they openly about wanting to join USL. No solid year, more of a loose timeline, but it is something they are looking to do.

http://americanpyramid.weebly.com/blog/feeltheburn-an-interview-with-jordan-wiebe-of-fresno-fuego

 

however, you are reffering to sports that were invented in North america, which soccer is not, soccer is a global game unlike football, baseball, and even hockey.

 

But I think on how people view sports in the US the major/minor leagues, I think MLS/USL will be very similar to it. In the US it is a model that works. And unless Pro/Reg happens, I don't see any way of avoiding it. Unless NASL, does end up taking over MLS, which could happen, but it will take time for that to take place. And more stability in NASL with its teams for it to be even in a place to try to replace MLS.

 

anyone can talk about it, from what ive herd the buffalo owner has talked a

However we view American sports like this. People here know whats going on in the world of soccer and how its structured. thats why an 8 am PL match draws WAY more viewing than a 7 pm MLS match. only way i see NASL overtaking MLS is if the do pro/rel. then that will force mls's hand to do the same with usl.

 

In my opinion, without pro/rel there shouldnt be a pyramid system. Have all leagues as equals, d1. Have a tournament of the top teams and champions to see who represents US in concacaf. for example a tournament with the top 4 mls teams, eastern/western conf. champions of USL and Spring/Fall champions of nasl.

 

The "pyramid" is something that essentially has to exist by FIFA standards, from what I understand. There has to be a differentiation of the different leagues: contracts, salaries, player allotments, seasons, Open Cup (or similarities abroad) delegations, etc.

 

Where they are invented means absolutely nothing. Each country develops its own culture and structure and you can already see it forming here. The reason it works and is the preferred method here is because the big league subsidizes the minor league. The country is just too big for a smaller European style model, where your town has a team and you support it. Here we are very regional in our pro sports because it is practical. Independent teams wouldn't stay open on the pro level (See the A-League in the 90s and USL in the 2000s) otherwise.

This plays a huge role in why we develop talent the way we do. Now here is the beauty for you and your beliefs. MLS raising the level and interest in USL by having their minor league teams there and by making it an avenue to MLS has made USL stable and greatly increased the level. All of the independent teams aren't going to make it to MLS, but because of MLS in that league, they have a league that will be around for the long haul. So the structure will never look exactly like Minor League Baseball, but will serve the same purpose.

My want would be for an additional level of pro soccer that would serve a similar role to A ball in baseball. It would also give a place for more smaller independents to rise as well. It would give MLS a three level pro system and provide leagues with stability and even smaller risk to get into pro soccer.

 

Seems like they'd have an overwhelming amount of empty seats... I really wish USL squads would play at stadiums/fields with seating capacities more realistic to their support sizes. Makes watching matches online, at least, more enjoyable.

 

With San Jose in MLS and San Francisco to add NASL, are plausible a Oakland team in USL?

 

Why would adding a NASL team in San Francisco make it more likely that Oakland would get a team? I'd say it reduces the chances but if there is an owner that can find a place to play it could happen. That is pretty much the same as if the SF Deltas never happened.

 

Has no one else seen anything about these locations? I remember the San Diego stuff was denied by Donavan about a month ago. Nashville did say they wanted to go to USL by 2017. LAFC2 is a given.

But where did Vegas and Boise come from? Anything more concrete out there on these?

 

This is all I can find for Boise

http://www.idahostatesman.com/news/local/article40852656.html - Plans for a stadium downtown.



Then this:
Soccer stadium plans scrapped. Shame, this wasn't the worst looking venue, definitely has a lower level England feel to it, which I appreciate.

Some interesting things to read about: http://www.ktvb.com/sports/professional-soccer-teams-to-play-in-meridian/76140044 - T2 playing Swope Park outside of Boise, Timbers have apparently started a partnership with the Idaho Youth Soccer Association.

Boise USL Case Study: http://www.sounderatheart.com/thefuture/2014/5/5/5683866/case-study-boise-as-usl-pro-market - Boise can watch Seattle and Portland games, but their closest MLS team is RSL.

The 'Pro Soccer to Boise' Twitter sent out a tweet this morning, for what's it worth, congratulating the Deltas, and saying 'Pretty sure Boise is next!'

Also, the video recap on this page is awesome: http://www.basquesoccerfriendly.com/ - Apparently, and I'm not sure why I heard nothing about this, the Basque Society got Athletic Bilbao and Tijuana to play last summer, and it went really, really well. Thousands of people, looks they almost sold out the Boise State Football Stadium

 

It also happened during Jaialdi, which is a big Basque festival that brings in a bunch of out of towners...and only happens once every 5 years. It would be interesting to see what they could pull when it's not surrounded by that kind of event.

 

http://scratchingthepitch.com/2016/04/06/nashville-to-be-part-of-next-wave-of-usl-expansion/

Scratching the Pitch has followed with with similar rumors. Nashville, San Diego, OC Blues becoming LAFC2 and Birmingham instead of Boise in this batch.

 

Where did you see this? Just curious!

 

yeah, I didn't think the "news to us" in the article was displeasure ... and nothing on twitter seems to say they're mad about the report ... all in how you interpret it I guess.

 

I interviewed Chris Jones at NFC earlier this spring, and he talked about this. They were not happy that someone wants to put a team in Nashville w/o talking to them, after the all the groundwork they've done and fan support they're built

 

Is there a cap on how many teams USL wants? With 30 teams (locked in Reno) and possibly Austin coming back.(but it sure is very quite up north to where I wonder if they are). How many more can the league really handle.. even in a split format?

 

what is an example of not being able to handle more expansion?

I think next year we'll see 3 conferences. If we got to 48 I'd expect 4. I'm just not sure what reasons there would be to stop/slow expansion at this point in time.

I've always thought it they got big enough and wanted to split into a 2 tier league (D2 and D3) then that could be easily done after getting to 46+ teams ... with 16 teams playing a home/away 30 game schedule at the D2 level and then a 3 conference format for 30+ teams at the D3 level.

 

I don't see why the USL couldn't handle many more if the interest is there. They already have enough teams to regionalize the schedule, which is huge for travel costs. More teams = even more local games with cheaper travel for everyone. I don't see why anyone in the league wouldn't be in favor.

 

It's still very early in the process, but I will say this, if Chris Jones wants Nashville FC to go pro it is on him to get in contact with these ownership groups to work something out. Being hostile and playing the victim card won't do any good for what they say they want. IF they are serious about moving Nashville FC into the pro realm, this is the wagon they need to latch on to. There won't be two pro teams in the city.

This is exactly what they have been claiming to be waiting on, now they need to reach out to USL to try to get something done. And by that I mean, get their brand associated with this new team and get rights to move the current incarnation to USL. That's win/win.

 

It's on NFC to initiate this. They are the ones looking to make the move and this USL team seems to be the vehicle that can make that happen. They can't sit back and wait or they will miss their chance.