Looks like Wilmington and Charleston might have some of their dates sewn up http://www.noquartersoccer.com/2011/05/battery-revised-schedule-dates.html
Soccer Banter recently interviewed USL Technical Director Peter Mellor http://www.soccerbanter.org/petter-mellor.html
I am relatively new to all the ups and downs of D2, D3 soccer, but it really makes me wonder why USSF isn't more visible and pro-active. There is a distinct 'wild west' feel to these leagues and USSF is just waiting for the strongest to survive. Surely they should be providing more leadership in order to strengthen the soccer pyramid?
This assumes the USSF has leaders who are willing to lead. Obviously, I don't know all the ins-and-outs of the federation, but I agree that they should be more visible in managing this mess. I doubt, however, they have a clear vision of what a US soccer pyramid looks like. They've definitely taken a laissez faire approach to all of this. Maybe we should be thankful they're not more involved??
I think there's a lot of "inspiration" by how Jack Warner handles CONCACAF, and how Sepp Blatter handles FIFA.
The USSF BOD is mostly filled with people from the youth pay-for-play,amateur/ethnic local leagues and other aspects of local fiefdom-type politics, people who would lose a lot if a professionally-run pyramid went down to the state level. They used to have their claws in the national team too but have pretty much relenquished that control to the actual pros who have started to generate enough revenue that floats down to their level, the fact that Gulati didn't get to hire Klinnsman for NT coach notwithstanding. There might be hope in that MLS academies are really making a dent in getting the best young players in professional development environments, but considering that the state associations could easily have league pyramids yet still have that Wild West feel means that the current BOD won't be the ones to lead non-MLS professional soccer out of the weeds...
I can positively, absolutely guarantee that Wilmington would not go up. If the USL was mysteriously raptured from the planet, they would probably choose the NPSL over the NASL.
Do the owners just not want to lose money? That would be completely understandable if they are happy where they are.
Same with Richmond... NASL is a money pit.. so is USLPro but to a MUCH lesser extent. The NASL fans can have their Division II Status.. but what does Division II status REALLY mean in the US? The divisions are set by finances much much more than by the level of play. So say Rochester goes to the NASL and instead of drawing 4000 a game they draw 6000.. woopie! Their financial output through travel and the other USSF imposed rules would grow so much they'd be losing more money then they did at the "lower" USLPro level, but the level and style of play will be exactly the same.. especially after Montreal bolts to MLS after this season. If Rochester thinks they any chance at an MLS team they're very delusional and I want to what drugs their taking and what street corner can I find it on.. because thats some good stuff!
I'm not disputing anything that's been said in the last few posts. I agree, but I just wish it weren't so expensive. Imagine for a moment, how cool it would it be if Richmond, Wilmington & Charleston joined the NAS..., er, I mean D2, disregarding the additional costs associated with that. The regional rivalries with Carolina and Atlanta would be a lot of fun. In the same breath, I suppose Car. & Atl. could also join D3 to create the same regional tilts.
If only there weren't these league fights, imagine the local trips that southern fans could take. 3 teams in Florida, 4 in the Carolinas, and Atlanta and Richmond, but they are split about equally between the leagues. D2 or D3, USL or NASL, minor league soccer just needs a viable model.
Come on down! The more regional teams we get the less likely we'll see another Puerto Rico fiasco. Sadly it won't happen as long as Traffic is involved with either Carolina or Atlanta. Their divorce from the USL seems to have been more bitter then Jon & Kate's.
LOL! It'd be like college all over again. It'd be great. Even the casual/non-soccer fans would get into it.
is the world ready for a Richmond, Carolina, Charlotte, Wilmington, Charleston, Atlanta division? Lord that would make a good league in and of itself we could throw in Orlando and Harrisburg for good measure I suppose. :-D
Orlando, Tampa Bay & Ft. Lauderdale. (Harrisburg is too far away.) That'd make a pretty strong eight team league.
great now.. if we can just find some owners that arent named Traffic, Holt, Maros or Cooper and we're all set :-D
Harrisburg is a lot closer to most of those teams than Ft Lauderdale is, but I agree with the general sentiment
I'd much rather road trip to Ft. Lauderdale and Tampa than H-burg. (It's all about me! ) I was thinking of a southern/regional league setup, but there's no reason to be uppity. Bring on the Islanders too. And Baltimore and Maryland Monarchs, if they regroup. Having a 12-team league is better than a 9-team league, (I think said 8 earlier) as long as we're just fantasizing here.
having been to a couple of Maryland games.. trust me.. they're right where they need to be. The family that seemed to run the team was very nice, but it was way too small of an organization to ever consider being a pro team... even a USL-2 team. Nevermind the bad locations they played at, the $20 ticket prices or the 75 fans (at most) at the 2 Richmond games last year.. the team (owners, organization.. not players/manager) were definitely out of their league. Honestly PDL might be a stretch but they seem to be doing O_K.. so far. I wouldn't mind seeing Palace reorganize but from what I hear from an ex player, Medd & Cherneski still owe some players some $$$.. so I don't see them coming back into the picture anytime soon. But, and I know its a long shot, maybe since the MISL is now kinda sorta part of the USL, the Blast could help field an outdoor team.. or at the very very least, not throw up as many obstacles as the threw up at CPB....
Yes, dream BIG. This group would form a decent D-3 league but with attendance in the same range of 2,000 - 3,000 (unless orlando can keep up the momentum as a new team with a nice venue in a pro sports starved town). Quality of play is decent, but only marginally better than PDL and marginally less than MLS. Without internationals, USL Pro/NASL teams could compete comfortably with MLS (look at Vancouver, Portland, Puerto Rico and even Montreal over past few seasons) but with still modest attendance. The key is $$$$$. Look at the attendance in MLS this year: except for a couple of teams, most are averaging 12,000 - 14,000. Yikes. D-2 leagues (aka, 4th division) in UK can hit these numbers if they have a large enough stadium. Soccer is still a "kids" sport in US. And, soccer competes with huge football, basketball, baseball markets, and even hockey and lacrosse in some markets. Success in US is driven by ownership (in MLS, league somewhat controls) willing to take a financial hit, TV contracts, advertising, and for real fans, QUALITY of play. An occaisional soccer "star" helps but in the long term, coaching and soccer academies provide base for home grown talent and success at local levels. Except for handful of athletes, there's no real progression of academy talent in US vs. the rest of world. Look at the rejuvenated WPS model with most of the above qualities including some world class players, and except for a couple teams, the league is a bust. Take away the TV contracts/sponsors and the league dies on the vine, again. Enough proselytizing. Sorry.
That's most of it. Wilmington has a population of a little over 100,000 and is running on tight margins. A move to D-2 would probably not increase attendance-- and even if it did it would not bring in enough to cover the astronomical rise in player and travel costs. I (and many other Wilmington fans) would hate to lose the team once again to bad finances. Plus, everyone seems to be happy where they are. It's a lot easier to sell a game against long time rivals Charlotte, Richmond or new rival Charleston than Edmonton, Minnesota or Fort Lauderdale (although I would be interested in seeing ex-Striker David Irving coach against his revived ex-team.) In conclusion, too many downsides and the only upside being ego-based makes this a non choice. Recent history has taught me this: I'd rather emulate the Charleston Battery than the Cleveland City Stars.