NASL expansion rumors summary update - mid January edition: Tier 1 - Announced Teams Miami FC - On the Spring and Fall 2016 schedule. Everything is lined up with Alessandro Nesta as manager, FIU Stadium as the home field, impressive player signings in place, and their kits revealed. Miami FC looks like they will be one of the stronger teams in NASL out of the gate. Rayo OKC - On the Spring and Fall 2016 schedule. Miller Stadium will be the home field. Alen Marcina named manager. The first signings have been announced and are impressive for NASL. Kits have yet to be revealed, but things are starting to come together quickly for Rayo OKC. Puerto Rico FC - On the Fall 2016 schedule. Ownership led by Carmelo Anthony with Tom Payne as team president. Adrian Whitebred as manager. Juan Ramon Loubriel Stadium will be the home field. Kits not yet revealed and no players have been announced yet. Tier 2 - Rumors with multiple sources and noise from those involved San Francisco Bay Area: Expected to announce for 2017, with rumors being that the official announcement will come after the Super Bowl. Brian Helmick (twitter - brianhelmick) is announced as the team president. Ownership group appears to include former Strikers co-owner Ricardo Stanford-Geromel and Eventbrite CEO Kevin Hartz. As an early PayPal investor and an investor in numerous successful tech companies, Hartz would seem to prove a strong financial backbone for the team (https://www.crunchbase.com/person/kevin-hartz/investments). They have an updated web presence at www.bayareaprosoccer.com. They are using“Bay Area” rather than “San Francisco” because the team is looking at sites both in San Francisco and in the surrounding area, as confirmed by Brian Helmick on twitter. Rumor originally reported by Big Soccer poster @blueballs69, followed by Sulaiman Foralin, Evan Ream (twitter - evanream) and SFGate’s blog (http://blog.sfgate.com/soccer/2015/12/10/professional-soccer-sf-nasl/). Chicago Sting: Expected to announce for 2017. Club9Sports is working to bring the Chicago Sting back to NASL. Peter Wilt recently left his position as President of Indy Eleven to focus on bringing the Sting back to NASL (http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20160111/sports/160119783/). The team may start play in Soldier Field and aims to make its home in the city of Chicago. Early reaction to Wilt’s announcement indicates there are plenty of frustrated Chicago soccer fans open to an alternative to the Fire. Originally there were rumors from the Sting Trust supporters group and those were followed by Empire of Soccer (http://www.empireofsoccer.com/chicago-sting-involved-41908/) and an article by the Chicago Sun-Times (http://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/7/71/1073273/reports-chicago-sting-moving-closer-reality). Tier 3 - Rumors with multiple sources Orange County: Initially rumored by BigSoccer poster @blueballs69 to be in the works as a collaboration between Everton FC and the musician Sting, the aspect with Sting bringing a NASL team to Orange County was backed by Evan Ream (twitter - evanream) and his own sources. Las Vegas: The most recent rumors link Las Vegas as the relocation landing spot of the Scorpions. LasVegasScorpionsFC.com was registered by a Vegas attorney. Cosmos Country Podcast reported that a Las Vegas investor group was at the BOG meeting in NY prior to the Soccer Bowl. There were also rumors of an Italian investment group at the BOG looking to bring a team to NASL, but this is thought to be the same group. Tier 4 - Rumors with only one source or otherwise spottier rumors Los Angeles: Mentioned by BigSoccer poster @blueballs69 in the same thread as San Francisco and Orange County, a group with links to Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim is looking at bringing a NASL team to Los Angeles. May use LA Aztecs name and target Mexican demographic, playing out of East LA. Celtic FC team: British tabloid report that Celtic FC was looking at putting a team in NASL. According to BigSoccer poster PanicFC, who has some knowledge of the situation Boston was their first choice with Detroit or Hartford as other options. Boston may be blocked due to a marketing agreement with the Boston Celtics. No recent activity. Detroit: A group unaffiliated with NASL-hopeful NPSL phenomenon Detroit City FC presented at the September 2015 BOG meeting, according to Sulaiman Foralin. No recent activity suggests the group’s bid may not have been successful. There were some recent rumblings that Detroit City FC may be looking to move up to either NASL or USL in a block with FC Buffalo and AFC Cleveland but those do not seem to have a strong basis in reality. Dead Hartford City FC: Potential expansion bid flamed out due to issues around the investor’s past business dealings. There are some rumblings that there may be a second Hartford group trying to arrange a friendly this summer to test the market, but they are nothing more than rumors right now. Hamilton/other Canadian NASL teams: Long rumored expansion bid by Bob Young owner of the CFL Hamilton Tiger Cats seemed close in May 2015 but flamed out after the Traffic Sports corruption news broke. Rumors from Duane Rollins indicate that they will be joining the new “Canadian Premier League” instead. Rollins reports the CPL will likely look like the Canadian Football League minus Edmonton, meaning that in addition to Hamilton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Saskatchewan, as well as placing “second” teams in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver are likely out as options for NASL. Ottawa Fury is also thought to be defecting to this league, while Edmonton plans to stay with NASL. The reported goal is for the league to start in 2017, but that seems ambitious at this point.
Corrections: "Third" pro teams in the Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver markets. Unless reserve sides don't count in that category. Also Rollins was reporting 2017 start date back when he suggested the announcement for the new league would come during the Grey Cup. No announcement came at that time, since then in an interview the President of the CSA has acknowledged working towards the goal of a league but has only vaguely mentioned 2018 as a possibility.
From my outsiders perspective it appears that NASL is heavily banking on Miami and Chicago to anchor the league along with Cosmos, Tampa and Indy. If those first two approach the level of support seen in NY or Indy then they'll feel they're on much safer footing. Resurrecting the Sting brand (which I always enjoyed) might help but I don't see Soldier Field panning out. Nice stadium in a great location, but also a huuuuuge venue for what might realistically end up at 10k per game or less. Reminisce about the old days of Sting vs. Rowdies all we want, but too many hallow games versus Jacksonville, PR or OKC might prove a killer.
If they are scared games against PRFC will be empty. Tap the puerto rican population in Chicago then, they love going to see anything that has Puerto Rico written all over it. I remember when the Rhinos played the Islanders in Rochester, there where always a good 100-200 ppl there just to see the Islanders just for the fact that they where Puerto Rican. With the influx of middle class Puerto Ricans to central Florida I feel Tampa should definitely try to advertise their games against PRFC more aggressively too.
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Yeah, but while Chicago, New York, and Florida have big Puerto Rican populations (which help out 5 of the 12 clubs, because I view Jacksonville and northern Florida as similar to Georgia and Alabama), and there will be those who will support PRFC just because they are from Puerto Rico, the question is... will they pack the places they go? You'll get them, for sure, but exactly how much is the issue.
Actually consistent 100-200 away game fans is always good, especially if the supporters can financially travel to say Edmonton. Its usually up to the home team to fill the place...
I wasn't assuming it would be a league wide phenomenon. Teams in the places you mention have a potential for a higher draw, or taping a previously on tap demographic, against PRFC it's up to them to capitalize on it. They definitely wont pack the place, that the job of the home fans.
I think you bring up an interesting point. Best case is something like this starts to happen and you get some small PRFC supporters groups going in cities like NY, Chicago and Miami who will guarantee a couple hundred extra ticket sales. Best case scenario, but a possible one
On the surface one would think so....but any team banking on a local hispanic (or any other ethnic group) to bolster game attendance has always been wrong. I am not sure why, but it seems to be the case. Indeed a best case scenario....historically relying on an ethnic or national group to support a non-local club has not worked out very well. More likely you might get a couple of people coming to the games because they are Puerto Rican, but I doubt you get supporters groups. Better would be to reach out to those groups to support the local team as locals, IMO. Did the PR Islanders garner any supporters groups in these communities? Do these communities follow the PR National team with supporters group or do they tend to support the USA team usually?
Yeah, I can't see the PR marketing crossover having any substantial impact. See: Chivas USA. As Intru says it's up to the home fans to make a difference, so the question remains - Will they? My fear for Chicago is that if the Sting fails if that might have an aftereffect on the Fire. If they succeed then I could easily see the two factions enjoying some ribbing and outright animosity that stokes both fan bases, but if they both struggle then it might leave a stigma on the 2nd city soccer scene. One not unlike... Miami. Oh what to do. I desperately want the area to find at least one soccer outlet to embrace and champion. Not only would that go a long way to giving the local sports scene something else around which to really rally but I think it might help give US soccer more inroads into fans in Latin nations. I'm not sure that the Strikers could do that, but a bona fide Miami team might. But, again, if Beckham's kerfuffle and the Miami NASL effort both fall short it might make matters worse. This is why I get nervous about how some of these things go down, fearing that a halfa***d effort from any league could do more harm to pro soccer in a community than a successful team could raise up.
One good thing is Miami FC don't appear to being doing this halfway. They have been one of those expansion teams, kind of like Jacksonville, that seem to know what they're doing and what they want to be, and are going about it well. Encouraging signs aren't the best indicator of success, of course, but they do help get things rolling.
There was a Islanders national supporters group that is getting reformed for PRFC. But oddly enough we had more people in it from the Carolinas than any other area. The other cluster of members was in the Ontarior-Upstate NY area. I assume we may get some more interest in central florida now that they have half the islands middle class population move there in the last 10 years hehe. I've heard there's a Orlando City supporters group that has a majority puerto rican members, I'm sure they wouldn't mind going to see the Rowdies lose to a PR base team Puerto Ricans don't really organize very well as supporters for sports, its not part of our culture, we kinda just show up where ever there's a team with Puerto Rico in its name playing. If it national team related doesn't mater what's sport your going to get a noticeable puerto rican crowd And no most people will support the PR national team first, US national team second.
Always good to hear from someone on the ground who know's what's going on. Do you know why Puerto Rican culture doesn't 'do' supporters groups?
At least it is a showing of competent ownership and a drive to make the project work. I haven't seen that in Rayo OKC or PRFC, to be honest. I'd also like to know why Puerto Ricans aren't as organized when it comes to support groups. Anybody that can figure out that enigma should stand to win out.
I can't speak for Puerto Ricans themselves, but I will say that anytime you have a colonial situation the line between two nationalisms gets awkward. Especially when the idea of independence has been crushed or all but forgotten: nations are geographic imaginaries and if you cannot even imagine independence then there is a limit to your nationalism.
NASL to announce west coast expansion in 1-2 months, multiple teams possible. San Diego a new one on the list along with San Francisco, Las Vegas and Orange County. No mention of LA team. Report closely echoes recent rumors except for the lack of LA and addition of San Diego. http://www.empireofsoccer.com/announce-expansion-multiple-43990/ Cc: @blueballs69
As usual with NASL on the west coast, I'll believe it when I see it. Particularly since San Diego's addition seems to be a direct response to the rumors USL (and MLS) are beginning to look at San Diego.
Good point, but it's still interesting as to why they don't support a team from Puerto Ric Unless NASL San Diego is the team Donovan is attached too...Wouldn't that be dramatic?
Just speculating, but it could be that the potential owners for the LA NASL team realized that there may not be much oxygen left in LA to compete with the excitement of a 2nd MLS team and 2 NFL teams. This already in addition to all of the established teams means that there really isn't much room for NASL team to make a splash. San Diego, on the other hand, will only have the Padres and the Aztecs (college FB) to fill up the sports pages.
Well that and the new San Diego Gulls hockey team. But yeah that might be a reason. Fact remains however there's really no venue in San Diego that is in the NASL's typical size range and no plans for one.