Update: The Birmingham Hammers are hosting U.S. soccer legend Eric Wynalda and his Wynalda Soccer Academy for a week long camp in Daphne, Alabama. Check out the Hammers Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/#!/BhamHammers for more details.
Haven't heard other updates lately. But there have been some large crowds in a number of locations in Birmingham for the World Cup games. Interest in soccer is clearly growing in Birmingham. U-S-A! What an incredible turnout! Thank you partners @LemakSports, @BhamHammers & @holalatino! One in, one out now! pic.twitter.com/QPgFJKfqf2— Iron City Bham (@IronCityBham) June 16, 2014 Here's the @AO_Bham crowd at @GPBrewing for @ussoccer ten minutes till kickoff. #DontTread pic.twitter.com/rScI8EhoKr— Ñic Gulas (@Nic_Gulas) June 16, 2014
It will be interesting to see how the USL Pro exploration reveals itself, if indeed, that is the level of competition under consideration. Could the Hammers be waiting on, or pursuing an Atlanta Silverbacks organizational move to Birmingham? Can the 'Backs, as an NASL franchise, co-exist and continue to grow in the Metro ATL market with Major League Soccer?
The Silverbacks are going to be finished. The Silverbacks are practice games for Terminus Legion. Birmingham can support a minor legion team. I just hope they get the right minor league and not the one that folds.
Question may be ... What type of timeline is the Silverbacks organization on, in deciding their future?
The thing that I worry about the most is that Birmingham finally gets a team and that league goes under. I don't think that it is very far out there to think that NASL will go under in 10 years.
I'm not sure what the short and long term goals are for the NASL ... Although, there appears to be a variance of Philosophy between the NASL and MLS regarding the future of Professional Soccer in the marketplace. Hammers could opt for a United Soccer Leagues affiliation, which would allow some flexibility in selecting a competition level.
If the team is strong, they can always switch leagues. Look at the end of the IHL. Six of their teams moved to the AHL and still exist: Chicago Wolves Grand Rapids Griffins Milwaukee Admirals Utah Grizzlies (relocated to Cleveland; Grizzlies would reappear in the ECHL) Manitoba Moose (relocated to Newfoundland when Winnipeg got the Jets back) Houston Aeros (moved to Des Moines on the whim of NHL affiliate Minnesota Wild, who also owned the Aeros) In addition, a seventh team, the Cincinnati Cyclones, moved to the ECHL. All of them still exist. In fact, the only reason two others--the Orlando Solar Bears and Kansas City Blades--folded is because they were owned by the same owner as the Griffins (Rich DeVos), and the AHL only allowed one team per owner. (The Solar Bears would reconstitute 10 years later in the ECHL. KC has a different, lower-level team.)
I seemed to remember from back when Nike/ Umbro sold the league that the new owners own the franchises for Atlanta and Birmingham. I'll see if I can find the article that was in.
The Wild did not move the Aeros on a whim. Les Alexander, the owner of the Houston Rockets, who controls Toyota Center made it impossible for the Aeros to continue in that building. He just kept raising the rent until they left. He made sure the staff of the building did everything they could to make life difficult for the Aeros while they were there. I know several of the front office people for the Houston Aeros. They tried to make a deal with Alexander and then explored several other venues in the Houston area. The Wild wanted to stay in Houston. It just didn't work out.
http://www.uslsoccer.com/home/359940.html NuRock Soccer Holdings, based in Atlanta, is led by Rob Hoskins and Alec Papadakis. NuRock Soccer Holdings is currently a USL franchisee with a Premier Development League operation in Atlanta and rights to acquire two USL First Division teams in Atlanta, Georgia and Birmingham, Alabama marketplaces, respectively.