An issue that has been kind of sitting around for a while is the lack of western teams at the USL-2 level. It evolved to this point because USL-2 level teams can't really afford lots of cross-country travel. As a result, the USL-2 teams are concentrated on the east coast. My idea is that the whole PDL Northwest Division could convert to a professional league and play at the USL-2 level. Kitsap Pumas are already professional and would like to move to USL-2 or USL-1. We'd have the following 10 teams represented: Vancouver Whitecaps Reserves Victoria Highlanders Abbottsford Mariners Spokane Shadow Yakima Reds Seattle Wolves Tacoma Tide Kitsap Pumas Portland Timbers U-23 Cascade (Salem) Surge ... and could probably add a few more. A USL-2 level professional league could be financially and culturally successful with teams concentrated in the Pacific Northwest. It would be great to watch up-and-coming players perform in our own backyard. And the concentration of close rivals would make it a fun league to follow. One negative is that the teams would have to transition away from using college players because of NCAA rules. A positive is that the schedule could be lengthened compared to a PDL schedule which has to end in the summer.
Not going to happen with the Spiders unless they get back into Spokane. The problems with the turf in Joe Albi have been resolved, so the team could technically move back there. That being said, Spokane hasn't been the biggest supporters of their PDL teams and I'm not sure if that would change just because the team moves up to USL2
That's what I was really getting at. It'd be wonderful to have that competition and possible pipeline to better player development, but most, if not all of these cities just don't have the fan base to support a truly pro team. I'd love to be wrong though!
USL-2 teams currently average about 500/game over a 20-game season. Kitsap is already pro. Kitsap Pumas and Seattle Wolves both want to move up. Tacoma Tide has kind of intimated similarly. Timbers and Whitecaps reserve teams will have an MLS team backing them. I think Victoria is going to be a pro team, as well. That leaves question marks for Abbotsford, Yakima, Spokane, and Salem.