It presumably would have to be more than cost effective (i.e. we can do this and survive) - it would presumably have to be beneficial (i.e. we're now making $X per year but we could be making $X+Y in USL1). I doubt they'd gain enough by the extra home matches and few extra spectators that being in USL1 would draw to offset the vastly increased costs. This is the same reason that I don't see why the most successful PDL clubs out west would want to band together to form a USL2-West - I can't see the financial upside at all.
Its all about perception. It costs a little more to be in D-2 vs PDL, but you are now at a higher level with more "panache", with the right community this is a huge asset.
And I suppose that's where you and I might disagree on the value of the jump to D2. In my mind, the extra panache gained by moving from one bus league to a slightly more advanced bus league is unlikely to bring in enough extra fans to make it worthwhile. The jump from PDL to USL1, however, just might because there, I think, you'll actually get a measurable increase on the panache scale. (Panache is one of those words that you just don't get to use often enough.)
Cleveland had a PDL team for years and years. Look what happened when they got a USL2 team. So, yeah, it might not make it worthwhile everywhere, but it can definitely happen.
I wasn't aware of the Cleveland details so I did a quick internet search. The off-field performance of the USL2 team is certainly a lot better than that of the PDL team. A question (since I honestly don't know): As far as I can tell there's no connection between the PDL and USL2 teams. What, other than the higher league, is different? Is the stadium much better or in a much better location? Do they advertize as opposed to no advertizing? What I've been considering is the merit of an existing PDL team jumping up to USL2 (or 1). I'm trying to determine if the Cleveland experience is a good case study or if, instead, it is a case study of how to properly set up a team versus how not to. Put another way, if the USL2 ownership group had fielded a PDL team with the same effort would we now have a PDL team drawing 1600 fans or does the USL2 factor really matter?
In PDL you have all levels of financial commitment, most owners are in it for the love of the game and hope with a bit of sponsorship and a few paid fans they can break even. D-2 on the other hand has a bit longer season and they pay their players. There is an implied level of professionalism. I believe for certain towns/small cities this does carry a bit more weight. If two teams (1 PDL, and its Polterguist D-2) are operated everything equal, I believe the D-2 team will do a little better financially simply because of the perception it is a higher league/better team. You can see this to some extent by looking at the attendance levels of the 4 English leagues.
I don't know if this has been asked yet, but why are you guying aiming for a USL-2 team instead of USL-1 team? Not dogging on USL-2. Just curious.
My guess is that they want to have a "Pro" team and overall costs for a USL 2 team is cheaper. But that's just my guess. I think another option for currnet or potential franchises in areas outside of the east coast would be to go the "Pro" PDL route. That would be similar to what Vancouver did with their PDL team and what the new Kitsap team is doing. They play other PDL teams, but pay their players. It doesn't effect the college eligibility of the teams they play. But a current college player couldn't play on that team. This was you have a reduced travel expense, but can also market yourself as a pro team. Also, I'm guessing you are paying less in salaries then what USL 1 teams are paying. So it's a way to get started and your ready to move up when the USL 2 expands to your area. Just a thought.
That makes sense. Travel expenses can be killer and I'm sure you would want to control as many costs as you can from the start.
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For USL-2, they should focus on the mid-level TV markets with a couple bigger markets sprinkled in. Detroit, as someone mentioned way earlier, has an investor who's investigating installing a USL franchise, but that team would probably be in USL-1. I think that USL-2 should focus on cities like Birmingham, Memphis, Little Rock, Cincinnati, OK City, Albuquerque, Des Moines (probably reaching with Des Moines), Lansing or Grand Rapids, Indianapolis, and then some other cities out west like Reno or Sacramento or Monterrey or Bakersfield. I think those are the areas that USL-2 should focus on to develop soccer bases in those cities. This would particularly help in the Southeast, where soccer teams are nowhere to be found with the (near-permanent) sabbatical of the USL-1 Atlanta Silverbacks.
Des Moines could probably get the fan support to move up to USL-1. And I would love to see Detroit in USL-1. USL-2 in Birmingham would be good. I think there was talk about that awhile ago, but it's died off.
I was told by a reliable source a while ago that an outside investor was looking at putting a team at Morrison Stadium in Omaha. If that was an expansion team, it'd be a perfect fit with the Menace.
Yeah I hear ya. I'm somewhat jealous although if we had a team here they'd be in a decent stadium themselves. Either the women's stadium at OU or the division II football stadium north of OKC. It's designed to be wide enough.
It would be, but we'd still have a lot of distant road-trips. I'd say, though, that if DSM has a rivalry with any town, it's Omaha. Yes it is. It's an incredible facility, and I couldn't believe that any college would put that kind of effort into a soccer stadium.
I read it on USL Discussions. I don't know how solid the interest was, but I think there definitely was some.
Interesting. Birmingham's basically a professional sport black hole. No major league teams, a AA baseball team and that's it. A lot of it is the dominance of the colleges around here, but a well run USL team could certainly go a way towards filling the sports hole for a area with a million+ people.
Is the investor in Detroit related to the people who own Derby County? I believe that company is based in Detroit. As far as USL-2 goes, I've been talking to some folks recently and it sounds like a west division is in the works. I didn't get a date but I'd guess 2010 or 2011. And the USL has officially said it wants to see the USL-1 here in OK City but would accept a well run USL-2 or PDL side.
No, the Detroit investor is Dan Duggan, who owns the PDL Michigan Bucks. He's been behind the MLS in Detroit movement since 2003. The company that owns Derby County is based in Metro Detroit, and we assume that he is speaking with them about a possible joint partnership on a new MLS or USL-1 team. However, we will soon see what comes of his quest to find investors.