USL 2018 season

Discussion in 'United Soccer Leagues' started by newtex, Nov 14, 2017.

  1. msilverstein47

    msilverstein47 Member+

    Jan 11, 1999
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
  2. EPJr

    EPJr Member+

    Los Angeles FC
    United States
    Mar 21, 2009
    Richmond VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    if they lose the appeal they all will be coming
     
  3. newtex

    newtex Member+

    May 25, 2005
    Houston
    Club:
    Houston Dynamo
    The USL 2018 home openers are out so it looks like no more of the NASL teams are making the switch:

    http://www.uslsoccer.com/news_article/show/875213?referrer_id=2333971

    2018 USL Home Openers

    Friday, March 16
    Rio Grande Valley FC vs. Saint Louis FC
    Seattle Sounders FC 2 vs. Portland Timbers 2

    Saturday, March 17
    Charleston Battery vs. FC Cincinnati
    Charlotte Independence vs. Ottawa Fury FC
    Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC vs. LA Galaxy II
    Fresno FC vs. Las Vegas Lights FC
    Louisville City FC vs. Nashville SC
    New York Red Bulls II vs. Toronto FC II
    North Carolina FC vs. Tampa Bay Rowdies
    OKC Energy FC vs. Tulsa Roughnecks FC
    Orange County SC vs. Phoenix Rising FC
    Reno 1868 FC vs. Swope Park Rangers
    Sacramento Republic FC vs. San Antonio FC

    Sunday, March 18
    Bethlehem Steel FC vs. Richmond Kickers

    Saturday, March 24
    ATL UTD 2 vs. New York Red Bulls II
    Las Vegas Lights FC vs. Reno 1868 FC
    Nashville SC vs. Pittsburgh Riverhounds
    Phoenix Rising FC vs. OKC Energy FC
    Richmond Kickers vs. Indy Eleven
    San Antonio FC vs. Saint Louis FC
    Swope Park Rangers vs. Seattle Sounders FC 2
    Tampa Bay Rowdies vs. Bethlehem Steel FC
    Tulsa Roughnecks FC vs. Real Monarchs SLC

    Saturday, March 31
    Indy Eleven vs. FC Cincinnati
    LA Galaxy II vs. San Antonio FC
    Pittsburgh Riverhounds vs. Penn FC
    Real Monarchs SLC vs. Portland Timbers 2
    Saint Louis FC vs. Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC
    Toronto FC II vs. Ottawa Fury FC

    Saturday, April 7
    FC Cincinnati vs. Louisville City FC

    Wednesday, April 18
    Portland Timbers 2 vs. Rio Grande Valley FC

    Saturday, April 21
    Penn FC vs. Charleston Battery
    Ottawa Fury FC vs. North Carolina FC
     
  4. newtex

    newtex Member+

    May 25, 2005
    Houston
    Club:
    Houston Dynamo
    The current USL breakdown with some questions still to be answered:

    MLS owned teams (9)
    Atlanta United 2 (Atlanta United)
    Bethlehem Steel (Philadelphia Union)
    New York Red Bulls II (New York Red Bulls)
    Toronto FC II (Toronto FC)
    LA Galaxy II (LA Galaxy)
    Portland Timbers 2 (Portland Timbers)
    Real Monarchs SLC (Real Salt Lake)
    Seattle Sounders 2 (Seattle Sounders)
    Swope Park Rangers (Sporting Kansas City)

    MLS managed teams (2)
    Reno 1868 (San Jose Earthquakes)
    Rio Grande Valley Toros (Houston Dynamo)

    Affiliated teams (9)
    Charlotte Independence (Colorado Rapids)
    Pittsburgh Riverhounds (Columbus Crew)
    Ottawa Fury (Montreal Impact)
    Richmond Kickers (DC United)
    OKC Energy (FC Dallas)
    Orange County SC (Los Angeles FC)
    San Antonio FC (New York City FC)
    Tulsa Roughnecks (Chicago Fire)
    Fresno FC (Vancouver Whitecaps)

    Non-affiliated teams (13)
    Charleston Battery
    FC Cincinnati
    Penn FC
    Indy Eleven
    Louisville City
    Nashville SC
    North Carolina FC
    Saint Louis FC
    Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Colorado Springs Switchbacks
    Las Vegas Lights
    Phoenix Rising
    Sacramento Republic
    ----------------------------------


    MLS teams with no known affiliation at this point:
    New England Revolution
    Orlando City
    Minnesota United
     
  5. Vesty

    Vesty Member

    May 8, 2007
    Pittsburgh
    Club:
    Pittsburgh Riverhounds
    The Hounds ended their affiliation with Columbus.
     
  6. TheJoeGreene

    TheJoeGreene Member+

    Aug 19, 2012
    The Lubbock Texas
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    Didn't see this mentioned yet, but the full schedule was released on Friday.

    561 games over 31 weeks.
     
  7. Traumer

    Traumer Member

    Feb 25, 2016
    Cincinnati
    Team Average Week 1
    1 Sacramento Republic FC 11,569
    2 Louisville City FC 7,933
    3 Fresno FC 7,750
    4 OKC Energy FC 6,757
    5 Seattle Sounders FC 2 6,049
    6 Rio Grande Valley FC 5,910
    7 North Carolina FC 4,197
    8 Bethlehem Steel FC 3,284
    9 Reno 1868 FC 3,224
    10 Orange County SC 3,127
    11 Col Springs Switchbacks FC 3,023
    12 Charlotte Independence 1,438
    13 New York Red Bulls II 717
    14 Charleston Battery 0 0 0 0*

    TOTALS 4,998 64,978 13
    WEEKLY AVERAGE
    4,998

    *Could not find data for Charleston

    Great first week across USL. Hopeful that the 5,000 barrier can be broken this year. We will know better in a couple months once everyone has a few matches how it is shaping up.
     
    TheJoeGreene and AZUL GALAXY repped this.
  8. kenntomasch

    kenntomasch Member+

    Sep 2, 1999
    Out West
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    4575
     
    Traumer repped this.
  9. Traumer

    Traumer Member

    Feb 25, 2016
    Cincinnati
    [​IMG]
    Someone did a nice job compiling and charting the data from first two weeks.
     
    TheJoeGreene repped this.
  10. newtex

    newtex Member+

    May 25, 2005
    Houston
    Club:
    Houston Dynamo
    There is going to be an interesting data point this week. RGVFC is hosting Reno on Wednesday, March 28, at 10:00 am local time. There are no public ticket sales for this game but it is apparently open to school groups. The game will be streaming on YouTube. It will be interesting to see what kind of turnout they get and what attendance they announce.
     
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  11. TheJoeGreene

    TheJoeGreene Member+

    Aug 19, 2012
    The Lubbock Texas
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    I was wondering what was going on there. I honestly thought it was a typo on the schedule, but 10pm doesn't make sense either.
     
  12. Dune

    Dune Member

    Feb 10, 1999
    No, doesn't make any sense. RGV control their own stadium and there is no reason why their Dynamo affiliation should affect what time they are playing.
    Either a typo or they are having some sort of school promotion?
     
  13. newtex

    newtex Member+

    May 25, 2005
    Houston
    Club:
    Houston Dynamo

    Never mind.

    The RGVFC v. Reno game on Wednesday has been postponed.

    https://www.uslsoccer.com/news_article/show/901948?referrer_id=2333971

     
  14. matbluvenger

    matbluvenger Member+

    Reno 1868
    United States
    Aug 2, 2010
    Reno, NV
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
  15. newtex

    newtex Member+

    May 25, 2005
    Houston
    Club:
    Houston Dynamo
    Yep. The RGVFC facebook page is now referring to it as the "Kids Game".
     
  16. matbluvenger

    matbluvenger Member+

    Reno 1868
    United States
    Aug 2, 2010
    Reno, NV
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Oof. Well doesn't that make it sound legitimate...
     
  17. TheJoeGreene

    TheJoeGreene Member+

    Aug 19, 2012
    The Lubbock Texas
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    Sounds like good marketing and trying to build a long term fanbase. Also sounds like a bad idea unless it's timed to coincide with vacation days from school.
     
  18. matbluvenger

    matbluvenger Member+

    Reno 1868
    United States
    Aug 2, 2010
    Reno, NV
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Fair enough
     
  19. newtex

    newtex Member+

    May 25, 2005
    Houston
    Club:
    Houston Dynamo
    My understanding is that the crowd will mostly be school groups. Spring break around here was last week. I'd guess it was the same in the Valley so they are not aiming to have this during vacation days. The team wants this to be convenient for the schools to bring groups.

    Back when we had an AHL team here in Houston they would have 1 or 2 of these mid-day mid-week games each year. They would give the schools a cheap group price (or free with sponsors) and bring a whole bunch of school groups in for the games. The schools used it as a motivational prize for the kids.

    I would take a long lunch from work to use my season ticket. Our STH rep would usually move us down by the scorer's bench so we weren't in the middle of the school kids. On the other hand, I think I have still have a ringing in my ears the exact pitch of middle school girls screeching.
     
    TheJoeGreene repped this.
  20. newtex

    newtex Member+

    May 25, 2005
    Houston
    Club:
    Houston Dynamo
    https://www.uslsoccer.com/news_article/show/902551?referrer_id=2333971

    This is the game originally scheduled for 6:30 pm on Saturday, March 31.
     
  21. hipityhop

    hipityhop Member

    New Mexico United
    United States
    Jan 10, 1999
    Mission TX
    Club:
    SønderjyskE
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Game wasn't played.

    I was planning to attend and will attend Saturday vs Sac Republic. I know from the games I've attended in the past that they announce crowds of 5,000 or 6,000 and knowing it sits 10,000, most of the times the actual crowd looked like 1500. I don't believe any announced attendance figures from RGV Toros.

    I might be moving to the Albuquerque area, and I hope they get a USL team in the future, which I've seen there's a good chance of that.
     
  22. Traumer

    Traumer Member

    Feb 25, 2016
    Cincinnati
    Very curious to see Indy Eleven home opener as expecting a big crowd and know 1200 traveling fans have bought tickets to go. Love the closer (under 3 hour) road trips to foster rivalries and support.
     
  23. WaltonFire

    WaltonFire Member

    Apr 22, 2006
    Indianapolis
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Was at the game. Announced attendance of 17,535. Quoted as a sell-out. In terms of actual butts-in-seats the lower lower at Lucas Oil Stadium, where the team is playing for the first time this year, looked ~85%-90% full.
     
    TheJoeGreene repped this.
  24. TheJoeGreene

    TheJoeGreene Member+

    Aug 19, 2012
    The Lubbock Texas
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    Really hope that things like Indy-Cincy take hold even if neither city moves up to MLS. Right now I'm watching RGV v Sacramento and thinking I may need to plan a trip to the southern tip of Texas to watch a match.
     
  25. WaltonFire

    WaltonFire Member

    Apr 22, 2006
    Indianapolis
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Agreed. Can't speak for Cinci, but at this point most of the other XI fans I know don't see the MLS prospects as particularly good, however in spite of that the team is actually fairly popular. I see a lot of Indy XI gear around town, one of the local over the air broadcast stations actually broadcast home games, the local paper covers the team. Honestly, based on today, if the team can keep up 15,000+ attendances, and assuming the financials work, I'd be fine playing in Lucas Oil Stadium and compeating in the USL long term.
     

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