------------------- Just hope ALL teams in ALL leagues are being properly vetted. I know we have "standards", but growing this fast kind of scares me a bit
The minor league baseball stadium in Lancaster, CA is being converted to a 5,300 seat soccer configuration and next year it's home to USL League One expansion side AV Alta FC. https://www.uslleagueone.com/news_article/show/1311742
-------------- Road trip ! Already done Fresno. We also have Santa Barbara coming, which, thank god, moved from a plastic football field at a JC to a well know grass field at UCSB- a school and stadium with a great soccer history.. College rival games against CP SLO have had crowds of 10-11k. So soccer is a known commodity in the area, I hope it translates well to USL-1. Lancaster will be interesting, but the stadium project looks like its a pretty good conversion from baseball to soccer.
FC Naples reveal their crest and colors for League One NFL QB Tyrod Taylor joins Westchester SC ownership
Welcome to Fitzpatrick Stadium https://www.dirigounion.com/post/welcome-to-fitzpatrick-stadium Sounds like Portland Maine is making some progress...
Corpus Christi joining USL League One in 2026 Same owner as the current USL League Two side. Their 5,000 seat stadium should be done next year, and their full $28.3 million complex is currently under construction. Arkansas based USL Championship team branded Ozark FC The team that's set to join the USLC in 2026 is branding themselves as Ozark FC. Their 5,000 seat stadium, in Rogers, Arkansas, should be ready on time.
----------- Too bad RGV couldn't have dropped to USL-1 from USL-C- Nice local rival to Corpus. Or that Fort Worth project that apparently is not going forward.. add in Texhoma would have a nice regional flare. ----- As for NW Arkansas- name is good, logo is kind of a mess in the middle. I am a bit worried to the location of this team for travel purposes, kind of remote. Too bad Little Rock wasn't maybe the first option as much bigger base to draw from.
Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC owners filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Future Legends developers file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection (coloradoan.com)
It is no surprise. Was rumored for most of the season that USL had taken control of things, possibly even payroll.
That's a shame. They won the league cup and are sitting 3rd in the regular season standings. It feels like the current USL1 is closer to the old lower division attempts at soccer than it is to the Championship right now.
Boise announced plans for League 1 and Super League in a new stadium. https://www.uslsoccer.com/news_article/show/1322327
---------------- Nice rival for Spokane. Wasn't Eugene Oregon going to be USL-1? At least other west coast teams coming so beyond Fresno, Lancaster & Santa Barbara. That should help on travel.
Eugene has been quiet, but apparently they're still looking at starting next year. Civic Park, the rebuilt Civic Stadium, is nearly complete. Pictures 12 and 13 look really good. https://www.usleugene.com/stadium/
---------- I thought I saw Reno was trying to pull together a SSS Get Tucson back up from USL-2 to USL-1 and frankly, Monterey Bay probably fits USL-1 better than USL-C. I think saw article about Modesto, CA also. In my own neck of the woods, feel a team in the "Inland Empire". (Ontario/Rancho Cucamonga) area of Southern California California would be a good fit - one of the fastest growing areas of state/country - 4 million Pop+ Already have minor league baseball, hockey, indoor soccer & hockey though... but obviously a sports hotbed
Fort Wayne FC, currently in the USL League Two, will be announcing a move to League One soon. They've now released renderings for their new stadium, 7500+ seated and 9280 total capacity with SRO, that will be ready for the 2026 season. https://www.fortwaynefc.com/newstadium/
BTW, the best source for USL League One expansion news is this substack. Here's one for USL Championship.
Even though I seek to hijack the USL-1 expansion thread and force y’all to parse your thoughts (and I have reasons for such behavior), I’ll dish about Boise and Eugene here. Eugene is pretty much on target for 2026. The west stand is almost complete, and the rest can be accomplished with bleachers. If you look at the Boise rendering, the structures already exist. They’re repurposing the old Les Bois Park horse racing track grandstand for the soccer stadium. While some bleachers would preferably be included, they simply need to install a field… which will probably be artificial because real grass is an unnatural act in southern Idaho. Now… will there be second thoughts because of Fuego and Hailstorm? It’s a fair question. Boise’s growth kind of leans it towards USL-C if they’re not careful, but that organization will need to walk before it runs. Eugene has been in USL-2 for more than a decade now, so while some marketing is necessary, there’s a base from which to work.
USL Championship · The newest professional soccer club in North Texas The USL and the City of Garland have announced that USL Dallas will join the league for the 2027 season. bit.ly/40Ojwpj
---------------- We have lost fair number of teams or dropping levels in the west- Fresno, Reno, N Colorado, RG Valley, Tucson, Ft Worth (never got off ground appears) Adding Eugene and Boise to this group, plus Lancaster coming would have made a nice western group Santa Barbara would have been in this group, Monterey Bay probably should be. The challenges continue.
https://www.uslchampionship.com/news_article/show/1324166 Garland is closer to downtown Dallas than Frisco is, and already had its population boom.
--------------- This makes no sense. What would have made more sense is if the Fort Worth team had come to be- large market itself. Arlington has the FC Dallas reserves, Cotton Bowl has the USL Women's Super League and Texhoma in the USL-1 is a bit north in Denton. Chances are this team will end up playing in some large high school stadium (admittedly some are very nice). Don't see what USL gains from this.
Fort Worth is a minor league city that has major league ambitions. Any time a team shows up, like the Fort Worth Cats or Panther City lacrosse, interest wanes almost immediately because the folks think they can get something like the Dallas Cowboys.
The lacrosse team failed because of the horrible name/branding and zero marketing. I knew about them solely because I'm a lacrosse fan that follows the league.