When League One grows more a USL League Cup can be a good idea. Keeping it regional as long as possible would give the League One teams a chance to face their closest "big team". For the Championship teams it would be a chance to get some extra high profile games if they get into the last four.
It will be interesting to see if/when League One gets big enough for that to happen. Even the announced expansion cities are a little worrying, due to the travel that Spokane and Fresno will have to do unless several more west/northwest cities have teams pop up really quickly. I'm not sure how the finances will work there, but at least the mid atlantic and southeast are filling in nicely Where I'm at, Lubbock would be an interesting city for League One, but there's no way it would work (especially if MLS B teams pull out) unless a few out of Amarillo, Midland/Odessa, Abilene, San Angelo, etc. had teams join around the same time.
CPL seems to be managing it. Pacific FC and Halifax Wanderers have to travel an incredible 3,600 miles each way to play each other. That's almost as far as Spokane to Caracas, Venezuela.
IIRC, this is why one of CPL’s major corporate sponsors is WestJet and I feel like I remember something about the league subsidizing travel.
The difference is that those airports are all fairly major airports for Canada. The travel costs go up the more a team isn't located near one of those in the US, unless they have a private team plane which seems unlikely for League One. For instance, it's typically cheaper to fly from Lubbock to LA or NY than to Spokane or Madison. League One cities, at least the lower end of what they will consider, are smaller than the CPL cities by a good bit. It's definitely an interesting dynamic.
Peter Wilt has been really vocal about travel costs not being a determining factor: No, not true and shortsighted. Incremental travel costs (flight vs. bus) range from 2% to 10% of total expenses for any lower division team. Even at 10%, they are not the "bane of any sports comprtition". No team goes bankrupt due to incremental travel costs.— peter wilt (@PeterWilt1) September 16, 2021 And has for a while: https://theathletic.com/436574/2018/07/18/wilt-busting-the-myth-that-regional-vs-national-travel-can-make-or-break-a-lower-division-pro-soccer-team/ And I figure he probably knows probably better than just about anyone. Obviously lower is better, but that’s not going to be what sinks your club.
Peter Wilt might be the most delusional person involved with US soccer now that Rocco Commisso is no longer paying attention.
USL Championship players voted overwhelmingly, I’ve been told, to accept first collective bargaining agreement negotiated by @USLPA & @USL_HQ. Voting window ended today. Bargaining began in early 2019. Sets minimum salaries. Most important, sets standards on working conditions. pic.twitter.com/CacNzkacOn— Paul Kennedy (@pkedit) October 25, 2021 The #USL Championship’s 1st collective bargaining agreement has been ratified by both the Board of Governors and a supermajority of players, sources tell @TheAthleticSCCR. Announcement expected in the coming days. Our recent report with pact details: https://t.co/xjqj5epvp5— Jeff Rueter (@jeffrueter) October 25, 2021
Club sources say the @AustinBoldFC owner informed players and staff this morning that the team is not playing after this season. The move to Fort Worth is happening but depends on stadium construction, so it may not happen next year. More soon at @TheStrikerTexas— Roberto Silva (@rsilvasoccer) October 26, 2021
Local talk around Fort Worth indicates it depends on when the new stadium gets approved for the Keller ISD. It's part of a nearly $900 million project ($175 million stadium) that has a lot of local support. The comparison is The Star in Frisco where the Cowboys have their offices and do their preseason training. If that goes through in the next vote, Austin likely moves there now and plays in the current stadium while the new one is built.
USL with a gambling site deal with Twinspires, which I've only known previously as a site for Kentucky Derby and other horse racing betting. https://www.uslchampionship.com/news_article/show/1191592
Queensboro FC is delaying their entry until [maybe] 2023. Originally supposed to launch in 2021. These things are what fans should expect really. These 2+ year "launches" sometimes just fall flat. We've seen it happen too much.
Of the 16 USL-C playoff teams, 0 are MLS owned and 3 are MLS affiliates (all in the Mountain Division). Al 4 last placed teams in their division were either MLS owned or affiliated. If/when MLS pulls completely out, that's a solid talking point for USL as an organization. It seems like a good marketing tool for future seasons, and I'm sure there's plenty more ammunition (like attendance stats) to further identify USL-C as a legit second division and better than reserve teams. Even USL-1 shows a difference with 5 of the 6 playoff spots being independent teams.
I think it's down to the stadium but being ready. The last announcement that the stadium was going to be built was at the end of April and anyone who thinks you can build and open a stadium in a year in Queens hasn't dealt with NYC unions. 2 or 3 of the 7 MLS teams are pulling out of the Championship. Galaxy, the Red Bulls, Atlanta and Loudoun (DC) are staying and the last I heard from Seattle was that they are thinking of running Tacoma and a MLS 2 team. Monterrey is joining, Bold will be on hiatus pending a move to Fort Worth and Queensboro will join in 2023. So there will be 28 teams in the Championship in 2022. Rhode Island and Buffalo are also targeting 2023 with Des Moines looking at 2024. So in 2023 we could see the league expanding to 32 or 33 teams minus any more MLS owned teams that decide to leave.
All MLS reserves teams are scheduled to be out in 2023. It also remains to be seen if any more teams drop to League One: Charlotte and Charleston are fairly strong possibilities here. And I think the future of the Lights is probably questionable, at best. In other words, I think it’s a little early to be predicting how many teams will be playing in the Championship next year.
https://www.espn.com/soccer/major-l...e-soccer-to-launch-development-league-in-2022 From the article: The new league, which has yet to be named, is expected to include roughly 20 teams in its first year, including several MLS-operated teams currently playing in the USL Championship and USL League One. By 2023, every MLS team with a lower-division team will play in the league, which will also include an uncapped number independent teams outside of the league's current ownership structure. It is likely there will be at least some independent representation in Year 1.
Possibly? I know a few were giving permission to stay in USL for the 2022 season, but they were going to lose their license in 2023. I also know that some are interested in having a USL team, but, I'm sure, they'll have to go through the expansion process and include some guarantees that they will run the clubs like a regular USL club, rather than a developmental club.
I don't know if they are still counted but the hybrid arrangement between Houston Dynamo and RGV ended this year. The affiliation remained for at least 2021. That may also end. So RGV is already completely independent.
The 4 affiliate clubs in USL-C are interesting cases when all this unfolds. I feel like San Antonio and Colorado Springs will be fine, and maybe even remain as strong as they are now. RGV is a question mark since they were somewhat created by/owned by Houston but run as an affiliate this season. Great stadium down there, and growing metro, but I have no real feel on how that might work out. I can't see LV surviving, especially if MLS puts an expansion team there. Maybe they move to Reno and revive that club? Even so, it seems like 26-30 teams in 2023 is feasible.
https://www.dirtysouthsoccer.com/at...7146/report-atlanta-united-2-to-remain-in-usl I also read somewhere that the new Red Bulls training complex, opening in 2024, will host their USL team but a search only revealed that it will host their "second tier team".
It’s admittedly all very vague beyond 2022. I think it’s reasonable to put it down as a “we’ll see”, although @Yoshou noted, if they do stay, it would likely look very different than it does now.
Troy Lesesne out at New Mexico United. With their success prior to this season, and the proposed new stadium on the horizon, this move seems like a bit of a surprise. It will be very interesting to see who gets the job next. https://www.uslchampionship.com/news_article/show/1192683