So was just randomly thinking about the NASL....mainly because I never hear any news from them but was wondering with the influx of teams they have joining within the next year or so would it ever be a consideration for us to "move up" or stay in the USL? I know the MLS is "partnering" with USL teams but as of right now....we don't have a club...lol. Just was curious to hear others thoughts about the pros/cons if there are any to the NASL.
All the indication I have heard lead me to believe the Battery are not looking at NASL and are excited by the MLS/USL prospects. Travel cost is a big reason (even though with Jacksonville, ATL, Tampa, Miami, Carolina that cost is being mitigated with the addition of more west coast teams in USL) but still think it works out cheaper in USL. But with a shorter season, contract cost and player budgets are lower, additional cost for franchise fee (reported at $1M for NASL) smaller roster size. USL just seems like a better fit for Charleston right now. We still get some good MLS matches, plus over the years we have seen some great international exhibitions.
What would be the point in going to NASL? It costs more, the level of play is about the same, no matter what NASLers may say. Does playing in the 2nd division vice the 3rd make a difference? Probably some bragging rights to a small crowd. But when talking about soccer in the US, really, the number of people wanting to debate the lower leagues is a small group.....a very small group. Would we bring in more revenue? Nope. Would the fans know or care? 99.99% would not. When we dropped from USL-1 to USL-2, I don't recall hearing a peep from anyone. We see more MLS teams in a season than most any other club in USL/NASL, so, for all the business reasons Mikey stated, I think our owners are happy where we are. I have a dream......that one day, all lower league clubs and fans will live together in peace and harmony in 1 league. That we again will have bustrips to Atlanta, to trashtalk our good friends in Puerto Rico. Those were the golden days of USL.......
That's why I was asking....I was just chatting with people on Black Ops 2 about it one night and was trying to figure out what the difference between NASL and USL was and why we were in the USL over NASL....so I came here just wondering and figured there are people that know more about the club then I do....didn't realize it was a touchy subject....lol
The Battery was one of the USL teams the NASL used to covet (along with Orlando City and Rochester.) In the past few years the Rochester talk has died down but you can still hear the NASL guys occasionally swoon over having the Battery join them.
It's not to anyone in USL (except Rochester fans who still feel like they belong in MLS and USL is beneath them). It seems to matter to a few NASL fans who want/wish that "division 2" meant more than I think it really does.
No reason for the Battery to move up to D2 NASL with the attendance they have now. If attendance fell dramatically in D3 USL Pro then they might want to move up to play at a higher level but they would have to be able to meet the higher costs (2.8-4Mil per year) and the expansion fee(1.5 Million currently). They're one of the stronger D3 teams and fit in with USL Pro well, so I don't see them moving up.
I think you mean Orlando....those guys never shut up about how they belong in the MLS because they won a game over a MLS team in the US Open Cup....lol. Like really....Rochester and us have been doing that for years....and both of us have made it to the finals of said tournament as well (although we got royally screwed in our final...)
No, I did mean Rotchester. I know Orlando wants to be in MLS and they have taken some steps to show they're serious about stepping up....good on them. But I don't remember hearing a lot of bitching from them about currently being in USL......maybe they do and I don't visit wherever they post. Rotchester, on the other hand, just can't accept they're not in MLS and see USL as the trash dump. But I can't even get too fired up about them, it's sad to see that flagship club circling the drain. Their whole fanbase seems to have left the building, almost no one posts anything about the club anymore.
Trust me.....Orlando posts more about them "deserving" to be in MLS anytime they get a win (league, friendly, Open Cup) than anything else. Orlando fans have even said that they are the reason USL stays afloat is because of them and they have "rumors" in their papers and blogs about Kaka coming to join them the minute they get accepted to MLS. I almost feel bad for them until they crap upon USL because it's too below where they should be (apparently they think they belong in the EPL or La Liga or something higher than MLS). I wanted to root for them since they are probably going to be a MLS team and the only one in the southeast (DC to me isn't the southeast) but their snobbiness and attitude towards USL and the teams here make me see they are only going to be the Millwall of MLS....nothing good will come of them.
I've heard that fans of Rochester(not all of course but apparently a sizable amount) aren't all that thrilled with being in D3 USL Pro and wish the club would move up to D2 NASL. The team wouldn't be able to meet the D2 standards though apparently so it won't happen with the current ownership.
I've always wondered that if a team were to jump to NASL, would they waive the expansion fee? If say Charleston, Richmond or Pittsburgh were to call Bill Peterson up tomorrow and say "look we'll move to your league but we're not paying the fee" would he decline them?
At this point I would say he would decline. When it comes down to it. The owner is a very smart business man. He has successfully owned a soccer team in the US for 21 continuous years, no small feat in the history of US soccer. For him to make any move, it is going to have to make since financially. Even waiving the expansion fee (I just read in an article that the fee was now $1.5M) I don't think he would see enough return for his investment for moving to NASL at this time.
Wouldn't you?* If you had something to sell and you made people pay for it and you had people willing to pay it, why would you give it away to someone who wasn't going to pay for it? Jacksonville supposedly paid $5M. Would they be thrilled you let Charleston in for nothing? I love Charleston. I love Blackbaud. I love the Three Lions. I think it's the single greatest soccer thing in this country. But I don't see what Charleston (or anybody, relaly) necessarily adds to the NASL that is so overwhelming that you'd cut them such a deal. *And by "you," I mean, "someone with an actual clue about how business works."
I have you on ignore. I only saw this when I wasn't signed in. Can you do the same and stop replying to me please.
Well, it could be argued that expansion fees should apply to new, start-from-scratch franchises, whereas existing clubs who have already spent their money and put in the hard work could get a pass if jumpin' from USL to NASL, especially considering the politics involved in the "minor league soccer war" between them. goin' by Kenn's statistics, it looks like only the top six USLPro teams are worth a much of a damn. Orlando City SC 7,887 Rochester Rhinos 5,838 Charleston Battery 3,558 Pittsburgh Riverhounds 3,323 Wilmington Hammerheads 3,266 Richmond Kickers 2,343 ------------------------------- Phoenix FC Wolves 1,611 Harrisburg City Islanders 1,456 Charlotte Eagles 807 Dayton Dutch Lions 744 Los Angeles Blues 715 VSI Tampa Bay FC 471 If the NASL were to pick off the top six, it's doubtful the rest of USLPro could continue, they would probly fall down to PDL, where they probly belong anyway. that mite be a good reason for Peterson to waive the expansion fee... But!!! how many of those six would meet the D-2 ownership qualifications, even after the waivin' of the fee? Orlando and Charleston? any others? Rochester needs new ownership. Pittsburgh has that nice new stadium but how stacked is their ownership group? Wilmington and Richmond need better stadiums as far as i know, and what about their groups? Obviously it's not gonna happen. but it's fun to follow this "soccer war" as a neutral and speculate what will happen next in the offseason. personally i wonder why USL doesn't try to build up successful lower league markets like Greensboro, Austin, Des Moines, and Detroit and Chattanooga from the NPSL, to "fill in the dots" in the East and Midwest, rather than tryin' to compete with NASL markets in Tampa, Oklahoma and maybe Hamilton, and expanding to faraway LA, Phoenix and Sacramento. the way USLPro has been operatin' in the last few years, with LA Blues, VSI Tampa, Dayton, Phoenix, Antigua, etc. all the way back to the mighty FCNY, just seems like a losin' proposition, even with the new MLS "farm team" scheme. but i guess the USL just takes any expansion fee checks they can cash, rather than proactively connect ownership groups with promising markets.