I really appreciate all your work on the USL and lower leagues as a whole. As someone who is patiently waiting for Milwaukee's USL franchise to get up to speed, it's been great to get to know the landscape around the Championship and so on. Kudos!
Appreciate it! Really hope y'all can get back on track, such a cool and deserving city that would be a sweet fit with the rest of the USL midwestern bloc.
Seems like there are rumblings in suburban NOLA (Jefferson Parish) about renovating the Shrine on Airline, a former MiLB park. While they haven't officially hitched USL NOLA to that wagon, the Parish government seems to think it's a strong enough possibility to use it as justification to splash cash. These discussions were all back in November, nothing since.
There should be emphasis that owning or having priority, or better yet, exclusive access to a soccer specific stadium (SSS) --and fast!-- is absolutely necessary for any of these or future USL Championship expansions. It is NOT enough to have a team that is allowed to play in a local college's stadium. This is for at least three main reasons: (i) SSS allows multiple revenue streams beyond selling tickets. These extra streams include "naming rights/ sponsorships", advertising on side-lines & throughout the stadium, renting out for Lax or field hockey or concerts or for numerous other club events/playoffs. (ii) The SSS also cements public-private partnerships & rallys community & political support. (iii) Last, but not least, the established SSS is a fortress against future MLS incursions. Indy 11 is a prime example of not building their SSS fast enough, so that it left an opening that MLS is now trying to breach!
I agree with everything you stated expept MLS is not involved what so ever in the developments in Indy. The mayor is solely responsible. He does not want to invest that kind of money in a USL franchise. He will approve it for an MLS franchise. He views it as a risk considering the average MLS team is valued at around $650 million and the average USL team at $20 million. The USL as a whole is valued at around $250 million.
Where do you get the numbers for the USL from? The franchise fee alone is $20 million now for USL Championship (versus $2-5 million for League One). Ownership or sustained control of the USL club's own soccer specific stadium is worth another $50-100 million. Consequently, USL Championship valuations are now in the $100 million range at the minimum. That is still a bargain compared to the Billion dollar valuations of MLS clubs (500 million MLS franchise fee + 300 million for the larger MLS stadiums)
Actually I cannot find a credible source citing USL values. However I did find where DC United sold Loudon United for $40 million. A mid tier USL team. So I can figure that the not so credible cites I visited for values for the USL is dated. MLS was very easy to find as reported by Forbes. The point I was wanting to make was that the Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett does not want the city investing in a USL teams stadium because of the risk of lower revenue of the Indy Eleven vs the potential revenue of an MLS team. He see's it at a better return on investment. He is the one seeking an ownership group and halting construction. MLS is not involved in any of that. My opinion, I dont think its healthy for the sport or fans in this country for MLS and USL not working more closely. I dont like squeezing out existing franchises. I like the Seattle Sounder and Portland Timbers model better. It looks to me like current Indy Eleven ownership group will be cut out completely. If better business cooperation is not worked out there will always be conflicting leagues. Promotion and Relegation will never eventually be financially viable. MLS needs the USL markets and fans. The USL needs the MLS billionaires and big name signings. The USL needs promotion, not plucked from. For that to happen, their values need brought up so an MLS team can get relegated without going bankrupt. I have been a Columbus Crew season ticket holder since 96. I was born in New Mexico and also an avid United fan. I dont like the active conflict between the leagues. Its not mutually beneficial.
Rogers: USL Arkansas is progressing, with plans to play at Pinnacle Hills Promenade by 2026. The project, spearheaded by architect Robert Sharp, aims to create a 5,000-seat stadium with multi-use capabilities. The team will be part of USL League One, with the stadium set to be a hub for sports and entertainment in Northwest Arkansas. The development also includes retail, office space, and residential areas to enhance the surrounding community.
I feel like USL is trying to replicate what they did in Charlotte with the Expansion into Metro Atlanta. The problem with this though is that Atlanta United exists. People in Roswell even if they have a local Championship club are more likely to pick MLS.
Also, I really hope New Orleans is able to find an alternative for their stadium site as the entertainment district their building over there is basically out of the question at this point. Same with Jacksonville.
Fingers Crossed these projects get to the finish line🤞🏿🤞🏿
Just a note about USL Arkansas: while Warren and Chris are currently the "owners", they won't be the majority owners by 2026. They're currently looking for the majority owner(s), and we have lots of people rich enough to own this team in NWA so hopefully they can achieve their goal of having local ownership. I think Chris will be a minority owner and/or board member once the team begins play, not sure what Warren's role will be.
Appreciate it. Interesting how that’s the working model - you get some charismatic people on the ground and bring in the heavy financial hitters in the second wave.
I think it's a really good sign to see that some/most of these newer sides are also planning to have a women's side and youth side along with their men's, as Brooklyn's women's side will play before it's men's (yes, I understand how the scheduling doesn't make that fair, but still). Shows you how soccer is changing and growing.
I really appreciate all your work on the USL and lower leagues as a whole. As someone who is patiently waiting for Milwaukee's USL franchise to get up to speed, it's been great to get to know the landscape around the Championship and so on. Kudos!
Appreciate it! Really hope y'all can get back on track, such a cool and deserving city that would be a sweet fit with the rest of the USL midwestern bloc.
Seems like there are rumblings in suburban NOLA (Jefferson Parish) about renovating the Shrine on Airline, a former MiLB park. While they haven't officially hitched USL NOLA to that wagon, the Parish government seems to think it's a strong enough possibility to use it as justification to splash cash. These discussions were all back in November, nothing since.
There should be emphasis that owning or having priority, or better yet, exclusive access to a soccer specific stadium (SSS) --and fast!-- is absolutely necessary for any of these or future USL Championship expansions. It is NOT enough to have a team that is allowed to play in a local college's stadium. This is for at least three main reasons: (i) SSS allows multiple revenue streams beyond selling tickets. These extra streams include "naming rights/ sponsorships", advertising on side-lines & throughout the stadium, renting out for Lax or field hockey or concerts or for numerous other club events/playoffs. (ii) The SSS also cements public-private partnerships & rallys community & political support. (iii) Last, but not least, the established SSS is a fortress against future MLS incursions. Indy 11 is a prime example of not building their SSS fast enough, so that it left an opening that MLS is now trying to breach!
I agree with everything you stated expept MLS is not involved what so ever in the developments in Indy. The mayor is solely responsible. He does not want to invest that kind of money in a USL franchise. He will approve it for an MLS franchise. He views it as a risk considering the average MLS team is valued at around $650 million and the average USL team at $20 million. The USL as a whole is valued at around $250 million.
Where do you get the numbers for the USL from? The franchise fee alone is $20 million now for USL Championship (versus $2-5 million for League One). Ownership or sustained control of the USL club's own soccer specific stadium is worth another $50-100 million. Consequently, USL Championship valuations are now in the $100 million range at the minimum. That is still a bargain compared to the Billion dollar valuations of MLS clubs (500 million MLS franchise fee + 300 million for the larger MLS stadiums)
Actually I cannot find a credible source citing USL values. However I did find where DC United sold Loudon United for $40 million. A mid tier USL team. So I can figure that the not so credible cites I visited for values for the USL is dated. MLS was very easy to find as reported by Forbes. The point I was wanting to make was that the Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett does not want the city investing in a USL teams stadium because of the risk of lower revenue of the Indy Eleven vs the potential revenue of an MLS team. He see's it at a better return on investment. He is the one seeking an ownership group and halting construction. MLS is not involved in any of that. My opinion, I dont think its healthy for the sport or fans in this country for MLS and USL not working more closely. I dont like squeezing out existing franchises. I like the Seattle Sounder and Portland Timbers model better. It looks to me like current Indy Eleven ownership group will be cut out completely. If better business cooperation is not worked out there will always be conflicting leagues. Promotion and Relegation will never eventually be financially viable. MLS needs the USL markets and fans. The USL needs the MLS billionaires and big name signings. The USL needs promotion, not plucked from. For that to happen, their values need brought up so an MLS team can get relegated without going bankrupt. I have been a Columbus Crew season ticket holder since 96. I was born in New Mexico and also an avid United fan. I dont like the active conflict between the leagues. Its not mutually beneficial.
Des Moines shift to ‘27: https://subscribe.desmoinesregister.com/restricted?return=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.desmoinesregister.com%2Fstory%2Fmoney%2Fbusiness%2Fdevelopment%2F2024%2F08%2F22%2Ftimeline-whats-planned-for-the-des-moines-soccer-stadium-district%2F74886962007%2F&gps-source=CPROADBLOCKDH&gca-cat=p&slug=restricted&gnt-eid=control. Rogers still on track: https://hl.nwaonline.com/news/2024/aug/28/usl-arkansas-on-track-to-bring-professional/
The articles are sadly behind a paywall. Can you summarize some of the main points?
Rogers: USL Arkansas is progressing, with plans to play at Pinnacle Hills Promenade by 2026. The project, spearheaded by architect Robert Sharp, aims to create a 5,000-seat stadium with multi-use capabilities. The team will be part of USL League One, with the stadium set to be a hub for sports and entertainment in Northwest Arkansas. The development also includes retail, office space, and residential areas to enhance the surrounding community.
Rogers partnership with Charly: https://www.uslarkansas.com/news/2024/08/15/usl-arkansas-partners-with-charly-as-official-apparel-provider/
I feel like USL is trying to replicate what they did in Charlotte with the Expansion into Metro Atlanta. The problem with this though is that Atlanta United exists. People in Roswell even if they have a local Championship club are more likely to pick MLS.
Also, I really hope New Orleans is able to find an alternative for their stadium site as the entertainment district their building over there is basically out of the question at this point. Same with Jacksonville.
Fingers Crossed these projects get to the finish line🤞🏿🤞🏿
Just a note about USL Arkansas: while Warren and Chris are currently the "owners", they won't be the majority owners by 2026. They're currently looking for the majority owner(s), and we have lots of people rich enough to own this team in NWA so hopefully they can achieve their goal of having local ownership. I think Chris will be a minority owner and/or board member once the team begins play, not sure what Warren's role will be.
Appreciate it. Interesting how that’s the working model - you get some charismatic people on the ground and bring in the heavy financial hitters in the second wave.
Hey! Where can we get more info about who Warren & Chris are, and their respective journeys?
https://www.uslnola.com/about-usl-nola/
Sadly, the article is not dated and the link to join the Krewe doesn't work...
I think it's a really good sign to see that some/most of these newer sides are also planning to have a women's side and youth side along with their men's, as Brooklyn's women's side will play before it's men's (yes, I understand how the scheduling doesn't make that fair, but still). Shows you how soccer is changing and growing.