It’s not MLS, but St. Louis gets an outdoor men’s pro soccer team
After several unsuccessful bids to get an MLS team for St. Louis, Jeff Cooper has gone to his backup plan and has gotten a second division club that will begin play in April 2010. Cooper, who unsuccessfully tried to buy the entire second division USL in August, has joined up with six owners who broke away from the league, to form a new, as yet unnamed, league.The other teams in the league are Atlanta, Carolina, Miami, Minnesota, Montreal and Vancouver. The league is looking for other teams to join the league. The owners of the league were dissatisfied with the administration of the USL, in which the team owners had little or no say. In the new league, the owners will be in charge, which they think will lead to greater investment in the league since they control its operation. The league has submitted an application to the U.S. Soccer Federation to be sanctioned as a Division II league and an application to the Canadian Soccer Association to be a Division I league.
The league would be the highest level of American soccer after MLS. In the past USL players have been a notch below MLS, but some players have chosen USL over MLS for financial or personal reasons.
Montreal’s president, Joey Saputo, is the chairman of the board of the governors of the new league.
The breakaway teams leave the USL with six teams, with one of them, Portland, moving up to MLS in 2011. Though Vancouver is also joining MLS in 2011, the owners have stated an interest to keep a second division club as well.
Cooper’s St. Louis United team, which presumably would play at the A-B Center in Fenton, along with the Athletica of WPS, would be the only “expansion” team in the league. Having been unsuccessful in getting an expansion team in MLS the past three rounds, Cooper hopes to follow the path taken by the expansion teams in Portland and Vancouver, where the teams had established fan followings in the USL which helped proved they could make it in the MLS.
Some of the franchises have been around for years. Atlanta began play in 1998, though it didn’t operate last season. Carolina had been in USL-1 for three years. Miami started in 2006. Minnesota began play in 1990. Montreal, which won the USL title last season and is also pursuing an MLS team, has been around for 16 years. Vancouver dates back to the NASL days, with the current ownership in place since 2002.
Thanks, Tom. Great news for St. Louis!
There are a few issues in terms of accuracy with this article.
The USL is actually left with Charleston, Rochester, Cleveland, Austin, Puerto Rico, Tampa Bay, FC New York and Portland. That is eight teams, along with possible ownership groups moving up out of Baltimore, Detroit, Ottawa and expansion to Edmonton.
The league will compete with USL as the ‘highest level of soccer’ below MLS, it is not the de facto second division, as 1) it hasn’t been sanctioned and 2) hasn’t played a game.
Atlanta Silverbacks would be an expansion team as they didn’t play last year and have no returning players or staff from their men’s team.
This is great news! Hopefully we can put together and organize a competitive team and league within 5 months. I’m looking forward to cheering on a professional St.Louis soccer team and I hope St.Louis soccer fans will as well.
He needs this team becaue the women’s team will fold after this year.
My understanding is that Charleston is moving down to USL-2 and Ottawa, Edmonton and New York are unlikely to be up and running this season. A few of the other teams still in USL may jump over to the new league. Also, it would seem to make sense for the other Canadian teams, Ottawa and Edmonton, to be in the same league as Vancouver and Montreal. It’s possible the USL could try to fast track some teams to bolster their numbers, but that might mean taking in teams that aren’t ready to do it. If Charleston is gone and New York likely not to start, if a couple other teams jump, the USL could be down to four or five teams.
Yes, it’s true that USL and whatever the new league is called would both be second division teams and hence the highest level after MLS, but it seems as if the new league is going to be the bigger league.
Tom, is this going to be a bigger league? Who are your sources? Cooper? Why do you write everything that guy tells you to? You’re losing credibilty.
Tom, thanks for all you do, you are not losing credibility.
Let’s see if are “mayor” Kevin Johnson” is interested in buying a futbol team in this league….
Great news me thinks for yank football. The MLS just seems to have it wrong and hopefully the new league will feel more “proper” and not just somewhere to take the kids and family out. The atmosphere at some grounds in the MLS is just awful. Heres to the new league. Maybe in time this can merge with the other leagues and have a proper 3 division relegation/promotion based league. I dont see that happening any time soon however. I can dream though…
Having a men’s team, even though it would be division II is great news. I’m a big Athletica fan and would be more than happy to attend both team’s games.