No, hubris killed the NASL. That's like saying "nutrition" starved someone to death. Jesus, the NASL was big hat, no cattle. Didn't matter what the standards were, the NASL wasn't going to reach them. They were trading players for coffee makers and hotel rooms, FFS. Anyone who doesn't understand what the 90s were like, when franchises failed at like a 70% clip, and then kvetches because the standards were too draconian has lost the plot. They had to be draconian. No one gave a f*** about lower-level soccer until suddenly there was someone who was outside the established order, who claimed they were authentic and who told people what they wanted to hear.
You mean the standards that NASL demanded and agreed too in 2010? At the time a lot of people thought that D2 standards were a stretch but the NASL leadership appeared to be OK with them.
USL ended up meeting them from a league perspective. Teams needed waivers due to field conditions and the like, but NASL got further and further away as teams left. NASL was overly confrontational with the rest of US soccer and that ended up driving away teams.
I know. But people who blame the standards tend to ignore the fact that NASL was driving them in 2010. It's only when they f****d up that they started pointing fingers at everyone else.
TBF, in 2010, NASL looked like it was the best situated to survive. If it weren't for NASL turning down MLS2 teams and USL accepting, we might be looking at a world where NASL is still alive and USL is gone.
True but that has nothing to do with the hypocrisy that says the standards killed NASL. NASL killed NASL.
------------ I was trying to be tongue in cheek. NASL killed themselves. Odd USSF put those standards down and lets other things go or doesn't seem to fight some. Seems MLS is calling all the shots right now- Open Cup fiasco, adding a non-needed Leagues Cup. I think USL is doing a great job with USL-C & USL-1 within the standards. Outside the box, does anyone see a merger with MLS & USL or maybe MLS simply buying USL? Is that even in the realm of possibility?
We had the MLS buying USL discussion. It doesn't seem to make much sense for either MLS or Nurock. MLS is focused on being a top global league while Nurock is skimming a nice profit from USL. Being a real estate company its interesting how many of the new USL owners are real estate developers. Both leagues are doing well as is. Maybe one day USL will get to the point it can compete in small part with MLS. Thats not a bad thing.
We've got USL with a TV deal that includes CBS and ESPN, Indy Eleven building a 20k seat stadium for a D2 league, New Mexico making gains on getting their new 7500-9000 seat stadium approved, and 2-3 more of the USL1 sides getting their smaller stadiums done. They've got TV money and ad revenue, several official partners for the league, and a very real possibility of multiple nice new SSS for USLC teams in the near future. The USL1 team that is going to play in Texoma just got the Gronkowski family involved in the ownership group. USL is doing just fine.
------------- Agree ! Hope more fans get involved in all USL teams wherever they are, as I am getting a little annoyed with MLS. First the USOC fiasco, an un-needed League Cup mid season, all games gone to streaming etc. Yes I know it's all about $$$ for MLS, but they seem to be getting further away from the beautiful game and its core fans. We are probably starting to feel like fans in other countries with certain teams and leagues
Not all games are streaming. There are more games on Fox than ever and the majority of games featuring Canadian teams will be on TSN or RDS.
- Fox was and still is horrid. ESPN was ok. Miss when NBC briefly had MLS. The problem was (besides announcers) was other programs running over into soccer or cutting away from soccer so soon after the game. THAT alone is a reason to stream Apple. There is more stuff on Apple than I literally have time to watch related to all things MLS.
So, the city of Indianapolis isn't going to fund Eleven Park, it seems, according to Keystone, the agency in charge of the project. But there's also a press conference tonight about the city's plans for sports which may tie into an expansion team announcement.
When you say expansion team, are you talking about an MLS team that isn't associated with Indy Eleven? If so, that seems like an extremely dumb idea. I get that it wouldn't be the first time that an MLS expansion team killed a USL team, but the Indy Eleven brand has a good amount of value...
It does have a great value in terms of brand identity, but realistically, it would not be the first time we've seen a brand get stepped over in favor of some generic City FC crud once MLS comes to town. That's how it goes.
Indianapolis-based developer Keystone Group on Thursday accused Mayor Joe Hogsett's administration of trying to walk away from a deal to develop Eleven Park, a more than $1 billion mixed-use development anchored by an Indy Eleven soccer stadium under construction at the former Diamond Chain Co. site downtown near the White River. In a statement, the company accused Hogsett's negotiation team of "shopping state legislation championed by Indy Eleven, working behind closed doors to offer publicly-owned real estate and public financing to the highest bidder, with assurances that neither the redevelopment of this riverfront parcel nor the continuation of the Indy Eleven as a team would be requirements for city support." Keystone, which is founded by Indy Eleven owner Ersal Ozdemir, did not respond to a request for a follow-up interview. In the statement, the company said the mayor's office has refused to submit a Professional Sports Development Area map approved by the Indianapolis City Council in December to the State Budget Committee as required. The resolution approved an area plan for a special taxing district for the Eleven Park project. "This is more than disappointing – it's a shocking reversal of Mayor Hogsett's public support for this project at the 2023 groundbreaking, for the dozens of local investors in this team, the thousands of Marion County jobs committed by Indiana companies who have been working on this project, and the tens of thousands of Indy Eleven fans in Indiana and across the country," the statement said. A spokeswoman for Hogsett declined to comment on Keystone's accusations at this time, instead deferring to an alert from the mayor's office that Hogsett will make a "significant announcement about the future of sports in Indianapolis" at a 5:30 p.m. meeting in the City-County Building. Eleven Park would occupy roughly 20 acres near Kentucky Avenue. Plans call for it include a 20,000-seat multipurpose stadium that would become the new home to the Indy Eleven soccer team. The project, which is expected to be completed in phases, also would have more than 600 apartments overlooking White River, 205,000-square feet of office space, and more than 197,000 square feet for retail and restaurants. A hotel is also planned at this site as well as a parking garage. Amenities would include public plazas and greenspace. The project would be financed through a public-private partnership. The Indiana General Assembly approved legislation providing the framework for the financing in 2019. Taxes from a special tax district from the development would pay back 80% of the cost of the stadium. Indy Eleven would shoulder the remaining 20% of the cost and cover any shortfalls if needed. Keystone broke ground on the development last year. https://www.indystar.com/story/news...ng-to-walk-away-from-eleven-park/73453991007/
The usl needs to start targeting cities like Sioux Falls , witchita, Boise etc.. instead of “ major league markets”
I don't believe USL targets anyone. They sit back and collect money from people who want to run a professional soccer team.
They also can't "target" random markets without taking the MSA size into account due to the USSF standards for D2 and D3. Boise is the only one of those 3 that's USLC sized at the moment.
Where does it mention market size in D3 standards? D1 Market requirements At least 75% of the league's teams must be based in markets with one million population All stadiums must be enclosed All league stadiums must have a minimum seating capacity of 15,000 D2 Markets and stadia 75% of teams must be in metro areas of at least 750,000 population Stadiums must have 5,000 capacity D3 Markets and stadia Stadiums must have 1,000 capacity If NuRock does have an expansion strategy I'd venture it would be focusing on property development companies bidding for urban redevelopment projects.
=========== Great job mayor. I hope Keystone sues for bad faith. Sorry to local taxpayers who will then end with a pile of legal bills to pay.