Being Remiss... Sacramento

The United Soccer League Pro (USL PRO) forum
User avatar
Pounder
Site Admin
Posts: 2736
Joined: Tue Mar 23, 2004 7:01 pm
Location: Portland freaking Oregon!

Being Remiss... Sacramento

Post by Pounder » Mon May 12, 2014 5:29 am

Once upon a time, a USISL team was born in Albuquerque and won D3 in its first year. As such, they were promoted to the A-League the next year and promptly crapped out. Rather than try to stay the course in Albuquerque, the ownership sold the franchise to a Sacramento group who moved the team there. They played in a high school stadium, were generously said to have averaged 300 fans a game, lost every game while scoring 16 goals in 28 games (giving up 91), had to be taken over by the (renamed) USL at midseason, and promptly folded at the end of the season... which happened to be 1999.

Last year, Sacramento Republic FC was announced to play in USL PRO (Division 3, of course). They wanted to build a stadium out by Cal Expo, they did a decent job with social media and the marketing side of the launch, and only early this year did they get the permits at the Cal Expo site. So they had to play three games in ancient Hughes Stadium to start the season. Capacity 20,231. So guess what happened two weeks ago when they opened:

Image

Sellout. 17,000 the next game.

Capacity for the new place is 8,000. Suffice it to say that there's already talk of expansion.
Last edited by Pounder on Mon May 12, 2014 5:36 am, edited 2 times in total.
Mean Spirited Blogger #107

nksports
Site Admin
Posts: 3669
Joined: Wed Feb 23, 2005 7:53 am
Location: Newton, KS (the land of Oz)

Post by nksports » Wed May 14, 2014 10:04 pm

[quote=""Pounder""]Capacity 20,231. So guess what happened two weeks ago when they opened:
Sellout. 17,000 the next game.
Capacity for the new place is 8,000. Suffice it to say that there's already talk of expansion.[/quote]

Keep those numbers up and the ears of the MLS might perk up.

I've just got an instant brain flash (everyone get scared):
Allow the MLS to expand to 40 teams.
The current 19 and already scheduled expansion teams play the MLS schedule (now called MLS Premier). Subsequent expansion teams form the MLS Championship. Get rid of the current divisional alignment.
Once the total number of teams reach 30 and beyond, the top 20 teams are placed in MLS Premier and the remaining teams are placed in Championship.
At the end of the season, the bottom three teams are relegated from Premier. The top three teams of MLS Championship are promoted. Teams 16 and 17 from Premier play teams four and five from Championship for another spot.
Cut the MLS Cup playoffs to just four teams (that increases the value of the regular season) and give it a better name. All 40 teams would compete for a league cup (and all 40 teams get to pick in SuperDraft, so if there is a really good college or high school player out there, he can make a difference early).
This would bring the US and Canada in line with the rest of the world and, with the MLS controlling it all as the umbrella organization, relieve the fear of owners about franchise valuations dropping with relegation (there would still be some drop in franchise value, but it wouldn't be as severe, especially if a losing team in Premier starts winning in Championship).
When the MLS finally reaches 40, come to an agreement with (or buyout) the NASL (which will keep the name NASL). The top three NASL teams (with suitable stadia) are promoted to MLS Championship and a fourth team is promoted/relegated with a playoff.
There would be no promotion or relegation with USL Pro and other pro leagues (with US Soccer and Soccer Canada cracking the whip so they will play nice), which would be reorganized into levels four (primarily MLS and NASL reverse teams) and five ("town teams") on the pyramid. USL Pro and others would also be organized into regional divisions. Keep the PDL as the summer college developmental league.
All US Soccer registered adult teams would be eligible to enter the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup with the pro teams getting byes into the higher rounds based on their current level of play. All teams registered with Soccer Canada play for the Canada Cup.
Current CONCACAF Champions League qualifying would remain the same (which still makes the MLS a weird bird since the Canadian qualifiers are often well below the US qualifiers in the standings).
Last edited by nksports on Wed May 14, 2014 10:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
Pounder
Site Admin
Posts: 2736
Joined: Tue Mar 23, 2004 7:01 pm
Location: Portland freaking Oregon!

Post by Pounder » Mon Jun 09, 2014 5:55 pm

Scoreboard is 3 Hughes Stadium sellouts in four games. The new stadium opens in 11 days, so probably more sellouts.

I have to respect a postulation from a well-known hockey board: are you seeing this back east? Obviously, Indianapolis is selling out their season to date. The Cosmos... really not (they even made @EmptySeatsPics yesterday). The eastern MLS teams... nobody has consistent attendance.

Meanwhile, Cascadia, Sacramento, and really Kansas City anymore. We can probably add Salt Lake, if not Denver. So there's a region where soccer generally takes off... and additionally, if there's no major league baseball in town, there's a fair chance your lower-level soccer club is going to draw well. If San Jose packs their new stadium next year, the argument is pretty much cemented... though soccer fans in the Bay Area are likely more fickle.

It's a lot easier to be in an English 6th division, given that division is a regionalized division with partitions a third the size of Oregon, than it is to be in a 2nd division that stretches from Edmonton to Tampa and draws no better than League One in England. Until the popularity is such that MLS teams are taking over NFL stadia, I'm not holding my breath on pro/rel.
Mean Spirited Blogger #107

suge night
Site Admin
Posts: 649
Joined: Wed Mar 01, 2006 4:09 pm
Location: USA

Post by suge night » Thu Jun 26, 2014 3:58 pm

Numbers show soccer as the fastest growing sports within the age group 12 to 24 years old if the numbers maintain growth the future suggest a solid fan base to come. :o

Captain_Couth
Site Admin
Posts: 11
Joined: Wed May 21, 2014 6:02 pm
Location: Sacramento, CA

Republic's attendance at Bonney Field

Post by Captain_Couth » Sat Aug 02, 2014 10:06 pm

The team so far has sold out almost all of their home games at the new pitch and has hosted three friendlies, two with West Bromwich Albion F.C. and one with the Rangers F.C. Bonney Field has a capacity of 8,000.

User avatar
Pounder
Site Admin
Posts: 2736
Joined: Tue Mar 23, 2004 7:01 pm
Location: Portland freaking Oregon!

Post by Pounder » Mon Aug 04, 2014 8:18 pm

Apparently the new NBA Kings ownership is getting in on Republic and talking MLS.

That would be a very hard one to pass up after what Republic has done this year... in USL PRO.
Mean Spirited Blogger #107

Captain_Couth
Site Admin
Posts: 11
Joined: Wed May 21, 2014 6:02 pm
Location: Sacramento, CA

Post by Captain_Couth » Tue Aug 05, 2014 1:15 am

I'm mixed on this news because it can either be great or turn pear shape.

User avatar
Pounder
Site Admin
Posts: 2736
Joined: Tue Mar 23, 2004 7:01 pm
Location: Portland freaking Oregon!

Post by Pounder » Sun Aug 10, 2014 7:44 am

There are some rumors that, despite MLS preferring a solution for Chivas USA (soon to be rebranded) in Los Angeles (the old Sports Arena near the Coliseum is proposed to be replaced with a soccer stadium that USC would also use), Sacramento might buy the franchise. The league bought off Jorge Vergara at the start of the year, and the league certainly does NOT want to hold on to it past this offseason. They've done quite the job of keeping Dan Kennedy and Cubo Torres from the vultures this year.

(My cabbie friend testifies that Torres REALLY loves Portland, BTW. All Star Week certainly had its angles.)

Of course, if Miami falls through, Sacramento becomes a prime target. They would be a prime target now if there weren't competing groups with interesting solutions in Minnesota... and I'm not trying to short-shrift San Antonio.
Mean Spirited Blogger #107

Captain_Couth
Site Admin
Posts: 11
Joined: Wed May 21, 2014 6:02 pm
Location: Sacramento, CA

Post by Captain_Couth » Tue Sep 16, 2014 12:30 am

Sacramento Republic is in the second round of the USL Pro Championship playoffs and if they win against the L.A. Galaxy II will get the chance to host the championship game.

nksports
Site Admin
Posts: 3669
Joined: Wed Feb 23, 2005 7:53 am
Location: Newton, KS (the land of Oz)

Post by nksports » Mon Sep 29, 2014 9:01 pm

I saw Sacramento won the USL Pro title 2-0 with a sellout crowd. Perhaps the MLS better take a look at them.

Post Reply

Return to “USL PRO”