Wally B Posted July 12, 2010 Report Share Posted July 12, 2010 Simple question! While there has been talk of establishing an MLS team in NEOhio that has mostly died out in the last 5 years. Cleveland hasn't been able to maintain a USL or PDL team to that end either. So why not Akron? Why not establish something and let it grow? Wouldn't Akron be the ideal place to establish a PDL teams and get professional soccer in NEOhio started? If Greensboro NC and Rhochester NY can do it why can't we? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldZipper Posted July 12, 2010 Report Share Posted July 12, 2010 Simple question! While there has been talk of establishing an MLS team in NEOhio that has mostly died out in the last 5 years. Cleveland hasn't been able to maintain a USL or PDL team to that end either. So why not Akron? Why not establish something and let it grow? Wouldn't Akron be the ideal place to establish a PDL teams and get professional soccer in NEOhio started? If Greensboro NC and Rhochester NY can do it why can't we? It seems the Cleveland Internationals are still playing a PDL schedule: http://www.uslsoccer.com/teams/2010/934451.html#SCHEDULE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spin Posted July 12, 2010 Report Share Posted July 12, 2010 There are groups who want to establish a D3 team in Cleveland but were unable to get it done in time for this season. The two Cleveland D3 teams (the Whitecaps or just Caps and the City Stars) were both successful especially at the box office. Until the USL ruined them. They screwed up the Caps by not letting them play on turf, so they bounced around to different HS stadiums and attendance dropped. The City Stars were screwed by the USL "encouraging" them to move up to the A League before they were ready. Cleveland can sustain a D3 team, if the USL leaves it the heck alone. I have wondered why Akron can't have a PDL team made up mostly of UA players. As far as PDL markets go, Akron should be a separate market. The Internationals have a very big multi-tiered organization with the PDL team the top rung. The Akron team I envision would be made up of college players from UA and surrounding schools. And they would have theirown fan bases. But I doubt the league would see it that way. And even if so (putting a lot more faith in the USL management than I have) the Internationals probably have territorial rights anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wally B Posted July 12, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2010 I've been gone for so long i keep forgetting about the odd relationship between Akron and Cleveland. During the 10 or so years i spent in NCarolina i enjoyed watching the Dynamo play no less than 40 or so miles from the railhawks in Cary. I don't see the difference between Akron and Cleveland except for the old Cleveland should have it mentality left over from the Richfield Colliseum days. IMHO we're talking about pdl teams here. Rivalries produce competition and generate fan interest, and the USL has how many leagues?? If Cleveland can support multiple teams i certainly see room for something in Akron. We're not talking MLS or English premier here.... Then again how many teams are in Manchester? for that matter how many teams are in England? New ? W/ the upgrades at Jackson could or would the U host a summer team? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z.I.P. Posted July 12, 2010 Report Share Posted July 12, 2010 I've been gone for so long i keep forgetting about the odd relationship between Akron and Cleveland. During the 10 or so years i spent in NCarolina i enjoyed watching the Dynamo play no less than 40 or so miles from the railhawks in Cary. I don't see the difference between Akron and Cleveland except for the old Cleveland should have it mentality left over from the Richfield Colliseum days. IMHO we're talking about pdl teams here. Rivalries produce competition and generate fan interest, and the USL has how many leagues?? If Cleveland can support multiple teams i certainly see room for something in Akron. We're not talking MLS or English premier here.... Then again how many teams are in Manchester? for that matter how many teams are in England? New ? W/ the upgrades at Jackson could or would the U host a summer team? Pardon my ignorance...I haven't seen a "minor league" soccer game since the mid-90s, when it was called USSSL (The Tsunami here made it to the league semis with Billy Thompson and a couple of the Cameroons Indomitable Lions). I thought that "USL" had ceased to exist after the league folded last year. Do PDL teams make money? I guess since they don't pay their players, it makes it easier. lol. regarding the City Stars, I think they would have done better in USL-1 if they hadn't lost their manager and best players before the season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spin Posted July 12, 2010 Report Share Posted July 12, 2010 That's the beauty of amateur sports, it only takes a couple hundred tickets sold to break even. Right now there are semi-pro football teams in Akron and Cleveland that have been around a good amount of time. The USL is still there, what happened with the A Leauge was, I'll try to give an abridged version and forget half of it, the USL was sold and that didn't make a lot of people happy. The (new) NASL was formed and a bunch of A League teams left the ASL and moved to the NASL. That brought about lawsuits for breach of contract. They both applied for Division 2 status with USSF, they had enough of the fighting and formed their own league, with a USL Division and a NASL Division. We'll see what happens after this season... Anyway, as far as venues, there are still a couple of nice sized high school football stadiums that haven't been covered in plastic. Wadsworth for one. It has top notch facilities also (locker rooms, concessions, merchandise) . Don't know if that's possible, but it's an example of what could be done. If the U wasn't willing to host an amateur team. Like CSU rents their stadium to the Stars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZachTheZip Posted July 12, 2010 Report Share Posted July 12, 2010 Pardon my ignorance...I haven't seen a "minor league" soccer game since the mid-90s, when it was called USSSL (The Tsunami here made it to the league semis with Billy Thompson and a couple of the Cameroons Indomitable Lions). I thought that "USL" had ceased to exist after the league folded last year. Do PDL teams make money? I guess since they don't pay their players, it makes it easier. lol. regarding the City Stars, I think they would have done better in USL-1 if they hadn't lost their manager and best players before the season. USL folded, but I think MLS bought it up and has transformed it into some kind of farm system. I could be way off, but that's the vibe I get and the teams are still playing so they must be getting sponsored from somewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z.I.P. Posted July 12, 2010 Report Share Posted July 12, 2010 Pardon my ignorance...I haven't seen a "minor league" soccer game since the mid-90s, when it was called USSSL (The Tsunami here made it to the league semis with Billy Thompson and a couple of the Cameroons Indomitable Lions). I thought that "USL" had ceased to exist after the league folded last year. Do PDL teams make money? I guess since they don't pay their players, it makes it easier. lol. regarding the City Stars, I think they would have done better in USL-1 if they hadn't lost their manager and best players before the season. USL folded, but I think MLS bought it up and has transformed it into some kind of farm system. I could be way off, but that's the vibe I get and the teams are still playing so they must be getting sponsored from somewhere. My understanding is that because there weren't enough teams left to field a legit league after the USL split, that the USSF intervened and brought clubs together under their brand. BUT -- FSC is still running their "USL Live" highlight/PR show, so maybe there is still a second minor league still under that title? However, FSC has not televised a single USL or whatever minor league game this season, and likely isn't going to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spin Posted July 12, 2010 Report Share Posted July 12, 2010 Like I said, Here's the whole story of the USL A League and NASL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z.I.P. Posted July 14, 2010 Report Share Posted July 14, 2010 Like I said, Here's the whole story of the USL A League and NASL. Mahalo! Austin Aztex. one of the best names in sports! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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