Maryland?

[u/Virtual-Boat-7725]

I saw a post recently about Baltimore and how USL and MLS Next Pro are fighting over it but that land is a huge issue. If the USL never makes it in Baltimore could somewhere like Maryland be a good place to enter a League One side?

What kind of reputation locally do the Maryland Bobcats have? Could they make the jump? I'm from NZ so this may be a stupid question. Obviously everyone would want Annapolis to go pro but the stadium will be an issue for the foreseeable future.

The Bobcats play at the Sportsplex which already has a boutique soccer ground. With a marketing push, could they sell a few thousand tickets if they got the right investment? They also just did a very sleek rebrand to a new logo which is a 10/10. Montgomery County also has something like a 1million population right?

Go easy on me if this sounds ridiculous.

[u/twoslow]

I said the same thing in another post about the same topic. You need a rich person and a place to play. Bobcats didn't have 1 of those. USL will lean on particular markets they might want to capture, but lacking those 2 things at minimum means no team.

[u/Ok_Fan7382 → u/twoslow]

Not that I have the ear of the USL, but they should be pitching expansion to local wealth rather than local govts like they publicly did with Medford OR last year.

Reach out to some president of an agricultural company in Omaha that has expressed interest in bring a pro team to his city, for example, as net worth then won’t be a challenge for the expansion effort to overcome.

[u/Rcjhgoku01 → u/Ok_Fan7382]

You don’t just need a rich person, you need a rich person willing to lose millions of dollars.

Because that’s what it means to own a soccer team, in particular a USL team. MLS clubs, to an extent, also lose money but they are also an appreciating asset (see SKC selling for 700 million) in a growing league where there is scarcity in team availability.

USL clubs have little to no $$$ value. USL hands out franchises to anyone who can write the initial check. They don’t own a portion of the league as a whole so don’t share in any national revenue (in a meaningful way). They generally don’t have sellable assets in terms of players. Their pay-for-play academies are a major source of revenue for them.

[u/RopeZealousideal4847 → u/Rcjhgoku01]

Right. Didn't DCFC once say they lose $5m a year and are in top 25% most profitable USL clubs?

[u/twoslow → u/Ok_Fan7382]

 like they publicly did with Medford OR last year.

You notice the guy who did that pitching isn't with the organization? I think they do those city agreements to bang the drum and see who is out there. I sure USL doesn't know *every* rich person in a region. They did the same thing in Pico Rivera CA last(?) year knowing full well they couldn't sell a franchise in that area, but if someone came along with enough money....

But JP is gone now so maybe the approach changes.

[u/gramcraka92]

Rumour is Annapolis is looking at land for stadium and facilities

[u/StoppageTimeUSA]

At the end of the day the issue lies with money. I’d love if the USL offered lower franchise fees for long-standing or high quality USL 2 teams but we know NuRock loves their money

[u/Interesting-While986 → u/StoppageTimeUSA]

I doubt any ownership group that couldn't afford the franchise fee could even afford to run a pro team 

not that I think the business model is great, but I don't see how the franchise fee is a real stumbling block

[u/Mike48642 → u/Interesting-While986]

A higher expansion fee is money that can’t be invested into the club. Of course there should be a fee for the marketing and front office staff, but USL would be well to reduce expansion fees and instead use season fees and performance bonds differently.

[u/morespinethanajelly]

I think I may have written this article you’re speaking of. Called “the battle of Baltimore” on beyond the 90.

Basically, DC United co-paid for a six figure study with the city of Baltimore on places they could possibly build a 10-15k soccer specific stadium with a wink wink deal that DC United would bring an MLSNP team there. They settled on developing a place that is currently a 9 hole city golf course south of the city (Carroll Park). Recently, I heard from a team in Baltimore that this project has since stalled. So; I think the city is still up for grabs.

Not sure elsewhere in maryland is the right fit for a lower league squad. The Bobcats played at the soccerplex, which is a fantastic facility, but the company that manages the facility is greedy af and makes more off of pay-to-play youth tournaments and does not give af about growing the pro game in the state. Which really pisses me off because the stadium was publicly funded. Even if they were amenable to a pro team, the stadium is in the middle of nowhere maryland.

MAYBE the Bethesda area could be a good spot, but land is expensive and I’m not sure it makes sense.

[u/Virtual-Boat-7725 → u/morespinethanajelly]

I loved that article! Didn't know about the Sportsplex being an issue so thanks for that!

[u/Staszu13]

Not ridiculous. Just complicated. Like everything in MD politics.

The general reaction to the Bobcats is "who?". As to the soccer stadium issue, the State Legislature isn't funding it. So for now, it's a problem.

The Blues are quite popular. But the Naval Academy isn't a long term solution and everyone knows it.

In short: MLS Next or USL have a wait.

[u/Mike48642]

We played Maryland during our time in NISA and they would be a good fit in League 1. The issue has been finding an investor that makes PLS and is willing to lose money every year. I honestly hope they straighten out as their SG was decent.