I just received this Crowdfunding invitation^ to invest in the $1M pre-money round for launching Dothan United into the USL1 --the campaign is already a quarter completed! What do you all think? How successful will this effort in Dothan, Alabama be? The SE corner of AL is 1 1/2 hours from Tallahassee so could presumably draw from Florida for its fan base? What has D.U.'s fan attendance at their USL2 games been like?

BUT, that's not the only surprising thing about the campaign! The crowdfunding is led by Vicinity Ventures, the same group leading Greenville Triumph's crowdfunding effort. Will Vicinity own equity in BOTH clubs? A burgeoning empire of USL1 clubs??

^ Dothan United - Offer Details - Vicinity

The USL OKC stadium is HAPPENING!

Hat tip to u/Ok_Flamingo_3059 for the post earlier which had the link to pics of the current construction of the soccer specific stadium, two of which I've downloaded and appended here for your viewing pleasure!

Find the rest of the pics here:

https://www.reutersconnect.com/item/construction-continues-on-the-okc-united-soccer-stadium-in-oklahoma-city-on-monday-aug-31-2026/dGFnOnJldXRlcnMuY29tLDIwMjY6bmV3c21sX01UMVVTQVRPREFZMjk3MDQ2NzA

Sporting Jax needs to jump on this location if it falls through.

8/28

Ft Lauderdale @ Brooklyn : 1,291

8/29

DC Power @ Lexington: 4,311

Tampa Bay @ Carolina : 5,907

Dallas @ Sporting Jax: 696 .

Lexington, Carolina with decent numbers.

Pittsburgh-Tampa Bay*: 5,861 (+13.17%)
Brooklyn-Jacksonville: NR
Hartford-Birmingham: 4,059 (+45.59%)
Lexington-Colorado Springs: 4,816 (+0.31%)
Louisville-Detroit: 10,082 (+5.81%)
Oakland-Orange County: 7,063 (+32.14%)
Tulsa-Rhode Island: 4,540 (+7.63%)
El Paso-Loudoun: 5,808 (+16.53%)
Monterey Bay-Sacramento: 4,615 (+36.50%)
Las Vegas-Charleston: 2,215 (-21.76%)
New Mexico-San Antonio: 8,335 (-8.07%)
Phoenix-Indianapolis: 6,127 (+23.33%)

* = exceeds stadium capacity
NR = Not Reporting

Over performing their season average by 5+ pts:
Pittsburgh (5,179), Hartford (2,788), Louisville (9,528), Oakland (5,345), Tulsa (4,218), El Paso (4,984), Monterey Bay (3,381), and Phoenix (4,968)

An average night, meaning within their season average by +/- 5 pts:
Lexington (4,801)

Under performing their season average by 5+ pts:
Las Vegas (2,831) and New Mexico (9,067)

Yet to report:
Brooklyn (1,899)

If image is all that matters, like good environments, should the league be asking clubs like AC Boise and Portland Hearts of Pine to apply for USL Premier?

Paul gave the example of Charslton, which doesn’t fit metro area nor stadium size, so if he really can get waivers or can get the stadium and metro size minimums down to a more reasonable number, should we just be trying to convince these amazing fan bases to get to Premier. And like Portland is struggling this year, if we bring up one of these clubs and they get relegated right away, does that defeat th purpose, like Charlotte Independence is currently 1st in league 1, we might have horrible atmospheres pretty quick even if USL is striving for good atmospheres.

I know many of us are still skeptical of pro/rel working at all, but is atmosphere really the best basis to pick clubs if the can drop restrictions?

As a renewed follower of pro soccer, post world cup, I freely admit I am a neophyte to the seemingly endless array of leagues, confederations, competitions and such. I didn't even know the USL existed until a couple months ago. I started watching USL post world cup and I think it's an entertaining league (despite small crowds and football fields and baseball diamonds as playing surfaces). I find it more entertaining than MLS (except for the Sounders--I go all the way back to '74 with them).

So from my limited knowledge base, I think the idea of promotion/relegation for USL is a waste of effort, and ultimately money and time. I think that pick of the litter from USLC and USL1 should combine into a giant division 2 league (say 48 teams +/- teams that may fold and expansion clubs ) divided into four geographical regions, and leave division three to MLS next. I think that it could work because USLC and USL1 play in similar sized stadiums, with many able to expand seating.

Pretending that regionalization equals league stability, then USL can negotiate with MLS, Canada premier league, LigaMX to create what appears to be the ultimate objective of having a pro soccer league in general; access to international competitions (CONCACAF cup, etc) and make $$$. I understand that only D1 leagues can get access to the international club comps, but if I've learned anything is that $$$ bends the rules in soccer federations, and that leagues are really good at creating tournaments and giving out trophies.

So, in this hypothetical stable US 2nd division, the top teams (say 4) play teams from MLS/CPL/MX and if a USL side wins, they have a bid to the CONCACAF club cup, and the other leagues can get more teams in, since part of the negotiation includes adding more teams to the CONCACAF cup (sorta like how there's the UEFA champions league, Europe League, League of nations or whatever...). Call it the Super North American Championship Cup, with an equally jumbo sized trophy and payday.

It could work.

Reno Pro Soccer will officially unveil its team name and league affiliation, along with the team’s colors and crest, in an announcement at Reno Public Market on Sept. 9 from 5-7 p.m.

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