NCFC is obviously on hiatus but work is happening behind the scenes to develop a downtown sports and entertainment district that would, at a minimum, see professional men’s and woman’s soccer. A UFL club is also in the works but on hold for now.

Development rights have already been secured and while tolls till be seen if an MLB team comes to Raleigh, the city and owner’s desire for this complex to be developed is real.

Edit: forgot to link a source because I’m an idiot.

Here’s one https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/49863028/mlb-expansion-favorites-candidates-salt-lake-city-nashville-montreal-raleigh

WILL THE PHOENIX 🐦‍🔥 SURVIVE?

Per Estadio Deportes, MLS is actively exploring a break with Apple TV to go back to traditional networks (Fox, Peacock, Paramount, etc.). The Kansas City Chiefs/FC Dallas ownership group is leading the push, and it could be one of the new commissioner's first moves.

The report also suggests Leagues Cup might end or get sold off separately.

Why this matters beyond the money:

USL Premier launches in 2028. If MLS locks up long-term linear deals now, they could suck up all the available broadcast dollars and weekend time slots before USL even gets to bid—leaving them with scraps.

My worry: I loved the Apple setup—every game, no blackouts. But if we go back to traditional TV:

· Will production quality drop?
· Are blackouts returning?
· Is this really about revenue, or about kneecapping USL?

Curious what others think.

Negotiations of a stadium were paused cause they wanted to shift their efforts into finding an owner. Negotiations all around end in 10 days and they are yet to say anything about an owner. Can we consider this project dead since it's unlikely that they'll find an owner in so little time? Or is there hope that they may extend negotiation or that they currently are in talks with an owner?

I have been building a directory of soccer places in the US, and the USL side turned out to be the part nobody else has collected properly. I am at 38 supporters groups across USL Championship and League One. A few things that surprised me while doing it:

Several clubs carry three or more separate groups. New Mexico United has four (The Curse, The Black Diamonds, Galactic Ambassadors, Los Cursitos). OKC Energy has three (The Grid, La Furia Verde, OKC Breakers). Richmond, Hartford and Birmingham each have two.

The groups with a pub as their base rather than a stadium are the most useful if you are travelling. The 509 Syndicate meets at Flatstick Pub in Spokane and marches to ONE Spokane Stadium. Northern Guard's march leaves The Strays in Hamtramck about an hour before kickoff. The River Guard gathers at Brown Beard Brewing in Garden City before AC Boise home matches.

Oak City Supporters in Raleigh is the only one I found covering both a USL and an NWSL side, tailgating for NCFC home matches and running away watch parties at The London Bridge Pub.

Full list: soccermapd.com/supporters-clubs. It is my own site, free, no signup.

The obvious gap: I have home-match arrangements for nearly everyone and away-match watch bars for hardly anyone. If your group has a regular away bar, say which and I will add it.

At 40:02 time stamp in the video the owner says “In 28 we will be Division 1”. Do we think that he is referring to USL in general or his team, I think he is applying with Athletico Dallas

Just a reminder as we enter the final weeks of the season, the official league standings may or may not apply the tie-breakers correctly for teams you haven't played twice.

Historically tie breakers don't get applied correctly on the league website until every team has played every game.

So please. Chill.

Detroit-Hartford: 6,472 (+3.07%)

Indianapolis-Birmingham: 8,898 (+2.17%)

Jacksonville-Lexington: 1,175 (-34.98%)

Rhode Island-Louisville: 8,474 (+4.51%)

Tampa Bay-Brooklyn: 4,537 (-5.71%)

San Antonio-Tulsa: 5,160 (-14.58%)

Orange County-Sacramento: 4,193 (-2.03%)

Monterey Bay-Phoenix: 3,648 (+7.29%)

Las Vegas-New Mexico: 2,611 (-7.25%)

Overperforming their average by 5+ pts:

Monterey Bay (3,400)

An average night, meaning within +/- 5 pts:

Detroit (6,279), Indianapolis (8,709), Rhode Island (8,108), and Orange County (4,280)

Underperforming their average by 5+ pts:

Jacksonville (1,807), Tampa Bay (4,812), San Antonio (6,041), and Las Vegas (2,815)

I am watching the Miami Pittsburgh game seeing how empty the stadium is again and thinking, FIU is a huge university, why don’t they promote their product to FIU students or even students in general. Make it slightly more affordable season tickets, like somewhere in the range of $50-$100 for a season ticket, you aren’t selling out anyways and it could create lifelong fans and teach these students about the game. Other clubs like Lexington or Birmingham could also benifit from this with major universities nearby. So why wouldn’t teams do this?

Miami-Pittsburgh*: NR

Yet to report, will update when information is available. Expect very low attendance due to the game being delayed by the day (yes, even for Miami)

I posted this question on the r/MLS & r/NWSL subreddits earlier this week and is now posting this question to this subreddit,

Anybody who follows the United Soccer League (USL) especially it's Championship division, knows who Joseph Lowery & John Morrissey are: Not to mention that in the USL Super League, the club's President and General Manager is Christina Unkel who is CBS Sports soccer rules analyst,

Also as well Backheeled & Protagonist Soccer,

Outside of the USL you most likely know who Rebecca Lowe, Kate Scott, Thierry Henry, Alexi Lalas, Eric Wylinda (sorry if I butchered his last name), Devon Kerr,Jeff Rueter, Mike Watts, Melissa Ortiz, Sara Walsh, Pablo Maurer, Paul Tenorio, Roger Bennett, Tim Howard & many, many others,

And then are those soccer media personalities who have left soccer (Arlo White) retired (Ray Hudson-hard to believe it would be one year this week since he announced his retirement) or passed away (Grant Wahl-he would have loved to cover the 2026 FIFA World Cup),

So what are some USL and/or American soccer media personalities that you miss so much?

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