MPR Story on USSF Standards and the Effects on the NSC MN Stars -Also- IMS will be on the Kick This Radio Show on Saturday
Minnesota Public Radio published a report this morning (also in audio) on the new USSF D2 soccer standards and how Minnesota may lose professional soccer unless an investor is found. MPR’s Tim Nelson interviews Minnesota Stars Head Coach Manny Lagos and IMS’s Brian Quarstad (yup, that’s me) in this report called, “Professional Soccer in Minnesota Could Get the Boot“.
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Tomorrow morning I will be on the Kick This soccer talk radio show out of Rochester, NY with host Jeff DiVeronica of the Democrat and Chronicle and James Weise, news director for the program.
Tune in online here at 10:00 CT to listen to us talk about the new USL Pro League that was announced by USL this week. I’m sure we will also be talking about some of the other D2 and D3 news that has transpired over the last number of weeks.
Archives of the show are usually available within hours of the program and can also be found here.
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Afternoon is sliding into evening. We’re waiting. Impatiently;)
This is really great, and congrats to you Brian! You are now the face of soccer reporting in our state. Thank You. I love the fact that MPR is offering soccer air time.
Brian,
Heard you on KickThis. Good job.
Question for you … If the NASL isn’t able to be sanctioned as div-2 next year, and USL-PRO is div-3, then what are the chances that MLS creates MLS2 to be the div-2 league next year?
Zilch. I think there will be a reserve league again next year but pretty much the same as it was before. In the future however, I think there is a chance that MLS may work with D3 (USL Pro or whatever it’s called at that point and time) to have some teams.
With only 2 or 3 teams in MLS actually making money they are not about to plunk down millions of dollars per year on a 2nd league. It’s believe most D2 owners unless drawing more that 5,000 a game, are losing in the range of $500 K (very low end) to $1.5 Mil a year. I don’t think MLS would be too excited about losing $15 to $25 million a year collectively.
Brian, in regards to MLS2, doesn’t USSF need to have a viable div-2 incorporated with their highest division (MLS) in order to be in good standing for their World Cup soccer bid? My understanding is that they do. So it seems to me that with USSF making the div-2 requirements so tough for the NASL that they are trying to clear the way for MLS2, and that MLS2 would be incorporated into their single entity structure to share expenses and profits, including the money from the new adidas sponsorship deal. I thought I heard last year that part of the reason the NASL teams broke from USL was to prepare to join an upcoming MLS2 league in 2011, but that now some of the NASL teams (ex: Rochester) have been scared by the USSF div-2 requirements.
“I thought I heard last year that part of the reason the NASL teams broke from USL was to prepare to join an upcoming MLS2 league in 2011″
As you said, you must have “thought you heard.”
Seriously, I’ve been on top of this story for almost 2-years now and as far as everything I know, MLS-2 is just something the supporters of MLS want. I personally have never heard of anything remotely official coming from anyone in MLS about MLS-2.
I really don’t know if a D2 league is required to host a WC but you could be correct. Which if true, in my opinion, would mean USSF would need to find a way to make that league happen next year by sanctioning it themselves again or awarding it to NASL.
If you look at the USSF D-2 Professional League Standards, Section: Financial Viability, i., it says, “In the case of a single-entity league, the league must provide, or demonstrate that it has, adequate security to ensure the performance of the league’s obligations for the current season”.
Is NASL or were USL thinking of creating their own “single-entity league”? If not, then this seems to me to be setting up the MLS to be creating MLS2 as div-2, whether it be made up of new teams and/or NASL teams.