USL Considering Expanding into Evansville

EVANSVILLE — Steven Short, the Senior Vice President of the United Soccer League's upstart Division III, posted a teaser of local interest on social media a week ago from the National Association of Sports Commissions Symposium.

"Another busy day for @USL_D3 at #NASC18," he wrote on Twitter. "Looking at the agenda and guess who is on the list! #prosocc3r"

The Evansville Sports Corp.

It was Short who requested a face-to-face meeting last Thursday in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Typically, it's the other way around.

"They sought me out because of fan interest in soccer here in Evansville that they had seen through some of their different social media outlets," said ESP Executive Director Eric Marvin, who replaced Jason Sands in August. "Certainly, we've seen some of that as well. I was pleased to be able to sit down and learn what they were trying to do."

It was just a preliminary, 15-minute meeting.

Marvin and Short exchanged information about their organizations. It helped get the ball rolling to see what the interest level might be in the Evansville area.

The USL is adding a new division to kickoff in early 2019. Given the upward trajectory of soccer in the U.S., the sport's second-tier league decided to look into smaller markets. So far, the founding members are based in Statesboro (Georgia), Tuscon (Arizona), and Greenville (South Carolina).

USL-3 will launch with a minimum of eight members and expand from there. Evansville has been on its radar since June. Last week's meet-and-greet was enough to signify some momentum, but it still comes down to demand and finding an owner.

"Per our conversation," Marvin said, "the follow-up step from our meeting is to come back and gauge interest in the community in supporting a team. Of course, to franchise a team comes at a substantial cost. I've started to talk to our board members. They've reached out to some in the community about the possibility and started to share some information with people interested in owning a franchise."

If there is interest, both in the community and from a financier, the USL would be invited for a site visit. The league has made its most stops in the Southeast and Midwest.

Marvin is confident they could find a facility in town that is adequate to host. The season begins in March and will likely run into September, so there might need to be some details ironed out with the University of Evansville if Arad McCutchan Stadium is the preferred venue.

McCutchan has hosted preseason friendlies the last three years. In March, reigning USL champion Louisville City played St. Louis. In 2017, Louisville also played the Indy Eleven, who joined the USL this season. The year before, Indy played St. Louis in the first pro contest in stadium history.

Like the conversations, it's all preliminary. But, time is ticking.

"Anyone interested is going to have to move quickly on this," Marvin said. "There's no set timetable, but they're pursuing different markets right now and are hopeful to commit to as many and as soon as possible. Given the fact it's a startup, and they are trying to get this launched, there could be some flexibility."

Read More of Today's AB Headlines

Subscribe to Our Daily E-Newsletter