Poll Update: Anyone want to change their vote?

Over at USLnews.com they have posted a press release from an outfit called the Team Owners Associaton (TOA). This cabal was formed in January 2008 to push for reform within the USL to get the heavy handed league ownership (was Marcos, then Umbro/Nike, and now NuRock) to relinquish control and ownership of the USL to the member clubs.

This was kind of my point in a previous post. What exactly was sold by Nike to NuRock? Essentially the power to tell the USL members how things are going to be run. Oh, and collect their annual dues and expansion fees.

So there is a showdown brewing between the USL ownership (whoever that might be) and the TOA. Which ownership groups are in the TOA is the really interesting thing. It includes Carolina Railhawks, Miami FC, Minnesota Thunder, and the Montreal Impact; all current members of the USL first division.

Then it gets interesting. Also in the group pushing for USL perestroika is Vancouver Whitecaps, which is leaving the USL 1 in 2011 for MLS. The Whitecaps are a true vertically integrated football club though. They have not only a USL 1 side but also reserve and various academy teams playing in the PDL and Super Y League. The Caps will continue with those developmental sides after the senior side switches to MLS and has even hinted that it might set up a replacement USL 1 team somewhere else in British Columbia or the Canadian Rockies. So Vancouver has a vested interest in the future of the league, the PDL/Super Y League in particular.

The final three groups in the TOA are the Atlanta Silverbacks, St Louis United, and our very own Tampa Bay Rowdies. The Silverbacks built their own stadium but then decided to sit out 2009 and frankly I never thought we would hear from them again, but they may be interested in a restructured league after all. The St Louis group has been an expansion rumor for a long time, but it now looks like they are real, but would they only join the USL if it is reformed?

The fact that the Rowdies are pushing for reform in a league that they haven't even kicked a ball is really encouraging. To me, it means they are really kicking the tires on the USL and are thinking things through. The USL model just doesn't work in a lot of markets whether we are talking USL 1, PDL, or even W League. The fees are too high and the club owners don't have much say in operations. The Rowdies management is wanting to have their best chance at success.

The WPSL and its brother the NPSL have positioned themselves as a less costly option and giving club owners the control. I have reports that that some more PDL clubs will be leaving the USL fold for the NPSL next summer.

At this point, it looks like the TOA group is gunning for ownership control. They say so in their press release. NuRock isn't going to hand that over, because, well, they just paid good money for it. My gut tells me that their are PDL clubs that the TOA has in their camp as well. Based on the posturing, I think that the USL 1 won't exist next year in its current form. Some or all of the TOA clubs will form a new rival league. Will be interesting to see how all this pans out.

So post what you think in the comments section, change your poll vote if necessary, and stay tuned for what might be an interesting couple of months.