It’s time for some more Expansion Talk. Since the last post, League One has received provisional D3 sanctioning, and FC Dallas’ League One side has been given the name North Texas SC. However, today’s post is about the discussion of potential markets in the states of Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska.
Iowa
The Quad Cities area has a population of nearly 400000 and straddles the banks of the Mississippi River. It is located in both Illinois and Iowa, and we will consider the entire metro area in this post. Since it is the largest city, Davenport would likely be the best place to locate any potential club. The Quad Cities area currently has a void in terms of professional sports; the ECHL’s Quad-City Mallards ceased operations after the end of last season. If a team were to come to the Quad Cities, I’d assume the best league for such a club would be USL League One. There wouldn’t be any immediately nearby geographic rivals, but at least Forward Madison FC would be near enough for a nice weekend away trip. The Quad Cities area also plays home to multiple companies which might be able to help finance and sponsor a team, most notably Von Maur.
Another potential Iowa market would be Cedar Rapids. Sitting about 15 minutes north of Iowa City, the metro area of over 250000 would also be able to draw from Iowa City’s metro area of around 175000, especially if a potential Cedar Rapids club were located on the southern side of the city. The holding company Transamerica is headquartered in Cedar Rapids, and they seem like the type of company (judging from other American soccer sponsors) who would probably throw some cash a club’s way. With League One being the most likely destination, I think a Cedar Rapids-Quad Cities rivalry would be very fun if both were to join with teams. All that being said, it should also be noted that there was a professional indoor soccer team in the city, the Cedar Rapids Rampage, which only lasted from 2016-2018. They faced decreasing (but not awful, really) attendance numbers over their short lifespan, so potential Cedar Rapids ownership groups need to be wary about not repeating the mistakes of the Rampage.
Des Moines is Iowa’s capital and largest city. Des Moines will have a professional soccer club. It’s not a question of “if” but “when”. There’s been evidence to that point like this tweet showing a job listing for a Des Moines USL expansion club. Personally, I think we will see a team in Des Moines for the 2020 soccer season. All signs point to 24-year old Des Moines Menace of USL League Two as the likely organization to arrive in a higher league, but no one really knows which league they would join. By my count, Des Moines’ 650000 people would be the second-smallest market in the USL Championship (larger than only Reno) or a middle-of-the-road USL League One market. Assuming they choose to at least test the professional waters in League One even if their ultimate desire is to be in the Championship, then they ought to be perfectly fine.
Missouri
Greater St. Louis has a population of around 2.8 million people in both Missouri and Illinois, and it’s a market ravenous for Major League Soccer. They are currently seen as frontrunners for the next expansion slot, and the local media in St. Louis has been doing well to cover the process and drum up support. St. Louis is already home to the USL Championship club Saint Louis FC, and they have some common ownership with the MLS bid. Because of this, it is possible that some of the club’s branding may carry over to the MLS team, and it would also seem logical for an MLS franchise to use STLFC’s stadium for a USL affiliate in the future. Overall, the chance of Major League Soccer coming to St. Louis seems very high at the moment. With the Rams gone, St. Louis’ rich soccer history, and Sporting Kansas City and Chicago Fire as nearby rivals, I think a St. Louis MLS club would be quite popular.
The other potential market in Missouri would be Springfield with its population of 550000 people. The median age is 33 years, and the town has the headquarters of plenty of notable businesses like Bass Pro Shops and O’Reilly Auto Parts which could sponsor a professional soccer club. The only sports team in Springfield is the Cardinals’ AA affiliate, so I think a soccer team could tap into a demographic of younger sports fans which don’t really have any local team to cheer for in person. Springfield is the perfect size for a USL League One or maybe even NISA market, depending on who gets a club in the city first.
Kansas
Wichita is the largest city in Kansas, and with a population of 650000 within its metropolitan area, it would be a sizable market for a third-division club. The current soccer team in the city is the relatively popular FC Wichita of the NPSL, but I expect they would go to NPSL Pro before even considering any other league. At the very least, FC Wichita has higher aspirations than their current semi-pro NPSL play. If the USL pursues a team in Wichita, I expect the club would have to compete in League One.
The Kansas capital of Topeka has a population of merely 225000, but I think it may be large enough for USL League One. The city has a USL League Two franchise named Kaw Valley FC which just started play, splitting their matches between Topeka and nearby Lawrence. If the club is popular enough, I could see them moving up to USL League Two. Otherwise, I think Topeka’s relatively old median age of 36 years and lack of larger businesses to fund a club may prohibit the town from finding a professional soccer team.
Nebraska
Lincoln, Nebraska is a rapidly growing mid-sized city with a metro area population approaching 350000. There’s a lot working in Lincoln’s favor in terms of markets for professional soccer. Partly due to the presence of the University of Nebraska, the city’s median age is a relatively low 32 years. Also, the UPSL’s Bugeaters FC has been able to generate some buzz during its short existence. If they could find investors, I think Bugeaters FC would be a good brand to have in NPSL Pro or League One. Assuming Omaha gets a team soon, the two cities would have a nice little East Nebraska derby going in no time, I’m sure.
The aforementioned city of Omaha is Nebraska’s largest, coming in with an expansive two-state metro area of nearly 950000 people. At that size, it’s a toss-up as to whether Omaha is a better fit for the second division or the third division of the US soccer pyramid. The median age is 34 years, and Omaha also has four massive Fortune 500 companies which could easily afford to help sponsor a local soccer club. Also, the city is relatively void of professional sports besides the AAA Storm Chasers. Omaha would be an ideal market for NISA and help bridge the gap geographically between its eastern and western clubs. It had previously been reported that an Omaha group applied to join NISA, so don’t be surprised if an Omaha NISA club is announced in the coming months. If the USL attempts to find an ownership group for Omaha, I think the smartest move would be to place them into whichever league (Championship or League One) the Des Moines Menace ultimately join.
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