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USL’s Edwards Thrilled by Historic Week

By NICHOLAS MURRAY - nicholas.murray@uslsoccer.com, 08/13/17, 12:42PM EDT

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Announcements made ‘huge statement of intent’ for league


Photo courtesy Jim Oberg / Las Vegas Pro Soccer

LAS VEGAS – The past week in the USL has been unprecedented in the league’s history in terms of introductions of new clubs, and the announcement of the return of a major market to the league’s roster.

The official unveiling of Birmingham, Alabama on Tuesday, followed by that of Las Vegas on Friday brought two strong new ownership groups and cities into the USL over the next two seasons. Add in Wednesday’s news that Austin would again be part of the league at a new soccer-specific home in 2019, and it was a busy week for the league’s officials.

At Friday’s introduction of Las Vegas as the final addition to the league for the 2018 season, we looked back at a remarkable week with USL President Jake Edwards.

Q: This has been an unprecedented week for the USL in terms of announcements of new arrivals. With the introduction of Birmingham and Las Vegas, and the reintroduction of Austin, what does this mean for the league overall?

Jake Edwards: I think it’s a huge statement of intent of the ambition of the league. The fact that we are now bringing in some tremendous markets, both in terms of a strategic point of view in terms of building regional rivalries, and quality ownership groups with the wherewithal and the commitment to build soccer-specific stadium, and the political and fan support to be able to do so in those communities. We’re thrilled to welcome back Austin after our hiatus there, now with a solid plan to build a stadium and showcase the sport properly for the fans down in Austin.

Birmingham, for us, is a tremendous addition. From a regional point of view, there are some great natural rivalries, and Birmingham has long been a hotbed for the fans of the sport. Then of course here with our announcement today in Las Vegas, building out our presence on the west coast with two USL clubs in the state of Nevada. Las Vegas is a tremendously exciting city for us to finally bring professional soccer to, for them to have a team of their own. We’re very excited.

Q: Birmingham began the week by becoming the first club to be introduced for the 2019 season. The grassroots support there has been phenomenal, how pleased are you to see a city the league has been interested in for a while now officially part of the USL?

Edwards: It’s all about timing, and as that grassroots momentum has built over the last few years with the local fans of the sport like Morgan Copes and his partners that helped build the Magic City Brigade, that helped build the Birmingham Hammers, that helped build that grassroots soccer culture in the region, it’s tremendously important work, and they’ve done a great job over the last few years to do that.

Again, it’s about timing, it’s about getting all the pieces in place, and with the ownership group with Lee Styslinger III, Jeff Logan and James Outland coming behind it with a strong plan, and the support of the Mayor and the city there to build a great stadium for this team, the timing was now. It’s a market we’ve kept our eye on for a long time, but I think they won’t know what has hit them when this soccer juggernaut comes to town. They’re going to be a great addition to the USL.

Q: Birmingham’s addition also continues the league’s Southeast expansion, adding to the league’s historic markets like Charleston and Charlotte and recent additions Louisville, Tampa Bay and Nashville. Creating that sort of footprint has been a goal for the league, how does it feel to see it take shape in this manner?

Edwards: There’s a rich history, as you know, of soccer in the Southeast, and has we build upon that we’ve had some historic clubs like Charleston, who’ve played for 25 years now, who I used to play for, so I know the quality of that city and the supporters there, and we’re seeing that in a lot of markets in the Southeast, and across the country. It’s long been a goal to build a presence there, and with the additions of Tampa Bay, the addition of Louisville, and now Birmingham and Nashville, these are all clubs that are coming into the league and adding a huge amount of value. Great stadiums, strong crowds, so we’re seeing something very special happen across the Southeast, as well as across the country.

Q: Austin has been a major topic of discussion since the end of the 2015 season, and now we’re going to see them return to the USL in 2019. This process has obviously taken a while, now that the official announcement has been made, how exciting is it to return to a tremendous market for the league?

Edwards: It’s very exciting. There were a number of factors that came into our decision to take Austin out of the alignment for the 2016 season, and then the 2017 season as well, but they’ve had a reorganization of ownership. Bobby Epstein has a tremendous facility at Circuit of The Americas, has been a leader in Formula 1 and the growth of the Motorsports industry in the U.S., and is very excited to get started building the soccer-specific stadium at his facility. For us, it’s great to go back into that city. There was fervent support for our sport, and we hope with the new stadium, and all the new plans for the team coming back into a very different USL now, we’re very excited about what’s going to happen there, and the re-launch of the club for 2019.


Image courtesy USL Austin / Miro Rivera Architects

Q: Both yourself and the USL’s leadership have been working with Circuit of The Americas Chairman Bobby Epstein to make this happen. What does Bobby’s addition as a majority owner, alongside the likes of Birmingham’s Jeff Logan, James Outland and Lee Styslinger, bring to the league as a whole?

Edwards: We pride ourselves on the quality of ownership in the league. We’ve got, I would say, world-class ownership now. I’d stack our ownership up against any second division in the world, if not first division, and that’s what you’ve got to have. Our clubs are only as good as the owners behind them, and their willingness to build stadiums, to invest in the club and in the community. People like Bobby have had a huge impact on their cities, and I think we’re in good company with those kinds of owners.

Q: Las Vegas has been out there for a while as a potential home for professional soccer in the U.S soccer landscape. Friday’s announcement means that potential is now a reality. After seeing what Reno has brought to the league, what does it mean to add a second team in Nevada?

Edwards: It’s so exciting to be here in Las Vegas and to have this announcement. It’s been a long time coming. They’ve had professional soccer events here from time to time, and they’ve always done well, but what’s attracting us to Las Vegas is that it’s a city that’s changing. It’s a dynamic city, but it’s a city that’s reinventing itself from the obvious, the gaming industry, the convention business, the wide array of entertainment options that you can get here in and around the strip. There’s a downtown Las Vegas that is really starting to boom through companies like Zappos, where we’re hosting this great announcement, who are transforming the downtown region and the surrounding areas.

There are more than two million people here who call Las Vegas their home, so there’s a whole other identity to the city, and what’s very exciting is Mayor [Carolyn] Goodman is making a significant investment into the sporting landscape. Over the recent few months you’ve seen NHL, NFL and now USL and other sports properties coming to Las Vegas, and calling Las Vegas their home. Las Vegas is becoming a sporting capital of North America, and it’s very exciting that the USL is going to be part of that landscape and part of the transformation of the downtown region.


Photo courtesy Jim Oberg / Las Vegas Pro Soccer

Q: You’ve known Brett Lashbrook for a while in his former roles with Major League Soccer and Orlando City SC. As he leads the USL in Las Vegas forward, how excited are you to get to work with him as he and his partners build this club for next season?

Edwards: We’re thrilled to have Brett and his wider family, and his partners behind this initiative. I’ve known Brett now for over four years in his various roles in U.S. soccer, always a quality individual, always executes, always keeps himself to a high standard, and he’ll do the same here. He and his family will build a club that Las Vegas will be proud to call their own. He’s a great addition to our league, he’s local, he wants to make this work, he wants to create – as he says – a club for the people, of the people and by the people.

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