So dear little ’hooligans, we want to bring up a topic of discussion with you: Should Chattanooga FC stay in their current amateur league, move to another more established amateur league or even join a pro league? We mean, should CFC remain in the ranks of the amateur teams in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) or join the more established, bigger and better organized Premier Development League (PDL) that is part of the professional United Soccer League (USL) or even consider entering the ranks of pro-teams in the USL or the newly formed North American Soccer League (NASL)?
We know that is a great deal of abbreviations to throw at you, but you true soccer freaks will already know what we are talking about. Let’s run through some pro’s and con’s of what each league has — but, for the benefit of the newly initiated, we’ll keep things relatively brief and general.
The NPSL
This is the league Chattanooga FC played in during 2009 and 2010 and (as far as we know) plans to play in during the upcoming 2011 season. It is designed for “amateurs” — meaning no one is paid, though we found some info that sounds like the NPSL may be setting up to allow a team to pay some players — particularly friendly to NCAA college payers (the season is scheduled to accommodate their school soccer seasons). It is supposedly a “team-run” league, so the teams can structure things in a way that is conducive to their needs. It was formed in 2003 and is therefore relatively new. In most soccer discussions, the NPSL is considered the “4th tier” of the soccer pyramid in the US. Read more about the NPSL on Wikipedia.
NPSL Pro’s: It is very inexpensive to join the league, costing around $6500-7000 a year to be an official team. NCAA players will find the NPSL schedule more amenable to their school schedules than the other amateur league, the PDL.
NPSL Con’s: “Easy come easy go” — since it is an easy league to join, it is also easy to unjoin. (For example, in our region: Saturn FC, an ATL team, from our 2009 season did not exist in the 2010 season. There are rumors that Pumas FC or Atlanta FC of the 2010 season may not be around for our 2011 season.) The quality of play is also very unpredictable — some teams are ok, some stink, some are really good. The quality of the organizations is typically very low (Chattanooga FC is an anomaly) — it is not abnormal to play on a lumpy select soccer field with no stands and no fans in the NPSL.
The PDL
The PDL is basically the NPSL equivalent of the USL — it is designed for amateur players: mostly college athletes. The season is slightly longer, ending near the end of August vs the beginning. It has 8 divisions and 67 teams around the country. It has been in existence since 1995 and is associated with the two pro leagues in the USL, the USL I and II. The biggest distinction the PDL claims to offer is a network to move players up the scale from amateur to pro status… We believe Charlie Davies of the US Men’s National team played in this league at one point.
PDL Pro’s: The league is much more established and the teams seem to be much more stable and professional than the NPSL. In the Southeast Division there are 8 teams, including one in Nashville and one in Atlanta, so there would be at least 16 regular season games in a season. The PDL claims to help connect players to USL teams which claim to connect players to international teams. The PDL is occasionally highlighted on a USL tv show and this year their national championship was on Fox Soccer Channel.
PDL Con’s: The PDL costs something like $30,000/year to belong to, and has an initial join-up fee of something like $45,000. Much more expensive than the NPSL. The teams are farther away — New Orleans, LA, Bradenton FL, Jackson MS. This might make for more time and costs in traveling to play or stay in hotels.
The USL or NASL
These are both pro leagues considered a tier below the MLS — requiring pay for players. Thinking cheap, you could still expect to spend at least $250,000 for 22 players and coaches. Then there are the fees to join the league, which can be upwards of $250,000 or $500,000. As of this writing the USL combined its I & II leagues into the 2011 Pro League consisting of 11 teams. The NASL has 12. Comparing that to the PDl, there are not a great deal more game to be played than the 16 potential for CFC is we join the PDL.
While CFC has a very robust attendance, rivalling the USL 2010 averages and only less than 4 or 5 of the USL/NASL pro teams, we could no doubt expect that number to drop from its 4,200 average if ticket prices were to double or triple in costs.
So what do we think?
Well, since things have been going so well (two winning seasons — the second better than the first, region champions, national finalists, record attendance, international friendlies) we feel it is best to probably move slowly and “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. We here at the Chattahooligan would vote for our CFC organization to consider joining the PDL — to make a shift to a more established, professional and stable brand, but one that is not too distant from the NPSL. It’s hard to tell for sure, but it looks like the competition might improve a bit too. Then we can get a couple seasons of that under our belt and see if we can continue to grow from there.
We’d love nothing more than to have great pro soccer here in Chatt-town, but we realize that we still need to take baby steps…
What do you think Chattahooligans? Stay NPSL? Go PDL? Go pro? Tell us!
I think NPSL for now. Let’s keep the cost low, keep the fan base growing, make it attractive for Chattanoogans and others – like me, from Dalton – to follow the team, and embrace the sport. Let’s make Chattanooga FC a real force and attraction in local sports before we jump up a tier.
This may strike some the wrong way, but I’m going to write it anyway.
I don’t think most fans would care what league CFC play in. Don’t get me wrong. Your hard core soccer fan like most Chattahooligans can tell the difference in the quality of play between the fully professional leagues and those leagues that are strictly amateur, but I suspect the majority of folks won’t. To many just being able to go to the stadium and see a fairly high level soccer match is a novelty in itself, regardless of whether the product on the field is NPSL or a fully professional level. And to be honest, there isn’t a lot of difference between the off the field experience between CFC home games and even an MLS game. So, I don’t think most fans would be that discriminating. Maybe as soccer in the US and Chattanooga becomes more mature as a spectator sport that will change.
What it presently comes down to is what league would give the club the most bang for its buck. Right now, it’s hard to do better than the NPSL’s price point. You’re basically only paying marketing and game-day operational costs. Moving to a league with player salaries and league administration fees cuts into the bottom line. Sure, from an on the field stand point, going professional would be great, but is it prudent? Maybe not just yet.
I say Pdl. I think Cfc proved this past year how great of a team they are. If they get any better they will kill every team in 2011. Not sure if they could hang with the USL just yet, but at least with PDL there is room for them to move up and have a career. plus the season is longer and I want to go to more games drink more beer and enjoy the Cfc destroy some teams.
Thanks for piecing this together – this is a great article for those of us with our heads buried in the keyboard all day.
I think you know how to write a genuinely wonderful post. Thanks!
I think Ryan makes a good point. Speaking as a member of the CFC board, I have to say our interest is less in what league we play in (though it is very important to have a good league) and more in 1) raising CFC’s and Chattanooga’s level of soccer, 2) working to be the best amateur team in the country and 3) continuing to build community and pride in our citizens…
However, we also thoughtfully and critically consider ALL our options as a soccer organization before we make commitments each season.
We appreciate your support Chattahooligans!
Thank you for this info! I enjoyed it.
Things need to run their course and if we need to stay in the NPSL for a while, lets whip some ass and get stronger and receive more recognition. However I do believe in Onward and Upward and would love to see our guys making a living on their passion eventually.
…oh, and to be in the box seats for the MLS Championship in time to bet Drew Carey a beer that that CFC are going to kick the Sounders nuclear lime butts
The simple thing to say is…if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
I think the CFC should continue to find more friendlies (which increases the schedule) and continue to enhance the brand before trying to move up to a higher and more costly level.
Also not to insult the team or its hardcore fans, but I think many CFC fans are not unlike Lookouts fan…they are coming either way because they enjoy it and it doesn’t cost a lot of money (and they can drink BEER)…not necessarily because of the team being played.
And cost containment is critical, especially during these tough economic times. The low price point has made this product something you can take the whole family to without breaking the budget.
I say continue to build the base…if 3-6,000 is the normal over a couple of year stretch, then look at other options (or, by the point, other options will probably be coming to the CFC).
And one last thing…keep those VW sponsor contacts tight! The can be part of the financial key to future growth of football in Chattanooga.
Maybe eventually move up to the PDL. For now i’d say stay here in the NPSL. The best bang for the buck at the moment. I’d be afraid at least for the near future if prices went up i’d not be able to attend home games. As a newer fan that would be more than i could stand.
I vote for NPSL. Why take on additional expenses after only a couple of seasons? The games are great fun! That won’t change regardless of the league.If attendance were double, maybe we could join PDL without them having to raise ticket prices. Baby steps are good. CFC could become the poster child for soccer organizations in the US if support for the team and attendance continues to grow.
Beneficial info and excellent design you got here! I want to thank you for sharing your ideas and putting the time into the stuff you publish! Great work!
You know your stuff! Care if I use some of your article on our sports website?
I agree with your thoughts here and I really love your blog! I’ve bookmarked it so that I can come back & read more in the future.
First of all, I want to congratulate you guys for having a nice little blog here. I’ve been reading the past posts, especially the ones during the last season and I want to thank you guys for the support and for the good things you guys said about the team (and myself). As far as this topic is concerned, I agree with David Smotherman. We have to be realistic, we only have two seasons under our belt and we need to keep growing and expanding our playing options before we make a drastic change like trying to go USL. We have a good team that can compete with PDL teams, so I say why not schedule friendlies against them and work our way up from there. We need to prove ourselves more, one great season doesn’t mean we should make any drastic changes. Going into USL or PDL means more money spent on fees and what-not instead of using the money to enhance the players’ and fans’ experience. I say stay at NPSL for now, play against more PDL teams to increase competition and get our names out more and then in a few years see where we are from now.
With that being said, I think I will be able to play this season and I’m excited about it. I hope we get the same (or better) support we did last year. Its my last so I hope its even better!!
Wow this is a great resource.. I’m enjoying it.. good article
Stay in NPSL. It makes no sense to spend $30 K annually, on top of $45 K initiation fee, to do basically what you’re doing now for $7 K.
If you’re REALLY serious about investing in the future, and you’ve got the bucks, go pro in NASL, not USL. USL will “nickel & dime” you with no benefit. By joining NASL, you get more control over your destiny and you have input on league decisions.
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