5 Expansion Markets USL Should Target Ahead Of Division One Launch

Forbes

26-03-2025

Oakland Roots fans in the supporters section cheer for the Oakland Roots SC before their game ... More against San Antonio FC game at Oakland Coliseum on March 22, 2025 in Oakland, Calif.
For all the growing tension of the U.S. soccer wars, one thing both MLS and USL seem to agree on is that there are plenty of markets in the United States capable of supporting top-flight soccer.
The USL announced last month it intended to launch a Division One competition in 2027 or 2028 that would receive Division I sanctioning from the U.S. Soccer Federation, and be a direct rival to MLS in the way the AFL once rivaled the NFL. If followed that last week by approving a promotion/relegation system within its league structure, which will grow to three tiers if/when Division One begins.
And earlier this month, MLS Commissioner Don Garber indicated that his league might be interested in expanding beyond its current 30-team footprint.
The reality in a country as massive as the United States is that, even with the current MLS and USL footprints expanding, many major markets still don't have any representation in the top three tiers of the pro game.
Here's five markets USL would be well-served to bring into the fold as it tries to launch its Division One competition.
Both MLS and USL have extensive coverage of the Southern California region, but inland Riverside continues to get left out. That's a shame, because at 4.7 million people per 2024 Census estimates, the Riverside-San Bernadino metro area is the nation's 12th largest, and growing quickly. Its inclusion in USL would come with readymade local rivals in Orange County just to the south.
Charm City has long been a USL target – and briefly served as the home of Crystal Palace USA long ago – but there hasn't a men's fully pro outdoor team there in years. While the area isn't growing as quickly as some metro regions, it is still the 22nd-largest in the country, and the second-largest with out representation in the country's top three divisions. D.C. United has also targeted Baltimore for a potential MLS Next stadium and club, but nothing on that front is official.
The Tidewater area was once one of the more established lower-tier pro soccer communities with the former presence of the Virginia Beach Mariners. But currently the highest level of the game is at the semi-pro NPSL level with Virginia Beach City. A new pro team would have a regional rival just up I-64 in the Richmond Kickers.
The recent folding of Memphis 901 FC is one of the bigger disappointments in recent soccer business history after the club failed to secure funding for a soccer-specific stadium. That obstacle remains to any new club that came along to fill that vacuum, but it's possible the announcement of USL's Division One project could make the project more palatable politically.
As a rare large Midwestern city with steady population growth, Grand Rapids would be the perfect place for USL launch a new club. As of right now, the city has plans instead to welcome an MLS Next Pro side in 2027 as one of the league's few non-affiliated teams. But the USL's Division One plans have the potential to alter the city's thinking.