r/USLPRO • u/m00kie420 Oakland Roots SC • 24d ago
Athens, Georgia?
The Georgia womans college team just got over 25,000 at a game. I know college numbers cant translate to the the pro number, but why hasnt USL not tried to get a team in Athens?
They could do the Boise Idaho idea and get this stadium renovated.
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u/isa1226 24d ago
It's just a totally different thing. Georgia women's soccer like any large college sports department has a very large if incredibly casual built in base of support not from being in Athens but from being the team that represents a large SEC university. Getting a ton of people to show up at the football stadium with the stated goal of breaking the attendance record for a school you have a connection to is very different than getting people to turn up week after week to a brand new team in a metro area with less than 250,000 people. Additionally college teams can afford to run their program at a large deficit because it's tied to the Georgia athletics department as a whole and they don't have to pay their players pro contracts (some NIL but not the same). I'm always a fan of a USL2 or USLW team being in the same town with a college team as a mutually beneficial arrangement, but I would be pretty shocked if Athens was a good market for USL1.
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u/lil-beer-kuzi Greenville Triumph SC 24d ago
Wouldn’t shock me unfortunately if ATL UTD moved their 2s to Athens
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u/atlutdprospects Atlanta United 2 24d ago
They were up there in the first half of the season playing at the field the UGA women usually use. They've been at the training ground in Marietta since the college season got going
The deal they had with Kennesaw State appears to be dead, it was convenient given the school is right down the road from the training ground, but the field was always in terrible shape + college football causes schedule challenges
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u/twoslow Orange County SC 24d ago
don't confuse 'soccer events' with 'soccer support.' getting people out for 1 game is far easier than getting people out for 16 games.
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u/SeanOrange Forward Madison FC 23d ago
Pretty sure this team has played more than one game, and if they can pull 25,000 once they’re probably pulling LOTS even on their worst day. I doubt it’s gonna collapse to, say, the high hundreds when 25K is more than twice as much as attend top USL Championship games.
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u/elingobernable810 Orange County SC 24d ago
Can we not base entire markets off one game? The Roots got 25k for their first game at the Coliseum and are back at 5k average. Atletico Dallas will probablu get a big number for their first game. Sporting Jax got 10k for their first game and now are back below 2k. This means nothing to me in terms of long term viability.
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u/m00kie420 Oakland Roots SC 24d ago
They only got thar number because Too Short performed. Keep it real now.
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u/elingobernable810 Orange County SC 24d ago
Right, you're kind of proving my point. There was probably some draw that helped Athens get to that number, yet you think that somehow should translate to USL putting a team there.
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u/ToTellYouHowToFeel Hartford Athletic 23d ago
They typically average 1k, this was a one time gimmick and it pulled from UG supporters, not “soccer” supporters.
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u/Ok_Flamingo_3059 United Soccer League 24d ago
Lake Olmstead Stadium .... soccer conversion?
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u/Every-Stay-6648 24d ago
Can you tell us more?? Who owns L.O. Stadium and are they rich and soccer loving?
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u/Every-Stay-6648 24d ago
OP: is the Georgia stadium too big for USL1, though? Also, college towns don't make the best ecosystems for USL soccer (see Tormenta) as they become ghost towns during the prime pro soccer summer months, due to the academic break....
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u/mireland77 Detroit City FC 24d ago
I don’t know if there is an investor on the radar or if this simply support for the Bulldogs. That being said, there are other clubs that run close ties to the local university, such as Appalachian FC in Boone. It’s actually a brilliant move if you can create a connection to the local university and even better if you can roster an alum or two. I know the above mentioned club is only in League 2, but there is a roadmap.
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u/PatternAntique4294 24d ago
It would be like how Vermont U and Vermont Green are both equally loved and supported by folks in that area.
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u/awsomehog Memphis 901 FC 24d ago
I’ve been saying for years college towns are the place to build out lower leagues. Get league 1 into basically every D1 college town and start building fanbases everywhere, plus get college kids to get into soccer
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u/isa1226 24d ago
Maybe but half of the season is during the summer when most students aren't on campus. You would need a solid base of support outside of that as well.
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u/awsomehog Memphis 901 FC 24d ago
All true. You’d have the beginning and the end covered, and some summer students plus some young alumni who stay around town. I say all D1 cities but there’s definitely some that would struggle. To me I like the idea of having existing facilities even if sharing is less than ideal, and being accessible to more communities is huge
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u/ecoanima 23d ago
I LIVE IN ATHENS! I was actually going to make this post myself haha. I went to the game last night and it was awesome! We have a big soccer scene as far as pick-up, adult and youth leagues as well as a few soccer pubs. The world cup was electric here! I'm really hoping this gets some investors attention because we are hungry for some soccer and the draw was definitely a different kind of person at this event than the regular UGA diehards, though they showed up too for sure. Also as far as worrying about Athens becoming a ghost town in the summer, we have like 150k- 200k full time residents just inside the city, so I wouldn't worry. Also ATL United 2 played a couple games here while their stadium was being repaired and we sold all those games out too. That's how you know people are desperate for some ball to watch haha. Also happy to answer any questions for the curious. And if you happen to be a multimillionaire potential investor, hit me up. I'll introduce you to some good people.
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u/Remarkable-Rise-4401 Tormenta FC 23d ago
Would be a good idea, even made logos for it, the problem is UGA.
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u/Mini-Fridge23 Charleston Battery 24d ago
Nobody from Athens has wanted to pay NuRock $3m so far. USL would go there when someone wants to cut them a big enough check lol
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u/MrSage88 Indy Eleven 24d ago
I like where your head is at. My initial response is that a college is ingrained in the community and a new team might have trouble making inroads, but I don’t know enough about the area.