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Photo credit: Visit Anchorage

Right now, the American soccer landscape is in the best shape it has ever been. We have a thriving top-flight league in MLS, two growing Division 2 leagues and two newly announced Division 3 professional leagues in the USL D3 and NISA.

With new leagues come new markets, and today I’ll begin looking at some of the best markets for expansion in our two new D3 leagues. This series will cover all 50 states, shortlisting three cities in each one and making a case for the best new soccer city in every single state. Each post will cover five states, for a total of 20 of these posts. Yes, I’m including Alaska and Hawaii. Every market I describe will have a D3-compliant venue with a minimum seating capacity of 1,000, as per the 2014 USSF Professional League Standards.

Welcome to Project 50/50.

ALABAMA

The first state alphabetically, Alabama is historically dominated by college football. Home to the Alabama Crimson Tide and Auburn Tigers, there’s been a notable lack of soccer until the recent semi-pro teams and announcement of the USL expanding to Birmingham. However, let’s take a look at the next best market for pro soccer.

Mobile
-Metro population: 615,234 -AFC Mobile in GCPL

-Averaging 1,564 in Double-A baseball

Mobile is the largest metro area in south Alabama, and has played host to a number of minor league sports over the years. The demographics are trending younger, with a rising household income, and there are several nearby universities. Mobile has a team in the new Gulf Coast Premier League, and the team has been built by crowdfunding and local support. This is a promising, if so far untested, market.

Other markets considered were Tuscaloosa, Montgomery, and Huntsville, but as Mobile is the only city outside Birmingham with any membership in the soccer pyramid, it seems like a pretty solid choice. AFC Mobile is also demolishing attendance records in the GCPL, so no problems there either.

As for the branding and stadium, they’re already D2 compliant with their venue, and their branding is absolutely gorgeous. Honestly, they’re a few investors away from fully professional.

ALASKA

Alaska currently is without professional sports for the first time since the 1980s, and that’s a goddamn shame. Alaska is all too often ignored and passed over by leagues, and this annoys me. The big question here is what league would an Alaska team join? The new D3 leagues are likely going to be too regional, making travel difficult. And D2 might be too costly at first. So, I propose an interesting idea: put an Alaska team in the Canadian Premier League. It’s much closer travel, taking only three hours to fly from Anchorage to Vancouver.

Anchorage
-Metro population: 401,635
-Averaged 3,623 in ECHL final season

Anchorage is really the only logical choice for a soccer team in Alaska. While Juneau and Fairbanks have the demographics, they’re way too small for USSF regulations. But Anchorage, they’re just about perfect for an expansion team. Population is growing and trending younger, and there’s no competition to speak of anymore. There’s no college football or college soccer in Alaska, so they could easily be the biggest show in town. There’s also quite a solid youth soccer foundation in Anchorage with the Alaska Rush and Anchorage Youth Soccer Club.

For a venue, they could easily play at the Anchorage Football Stadium, a 4,500 seat football/soccer/track stadium that doesn’t have any major full-time tenants other than high schools. And the stadium has plenty of space for seating expansion. It’s not D2 ready, but it should work for any D3 or CPL requirements.

As for my thoughts on branding, they should play to the strengths of the state flag and the Anchorage city seal. Blue and yellow work well.

ARIZONA

Arizona is the youngest state in the mainland, and yet they already have a long history of professional sports. We even see Phoenix Rising in USL bidding to join MLS. But outside of the Phoenix metro area, there are only two professional teams in the remainder of the state: the Tucson Roadrunners in the American Hockey League and the Northern Arizona Suns of the NBA G League. And those, coincidentally, are the two markets we’ll be considering today.

Tucson
-Metro population: 1,010,025
-Averaging 4,211 in AHL hockey

Tucson is such a great potential soccer market. And we already see how successful FC Tucson has been, averaging well over a thousand per game in the PDL. Phoenix Rising has taken notice, and purchased the team to serve as their PDL affiliate a few weeks ago. The team recently wrapped up their fourth-consecutive regular season title. The Tucson metro area is growing, the team has some excellent ties to the community and the organization is very professionally run. This is another easy pick, as I’m confident that FC Tucson would shine in USLD3 with very few changes. Their stadium will work at the D3 level, and thanks to Phoenix Rising, they definitely have the cash.

2017 Mountain Division Champions @FCTucson have been acquired by @USL club @PHXRisingFC.#Path2Pro | https://t.co/IOxCfrkvKx pic.twitter.com/nnJRF6RqKm

— USL PDL (@USLPDL) October 11, 2017

Also considered is Flagstaff, with a metro population of 139,097 and home to Northern Arizona University. The city is steadily growing, along with (relatively) nearby Prescott Valley, and the Northern Arizona region seems like it could support professional soccer pretty well. I’ve found that places with good college sports support tend to also do well with professional soccer, as there’s a good bit of overlap of interests and target demographics, and this could be another promising place.

ARKANSAS

Ah, Arkansas, my adopted second home. I spent three years in Fayetteville at the University of Arkansas, and I absolutely love that city and the state as a whole. Arkansans are ridiculously passionate sports fans, and the whole state gets behind their Hogs year after year, even when they’re consistently the okayest SEC team. Anyway, back to soccer.

Little Rock
-Metro Population: 724,385
-Averaged 4,975 in Double-A baseball

So many people that I’ve met shit on Little Rock, and that really irritates me. I love this wonderful little city. The city somehow only has minor league baseball for pro sports, but it feels like they could have so much more. And I’m clearly not alone, as the Little Rock Rangers have been going strong for two years now. This is another one of those “here’s a well-run amateur team, let’s make them professional” sections, but whatever.

The Rangers are already playing in the NPSL and WPSL, have a strong and growing list of sponsors, are well supported and even have an academy running already. They currently play in the massive, cavernous War Memorial Stadium, and because of that, a good crowd of 2,500 is dwarfed by more than 50,000 empty seats. We’ll want to change that. I’m thinking either use Quigley-Cox Stadium with a bit of a renovation, or possibly even the Arkansas Travelers’ ballpark, Dickey-Stephens Field. Both feature a much nicer capacity for D3 soccer.

Also considered was the Fayetteville/Springdale metro area, with a population of 461,966. The northwest corner of the state is constantly growing thanks to the University of Arkansas and Walmart. The area has minor league baseball and a new NPSL team, Ozark FC. With the number of students who live in Fayetteville year round, and the thousands who end up working locally after graduating, this could be another great soccer town. The Razorbacks soccer team routinely fills its 1,500-seat stadium, and that little venue would be perfect for the USL D3.

CALIFORNIA

California is goddamn massive. Like, seriously, I’m Texan and I think that place is fucking huge. Also, there are two massive metro areas that dominate professional sports in California, and for this exercise I think it’s best if we just ignore all of Los Angeles and the Bay Area when searching for a new market. So, with San Diego possibly maybe sort of joining the NASL in 2018 — or the USL if the NASL dies — and Fresno joining the USL in 2018 along with Sacramento still supporting the Republic, we need something different.

Bakersfield
-Metro population: 839,631
-Averaging 4,504 in AHL

Bakersfield is the ninth-largest city in California and one of the largest independent markets. The city is home to Cal State Bakersfield in NCAA D1, and host the Bakersfield Condors in the American Hockey League. The fact that the Condors have played continuously since 1995, with consistently solid attendance, gives me confidence in the potential success for professional soccer. As for a stadium, I like the Cal State Bakersfield Main Soccer Field with a capacity of 2,000, or the more ambitious and slightly aged Memorial Stadium that seats 20,000. The latter could use a bit of love and money to get it a bit shinier, but it’s a nice-looking stadium with plenty of room to grow nonetheless. And if this theoretical Bakersfield team were to market and operate like Sacramento’s, they could fill that thing.

That’s all for Part I of Project 50/50. I hope you enjoyed this sprawling wall of text that really doesn’t mean much other than speculation and maybe a bit of attention calling to some teams. But I enjoyed it.

Part II is our next group of five states: Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida and Georgia.

Follow John on Twitter: @JohnMLTX.

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Image credit: Las Vegas Lights FC

Las Vegas Lights FC has yet to play a match, but is already causing a stir with some marquee preseason exhibitions lined up for spring 2018. Well, more like the end of winter 2018, but this is the desert we’re talking about, after all.

The Sin City-based USL club will host three MLS sides on consecutive Saturdays in February, the team announced Monday. The Montreal Impact will visit on Feb. 10, followed by the Vancouver Whitecaps on Feb. 17 and D.C. United on Feb. 24.

BREAKING: We’re coming out of the gates BIG in 2018!!

Lights FC is proud to announce Soccer Spring Training, with 3 @MLS clubs coming to face us in Downtown Las Vegas in February.

• 2.10.17 – vs @impactmontreal
• 2.17.17 – vs @WhitecapsFC
• 2.24.17 – vs @dcunited pic.twitter.com/Ffm3a6FgQl

— Las Vegas Lights FC (@lvlightsfc) November 27, 2017

LV Lights FC also recently announced its first-ever head coach in Jose Luis Sanchez Sola. The veteran Mexican manager, nicknamed “Chelis,” previously coached several Liga MX teams as well as former MLS club Chivas USA. Most recently he was with Venados F.C. Yucatan in Mexico’s second division.

Season tickets for the LV Lights’ inaugural campaign start as low as $200 and include a free jersey thanks to an extended Cyber Monday sale.

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Younes Dayekh. Remember that name.

For college soccer teammates at Bradley, St. Mary’s College and Illinois-Chicago (UIC), they know that name all too well. He’s the one they can count on to bring his A game both on and off the field. He has an infectious smile, is full of life and by far is the one who lights up a room.

The light is a bit dimmer these days, but hopefully not for long.

On May 13, Dayekh was riding in a car with two of his best friends, Jack Dunn and David Gjeraker. The trio of former Bradley teammates reunited to celebrate Dunn’s upcoming nuptials to his high school and college sweetheart, Grace Markovich, one day later. The three old friends couldn’t have been happier.

“Younes and David came in early,” Dunn said. “It was absolutely tremendous. We just had the best couple of days ever. It was just like freshman year. We went on runs, played soccer and just hung out.”

And then — a car T-boned theirs. Dunn’s door was smashed in and he was in a lot of pain. Gjeraker had minor injuries. But Dayekh wasn’t doing well. Dunn immediately called Markovich to tell her what had happened.

“The lady turned right into us,” Dunn said. “There was a brief period of time where I may have been unconscious. I called Grace. I knew someone was already calling 911. I wanted to let her know because I knew Younes was in bad shape.”

Luckily for everyone, the ambulances arrived quickly. Markovich, who is an ER nurse, raced to the scene, with her parents not far behind. When she got there, both Dayekh and Dunn were on their way to the hospital. But Gjeraker was still there.

“When Jack called I knew it wasn’t a simple crash,” Markovich said. “He told me Younes is in bad shape. He’s breathing but he’s not responding. When I got there David was standing by the car. I asked him what their conditions were. He said Jack was in extreme pain, but seemed fine. Younes was not good. I talked to the firefighters to see if they called any codes. They called full trauma on both of them. But when they didn’t call a code on Younes, I knew he was still with us.”

Both Dayekh and Dunn were transported to Genesis Trauma Center for further evaluation. Dayekh’s spleen was lacerated and removed before they airlifted him to University of Iowa Hospital in Iowa City. In addition to the lacerated spleen, Dayekh had neck and back fractures and also suffered a brain injury. Dunn had suffered some fractures and was taken by ambulance.

Dayekh’s father, Kamal, and brother, Yosuef, were in Texas when they got the call. 

“My Dad got home from work and said I’m going to catch a plane ticket. It’s for Younes,” Yousef Dayekh said. “He was getting phone calls. I overheard them say he was airlifted in a helicopter. I was just praying everyone was OK. I knew everyone from pictures. He was super excited to be there. We packed a few clothes and just drove as fast as we could.”

Immediately, everyone was praying. And the wedding was put on hold until Younes can walk down the aisle with Dunn and Markovich. They were asking for prayers from around the country. The power of prayer and the power of hope can be very helpful.

“My dad has been a role model,” Yousef Dayekh said. “He keeps saying keep your faith in God. Everything happens for a reason. We’re Dayekhs. We’re always strong.”

Recovering from a brain injury takes time. Younes Dayekh is breathing on his own and is responding, just not as fast as everyone would like.

“Younes has been special his entire life — special in the game and special in life,” Dunn said. “I know he’s going to do something special here.”

Freshman year at Bradley, Dayekh and Dunn were part of a quartet. But soon it became just the two of them. Well, three if you count Markovich.

“Younes is my close friend,” Dunn said. “He became a part of my family, coming home for holidays.”

“When we met freshman year, I was the girlfriend hanging around the guys,” Markovich said. “He became a sibling. When he came home for holidays, he came to my parents’ house as well. I was part of the group.”

No sign of friendship may be greater than senior night on the pitch at UIC. Dayekh’s family couldn’t make it in for the event. So he asked Dunn and Markovich to escort him.

“He’s a very talented soccer player,” UIC head coach Sean Phillips said. “But what speaks louder about him is the valuable relationships he made and how quickly he made them. This couple he met his freshman year at Bradley walked him out on senior night. The impact he’s had on people is immeasurable.”

Dayekh began his collegiate career at Bradley. How did a kid from Northern California end up in the Midwest? It’s easy — networks.

“One of my first recruits was out of the Bay Area, Gavin Glinton,” Bradley head coach Jim DeRose said. “He was running a club in the Bay Area. They brought their club to a camp at Bradley. Gavin introduced Younes to me. A year later, he was playing on our team. His two years here were fantastic. He loves soccer. It’s in his DNA.

“How you carry yourself and treat people speaks volumes. Younes is very respectable, very coachable, very selfless. After the hardest day, the hardest practice, win or lose he always said thank you.”

After his sophomore year, Dayekh transferred to St. Mary’s College in California, where he finished his degree.

“I’ve known him since he was about 15,” St. Mary’s College head coach Adam Cooper said.” We recruited him out of high school, but we didn’t have a scholarship available. When he was looking to transfer, he contacted us and we made it happen.”

While it wasn’t the easiest decision to make, Dayekh left and made sure it was on the best of terms.

“He needed to go back to Northern California,” Bradley assistant coach Tim Regan said. “It was so selfless. It’s not normal for a player to transfer and keep great relationships. In his case, it was always for the right reasons. He’s pretty well liked everywhere, from coast to coast.” 

At St. Mary’s, Dayekh relied on his experience to help lead the team.

“The experience and leadership he brought to the club as a transfer student was so helpful,” Cooper said. “We had a young group and he did a great job with the young kids. Of course, he also added to the firepower that we had. He was a big brother to all the guys. He’s a great role model and leader.”

Dayekh then finished up his collegiate career by attending graduate school at UIC. He made instant friends every step of the way.

“He’s engrained himself into three soccer families: Bradley, St. Mary’s and now UIC,” Phillips said. “The outpouring of support he’s received speaks to the type of kid he is. It’s very rare for someone to be at three programs and leave lasting relationships at all three.”

Phillips said they also had a relationship with Dayekh when he played his final year of eligibility at UIC.

“When he graduated, the uniqueness of eligibility extensions led him to us,” Phillips said. “We already had a relationship with him. He scored a lot of goals for us. But his energy and passion for the game was very unique. He did whatever it took. And he loved it with an endearing passion — a passion for the game or the team he was playing for, or Liverpool who he was cheering for. It was infectious.”

After graduation, Dayekh was still exploring opportunities to play. He hoped to play professionally. Soccer is a part of who he is. But it’s not only who he is. At 23, his life is just beginning.

“The soccer, that’s the least of our worries,” Regan said. “There are so many more important things in life. It’s the reason we all meet and get together. But life is more than just kicking a ball into the net. He’s well traveled for a young guy. He’s seen a lot. This is just something else for him to overcome.”

The Dunn and Markovich families have adopted Kamal and Yousef for now. They’re providing them with a place to stay, home cooked meals and family while Younes improves slowly but daily. Dayekh’s friends and family have stressed the power of prayer from the beginning. They also set up a fund to help with medical expenses.

It is going to be a long and expensive recovery. If you can help in any way, even by just saying a prayer, please do.

Follow Kathryn on Twitter: @Katknapp99.

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Follow Robbie on Twitter: @RobbMeh.

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