The expansion side was previously announced for USL League One. What does this mean for USL League One expansion in 2025?
USL Championship officially announced expansion side Brooklyn FC as joining for the 2025 season. The side was previously announced as an expansion side for USL League One, but last week Hudson River Blue broke the exclusive story on the change.
Brooklyn FC will play at Maimonides Park in Coney Island, a 7,000 capacity stadium shared with minor league baseball team Brooklyn Cyclones.
With the switch in leagues now official, this means there are now five planned expansions for USL League One: Antelope Valley, Naples, Portland, Santa Barbara and Texoma.
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READ MORE: USL League One Expansion Teams: Progress Updates
We speculated yesterday that one additional side may be ready to make the jump, Corpus Christi FC. Other existing USL League Two sides with exploratory rights or stated intent do not appear ready at this time, with access to a USL League One regulation stadium generally the biggest obstacle.
For now, Portland stands alone in the north east representation of USL League One, assuming things progress with Fitzgerald Stadium. MLS Next Pro has independent side Connecticut United FC moving into Bridgeport in 2025, along with existing sides New England Revolution I, New York Red Bulls II, New York City FC II and Philadelphia Union II.
We’d expect the league to help push the Portland project along to completion, given the loss of Brooklyn to USL Championship.
A movement exists in New Hampshire to bring a stadium and a team to the Manchester area, seemingly open to USL or MLS Next Pro at this point. New England Revolution II will play eight home matches at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester. This effort was facilitated by Jeremy Zelanes, a local soccer figure linked to the USL to New Hampshire movement. With MLS Next Pro seeming to undergo an effort to re-brand and move its MLS-connected “two” teams to other markets, this may be the first step for New England Revs II to go that route.
In other USL League One expansion updates, Antelope Valley, Naples and Santa Barbara have all confirmed commitments to join in 2025 with activity on social media and via email newsletters. And while quiet, Portland and Texoma still appear to be on track. Antelope Valley and Naples are expected to release branding details in the coming weeks as they finalize community input and the design process.