Back in March, we published a briefing on all of the known USL League One expansion sides and the progress at the time. Over the last seven weeks, things have progressed rapidly with most of the 2025 projected sides, as well as a few others.
In one major development, Brooklyn FC changed its course and jumped to USL Championship, leaving Portland the lone confirmed side to join USL League One from the Northeast.
Here’s a quick update on the progress of the rest of the expansion sides.
USL Naples
The Florida club will play at the already-completed 5,000 capacity Paradise Coast Sports Complex on the outskirts of Naples. They’ve been on pace to collect over 1,000 season ticket deposits, and have completed community surveys and brand research. The club teased the theme of the brand, which should come as no surprise as being heavily influenced by a Southwest Florida beach lifestyle.
A date has not been announced for the brand reveal, but we expect it any day. With everything coming together, 2025 is looking good.
Texoma FC
The North Texas expansion side recently announced an exciting celebrity ownership group, including (American) Football’s Gronkowski family, MLB pitcher Matt Barnes, backed by De Anna Guerreiro of Legends Advocates, an investment house focusing on professional athletes.
Texoma FC will start its run in the 6,500 capacity Bearcat Stadium in Sherman, Texas, while pursuing a 7,000 capacity soccer-specific development in the area. They revealed full branding in December, and started collecting season ticket deposits on April 13th. Finally, the club teased the announcement of a manager and sporting director “in the next few months.”
2025 is looking more certain by the day.
USL Antelope Valley
The just-north-of-Los-Angeles expansion side is based in Lancaster, California. They’re set to play at Lancaster Municipal Stadium, with construction slated to begin this Summer to convert facility into a 5,300 soccer-specific stadium. Season ticket deposits have not yet begun, but reliable sources say the brand release will be on May 17th. We suspect deposits will also begin around this date. So far, all signs point to a 2025 debut.
USL Portland
The Maine expansion side released partial branding, and will unveil the full package on Saturday, April 27th at a fan fest in Portland. They’ll also open season ticket deposits at the event.
The team is scheduled to begin renovations on the 6,000 capacity Fitzpatrick Stadium this Summer, adding professional-level upgrades such as security, lighting, locker rooms and a press box.
Things are much further along than they were just six weeks ago, and 2025 is looking a lot more likely.
Santa Barbara Sky FC
The California side has been relatively quiet over the last six weeks, but local media reported that the team will now play at University of California Santa Barbara, rather than at Santa Barbara City College. They will use UCSB’s soccer stadium, sharing with the university’s nationally renowned programs. While it won’t be as scenic, nor as centrally located as SBCC’s La Playa Stadium, it ensures there will be no football lines.
Branding has been fully released since 2022, and season ticket deposits continue. We’ve also heard agents say the team has reached out to put them on notice for the upcoming signing season.
We don’t know if the stadium situation held the team back from its planned 2024 entrance into USL League One, but the fact that a soccer-specific stadium is now home shows promise that 2025 will actually happen.
Lane United FC/USL Eugene
Last week, USL League One announced a new project “USL Eugene.” It quickly became apparent that this is the same group behind current USL League Two side Lane United FC, already known to have USL League One exploration rights for the Eugene, Oregon area.
The new USL League One side will go through a complete rebrand from Lane United FC, as explained by managing director Dave Galas to Josh Duder of One League Under the C on a recent episode. This is a plan that has been under consideration since at least 2020.
The side will play at an expanded Civic Park, a 3,500 capacity facility upon completion. As of right now, upgrades are set to finish by the end of 2024, and the club states its intention to field a side in 2025. The branding process is in progress, and no ticketing info has been released yet. However, there’s plenty of time for both.
Corpus Christi FC
USL League One president Lee O’Neill made a visit to Corpus Christi on April 12th, further indicating that this USL League Two side may be one of the next announced to join the league. Talks of joining date back to 2020, and the planned completion of a 5,000 capacity soccer specific stadium in late 2024 makes the jump all but inevitable. For now, we don’t have any official timeline, but the pieces appear to be coming together.
Real Central NJ
Since our last update, reliable sources indicated that this project is very much alive, although the key foundations are still coming together. Currently in USL League Two, the club plays at Ben Cohen Field on the campus of Rider University in Lawrenceville, but would likely pursue a new complex somewhere in Mercer County ahead of a jump to USL League One. While the project is active and progressing, it is still in the early stages, indicating a jump in 2026 at the very earliest.
USL Wilmington
Local media caught up with the group behind USL Wilmington. While the renovation plans for Legion Stadium are approved and ready to go, the group confirmed that a last minute pullout of an investor put the project on hold. The group is seeking new investors, and have put all options on the table, from USL League One and USL Championship to MLS Next Pro. It would be a heavy lift to gain funding and move forward with the renovations in time for 2025, but we’ll see what happens in the next couple of months.
USL Fort Myers
Since our last update, the city of Fort Myers rejected the proposal of original developer Pitch Prime, which had been linked to MLS Next Pro. After the rejection, the city turned to the second proposed developer, USL. At the time, USL was engaged in a lawsuit with the city over the original selection process. After being selected, USL dropped the suit.
Since then, we’ve heard nothing. Regardless of the outcome, there won’t be professional soccer in Fort Myers in 2025.
Fort Wayne
After publishing our last story, a reader pointed out a plan to build a multipurpose housing and entertainment complex in Fort Wayne, which would include a 5,000 capacity soccer stadium. However, the plan was one of eight proposed to the city, as part of the massive Riverfront Planned Urban District project. The city stated that everything was under review, and the focus for the next two years is completing park space. There is also no word on the involvement of anyone connected to USL.
Another reader pointed out a different proposal for a 7,500 capacity stadium just east of the city limits in Allen County, currently under review by the county. The group, BND, already has experience building SportOne Parkview Fieldhouse and Icehouse in Fort Wayne. Again, no word on the involvement of any specific leagues at this point.
Fort Wayne FC continues to compete in USL League Two.
No Update
Since the last writing, there have been no updates on the following USL League One projects:
- FC Tucson (USL League Two)
- FC Harlem (youth)
Editor’s note: This story was updated after publication to include the second Fort Wayne area development proposal.