The Rochester Rhinos have joined five fellow members of the United Soccer League's First Division as part of the fledgling North American Soccer League scheduled to begin play in April 2010, the team announced Monday.
The news comes three months after the sale of the USL by Nike Inc. to NuRock Soccer Holdings LLC.
“We evaluated the situation very carefully and decided that the best decision for the future of the Rhinos and soccer in Rochester was for us to join the new NASL,” Rhinos CEO Robert Clark said in a statement.
“Soccer is maturing before our very eyes. We are joining a family of team owners who are committed to investing in our league and their teams to further the development of players and support the future growth of the sport in North America.”
The Rhinos will join former USL-1 franchises the Carolina RailHawks, Miami FC Blues, Minnesota Thunder, Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps in the NASL. The other teams are the Atlanta Silverbacks, Crystal Palace Baltimore. St. Louis United and the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
The NASL has applied for Division II status in the United States Soccer Federation. If approved, the league would join USL-1 as a second tier of professional soccer behind Major League Soccer.
The new NASL is not affiliated with the NASL that operated from 1968-84. The Rochester Lancers were members of that league from 1970-80.
“I’m looking forward to working with my fellow owners in the coming weeks to hire a commissioner, create a 2010 schedule and finalize league marketing initiatives,” Clark said.
(c) 2009 Rochester Business Journal. To obtain permission to reprint this article, call 585-546-8303 or e-mail service@rbj.net.
eMail
View All Comments
Print
Reprints
