USL Championship Expansion Tracker: April 2025

Credit mlssoccer.com

Welcome back to the USL Championship expansion tracker on Beyond the 90. We’re reporting on 18 clubs across the country who are eyeing the league for their future.

You’ll notice some changes from our first two expansion trackers. First, we got rid of the speculative teams at the bottom of the list. If anything substantial comes from those organizations, they’ll return to the list. Second, the categories have changed to be more specific, highlighting what teams need to do before they can join the league.

With the news of USL Division One arriving since our last tracker update in February, there is a chance some of the teams listed below shoot for bigger and better things. However, if their plans are still publicly set for the Championship, they’ll stay on this list.

With that said, let’s dive in.

On Track to Join USL Championship in the Next Two Years

These clubs have all the pieces coming together to start play in 2026 or 2027.

Brooklyn FC

After initially being set to join USL League One after the club’s announcement in 2023, Brooklyn FC are now set to join the Championship in 2026 (delayed start from initial 2025 plan) and play out of Maimonides Park in Coney Island. The 7,000 seat home of the New York Mets’ minor league baseball team Brooklyn Cyclones and the former home of the New York Cosmos, the park was to be used for soccer as Brooklyn paid for a turf field to be laid over the baseball surface. However, the turf was damaged beyond repair during installation, so the club’s USL Super League team had to temporarily move to Columbia University’s Rocco B. Commisso Soccer Stadium in Manhattan. The women’s team then played their first match in Maimonides Park on March 15 in front of 5,129 fans, but lost 0-2 to Fort Lauderdale United.

The men’s start was delayed likely due to front office turmoil. One of the brainchildren of the club and initial President and CEO Maximillian Mansfield vacated the role in mid-fall 2024 after stating promise for the team after their summer 2024 debut friendly. Kevin Tenjo stepped in, becoming the club’s first Sporting Director and taking over day-to-day operations for both the men’s and women’s teams. Now, Brooklyn FC is set for an exciting launch in one of the USL’s biggest markets to date.

Santa Barbara Sky

Initially announced as a club in USL League One, the Santa Barbara Sky, founded by former Liverpool CEO Peter Moore, will play in the USL Championship. This comes after signing a deal to play at the 17,000 seat Harber Stadium at UCSB and acquiring Championship franchise rights from Memphis 901 FC.

Since the announcement of the move to the Championship, the club has announced a 5-year partnership with PUMA and a multi-year partnership with Theta Lake (a digital communications governance company). They have also partnered with the city’s local food bank and given an initial $5,000 donation.

Season tickets will go on sale this summer, and it’s known that over 1,100 season ticket deposits have been placed. Along with the club keeping its social media active, it’s a heal turn from the silence of years before and a great sign for soccer in an untapped coastal market (and one that meets the requirements to later join the USL First Division).

Buffalo Pro Soccer

After initially targeting a stadium site in the old Buffalo News parking lot, therefore possibly delaying the project a year due to the need for public funding, Buffalo Pro Soccer instead decided to build as new 7,600 seat stadium in the city’s Valley District. While there are some concerns due to the site being next to a chemical plant, and the plant themselves not supporting the stadium, club President Peter Marlette has said that there will be no environmental issues.

Credit uslsoccer.com

Buffalo aims to join the Championship in 2026 and are on track to do so with the stadium being modular. The club has also recently reached a youth academy deal with USL2’s FC Buffalo and sold 1,000 season ticket deposits, continuing the work of Marlette’s town halls to keep the team in the conscious of potential fans in the area. Everything seems to be coming together well for the group after an uneasy last few months.

Milwaukee Pro Soccer

In February, it was reported that the land for the 8,000 seat planned soccer stadium in Milwaukee was sold for $9.3 million, the exact amount of state funding given to the pro soccer project all the way back in November of 2023. After over a year of silence, work on the club’s future home begins this summer, and Milwaukee Pro Soccer is back on track.

Now, is the project on track for 2026? Not likely. Though reporters are still being told the goal is 2026, the stadium would need to be completed at an incredible speed, and a front office would have to be put together even quicker. It is much more likely that the team is ready for 2027.

And, although this news is very positive, there are still a few questions. Why did it take over a year to buy the land in the Iron District, an area where a residential component has already been completed? What exactly were the financial and construction issues delaying the project (explanation for delays in the February article)? When will a team name be chosen? There’s been no updates on the naming contest since October of 2023 when the final 10 names were chosen (including Milwaukee Tall Boys, Milwaukee Barons, and Cream City). Stadium progress brings the project from being unlikely to on track, but there are still other questions that need to be answered for the project to look as certain as others on this list.

OKC For Soccer

After years of silence and rumors on the future of the club after going into hiatus in 2022, the Oklahoma City Energy will return to the USL Championship in 2027 in a new 8,000-12,300 (exact number TBD by design group) seat stadium that received a land donation from the city just over a month ago. This revitalization of the Energy is due to majority ownership in the team being bought by the Echo investment group and hiring former USL CCO Court Jeske to lead the “OKC for Soccer” Initiative. Since then, the initiative has gone through a brand review that considered the addition of a women’s soccer team, has founded an advisory committee, added OKC Thunder legend Russell Westbrook to its ownership, and released a stadium survey to help shape fan experience.

However, in reality with all the front office movement, the club is starting from scratch. That was made clear with the announcement of the club moving on from the famous Energy moniker. A “Name the Team” campaign was announced along with the new logo designer, Matthew Wolff. Wolff designed the crests of Louisville City FC, Charleston Battery, and Oakland Roots. The 5 finalists for the new club title were announced in March, including the OKC United, Bison, Wind, Lightning, and Thunderbird. No matter the name, the club has had a lot of success over the last year that should give fans confidence for a 2027 launch.

Ozark United

The project for professional soccer in Northwest Arkansas is coming to fruition through Ozark United FC, named off the region’s Ozark Mountains. The club intended to launch in 2026, however a slight delay was caused by a stadium site location change. The land, still located in Rogers, Arkansas, is much larger than the original site, and was bought as the other “would not be large enough to meet fan expectations for an enhanced game-day experience”, according to a club press release. This decision was made after meetings with 9 focus groups, 16 listening sessions and more than 500 one-on-one conversations with fans. Plans were released for the site in late March, detailing a $250-$350 million dollar entertainment district anchored by a 5,000 seat stadium with room to grow.

Credit Buf Studio, taken from talkbusiness.net

Ozark United is now on track to join the USL Championship for 2027.

USL Garland (Dallas)

In a rather surprising announcement, the USL is heading to compete with the MLS with a new expansion franchise in Dallas (specifically the metro city of Garland). This initiative has quickly become the most positive and fastest growing expansion effort in the league.

Club founder Matt Valentine has shown plans for a 7-10,000 seat stadium (3,000 standing-room-only supporter’s section), a club headquarters, practice fields, futsal courts, a beer garden, and community fields to be built off of George Bush Highway. This news was revealed both by a club teaser video and a tweet by Garland District 7 Councilman Dylan Hedrick, then officially confirmed at the club’s Fan Forum on January 31.

To add to the positive signs, USL Rhino was able to sit down with the project’s leaders for a productive discussion, Valentine stated that the branding of the club will be released on May 2, 2025. Before that, the club hosted their 3rd Fan Forum, which discussed the new official youth partnership with Renegades Soccer Club. The brand is rumored to be “Atletico Dallas” based off of acquired trademarks, but we only have to wait a short time to find out if that’s true. After that, let’s hope for continued smooth sailing for the Garland group.

Need A Stadium to Get On Track

These clubs have everything in place for a successful Championship club expect their own stadium.

Sporting Jacksonville

Everything about building Sporting Jacksonville, from the branding to community outreach to front office makeup, has been fantastic, except for building a stadium. Most notably, the club has recently hired former QPR head coach Mark Warburton as Sporting Director, agreed to a multi-year partnership with Adidas, partnered with the Gainesville Soccer Alliance academy, and hired a head coach for the Super League team. They also have a hour-long radio show, news report, and podcast, and they can all be found on their X account.

However, building a stadium is still the largest problem. The club has considered 55 different sites for the proposed 15,000 capacity ground, one being the former Sears at Regency Square Mall (although in 2024, the developer buying the site stated there was no club involvement). The potential sites have been narrowed down to a few locations, and club CEO Steve Livingstone stated that a deal was expected “hopefully before the summer. Hopefully sometime in the spring.”

Future MLS NEXT Pro club Jacksonville Armada have received a permit and bought the land ($1 cost) for their new soccer-specific stadium, putting the MLS NEXT Pro club on track for 2026, so Sporting Jax may consider putting the men’s club in a temporary stadium to compete that year. One option would be the University of North Florida’s Hodges Stadium, the temporary home of the club’s Super League team with a capacity of 9,400. No matter what they choose to do, any home location will put this club on track to join the Championship (though their stadium and market size suggests that they could join the USL First Division).

Union Omaha

USL League One’s newest champion and most successful club have made it rather obvious that they’d like to join the Championship, though no official announcement has happened yet. Plans for a new 7,000 seat, soccer-specific stadium were announced in January 2024, and state funding was approved in April. A developer and design firm were chosen for the project in July. The plan was for construction to begin in Fall of 2024 and the stadium to be ready for spring of 2026. But then, the original site was announced as no longer being considered.

League One Updater told me that new sites are being considered by the club with a new partner and new development plans. The Mayor of Omaha has given support to the club for a downtown stadium, as well.

The two sites that are possibilities are in the parking lots around Charles Schwab Field (Home of the College World Series) and the Omaha Convention Center. The stadium if by the convention center would be part of a center expansion. The new sites are 2-3 blocks away from the original location.

Original site in red, new sites in blue.

In the meantime, Union Omaha has an option year for Werner Park in 2026. The terms aren’t great, but it’s better than a hiatus. There are also talks with the University of Nebraska Omaha to use Caniglia Field (used previously for Open Cup matches) and with Creighton University to use Morrison Stadium for a bridge year(s) (with the change in ownership of the baseball team to now differ from the USL club, it is unlikely games at Werner Park will continue for long). Nonetheless, League One Updater still believes 2027 expansion is well within reach, and certainly 2028 is likely.

Need Finances to Get On Track

If this club wants to come to fruition, they need more financial backing from investors.

USL Pro Iowa

Founded in 2019, the initiative to bring pro soccer to Des Moines, Iowa was created by USL League Two owner of the Des Moines Menace Kyle Krause. Krause also owns Parma Calcio 1913 in Italian first division Serie A. The goal of the project was to build a 6,300 seat stadium and start play in 2022. Six years later, and there still is work to be done before a ground is even built!

The project, initially estimated to cost $60 million, now costs $95 million due to the addition of environmental cleanup costs paid by the city on the proposed stadium site (vacant pesticide factories). Krause and his wife have pitched in $23 million personally, the state of Iowa approved $23.5 million in state funding, and Polk County approved $7 million, later agreeing to give $10 million more. However, it was reported on April 21 that there is still a $21 million gap in meeting the $95 million budget.

If the cost gap is filled, the Krause Group will spend $500 million on developments around the stadium, and Iowa will have a fantastic new area for businesses and soccer to thrive. But, it’s unclear how new funding will be received, and without any extra investors this project will not succeed.

Planning to Join a USL Mystery Division

We don’t have enough info at this time to determine whether these clubs will join the Championship or League One, but they are looking likely to succeed in either division.

Championship Looks More Likely: Fort Lauderdale United, USL Pico Rivera (Los Angeles)

On February 12, the city of Pico Rivera, a suburb of Los Angeles, signed a letter of intent with the USL to bring a pro soccer club and entertainment district to the city. One month later on March 12, USL Super League side Fort Lauderdale United announced their intentions to field a men’s team. Both groups didn’t state what league they plan to join, but the market size (and stadium size in the case of Fort Lauderdale) seem to fit the mold of the Championship. We’ll provide updates as the projects begin to develop.

UPDATE: As of April 28, Fort Lauderdale announced a move to League One.

League One Looks More Likely: USL Modesto, Pensacola FC, and USL Santa Rosa

Modesto, Pensacola, and Santa Rosa are three cities that have both similar size (~500,000 metro population) and similar hopes for soccer in their state. After signing a Letter of Intent with the USL, the Modesto City Council has said soccer is definitely coming to the city with a soccer-specific stadium. For Pensacola, the Southeast Soccer Report confirmed that The League for Clubs and WPSL semi-pro side Pensacola FC were involved in pro negotiations. That effort will also likely need a new soccer-specific stadium to be built in the city. Santa Rosa is in the early stage, signing a Letter of Intent on April 15, the same day officials briefing the City Council publicly revealed the plans.

“Modesto City Manager Joe Lopez, Mayor Sue Zwahlen and USL Deputy CEO & Chief Real Estate Officer Justin Papadakis expressed excitement about the possibility of bringing professional soccer to Modesto at a City event on Thursday” - Credit uslsoccer.com

The groups on paper seem fit to field USL League One clubs, but as the announcements didn’t specify a league, we’ll hold Championship hopes out for now.

Quiet… Too Quiet

These clubs have not released any updates in a while, and it leads us to believe they may be dead.

USL Roswell (North Atlanta)

Since the letter of intent (LOI) was signed between the USL and the city of Roswell, Georgia (North metro Atlanta area) in late March of 2024, there has been no updates from the league or the city on the future of the initiative. The project was headlined by brining Atlanta its first pro women’s soccer team, along with a men’s Championship side, in a stadium with a minimum capacity of 10,000.

Although BT90 exclusively reported that a location announcement for the stadium was anticipated in January 2025 (and that was according to a spokesperson for Roswell Mayor Kurt Wilson), the month came and passed without said announcement. When we have reached out for updates or comments in the months since, we have received no response. It seems that this may be an example of a LOI that didn’t raise enough interest from investors to move forward, but after an Instagram post from USL COO Justin Papadakis recently mentioned the project, perhaps the project is not yet dead.

USL Wilmington

USL Wilmington was announced in June 2022 with the goal to join USL League One. However, in March 2023, after a failed attempt to gain access to the city’s Legion Stadium (former home of semi-pro soccer), the main investor Scott Sullivan with Cameron Management left the project, almost ending it then and there.

Since then, a new main investor has been found but was not revealed in the above linked article (from February 2025), and even then there is a struggle to replace the original funding. And while a lease for Legion Stadium is now possible, it would require the cost of painting over existing turf marks on the field for other sports. With this in mind and the city’s tough negotiations, USL Wilmington (made of investors outside of Wilmington) has explored options for the club in other unnamed cities. They have also explored other leagues and are open to the USL Championship, League One, or MLS NEXT Pro. They plan to launch on the field in 2027, but until they can get the remaining financing needed, they’re unlikely to ever fully get off the ground.

USL Palm Beach

Since the announcement in December 2023 that international polo star Nacho Figueras acquired the rights to a USL Championship and Super League side in Palm Beach, Florida, there have been no public announcements on the project. However, reporters and fans were able to find some private info.

USL League One Updater commented that projects for Palm Beach Soccer by both the USL group and MLS NEXT Pro were facing issues and delays. Beyond the 90 can confirm that the Figueras group still has the rights, as Miami FC looked at a relocation to West Palm Beach and failed before focusing on their future move to Homestead, Florida. And, a user on Reddit found trademarks filed under the Palm Beach Sports Holdings name showing the new logo and name of the club, Palm Beach FC.

Credit: DRF19, Reddit

However, this trademark finding is the latest news surrounding the club, and that was over 3 months ago. Until we get more clarity and a new public announcement, things aren’t looking good for soccer in Palm Beach.

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Have any tips? Want to discuss any of these projects? Reach out via email: media@beyondthe90.net or DM us at X (@Beyondthe_90) or the writer’s Instagram (ewing.calum).

For USL League One expansion news, follow League One Updater for monthly updates on BT90.

For MLS NEXT Pro expansion news, check out Next Pro News.