USL League One Expands to Eugene, Oregon through Lane United FC
The club looks to expand in a way never before seen with community outreach at the heart of their development.
This evening, the USL announced their intention to bring an USL League One Franchise to Eugene, Oregon through Lane United FC. In a collaboration with non-profits Eugene Civic Alliance and Kidsports, the group is near completion on a 3,500 seat soccer stadium, named Civic Park Stadium, which is being restored after it was burnt by a devastating fire in 2015. The planned stadium will also be paired with a 40,000 square foot field house that will be home to four full-sized middle school basketball courts (can be converted into six to eight volleyball/pickle ball courts.
The facility was redeveloped by the Eugene Civic Alliance, a non-profit specifically created to restore the stadium. After 9 years of planning and fundraising, their vision is coming to life. They teamed up with Kidsports, a local group whose sole purpose is for children of any background, rich or poor, to have access to play sports (almost like a YMCA). Kidsports has been using the facility since its soft opening in 2020 and plans to continue using both the turf soccer pitch and the field house.
Kidsports benefits from the USL’s entrance into the fold as for the first time, they will have a revenue-generating facility that will completely expand how far their outreach will be in Eugene. The sustainable financial model of Civic Park Stadium will allow for the company to give scholarships, expand access to sports, and enhance program quality, along with other improvements and initiatives.
It is incredible how this stadium plan has come to be, as its first renovations in 2020 (Phase 1 of the project) were thanks to $30 million dollars raised by their community, which is an astonishing number. For Phase II of the project (the stadium, which notably was only supposed to hold 2,500 but has been expanded), $13 million has already been raised out of the $18 million goal. The Civic Park development proves that the city is thriving and ready for a pro sports team, and that’s where Lane United FC, who already play on the current, smaller version of Civic Park, enter the fray.
In 2022, it was reported that Lane United landed exclusive negotiation rights to turn the USL2 club into a professional franchise. Until now, there was dead silence on where the negotiations went, and if you didn’t look hard enough, you’d think Lane United weren’t involved in the expansion plans at all! In the official USL announcement, the league never specifies Lane United by name. However, they do specify working with Dave and John Galas, the founders of the club, and the Eugene Civic Alliance site (eugenecivicalliance.org) states that Lane United will be the primary tenants of Civic Park. It is unknown why Lane United weren’t directly mentioned; my only guess is a possible rebrand of the club is on the way.
Amidst all the news, the USL also stated that a professional women’s soccer team will play in Eugene, supposedly in tandem with the Lane United organization and supposedly in the USL Super League. However, those details are not clear at this time.
Lane United’s intended growth is great both for the USL (expanding League One and forming a rivalry with Spokane) and for the local community. The launch of the pro club with help from the non-profits is a community-first effort that should be praised and applauded. Soccer’s influence in the community is where the game is best, and it’s great to see that the USL and Lane United believe that, too.
This sounds like an incredible story of a community working together for this to happen. Looks like they're going to have a nice facility
Bravo, Calum! Are you really 16 years old?? This is mature, polished writing and analysis --Kartik better watch out! : ))