USL League One Expansion Updates: October

Where the class of 2025 stands heading into the off-season, plus 2026 and beyond.

Stadiums, ticketing, staffing and budding supporters groups.

These are the ingredients for a successful 2025 expansion into USL League One at this point in the year, and a good number of our class of 2025 are ahead of schedule. Is anyone lagging behind? Any teams we need to worry about?

Read on for our October expansion update!

On Track for 2025

These expansion sides are far enough along in the process to be considered a sure thing for 2025.

AV Alta FC

Image credit AV Alta FC/Instagram

In late August, the Lancaster, California-based side broke ground on the conversion of Lancaster Municipal Stadium to a 5,300-capacity, soccer-specific facility. Construction continues through the Fall and Winter with expected completion in early 2025. Subsequently, the club started converting season ticket deposits to actual seats on September 9th.

The club also revealed its inaugural kit on October 18th.

As far as technical staffing, the club already has in place: Head Coach Brian Kleiban, Sporting Director Zaki Tahari and General Manager Nehemias Blanco. Academy tryouts tool place in mid-September, and we expect that soft recruiting for the first team is already in place.

The 661 SG continues to be active on social media and in the community, helping hype the fans for the 2025 season. At this point it’s hard to tell which of the expansion sides will have the loudest supporter’s group between Antelope Valley, FC Naples and Portland Hearts of Pine.

FC Naples

Image credit Barra 239

The southwest Florida side is set to play in the 5,000 capacity Paradise Coast Sports Complex stadium, and started converting deposit holders to seats last month. Head coach Matt Poland has been busy holding open tryouts, telling local media that there are “a few players that we’re definitely excited about.” According to a Goal.com article, Poland expects to have a mostly complete roster by January.

Supporters Group Barra 239 continues to show up to events with drums, chants and bodies ready to go when the 2025 season kicks off.

Portland Hearts of Pine

Image credit Portland Hearts of Pine

Earlier this month, the club overcame some stadium hurdles and will be installing new turf which will allow them to better meet professional standards. The 5,500 capacity stadium is shared with Portland High School, but the changes should ensure professional-level markings for Hearts matches.

On the ticketing front, the club claims to have sold the most season ticket deposits in league history at 4,500. Even if some of those fans drop out, Portland should still compete with Richmond and Madison for attendance records in its first season. The deposits are also being converted to full seats, so we should have a better idea as to the final count in the weeks to come.

The one thing Portland is missing so far is a coaching staff, but there’s still plenty of time. This indicates they’re eying someone currently active in USL League One or USL Championship, and should have the announcement soon after playoffs end in November.

In the meantime, Supporters Group Dirigo Union continues to grow. Some of the founders host a podcast discussing the process of building and growing a group, the team, as well as other soccer and community related topics.

Texoma FC

The North-Texas based side announced Adrian Forbes as its first head coach last week. The English former footballer was previously announced as the sporting director for the club.

They also provided updates on the stadium situation in early October. While they will invest in upgrades at Bearcat Stadium, including and LED video boards, seat backs in the premium section, and a mobile video board, the plan is to move to team-owned soccer-specific stadium by 2027. The team indicated they are working with various partners to develop a stadium and entertainment district in Sherman.

In the meantime, 2025 season tickets went live in August, and the team continues to provide regular communications and social media posts hyping the upcoming season. The team also held several professional combines over the last few months, allowing Forbes a head start on recruitment.

The only thing we have not heard for Texoma FC is the presence of a supporters group. If you know anything about the development of one, please leave a comment or DM us on Instagram or X.

Westchester SC

The Mount Vernon, NY based side onboarded former Charlotte Independence assistant Dave Carton as its first head coach. The team has held open tryouts, is set to play at the Stadium at Memorial Field in Mount Vernon, and has been selling season ticket deposits, with seat selection coming by end of year.

Supporters Group 914th Infantry suddenly popped up in late September, and has been active in promoting their group and the team.

Santa Barbara Sky

It’s been quiet in Santa Barbara over the last few months, and we’re starting to worry about their prospects of joining in 2025. After a few positive movements, including a stadium agreement with UC Santa Barbara, a re-awakened social media presence, and a new push for season ticket deposits, we have not seen much more. With everything in place except staffing and a supporter group, there’s still time, and the league has not yet removed Santa Barbara from the 2025 expansion list. But there are concerns, given how far ahead all the other sides are.

Likely or Confirmed for 2026

Corpus Christi FC

Earlier this month, the league announced the award of an expansion franchise to the Corpus Christi ownership group. It’s something that has been in the works since at least 2020, but is now official. Per the group’s new USL Professional Soccer website, the team should join in 2026.

The team will play in a new, 5,000 capacity soccer-specific stadium, already under construction and slated for completion in early 2025. The Corpus Christi Sports Complex is located in the southwest portion of the city.

We will await word on branding, ticketing and the formation of a supporters’ group over the next year.

Or could we see Corpus Christi speed things up and make the jump a year early to replace Lexington?

Eugene

Sources tell us that Eugene did not apply for professional sanctioning for 2025, but continues to move forward with 2026 as the goal. The stadium renovation is nearly complete, and as soon as any factors preventing sanctioning are resolved, they should be able to move forward quickly.

The team will rebrand from its current USL2 brand Lane United to a new, yet to be announced name and logo. We’re promised some updates by the end of the year.

Fort Wayne FC

Fort Wayne FC is making big moves in anticipation of a professional turn in the near future. The club hired Scott Sproat as Chief Operations Officer, a role typically found at professional clubs. Sproat will be in charge of business operations, including sales, marketing, ticketing, partnerships, promotions and game day operations. He joins after 24 years with minor league hockey team Fort Wayne Komets. We’re hearing several more announcements should be coming within the next month or so.

Plans are already green-lit to build a 5,000 capacity mixed-use stadium on Bass Road that will become the home of Fort Wayne FC.

Sarasota Paradise

The team’s ownership group has signaled its intent to turn professional by 2026, and has brought on additional investors. The club still needs to lock down a stadium location. Other than that, branding and business operations are already in place with the USL2 organization.

2026-2027 and Beyond

Boise

Earlier in October, The Idaho Statesman reported that Ada County unveiled a public auction for a 27-acre site just outside of the Boise city limits with the intentions of developing a 6,000 capacity stadium, with add-on growth up to 11,000, for “men’s and women’s professional soccer teams.” Then on October 30th, USL announced that an ownership group connected to the league secured the winning bid, and intends to bring USL League One and Super League to Boise.

It’s still pending execution of the bid and lease with the county, and is one of many attempts at a stadium and pro soccer in the area, but looks to be the furthest along of any prior attempt. The league and ownership group also announced their intent to forge the new club’s identity, including colors and logo, over the next few months. We’re not quite ready to bump Boise up to “likely” 2026 until construction begins, but it’s suddenly the furthest along of the “and beyond” prospects.

Rochester (MN)

The leaders of Rochester FC told local media they are working on a move to the professional ranks as soon as 2026, and consider it “nearly a done deal.” While there is no word on which league, the current sides compete in USL2, USL Academy and USL W, so the writing is on the wall. They also claim there will be some big announcements between now and the end of November. One to keep an eye on for sure.

Modesto

USL announced an exploratory negotiation between the league and the city of Modesto to bring another professional soccer team to the Central Valley of California. Located an hour and a half from Fresno, a USL League One side would become an instant rival to Fuego FC.

According to KCRA, the goal would be a “multi-purpose stadium for the downtown area,” with “at least 5,000 seats” for professional soccer. This would align with the standard size of new USL League One facilities.

Dothan United

One of the highest attended USL2 sides has been rumored for expansion to the professional ranks for a while. They’d need to figure out a better stadium situation, currently playing at a city high school football facility.

Real Central NJ

Reliable sources indicated earlier this year 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.

Wilmington

Local media caught up with the group behind USL Wilmington back in April, and we’ve seen no update since. 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. 2026 remains the earliest we’d see pro soccer in Wilmington.

Inter New Hampshire

A few months ago, the social media handle registered to USL to New Hampshire suddenly changed to Inter New Hampshire, and released branding. However, the club stated it was joining UPSL for the 2025 season, which was unexpected given that the group behind the club was known to be courting both USL and MLS Next Pro.

We’re told this is part of a two-year plan to bring USL League One to Manchester. Keep an eye out for 2027.

Fort Myers

There’s been no update after the city passed on a proposal linked to MLS Next Pro to take over City of Palms Park, turning to another from the USL. In June, local media reported that representatives from USL were still negotiating with the city on a $40 million bond. As part of the proposal, USL would refurbish the stadium, and develop multifamily housing, hotels, retail and offices in the area. There is no word on which USL league they have in mind, or on any ownership group.

The timetable of this one is looking like 2027 at the soonest.

Lancaster FC

In a previous update, a reader submitted a tip about Lancaster FC’s intentions to field a USL League One side, supposedly by 2025. The text is still there on the club’s website.

They do already have branding in place for the USL-A infrastructure, operating as Lancaster FC, Red Rose City. The team also has access to a newly renovated Clipper Magazine Stadium, which recently had its turf replaced for easier conversion between baseball and other events.

However at this time, there is no official word on a 2025 (or beyond) project moving forward.

FC Tucson

FC Tucson will spend another season in USL League Two in 2025. When the team self-relegated out of USL League One following the 2022 season, they indicated a desire to eventually return. As of right now, it does not appear that the club has solved the issues that led to the self-relegation, including stadium improvements and increased investment.

Reno

News broke last month of a group trying to build a 6,500 capacity stadium in Reno with the intentions of attracting USL League One expansion. The group, For Our Fans Foundation, intended to privately fund a stadium for lease to a new USL League One side. However, the plan ran into neighborhood opposition, and was voted down by the Washoe County Open Space & Regional Parks Commission. With the amount of funding said to be available by the group (upwards of $40 million), we don’t think we’ve heard the last of this project.

That’s now two groups trying to lure USL League One to Reno after the demise of USL Championship side Reno 1868. Another group has been working to transition NISA Nation side Battleborn FC to the professional ranks, with USL League One mentioned as an option alongside MLS Next Pro. Last year, the group got the green light for a 5,000 capacity stadium in north Reno, but the project has not started.

Grand Rapids

Voters in Kent County, Michigan approved a lodging tax hike to help fund a professional soccer stadium in Grand Rapids. There is no word on which league will take on use of the facility, currently slated to hold 8,500 fans. This would place it more along the size of newer, mid-market USL Championship facilities.

Have a tip? Want to discuss any of these projects? Reach out via email: leagueoneupdater@gmail.com, or DM me on Twitter or Instagram.

For USL Championship expansion news, check out USL Tactics.

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