Jacksonville Armada in trouble?

[Tacachale]

Right, but I assumed the U.S. Soccer Federation had a significant amount of say in how the division's were arranged. Couldn't they have conditioned the USL move to division 2 on accepting the teams from the NASL?

Reading some of the wiki page on lower division soccer in the US, it feels like we are just watching another dispute in a highly dysfunctional organization. The way things are going, it looks like a lot of people stand to lose a lot of money, again. Would the MLB or NBA put up with this feud among their minor leagues?

The USL has won the battle here, they were D3 and their promotion to D2 is another death bell for NASL. The Federation would never force them to take over the losing competitor in the NASL and those teams debts. However the USL has been very open to accepting NASL teams, and that's all you can really ask for.

Both leagues only have provisional D2 sanctioning, meaning they don't meet all qualifications. More NASL teams individually fit the bill, but the league is unstable. The USL is mores stable, but a number of their teams are bush league, or are just MLS reserves. While it's unlikely there will be 2 D2 leagues after the year, it seems likelier that there will be a restructuring of some kind.

Yah but USL was D3 last season and NASL's D2 status wasn't provisional. The arrows are clearly pointing in opposite directions for the leagues, and if restructuring happens it will be NASL as D3.  Also, saying USL is bush league and NASL isn't, is laughable at this point.

I said some of the USL's *teams* are bush league or MLS reserves, because they are. They have some very solid teams, better off than any NASL team, but then some that are literally just reserves for MLS. Orlando has one that plays at a community college rec center in Brevard County and draws smaller crowds than UCF's college soccer team (less than a thousand people), despite Orlando being one of the strongest MLS franchises. That's not AAA sports, as division 2 soccer is supposed to be.

NASL was "provisional" in the past in the sense that it has never met all the D2 requirements. Neither league meets them now, and I can't imagine USL will be able to pull it off without bumping a good chunk of their teams down. I think a restructuring would be more like the top teams from both current leagues go into a D2 league and the others go to a D3 league. Or, they'll change the standards to be a lot more lax.

[Tacachale]

The news is out that the Armada will be playing at Hodges Stadium at UNF for the next season. This should get help the team immensely by getting rid of that $70k a game cost to play at the Baseball Grounds, though it won't have the same atmosphere or good location.

http://jacksonville.com/armada-fc/2017-02-06/armada-play-2017-season-unf?utm_medium=social&utm_source=The_Florida_Times-Union

[pierre]

UNF is nowhere near an ideal location or venue. But I don't think the team had many choices.

To me, it still feels like just delaying the inevitable. The Armada will not survive without some sort of small soccer specific stadium. I am not holding my breath on that ever happening.

[InnerCityPressure]

UNF is nowhere near an ideal location or venue. But I don't think the team had many choices.

To me, it still feels like just delaying the inevitable. The Armada will not survive without some sort of small soccer specific stadium. I am not holding my breath on that ever happening.

I don't know the detail of the needs for soccer stadium, but would it have been impossible to incorporate this into the new Jags practice field?

[Steve]

^The Jags practice field doesn't really have stands like a stadium does. Could it have possibly been done? In concept yes but I'm not sure the plot of land they used would have held it, plus when you start building for common stadium amenities such as restrooms and concession stands (the amphitheater will share the stadium's facilities in this regard), the cost rises dramatically. Guessing Khan wouldn't have wanted to front that bill without some sort of guarantee from the team.

[KenFSU]

UNF is nowhere near an ideal location or venue. But I don't think the team had many choices.

To me, it still feels like just delaying the inevitable. The Armada will not survive without some sort of small soccer specific stadium. I am not holding my breath on that ever happening.

I don't know the detail of the needs for soccer stadium, but would it have been impossible to incorporate this into the new Jags practice field?

Here's what the Dallas Cowboys did:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3to0s4G5KA

1:00 minute mark.

Space and cost considerations aside, I'd hope that any soccer specific stadium we did build would be open air.

[Tacachale]

It would have been cool to have a venue that could double as a field for football and soccer as well as concerts, which easily could fit the space they're using. However, it would have taken a lot of coordination to pull it off, and given what's happened with the Armada and their league, it wouldn't exactly have been a safe bet. I've said before, but if anyone is planning on making D2 soccer work here, they should be prepared to build their own arena in a good location.

[FlaBoy]

I always thought the amphitheater seating could look out over the practice facility if they open the big doors that separate. Kind of stupid if it can't. I figured that would be used during training camp for fans.

[KenFSU]

I always thought the amphitheater seating could look out over the practice facility if they open the big doors that separate. Kind of stupid if it can't. I figured that would be used during training camp for fans.

It can, but based on the renders, it will be more a glimpse of the practice facility than a full panoramic view:

[FlaBoy]

I always thought the amphitheater seating could look out over the practice facility if they open the big doors that separate. Kind of stupid if it can't. I figured that would be used during training camp for fans.

It can, but based on the renders, it will be more a glimpse of the practice facility than a full panoramic view:

I feel like that is a mistake. Why not allow the 5,500 seats to be able to overlook the field. There are lots of cool things that could be done with that level of flexibility including hosting Jaguars scrimmages, training camp, professional soccer, small college football (like JU), big high school football games, or just opening it up for conventions to give a bigger feel.

[Ocklawaha]

Hate like hell to see yet another league and team fold but before SI jumps on this with it's usual derogatory remarks... 'THIS IS NOT JACKSONVILLE'S FAULT BOYZ!'

Probably should have continued to promote and run with stories of our smashing successes and attendance with special event Futbal then jump on the MLS wagon when it came rolling past. Anyone else recall the USFL and the BULLS or the WFL SHARKS and EXPRESS? Yeah, that's what happens when you go minor league in a big league city and Tampa (See: Buccaneers) laughed all the way to the goal line.

So what to do? I'd still seek MLS membership using the MAJOR SOCCER events as my credit card... Failing that, rename the team 'The Jumbo Toadfish' and move south, I hear that the Orange Park Kindergarten has a nice playground. Hey it works for Baseball.

[Tacachale]

Hate like hell to see yet another league and team fold but before SI jumps on this with it's usual derogatory remarks... 'THIS IS NOT JACKSONVILLE'S FAULT BOYZ!'

Probably should have continued to promote and run with stories of our smashing successes and attendance with special event Futbal then jump on the MLS wagon when it came rolling past. Anyone else recall the USFL and the BULLS or the WFL SHARKS and EXPRESS? Yeah, that's what happens when you go minor league in a big league city and Tampa (See: Buccaneers) laughed all the way to the goal line.

So what to do? I'd still seek MLS membership using the MAJOR SOCCER events as my credit card... Failing that, rename the team 'The Jumbo Toadfish' and move south, I hear that the Orange Park Kindergarten has a nice playground. Hey it works for Baseball.

The USFL Bulls were a smashing success and something that got us on the road to the NFL.

I had a chance to talk a bit about the Armada at the Icemen launch today. They were really hit hard by the costs associated with the Baseball Grounds, and no doubt the UNF Hodges Arena will be a much better fit for them. There's no reason D2 soccer can't be a success here in Jax.

[Ocklawaha]

Oh I believe we agree on the BULLS, however, we would have been on the NFL rolls much earlier had we not flirted with the minor leagues. Jake was a man on a mission.

As far as UNF, yes, nice facility but I'll contend till I die that Jacksonville needs to quit thinking like Middleburg and start acting and chasing the dreams of a 1.5 Million person metro. Treat a city as it is and it will remain as it is. Treat a city as it can and should be and
it will become as it can and should be.

[Tacachale]

Oh I believe we agree on the BULLS, however, we would have been on the NFL rolls much earlier had we not flirted with the minor leagues. Jake was a man on a mission.

As far as UNF, yes, nice facility but I'll contend till I die that Jacksonville needs to quit thinking like Middleburg and start acting and chasing the dreams of a 1.5 Million person metro. Treat a city as it is and it will remain as it is. Treat a city as it can and should be and
it will become as it can and should be.

I think that's where you're wrong. Success in minor leagues is often a major factor in getting teams in the top flight. We got the Jags a lot sooner than anyone ever expected because we'd proven ourselves a good football town that wasn't giving up, and part of that was the success of teams like the Bulls. It's even more so with soccer, where many of the MLS expansions have been to cities that had successful minor league teams. In fact, a lot of their most successful teams (Seattle, Orlando, Vancouver, Portland, and now soon to be Minneapolis) started out in lower levels and moved up. If we ever get MLS in Jax, the success of the Armada will be a factor.

[Gamblor]

^While you're right on about minor leagues and teams growing in minors before MLS, he is right about dreaming bigger. Playing at UNF has to be temporary, and like we have said many times, they need a home of their own in a better location.