Soccer notes: Plenty of elbow room for USL title game

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Soccer notes: Plenty of elbow room for USL title game

By Bill Paterson

October 26, 2016 6:59 PM

The New York Red Bulls II beat the Swope Park Rangers 5-1 Sunday for the 2016 USL Cup, a match that was televised on ESPNU.

But while the match showcased the best of the USL, it also revealed the challenges for the league in having two Major League Soccer second teams playing in the championship game.

Most of the 25,000 seats at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J., were empty.

The USL announced an attendance at 5,547, unimpressive in the expansive stadium, but a huge jump over the Red Bulls II’s average regular-season attendance of 589, second-lowest in the 29-team league. The Red Bulls senior team averaged nearly 21,000 during its MLS Eastern Conference championship run.

USL independent teams, such at the Republic FC, were by far the better draws than the 11 MLS-sponsored two clubs this past season.

The top 12 clubs in attendance all were independents, led by record-setting FC Cincinnati (17,296) and Republic FC (11,514). Sacramento set a club record for attendance this season because of another expansion of Bonney Field to 11,569 seats and one additional league home game. League attendance was up 33 percent over 2015.

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USL adds two teams – The Tampa Bay Rowdies and Ottawa Fury FC have departed the second-tier North American Soccer League for the third-tier USL, a league that is trying to gain second-tier status.

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Tampa Bay and Ottawa will give the USL two more strong independent teams. Tampa Bay is in the 11th-largest media market and also located where the USL is headquartered. The Fury FC ownership group also owns a Canadian Football League franchise and manages the 24,000-seat TD Place stadium, which is home to both teams.

Tampa Bay had an average attendance of 5,878 and Ottawa 5,521, which would have placed them fifth and sixth, respectively, among USL teams this season.