THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 18, 1995 TAG: 9506180185
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C12 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JULIE GOODRICH, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines
Now that Major League Soccer - the only Division I professional soccer league in the United States - is ready to hit the ground running in April, the United Systems of Independent Soccer Leagues is considering a shakeup in its structure.
The USISL, a Division III league, is made up of 83 teams, 57 of which have professional status - including the Hampton Roads Mariners. Since its formation nine years ago the USISL has billed itself as a developmental league, but expansion has drawn a definite line between the haves and the have nots.
``With 57 pro teams, you still have a disparity on and off the field,'' said USISL representative Mike Agnew. ``Our basic plan for the last couple of years has been to get into a different level within the pro league.''
USISL commissioner Francisco Marcos and the league's owners committee met this weekend in Washington, D.C., to discuss the feasibility of an elite division made up of an unspecified number of teams. Although as many as 30 clubs, including the Mariners, have shown interest, Agnew says that no specifics have been discussed.
``It doesn't have any kind of approval yet,'' he said. ``The details of which teams, or the number of teams, are very sketchy. Any team can say they're interested, but the specific standards (for promotion) haven't been set.''
Although Mariners general manager Shawn McDonald says there doesn't seem to be much support for the idea among his contacts, the formation of an elite league does have its merits.
``It would be nice to have a real intermediate between MLS'' and the bulk of the USISL.
The primary consideration for promotion to an elite division will be a team's finances. A club would have to spend more money to sign better players, and a truly national league would require a much bigger travel budget than most USISL teams presently have.
Agnew said that the quality of a team's playing facility would also be considered, a factor that would spoil any hopes Hampton Roads might have of being promoted.
The Mariners' home stadium, at the Center for Effective Learning in Virginia Beach, has a notoriously poor-quality field. To earn serious consideration the Mariners would need a facility on par with the soccer stadium at Old Dominion University.
Better still would be the construction of a multipurpose stadium with the Mariners as tenants, an idea that the cities of Virginia Beach and Norfolk have been considering since October.
``I think if the league knew we'd have a (new) stadium by a certain date, they wouldn't hold that against us,'' said McDonald. by CNB