skip navigation

Panel discusses possibilities of outdoor pro soccer in Milwaukee

07/17/2014, 9:45pm CDT
By MATT SCHROEDER for Wisconsin Soccer Central
Milwaukee Soccer Development Group

MILWAUKEE – Bringing Milwaukee into the boom market of American outdoor professional soccer will require both immediate, grassroots action and a degree of patience, according to panelists at a pro outdoor soccer symposium Tuesday night at Milwaukee City Hall.

Panelists were Keith Tozer, coach of the U.S. National Futsal Team and operator of K Tozer Futsal Academy; Peter Wilt, president and general manager of Indy Eleven of the North American Soccer League; James Moran of Milwaukee Soccer Development Group, which hosted the forum; Ginny McCullough of the Women's Soccer Club; and Nik Kovac, 3rd alderman in Milwaukee. Howie Magner, sports columnist for Milwaukee Magazine, moderated the discussion.

American pro soccer has fallen into a degree of order over the last 10 years. Major League Soccer, the nation's only Division 1 league, reaches 21 teams in 2015. Falling in behind is the NASL, a Division 2 league with 10 teams this year and three more on the horizon; and USL PRO, a Division 3 league with 14 teams on the docket this season and five more lined up to join in 2015.

But Milwaukee, which is the 39th-largest metropolitan market in the country, has been left behind. Two previous teams – the Milwaukee Rampage and Milwaukee Wave United – folded in 2002 and '04, respectively. And an effort to bring an MLS team to the city, led by Wilt, collapsed in 2007 when political and financial support could not be won.

Panelists were asked how the environment could be more conducive today than a decade ago, and they offered a number of suggestions.

"As I get to my 40s, and as everyone gets to their 40s who grew up with soccer, I think that's a game changer," said the 37-year-old Kovac, an avowed soccer fan.

Tozer pointed out that not only are more politicians steeped in the game, but corporate decision-makers are increasingly part of the soccer generation. 

McCullough's Women's Soccer Club was just in its infancy a decade ago, but now has more than 2,000 members who like soccer and often drive purchasing decisions in the home.

"Moms have the purses," she said.

The American professional soccer structure also is different than it was in 2005, and that might provide hope. Panelists agreed that Milwaukee isn't ready for MLS today, but that viable options exist in both NASL and USL PRO, the latter of which has a direct relationship with MLS in which players move up and down as MLS clubs choose. 

The notion of having a second- or third-division club, however, when top international soccer is a remote control click away, gave Kovac pause.

"Do we as a community have the patience for minor league soccer?" he asked.

The answer might lie in Indianapolis, where Wilt's Indy Eleven have been a raging success.

The club sold out its first six regular-season home matches in the 10,000-plus Carroll Stadium downtown, and drew more than 9,000 for a midweek Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup match.

Wilt, a Whitefish Bay resident, saw two notable parallels between Indianapolis and Milwaukee. Both are great sports cities, he said, and both "love local" – residents tend to have grown up in the area and want to support their hometown teams and organizations.

Indy Eleven's success, he said, started with a grass-roots supporters group that had only 80 members when he was hired in 2012 to begin building out the organization. But the "Brickyard Battalion" is now 3,000 strong.

In Milwaukee, the grass-roots effort is just beginning with groups like Moran's MSDG and the Milwaukee Pro Outdoor Soccer Alliance starting to work together and connecting with organizations such as the Women's Soccer Club and individuals such as Tozer to build a stronger base of grassroots support.

"What we're doing tonight is recruiting," Wilt said, referring to the notion that strong popular support can draw a potential investor to action.

And once that investor arrives, patience will be necessary if Milwaukee is to eventually ascend from lower levels – as Seattle, Portland, Vancouver, Atlanta, Montreal and Orlando have done – into Major League Soccer.

Recent Articles

Soccer ball on field
Soccer ball on a field
Soccer ball
Soccer ball
Soccer ball

Tag(s): Home  Pro  News