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USL President Jake Edwards Talks Orlando City B, a Renewed Rivalry With Tampa Bay, Expansion and More

Published

7 years ago

November 18, 2016

A lot has changed in the USL since Orlando City left the league in 2014 to join Major League Soccer. The league has more than doubled in size, attendance is shooting up in cities across the nation, and the league is growing at an insanely fast rate.

The Mane Land was fortunate enough to get a hold of the man currently overseeing the league, President Jake Edwards, to discuss topics ranging from Orlando City B’s debut season to the future growth of the league and the potential problems of functioning with MLS2 teams.

On rekindling the Orlando City-Tampa Bay Rivalry:

Jake Edwards: “We’re very excited to have them join, and obviously with Orlando before they moved to MLS, they had a very strong rivalry with Tampa in the I-4 Derby. I think it was mostly healthy — it got a little spicy, maybe over the top, from time to time, but ultimately I think it’s a good rivalry. I know it’s a passionate rivalry between the clubs, and I’m sure that with OCB now vetting to play in Tampa, that will likely continue.”

On OCB Playing in Melbourne:

JE: “I think it did have hopes that the extension of the club’s brand into Melbourne would resonate, as they hoped it would draw supporters in from that area to watch the first team games would be equally well-followed down there, and it hasn’t worked out that way. And the crowds had been far less than we had hoped for, far less than Orlando City had hoped for. So being in the main stadium in Orlando would certainly be our preference. Being in that stadium and having games in the city center I think would draw well. I think people would want to go see more soccer. I think it’s going to be a great stadium and a great environment, and I think it’s going to be a good crowd there to watch the USL side.”

On MLS2 Branding Hindering Club Growth:

JE: “Well I think branding is important. One size doesn't fit all. LA Galaxy went for that initially with LA Galaxy 2, but they’ve created this character around it now with Los Dos around this club that has a fan base now that follows this team that doesn’t necessarily follow the first team. It’s a different price point, a different experience, a different following and it’s starting to add up. We’ve seen some of the clubs that have tried a different model — the Philadelphia Union have tried to brand a club to the market place that they’re in, which is Lehigh Valley and the Bethlehem area, and they’ve created Bethlehem Steel Football Club, so they’ve tried to in different direction from the Seattle 2, Portland 2, Orlando City B.

“It’s a time now where two or three seasons into this it’s a good time to reflect on the brand and the positioning of the brand — has it been successful as a stand-alone identity that they’ve created, and is there more value and interest in going in another direction? Or maybe not, maybe not in some cases, but maybe in some other cases that we’re looking at. I think from a perception point of view, perception can be reality, and so you have to take a close look at the brand and see if it’s reflective of the parent organization’s brand values, and are we trying to create a different character around this second so we can have not only success on the field, but off it as well. We’re looking at it from a league view.”

On MLS2 Clubs and the League’s Path Forward:

JE: “We’ve gotten unprecedented growth in the USL. We’ve got over 30 clubs now. We’ve got unbelievable interest from independent ownership groups who see huge value in building a USL club, building stadium structure, building youth development. What’s happening now in USL markets is just extraordinary and is just a real testament to the commitment of the local ownership groups that are coming into our league and the resources they’re putting into building long-standing, sustainable clubs. There are a lot of exciting things we’re embarking on now with new partnerships on the broadcast side, on the digital side, and on the stadium infrastructure side. So we’re very excited about what’s happening in the USL. It’s a very viable professional league that’s growing and will continue to grow, and I believe that the MLS clubs are adding value there.”

On MLS2 Clubs’ Attendance:

JE: “We are absolutely laser-focused on all our clubs. We want all of our clubs to succeed on and off the field, and we have a wealth of services and strategic support for them to do that — a lot of strategy and business summits, a lot of training programs. We want all of our teams to be successful and we are playing a significant role in their development and their long-term success. Now, whether it’s an independent or an MLS-owned team, if there’s real concern there to be successful we take that very seriously. We’ll step in, and we’ve done that in the past with teams in the last three or four years, because we know that they were unable to meet the standards or that the market was conducive to a real successful football club. So we’ll step in where we need to and when we have to.

“We’re trying to build this league as a collective group of clubs and we’re adding to the enterprise. You’re only as strong as your weakest link, and we’ve go to get everybody through. But we’ve got to, as a group of clubs, stay focused on where we’re going as a league, and we’ve got to try to get everybody going in the same direction, and if there are some extreme examples of that and can’t move in the right direction, then we’ll take appropriate action. We’re working as hard as we can. We’ll be as flexible as we can and as accommodating as we can. But the level of the clubs that are with us now and that keep coming into our league just keeps getting higher and higher, and ultimately that’s where we want to go to be one of the top second divisions in the world, and that’s what we want to be — delivering great value, entertaining soccer, quality stadiums, and environments that foster great success. That’s what we’re going to have to build on over the next three to five years.

“I’m very pleased with the group we have, we’re all swimming in the same direction. If there are challenges there, we’ll all have to work together to overcome them. No, we don’t want to see empty stadiums, and if there are some issues there, we’ll address them with those clubs to find solutions.”

On Older Clubs Keeping Up With Newer Franchises:

JE: “When you talk about Richmond, and Rochester, Charleston, you’re talking about clubs that have over 20 years operating, and have been doing well and doing it sustainably for all of those years. So we have those clubs that I’m very proud to say have been with the league this whole time, and continue to deliver professional soccer to those communities. It’s very important that we have long-term sustainable clubs. As new clubs come in now, it’s not always a case of having deeper pockets. Really it’s a case of raising the bar and setting expectations higher every year. So when a new team comes in, their goals are different — now its folks are coming in and they want to get dramatically different value out of a jersey sponsor, for example, or have very different expectations on crowd numbers. And with that, you have to resource the clubs properly and get a right amount of sales people and all of those things that you have to do to achieve those significant numbers. And there’s a newness in those markets, a new level of excitement in those clubs that are arriving. When you’ve been there for 20 years, there’s not really that newness there next season. It’s not as easy for those incumbent teams to come out to $250,000 from $50,000 for the same piece of inventory in the marketplace.

“Growth is slow and steady, but what is happening with some of the newer clubs coming in and trying new things, raising the bar, it shows some of the older teams perhaps in some areas what may be possible. The older clubs have a lot to teach the newer clubs, and the newer clubs are trying new things and experimenting with new things, and the older clubs are learning that as well.

“I think it’s a really interesting dynamic. Those older clubs have been doing this for a long time, they know their market very well, but it’s an incremental thing and how they can keep moving their club forward and keep growing their fanbase. We’re constantly challenging our clubs to not accept the status quo. It’s not good for a Richmond, or Rochester, and Charleston to be doing the exact same thing with the same fan base, with the same goals and aspirations that they had 20 years ago. So it’s really exciting when people like the folks in Richmond are seeing what’s happening in the league and saying, ‘yes, we see the value of the franchise going higher and higher, we see the results of the league and want to capitalize on that.’ Richmond have had a tremendous season this year with a number of sellouts. They’re really gaining momentum in the marketplace now, and so they want to capitalize on that interest and get some major stadium renovations there.

“Rochester have swapped owners, Charleston have swapped owners, and they’re coming in now with some new plans and introducing some new investment into the club in different areas, so that’s very healthy, and it’s exciting that the older clubs are continuing on with the journey in line with some of the amazing things we’ve seen happening in Cincinnati and Sacramento and Oklahoma City.”

On The League’s Cap of Number of Teams:

JE: “There’s a few more markets that we’re in discussions with that we think strategically are very important markets in terms of how we want to build the national footprint and build the national rivalries — markets that I think will do very well, and have that new excitement about a pro team coming. We’ve got some owners in those markets that are working with the city now to build stadiums. We’re now in discussions with ownership groups about 2019 and 2020 launches to give them enough time to build up to those launches and build those stadiums.

“So there’s some expansion that we’ll set to continue over the next few years, but there will be a point where it stops and it has to stop. Operationally, and running the league, we’re in good shape. We’ve got a model here, and good system, and certainly can manage more growth. We’ve been working towards a three conference model. That’s something our board of governors are very interested in, so that’s something that we may be able to achieve by 2018. So, within a three conference structure, there’s some room to grow. There’s some room to add more teams in good markets, I believe. There’s a finite number, but I would imagine somewhere in the mid-to-high 30s, maybe 40, tops.

“That’s where we’ll go, I think, and then we’ll be able to drive a bit of scarcity and vie some more incremental value, and then when, as a market, an ownership group comes together with a great stadium plan and a solid business plan, then maybe that’s something we’ll want to consider. There’s a bit more growth to come, but we’ll probably tailor off around that number, I don’t want to put a hard cap on it because there might be a market plan that comes around that we’ll have to consider.”

On Future Formatting of the League:

JE: “We have a plan in terms of we’ve got some options that we’re exploring. We have a competition committee that will explore these options as well. There are different structures within one league that we can explore. With a country of this size, you have to look at a sensible structure, and I think three conferences is something we can get behind, or maybe something with two conferences and two divisions in each. We’re looking at a whole host of options. We’ve got interest from a number of markets, maybe some smaller markets, that it might make sense for them to use a different structure with us. I think there will be a point in the very near future that we’ll arrive at a plan that makes the most sense for us, and we’re working internally now on our committee, so we’ll get to that point where we feel comfortable with what 2018, 2019 and beyond looks like, and make that announcement. There are options there, and we’re looking at all of the options. There’s nothing off the table.”

On Expanded TV Coverage Moving Forward:

JE: “We’re in discussions now with ESPN to build on the partnership and build on the work we’ve done together. They’re a great organization. We’re working on three levels now with the launch of the new USL productions company that we’ve created here. Three levels: we’re working on a national television level, we’ll have an expanded footprint on national TV with ESPN next year. We’ll also have local television and regional sports networks, and we will have a system where clubs can make deals with their local and RSN and we’re in the middle of facilitating those negotiations as we speak, and many of the teams have already secured their local TV rights for home and away games with the new system next year — the league is taking control of all broadcasts next year. We’re working with a production company on that for over 500 games, plus other content that will be distributed across the networks. It’s a major investment, a major initiative, and with the new standardization of quality we’ll be able to have a much bigger footprint on the TV side, whether it’s national, regional, or local. So we remain highly committed to the online streaming as well, we’re in discussions with the digital distribution partners.

“There will be an expanded partnership with ESPN next year, both linear and digital. That’s something we’re wrapping up at the moment, and should be able to make an announcement on in the coming weeks.”

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Reflecting on Eight Years with The Mane Land

A look back over my time with The Mane Land (so far).

Published

11 months ago

June 20, 2023

David Rohe

Nick Leyva, The Mane Land

As of last week, I have been a contributor at The Mane Land for eight years. That’s longer than I’ve ever been at any of my actual jobs in my life. There are literally only a couple of people who have been with the site longer, but I’m still amazed at how long it’s been. This is not to say I’m going anywhere, but rather I wanted to take the opportunity to look back at the past eight years, and look ahead to the future.

Unlike some, I didn’t come to be a supporter of Orlando City until it was announced that the club was joining MLS. At the time, I was contemplating picking a club to follow in MLS, but being in Tallahassee, there were no nearby options at that time. I considered FC Dallas and D.C. United, given the two were geographically closer in proximity to me than any others. Fortunately, it was literally while I was considering my options that the announcement was made regarding Orlando City’s jump to MLS. It was an easy decision.

As I do in many aspects of my life, I immediately started researching my new club, which led me to the content being produced by The Mane Land. There was also an article on the site titled “Join The Mane Land Staff.” I had often over the years internally bemoaned that I rarely used my Bachelor’s degree in English, and the desire to write welled up in me so much that I emailed the staff.

In response, one of our former editors, Andrew Marcinko, contacted me and said “I think your voice would be a great fit on TML.” He asked me to submit a Fan Post (those went away with our presence on SBN), and then another piece for review. Following that, our founder and managing editor, Michael Citro, emailed me to welcome me to the staff. I had no idea at the time how big a part of my life this blog would become.

I started out writing Monday’s Lions Links — often one of the more difficult days to write — and a feature piece. It’s been many years gone by now, but there was a time when the feature piece was “Pride Pub,” an ongoing series that paired craft beer and good food based on Orlando City’s opponent. I can tell you that the research for that was very enjoyable, and I still use some of the recipes I found to this day.

Eventually, I started contributing more match coverage and analytical pieces. Staff came and went, but I never thought to leave since I was enjoying myself. Sometime after that, I was promoted to senior columnist, for which I’m grateful. I can without reservation say that I’m a better writer thanks to my time with the site, and from working with such excellent staff.

In November of 2016, Michael asked if I wanted to give co-hosting The Mane Land PawedCast a try. My first recording was for Episode 71. We just recorded Episode 354, and with the exception of maybe two or three episodes, I have been on every single one of 283 episodes over the last six plus years. Michael and I have spent a lot of time talking on and off the podcast over the years, and I’m proud of what we have produced and to call him my friend.

We recently added an Orlando Pride-specific podcast called Skopurp: An Orlando Pride PawedCast. For years we wanted to give the Pride the time and attention the club deserves. Now, it is a reality, but one that I ask you to listen to and share. I’ll even put out that although Michael and I are the current hosts, we merely consider ourselves stewards and are hoping to get others to come onboard and eventually take it to the next level.

When I started with The Mane Land, the site had just made the move from a free WordPress site to the SBNation network. It was a big deal, and for many years it was a good partnership. Of course that all came to an end not too long ago, and our blog went the independent route thanks to the incredibly generous support of our readers and listeners. In fact, if you want to be one of those supporting our efforts, please go to our Buy Me A Coffee site to become a member. The move has allowed a flexibility we didn’t have before, but I really want others to have the same sense of joy and accomplishment that I have as a member of our staff.

At one point we had nearly twice the staff that we do now, and as you know, many hands make light work. The opposite of that is also true. I genuinely believe that there must be others out there with the same passion for Orlando City as I have — with the same desire to have their voice heard, whether through the written word or on a podcast. I promise you there is an opportunity to contribute here with us. Our internal discussions are informative, engaging, and often funny. Please consider joining us, as I did eight years ago. I haven’t regretted it and I know you won’t either.

I want to thank all of those who contributed to The Mane Land over the years. There are many that I am still in touch with, though they are no longer a part of the staff. Of course, the current staff are a pleasure to work with, and I appreciate their dedication to what we are trying to do.

Finally, I want to thank the readers and listeners over the years. From those who regularly comment on our articles, to those that I’ve personally met at matches or even randomly on the street, you are a big reason that we do all of this. You are a big reason why I’ve been doing this for the better part of a decade. it is always a genuine pleasure hearing your thoughts or simply sharing a moment of joy together — U.S. Open Cup final, anyone?

So, thank you. I look forward to many more years of this journey together.

Orlando City

The Mane Land Announces Membership Program

Maximize your Mane Land experience with our new TML membership program while supporting our independent efforts.

Published

1 year ago

May 4, 2023

Michael Citro

Hello, readers of The Mane Land and listeners of our podcasts. Before you start reading this, please note that the most important part of this post is at the end. So, don’t stop until you get to the bottom.

You may recall that when we left SBNation to become independent, we really weren’t sure the best way to go about that. Many of our readers and listeners generously offered to help us make that transition, but we still weren’t sure the best path forward, so we took a poll.

The poll was pretty much split down the middle between those who preferred a one-time, Kickstarter-style campaign (which we did, and those of you who stepped up to help completely blew us away!) and those who favored a Patreon-style, subscription-based membership with extra perks. In fact, the member subscriptions option got a few more votes in our poll.

The folks who took part in our GoFundMe fundraiser were fantastic and are now immortalized on this very site on the “Our Founders” page. But we had always planned to give folks the option to choose whichever method of support they preferred and we tried to communicate that throughout the process. It took a little longer than expected to get up and running, but our membership subscription program is now in place! (You may notice the fancy new banner ad about it on the home page, echoed below.)

*Supporting TML helps build a better TML for you to enjoy, so you’re really subscribing to your own Orlando soccer fandom.*

Part of that delay was thinking up something that didn’t encroach on the benefits we gave our Founders. Those folks helped us get started and deserve the exclusivity of the perks they got. The other part of the delay is that there just aren’t enough hours in the day. (However, for you guys, I’m willing to be cloned.)

We have utilized the popular Buy Me a Coffee platform to run this program. You can find the basics here. The Mane Land premium membership program includes three tiers of membership, as well as the option to click on the “Support” tab for those who just want to help us out whenever, without joining the program or adding any recurring “appointment-based” payments to their budgets. We love that feature of Buy Me a Coffee (or “Buy Us a Beer” in our case…you drink what you like).

For those who do choose to become members, we hope we have provided value and we are planning to add benefits along the way, in addition to providing special giveaways, events, etc. (more on that below). We have also provided subscription options — with monthly or annual memberships. The annual cost essentially gives you 12 months for the price of 10.

Current Benefits

The current membership benefits depend on which level of support you choose — Homegrown Player, TAM Player, or Designated Player level. Each level includes all benefits from the lower tiers, with additional benefits for each higher level.

Homegrown Player: This is a basic set-it-and-forget-it level of support for The Mane Land, providing a way for our readers and podcast listeners to contribute to the success of TML‘s independence goals. We want to compensate our current volunteers, replace lost income of those who previously received small stipends from being part of the SBNation network, add photographers, attract new writers, and expand our coverage. Additionally, each Homegrown Player Level member will be recognized in a Lion Links column, which is still typically our most widely read post of each day and one of the top daily links columns among soccer sites. Homegrown Player Level members will also be included in any future prize drawings we have or events we host and may be subject to future benefits as they are added.

TAM Player: In addition to Homegrown Player benefits, TAM Players will receive a new weekly e-newsletter in their inbox (unless you opt out…some people hate email). These will be informal missives from myself, other TML writers, or a combination, discussing what’s on our mind regarding Orlando City, the Pride, OCB, or soccer in general. Think of it as an extra post from our site that may cover multiple topics. Additionally, you’ll get a 10% discount from our web shop items that we control (presently, that means everything except our listed MLS Shop items). We will definitely have more benefits coming for this level soon and will look for opportunities to include additional benefits as they become available.

Designated Player: This limited availability level of support includes all perks from the Homegrown and TAM levels, but it goes beyond. Your discount at our webshop (for items we control) will be 15% off. Additionally, we’ll send you Zoom links to watch us “make the doughnuts” whenever we record the podcast. This includes when we interview guests. You’ll see how the sausage is made behind the scenes and everything that we say, some of which will end up on the cutting room floor before the final podcast is sent out. This includes both The Mane Land PawedCast and SkoPurp Soccer: An Orlando Pride PawedCast. And after two months of membership you can commission a bonus episode of either podcast simply by letting us know what topic you want us to cover. Think of this as an extended Ask Us Anything. We’ll do a whole show about your topic and you can even join us to discuss it if you wish.

The DP Level will certainly have additional benefits tacked on as we move forward. It is currently limited to 40 members but could be expanded slightly depending on demand and our Zoom attendance.

Future Benefits / Benefits Under Consideration

While we won’t be able to schedule these due to the random nature of items falling into our hands, there will be periodic prize giveaways in drawings that include all of our members, regardless of level. The catch is that you get one entry per level of support, meaning Homegrown Player Level members will get one entry per prize drawing, TAM Player Level members will get two entries per drawing, and Designated Player Level members get three entries for prize drawings. Some of the kinds of items we have come across in the past include match tickets, trinkets, posters, scarves, and so on.

We are planning to add a message board to our website, well…soon-ish is the word that comes to mind. The plan for the message board is to build our community and further the discussion about the club. As part of this, we’re planning an exclusive, members-only area of that message board that TAM and DP members can access. This will be a place our staff can share informational nuggets we can’t necessarily write stories about for various reasons and interact with our members on a daily basis.

Other things in the works include meet-and-greets/watch parties where you can chat with TML staff members and catch a road match with a bunch of like-minded Orlando City/Pride fans while we all cheer on the team together. There may also be other informal outings with one or more members of the staff, organized fantasy leagues, random Zoom calls for Q&A sessions, and perhaps even some organized group outings for Orlando City / Pride matches, national team games, etc.

The Most Important Part of This Post

Remember at the top of this post, when I said the most important part is at the bottom? Well, that seems like a long time ago, now, so it’s OK if you’ve already forgotten.

The most important part of our membership program is you. We want your feedback so we can make this program something that interests and excites you. We want to know what you like and dislike about this program. We want to know if there are some things we didn’t think of that interest you. If you like what we’re offering, tell us! If you hate what we’re offering, we want to know what you’d prefer instead or in addition. If you want to go drinking with Dave, we can probably arrange that, but it’ll be a unique tier and we’ll have to figure out the cost of that.

No idea is too crazy to suggest, even if it’s too insane for us to actually offer. Let us know what you want from your subscription and we’ll see if that’s something we can do. We’ll make it easy for you by putting the form right here below this post, which is now concluded.

Uncategorized

Welcome Home!

Published

1 year ago

March 31, 2023

Michael Citro

Where do I even start? When we were told in January that SBNation was pulling its support of The Mane Land and other MLS and NHL blogs — and many podcasts — I was devastated. The site had become my new baby in September of 2014 and after eight and a half years, I wasn’t ready to let it go.

I was in a pickle. I couldn’t afford to lose the monthly stipend I had been getting from SBNation to manage the site and provide a steady stream of content. It wasn’t that it was a huge monthly sum, but it mostly covered my car payment. That car was purchased when my salary was higher. The pandemic hit my day job like it did to many, and after a four-month layoff, I got my old job back but not at the same rate. So, imagine taking a pay decrease at work and then, on top of that, losing the amount you spend per month on your car payment. There was simply no way to launch The Mane Land independently, I thought, because I simply couldn’t cover the startup costs. Even with some generous offers from the staff to pitch in, there simply wasn’t a way.

Once we took the news public, there was an outpouring of support on social media. We appreciated both the pledges to help out that we got from the community and the signal boosting that the national media gave blogs like ours. Those national folks rely on local reporting for background.

Encouraged by this outpouring of public support, I met with the TML staff and we threw some ideas around. We polled our Twitter followers to see how our community would prefer to show their support. We got pretty close to a 50/50 split between those who wanted to provide a one-time donation via a Kickstarter or GoFundMe crowdsourcing effort, and those who would prefer some sort of premium subscription add-on service like Patreon or Buy Me a Coffee.

We didn’t get a lot of responses to that poll, but we decided as a group that since the results were so similar, we would offer both and let the public choose one path, the other, or even both. (Stay tuned for news soon-ish on the premium subscription level, but rest assured, everything you’ve been getting for free at TML will remain free!)

I was, admittedly, skeptical that we could raise enough startup money to create a private business, pay for hosting a new site and two podcasts (having long wanted to give the Orlando Pride their own unique show), registering a domain, paying for some design work and consulting, and any unexpected expenses that might come up. However, I thought we’d at least give it a try.

Then the amazing Orlando City, Orlando Pride, and TML community got involved. You guys pushed us past our bare minimum goal in just four and a half hours when our fundraiser went live on March 1. We reset our goal and you met that by midnight. We reset our goal again, to the dream total we discussed on our initial staff Zoom chat and you met that by that first weekend.

Stunned. Humbled. Amazed. Touched. All of these words apply to how that made us feel, but they don’t quite cover it. I think we all felt an enormous responsibility, as well. We felt a mandate to provide you the best site and the best coverage we can.

We got everything we needed to run the site for two years, even if we don’t earn a penny after our launch — and we plan to try, via advertising, a Patreon (or similar) program, an online shop, affiliate links, and anything else we can think of. But we decided to leave the GoFundMe open through the end of March, just in case there were folks who wanted to contribute but needed to wait for payday, or if more people wanted to become founding members of this new site.

Now, here we are. You guys did this. We’re here because of you. And this site isn’t quite what it will become. I’m still learning my way around WordPress, after being away from it for years. There’s more to build, and some of the things you’re seeing on this site now will be improved in the future. We’ll continue to tweak it, add things, and upgrade as we go.

For now, I just want to welcome you to your new online home. On behalf of our entire staff, I thank our founding members, who are now immortalized on this site in our founders section. If you weren’t able to contribute to our transition from SBNation’s network to an autonomous and independent, new version of The Mane Land, you can thank the folks on our founders page, because without them, we wouldn’t be here. And if you still want to help out, we’ve got more things on the way.

Vamos.

Michael Citro
Managing Editor