Showing posts tagged “Carolina RailHawks”
David Fellerath ·
7 Jan 2010, 5:20 PM ·
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There will be soccer in Cary this season after all.
After months of uncertainty surrounding the status of second-division soccer in the United States, officials with the United States Soccer Federation and representatives of two contending organizations announced today that the United Soccer Leagues and the nascent North American Soccer League would soldier through a provisional season under an unusual compromise arrangement. As part of this temporary resolution, all pending claims between the leagues and its parties will be dropped.
The two leagues will play a season divided into two conferences, the USL Conference and the NASL Conference. Each conference will have six teams, with the Carolina RailHawks falling into the NASL Conference.
| USL CONFERENCE |
NASL CONFERENCE |
| Rochester |
Montreal |
| Portland |
Vancouver |
| Puerto Rico |
Crystal Palace (Baltimore) |
| Minnesota |
St. Louis |
| Austin |
Carolina |
| Tampa Bay |
Miami |
A few things to notice about this provisional arrangement: Continue reading »
Carolina RailHawks, Soccer Alek Papadakis, Carolina RailHawks, D2, Division 2, MLS, NASL, New England Revolution, Sunil Gulati, TOA, US Soccer, USL
Joe Schwartz ·
24 Nov 2009, 11:12 AM ·
1 Comment
Pelé, seen in the film Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos (Miramax Films)
Carolina RailHawks majority owner Selby Wellman expects at least 10 teams to be in the newly named North American Soccer League, though he declined to name the possible additions to the nine confirmed ownership groups.
Wellman and fellow owners announced Monday that they will bring back the NASL name, conjuring up memories of the first American professional soccer league, which included the likes of Pelé, Franz Beckenbauer and Johan Cruyff before it folded in 1984.
“We talked about it a long time. There’s pros and cons because the league didn’t make it, that would be the con. The pro is it really did launch professional soccer in
America and had a good brand,” he said. “There’s a lot of us around here with some gray hair that’ll say, ‘I remember that brand.’”
The league now has a name, but the owners have a lot of questions to answer before the first ball is kicked in April. Along with the RailHawks, former USL teams Atlanta Silverbacks, Miami FC, Minnesota Thunder, Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps FC are part of NASL. St. Louis Soccer United, Tampa Bay Rowdies and Crystal Palace Baltimore also are slated for inclusion in the breakaway league.
Others have speculated that Rochester Rhinos may be included, but Wellman, also the spokesman for the new league, isn’t saying as of yet.
“I can’t name them,” he said. “We already have plans underway, and we’re getting all kinds of requests coming in from different groups.” Continue reading »
Carolina RailHawks, Soccer Atlanta Silverbacks, Carolina RailHawks, Crystal Palace Baltimore, Don Garber, Franz Beckenbauer, Johan Cruyff, Miami FC, Minnesota Thunder, MLS, Montreal Impact, NASL, Pele, Rochester Rhinos, Selby Wellman, St. Louis Soccer United, Tampa Bay Rowdies, TOA, USL, Vancouver Whitecaps FC
David Fellerath ·
31 Aug 2009, 5:46 PM ·
1 Comment
UPDATE 6:39 p.m.: Moments ago, the USL announced an executive restructuring. The gist: “NuRock’s Rob Hoskins will serve as Chairman with Alec Papadakis being named CEO. USL’s Tim Holt has been named President of the organization with founder Francisco Marcos transitioning to the position of President Emeritus and Senior Director of International Development.”
Last Thursday, Nike sold the USL to NuRock Soccer Holdings, an Atlanta-based concern. As the days passed, it became increasingly clear that Nike’s failure to sell the league to a group of USL club owners caught everyone by surprise.
This afternoon, the Carolina RailHawks released a statement that is something like a thrown-down gauntlet. Titled “Team Owners Association Chills Relations with USL After Nike Sells USL to Non-Team Third Party,” the message couldn’t be more plain.
Selby Wellman, a member of the RailHawks’ ownership group, is listed as the spokesperson for the dissident owners’ group.
The bottom line is that five of the 11 currently active USL-1 clubs have not committed to playing in the league for the 2010 season, including Carolina, and that they are aggressively pursuing all alternatives—which presumably include an oft-rumored breakaway league. Clearly, the sale to NuRock displeases these owners and they feel that NuRock will not be the solution to frequently expressed concerns about the leagues’ organization and marketing.
The statement was issued on behalf of the Team Owners Association, a group of owners formally established in January 2008. Member clubs include existing USL-1 franchises Carolina, FC Miami, the Vancouver Whitecaps, Montreal Impact and Minnesota Thunder; a former USL-1 franchise, the Atlanta Silverbacks; one 2010 expansion franchise, the Tampa Bay Rowdies; and one prospective future franchise, St. Louis.
Notably absent are USL stalwarts Portland (which, like Vancouver, is joining the MLS in 2011), Rochester and Charleston, along with FC New York (which is slated to begin USL-1 play in 2010).
There are many questions that remain unanswered, and we hope to find out some soon. Following is the text of the statement by the Team Owners Association. Here is our post on the announcement last week that NuRock had bought the USL pyramid. Continue reading »
Carolina RailHawks, Soccer breakaway league, Carolina RailHawks, NuRock, Selby Wellman, Team Owners Association
David Fellerath ·
27 Aug 2009, 6:15 PM ·
4 Comments
UPDATE: News outlets are reporting that the RailHawks organization were part of an ownership group that includes Traffic Sports, the Brazilian company that owns Miami FC, that tried and failed to purchase the USL. We hope to have more soon.
After last night’s game between the RailHawks and FC Miami, we spoke to Carolina RailHawks president Brian Wellman about the progress of Nike’s long-rumored sale of the entire United Soccer League pyramid. Wellman acknowledged that the league, 98 percent of which is owned by Umbro, was for sale.
“There’s a lot of silence right now from the league, which means something’s going on, we just aren’t sure exactly what’s going on. And the bid is for the entire USL.”
Today, Atlanta-based NuRock Soccer Holdings announced its purchase of the entire USL pyramid, including USL-1, USL-2, Premier Development League and W-League. Terms were not disclosed, but Nike and its subsidiary Umbro will continue to have a long-term sponsor relationship with the USL.
NuRock is led by Chairman Rob Hoskins and CEO Alec Papadakis. The former is a real estate developer, while the latter is a franchise attorney and veteran player for the Atlanta Chiefs and the Boston Minutemen, both of the old North American Soccer League. NuRock Soccer Holdings also holds USL-1 franchise rights in Atlanta, Ga. and Birmingham, Ala.
The deal promises to address a persistent source of concern among the club owners of the USL, that the league is in urgent need of better, more aggressive marketing and development.
From the press release:
“We are delighted to close this transaction with NIKE and begin a partnership with Nike’s leading football brands which will sponsor and support USL, and all of its leagues, for many years to come. Together with USL Management, we are excited about the opportunity to grow the size and visibility of USL, and to help develop and train the future generations of soccer athletes in the United States”, said Alec Papadakis, CEO of NuRock Soccer Holdings.
Last night, Wellman agreed that better marketing is a priority.
“We are in favor for a new ownership group to move the league forward, whether it’s St. Louis or another group,” Wellman said. “We’re in favor of dealership to lead the league in a new direction, with corporate sponsorship and TV contracts and raising the level of the league to a much higher standard.”
Here’s the entire release.
Carolina RailHawks, Soccer Alec Papdakis, Brian Wellman, Carolina RailHawks, Nike, NuRock Soccer Holdings, Rob Hoskins, Umbro, USL-1, USL-2
Chris Gaffney ·
18 Jul 2009, 12:01 AM ·
1 Comment
Gregory Richardson made an impressive debut with the RailHawks, scoring in the 44th minute. (photo by Rich Bostwick)
WAKEMED SOCCER PARK/CARY—The RailHawks deserved to win this game—which they did, 2-1—and the three points put them back in the thick of things at the top of the USL-1 table. Vancouver are never an easy side to subdue, but on this night the defending champions looked relatively pedestrian. The central midfield trio of Daniel Paladini, Brian Plotkin and Amir Lowery effectively stifled Vancouver’s attack throughout the match. When Paladini was able to find newly signed Gregory Richardson on the left wing positive things happened.
The much-improved RailHawks side showed moments of class during the match, though Plotkin and John Cunliffe were as likely to give the ball away as not. Paladini continues to show why he is Rennie’s first-choice attacking midfielder as he was able to go at defenders with pace and make intelligent passes. Richardson was electric on the ball and was always at the center of the RailHawks attack, so much so that one wonders who they played through before he arrived on the scene. He’s got pace, a light first touch, and his goal (though a bit fortunate as was off a defender and megged the keeper) showed a nose for goal. The 1,000 percent humidity must have reminded him of home in Guyana.
Tonight’s victory was exactly what good teams achieve. Carolina is now one of the top teams in the league. They play good, fundamental soccer even though they are prone to losing their way for stretches, and get the important points at home against solid opposition. If the goals start falling with a bit more frequency there’s evidence to suggest this team could win the league.
Attendance was 4,008. Box score is here.
Carolina RailHawks, Soccer Amir Lowery, Brian Plotkin, Carolina RailHawks, Daniel Paladini, Gregory Richardson, John Cunliffe, Martin Rennie, Soccer, USL-1, Vancouver Whitecaps
