Union Omaha - USL Soccer

[Coyote]

UNION OMAHA ANNOUNCED AS USL LEAGUE ONE CLUB’S NAME

“Union Omaha is the only American club represented by the great horned owl, and it will serve as a symbol for us to be fierce and competitive on the pitch,” said Matt Homonoff, the team’s Chief Operating Officer. “Off the pitch, the stars will be our three pillars for all we do in the community. This club will always be about the incredible people that represent our region, creating a sense of place and sharing a common purpose to grow the beautiful game.”

[Padre]

UNION OMAHA ANNOUNCED AS USL LEAGUE ONE CLUB’S NAME

“Union Omaha is the only American club represented by the great horned owl, and it will serve as a symbol for us to be fierce and competitive on the pitch,” said Matt Homonoff, the team’s Chief Operating Officer. “Off the pitch, the stars will be our three pillars for all we do in the community. This club will always be about the incredible people that represent our region, creating a sense of place and sharing a common purpose to grow the beautiful game.”

Not sure about the name, but I like the logo.

[nebugeater]

Logo. 8 out of 10
Name. 3 out of 10

I know I am not their target market but the name leaves a lot to be desired. That said I hope they are successful.

[TitosBuritoBarn]

I really like this. It’s better than I expected.

[Brad]

I like it, both the name and the logo really have a "Soccer feel" to them.

[Greg S]

I like it, both the name and the logo really have a "Soccer feel" to them.

I agree. They seemed to have really listened and used the input from the local soccer community.

Greg

[MadMartin8]

I love both the name and the Logo. Logo is quite original which is hard to do sometimes.

[Coyote]

Martie said they considered the name United Omaha considering the many communities on the metro and the Werner is in Papillion, but there were too many clubs using United so they chose Union Omaha.

[Omaha Cowboy]

Like I stated yesterday, I really like the logo and the team name. Quite nice and a proper representation of the league and Omaha..

Can’t wait to check out some games this spring ...

Ciao..LiO...Peace

[Louie]

I think they did a fantastic job on this.

[bigredmed1]

I would love to see this team aim for the community support activities that Barcelona has going on. Recognize that Barca is like the Patriots or Yankees of soccer, but aiming in that direction would get this team moving in the right direction.

I would be up for buying an inaugural season jersey.

[Coyote]

Over 100 people from 20 countries attended Union Omaha's open tryouts

More than 70 percent of the hopefuls were from the Omaha area, including quite a few South Omaha

[Coyote]

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[Coyote]

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[omaha79]

The meet the team/season ticket holders event last weekend was extremely well attended. It was held at Builder Trend headquarters and probably had roughly 300-400 in attendance. I'm not good at estimating those sorts of things. I think there is solid community engagement on this one.

[skinzfan23]

There may be decent support, but I still will be surprised if this makes it past 2-3 seasons.

[omaha79]

There may be decent support, but I still will be surprised if this makes it past 2-3 seasons.

You may be right, you may be wrong. But, I'd like to know why you think it may fail? What are you basing that conclusion off of?

There are valid reasons some think this may not work, but I anyone who says it's because "look at the Omaha Nighthawks" loses any and all credibility with me. This team is entering into an established league structure. It has community support. It has local ownership and people in charge that are invested in the team and community. Soccer isn't like Omaha's half brained forays into professional tackle football. This is different.

There is a built in front office structure with the Storm Chasers and common ownership. There is a supporters group established already. There is talk of partnerships with local businesses. I think a solid foundation exists.

Let's put it this way: Why can't we have a pro soccer team? Des Moines has had a pro soccer team since 1996? Are we bush league rubes compared to Des Moines?

[skinzfan23]

I agree with your comments about the local ownership. If it is going to succeed, that is going to be one of the main reasons why.

I am just basing it on the popularity of the sport. There is no doubt increased attention is paid to soccer, but I just think it is going to struggle to consistently draw great crowds. Like you and I mentioned, the ownership group and stadium have great assets that will help, but even with baseball, it is hard to compete with other events in town and the weather.

This will have the best chance for success of any soccer team that has started in Omaha, but ultimately there are quite a few factors that are out of anyone's control.

I love Omaha and hope that it does succeed but at this point I am still skeptical.

[omaha79]

I agree with your comments about the local ownership. If it is going to succeed, that is going to be one of the main reasons why.

I am just basing it on the popularity of the sport. There is no doubt increased attention is paid to soccer, but I just think it is going to struggle to consistently draw great crowds. Like you and I mentioned, the ownership group and stadium have great assets that will help, but even with baseball, it is hard to compete with other events in town and the weather.

This will have the best chance for success of any soccer team that has started in Omaha, but ultimately there are quite a few factors that are out of anyone's control.

I love Omaha and hope that it does succeed but at this point I am still skeptical.

Omaha has never had a professional soccer team. Before you point to the prior failed indoor soccer teams, I don't count those. It's not the same sport and soccer purists will not support it. We simply do not have a point of comparison to make with another previous team in this city. Comparing it to pro football and minor league basketball don't really count either. We will see, I guess.

[MadMartin8]

As I've said before in this thread, it's going to come down to whether or not the population base is interested enough in soccer (can they capture the "soccer nut"), or if they can generate interested in the "event" itself of being there. I don't know if the location is going to appeal to the hard core fans, and I don't know if the lure of the "event" itself is going to have a very long (i.e more than a season or two) appeal. I am not totally sure if it will.

BUT, and this is a huge point, if there is a management team capable of pulling this off and having it last here in Omaha, it's the management team they currently have. We'll see what the future holds, but I will be sure to catch at least a few games to give the product (and more importantly Warner Park as a soccer venue..) a try. As a soccer fan myself, I would love it if they had some staying power.

[omaha79]

As I've said before in this thread, it's going to come down to whether or not the population base is interested enough in soccer (can they capture the "soccer nut"), or if they can generate interested in the "event" itself of being there. I don't know if the location is going to appeal to the hard core fans, and I don't know if the lure of the "event" itself is going to have a very long (i.e more than a season or two) appeal. I am not totally sure if it will.

BUT, and this is a huge point, if there is a management team capable of pulling this off and having it last here in Omaha, it's the management team they currently have. We'll see what the future holds, but I will be sure to catch at least a few games to give the product (and more importantly Warner Park as a soccer venue..) a try. As a soccer fan myself, I would love it if they had some staying power.

Honestly, the closest example of a grassroots effort Omaha ever had to building a team and fanbase out of a niche sport into something sustainable is Lancers Hockey. An engaged ownership group, bolstered by an excited fanbase, took something that probably shouldn't have ever worked and made it into a winner in this city. Omaha had hockey in the past, at higher levels, but a couple of franchises ended up leaving for various reasons. It should have never worked. It was essentially trying to sell high school hockey to a city that previously had, and lost, professional hockey. But, they capitalized on the strengths of what they had to work with and made it something special.

Will that work a second time with soccer? I'm not sure.

[skinzfan23]

The Lancer analogy is a good example. They have made it work for many years, although the team briefly left for CB and the Mid America Center but returned to its Omaha roots. They have a pretty successful following and average roughly 3,000/game.

What is the expected capacity or hopeful attendance numbers for the soccer team?

[Taco]

I echo the concerns of others in this thread because of issues with their league, USL1, rather than the team itself. The Nighthawks may be an apt comparison because I expect the team to be successful in drawing crowds, almost certainly to be top 2 in their league this year. The issue is the other teams which combined averaged under 2,000 per game. The only other two clubs joining this year are MLS II teams which have drawn very poorly in USL-C and USL1 (average attendances of 1367, 203, 168 for the other II teams in USL1) and care far more about developing players than creating a fan base. USL1 has not expanded as quickly as planned and the majority of future teams will most likely come from other MLS II teams moving down from the championship.

I'm not sure if the US soccer pyramid can support a third division at this point and see its future likely as a bunch of these MLS II teams which can afford to be subsidized by their parent club. Lansing Ignite was successful on and off the field last year, but folded because they weren't making money. NISA, the other third division league in the US is being buoyed by a few highly successful clubs, but the bottom half of the league is questionable at best and expansion has been slow as well. Maybe these successful teams will eventually agree to join USL, but their management is ideologically opposed.

In my opinion, Omaha's best hope is to draw large crowds this year, establishing itself as a good franchise and then either commit to stadium expansion or a new soccer specific venue which could enable it to move up to USL-C. I think the crowds will come, but I doubt the ownership is interested in either of the stadium options, which I think is severely limiting this team's potential. I'm hoping for a couple of good seasons, but the lower division landscape in the US has very little stability.

[Taco]

The Lancer analogy is a good example. They have made it work for many years, although the team briefly left for CB and the Mid America Center but returned to its Omaha roots. They have a pretty successful following and average roughly 3,000/game.

What is the expected capacity or hopeful attendance numbers for the soccer team?

League attendance numbers can be found here: https://soccerstadiumdigest.com/2019-us ... ttendance/

I am expecting an average attendance of 5-6k over the year. A key difference between Union omaha and the Lancers is the player salaries, which aren't huge, but adds another line item to the budget

[skinzfan23]

The average attendance was only 1,900 for the league with a high of 4,300.

Do you really think we will average 5-6k? (not trying to be mean, I was just wondering what you think the demand will actually be)

[omaha79]

The average attendance was only 1,900 for the league with a high of 4,300.

Do you really think we will average 5-6k? (not trying to be mean, I was just wondering what you think the demand will actually be)

Des Moines has generally averaged in the mid 3k range in terms of announced attendance average, playing in USL League 2 at Drakes football stadium. My hope would beat least as many fans as Des Moines, and hopefully more. I'd say the lower 4's should be realistic.

Of course, Omaha doesn't support its existing minor league team as well as Des Moines does, so who knows?

[MadMartin8]

As I've said before in this thread, it's going to come down to whether or not the population base is interested enough in soccer (can they capture the "soccer nut"), or if they can generate interested in the "event" itself of being there. I don't know if the location is going to appeal to the hard core fans, and I don't know if the lure of the "event" itself is going to have a very long (i.e more than a season or two) appeal. I am not totally sure if it will.

BUT, and this is a huge point, if there is a management team capable of pulling this off and having it last here in Omaha, it's the management team they currently have. We'll see what the future holds, but I will be sure to catch at least a few games to give the product (and more importantly Warner Park as a soccer venue..) a try. As a soccer fan myself, I would love it if they had some staying power.

Honestly, the closest example of a grassroots effort Omaha ever had to building a team and fanbase out of a niche sport into something sustainable is Lancers Hockey. An engaged ownership group, bolstered by an excited fanbase, took something that probably shouldn't have ever worked and made it into a winner in this city. Omaha had hockey in the past, at higher levels, but a couple of franchises ended up leaving for various reasons. It should have never worked. It was essentially trying to sell high school hockey to a city that previously had, and lost, professional hockey. But, they capitalized on the strengths of what they had to work with and made it something special.

Will that work a second time with soccer? I'm not sure.

My family had Lancer season tickets for years when I was growing up, when they were at Aksarben. Once they moved to CB we stopped going altogether. Honestly I haven't been to more than a few games at La Vista either. Because of that move I don't think they've ever been able to capture the magic they had in terms of a crowd like they did while at Aksarben (our loveable hockey dump that it was).

All that aside, I do agree that the best hope for staying power may be that they become successful so much in the first couple of years that a soccer specific stadium can be built in some manner, and then have them move up to USL Champ. That would be huge. It's a pie in the sky hope, but you never know.

Then again, the Des Moines Menace have been around for years in an even lower league than what Omaha will be (as also mentioned already in this thread).

Also impactful is WHEN are the games? Are the majority on the weekend/Friday, or Middle of the week? That can impact as well...

[omaha79]

As I've said before in this thread, it's going to come down to whether or not the population base is interested enough in soccer (can they capture the "soccer nut"), or if they can generate interested in the "event" itself of being there. I don't know if the location is going to appeal to the hard core fans, and I don't know if the lure of the "event" itself is going to have a very long (i.e more than a season or two) appeal. I am not totally sure if it will.

BUT, and this is a huge point, if there is a management team capable of pulling this off and having it last here in Omaha, it's the management team they currently have. We'll see what the future holds, but I will be sure to catch at least a few games to give the product (and more importantly Warner Park as a soccer venue..) a try. As a soccer fan myself, I would love it if they had some staying power.

Honestly, the closest example of a grassroots effort Omaha ever had to building a team and fanbase out of a niche sport into something sustainable is Lancers Hockey. An engaged ownership group, bolstered by an excited fanbase, took something that probably shouldn't have ever worked and made it into a winner in this city. Omaha had hockey in the past, at higher levels, but a couple of franchises ended up leaving for various reasons. It should have never worked. It was essentially trying to sell high school hockey to a city that previously had, and lost, professional hockey. But, they capitalized on the strengths of what they had to work with and made it something special.

Will that work a second time with soccer? I'm not sure.

My family had Lancer season tickets for years when I was growing up, when they were at Aksarben. Once they moved to CB we stopped going altogether. Honestly I haven't been to more than a few games at La Vista either. Because of that move I don't think they've ever been able to capture the magic they had in terms of a crowd like they did while at Aksarben (our loveable hockey dump that it was).

All that aside, I do agree that the best hope for staying power may be that they become successful so much in the first couple of years that a soccer specific stadium can be built in some manner, and then have them move up to USL Champ. That would be huge. It's a pie in the sky hope, but you never know.

Then again, the Des Moines Menace have been around for years in an even lower league than what Omaha will be (as also mentioned already in this thread).

Also impactful is WHEN are the games? Are the majority on the weekend/Friday, or Middle of the week? That can impact as well...

With only 4 exceptions (2 Wednesday games, a Tuesday game, and a Sunday game) the rest of the scheduled matches are either Friday or Saturday evenings. This may not include possible US Open Cup matches or other friendlies that aren't on the main league schedule.

So, the schedule is in their favor vs. something like Storm Chasers baseball. I have heard talk of the supporters group running a "Pub To Pitch" from Benson to the stadium for those that want to do, but can't handle the arduous journey through suburbia to reach Werner Park. Nothing has been announced yet though.

[omaha79]

So, ultimately. What do you think it takes for something like this to survive? I don't know what the contracts are like, but the total number of players would be smaller than some of the other sports.

Do they need to draw a packed house at Werner? 9k?

Do they need to draw Storm Chasers level crowds? 5-6k?

Do they need to draw upper echelon USL1 crowds? 4k?

Can it survive with middle of the road USL1 crowds? 3k?

The answer to that question will tell me alot going forward.

The Lancers have plummeted to the average of roughly 3k in recent years...albeit with more games and higher ticket prices than Union can likely charge. They don't have to pay contracts either.

The Beef are the equivalent of the mighty cockroach of the Omaha sports scene. Expensive sport that doesn't draw too well, but you simply can't kill them.

I'm not sure this has to draw 6k to be a success, but we'll see.

[MadMartin8]

So, ultimately. What do you think it takes for something like this to survive? I don't know what the contracts are like, but the total number of players would be smaller than some of the other sports.

Do they need to draw a packed house at Werner? 9k?

Do they need to draw Storm Chasers level crowds? 5-6k?

Do they need to draw upper echelon USL1 crowds? 4k?

Can it survive with middle of the road USL1 crowds? 3k?

The answer to that question will tell me alot going forward.

The Lancers have plummeted to the average of roughly 3k in recent years...albeit with more games and higher ticket prices than Union can likely charge. They don't have to pay contracts either.

The Beef are the equivalent of the mighty cockroach of the Omaha sports scene. Expensive sport that doesn't draw too well, but you simply can't kill them.

I'm not sure this has to draw 6k to be a success, but we'll see.

Depends entirely on the financial backing of the ownership/the people writing the checks. 3-4k might be good enough to do it, getting the league average, but who knows.

[Taco]

The average attendance was only 1,900 for the league with a high of 4,300.

Do you really think we will average 5-6k? (not trying to be mean, I was just wondering what you think the demand will actually be)

Yes I expect around 5k, more possible of marketing efforts go well. I think people will be surprised how many soccer fans there are in Omaha, but also I think people are looking for sporting events to fill the summer lull between CWS and football. Omahans are very good to showing up to sporting events and I expect them to challenge Madison for top attendance.

As for your other question about long term success, I think that largely depends on the stability of USL1. I am not bullish on USL1 and would love to see them find a way into USL-C, which is a better fit for a city our size.

[omaha79]

Union Omaha had a 0-0 tie in their first ever match, an exhibition match against Real Salt Lake's feeder team.

[Omahacritic]

The average attendance was only 1,900 for the league with a high of 4,300.

Do you really think we will average 5-6k? (not trying to be mean, I was just wondering what you think the demand will actually be)

Yes I expect around 5k, more possible of marketing efforts go well. I think people will be surprised how many soccer fans there are in Omaha, but also I think people are looking for sporting events to fill the summer lull between CWS and football. Omahans are very good to showing up to sporting events and I expect them to challenge Madison for top attendance.

As for your other question about long term success, I think that largely depends on the stability of USL1. I am not bullish on USL1 and would love to see them find a way into USL-C, which is a better fit for a city our size.

Maybe 5000 the first game or two ... it will then drop off. My guess is average a few thousand for the season.

The venue? Absolutely sucks. It’s a pain to get there. The seating ? Relatively little at midfield .

The sport is more popular than people think, but I think most of the support is East, not West. I see more Barca or Man U shirts East of 90th than west of the 680. Sure, kids in suburbia play, but most Soccer parents don’t understand the game.

Myself ... Bundeslige and/or EPL every Saturday and Sunday. And Champions League during the week. I never watch NFL.

But am I going to drive out to a cow pasture to watch? Maybe once or twice. But not enough to buy a season ticket. And I am prime market for them.

[Taco]

I was frustrated by the location as well for all of the same reasons you state. Would have appreciated a march from the pub type atmosphere you'd get at Morrison or even UNO. There will be busses going to and from Benson for those who want to pregame, but it's a lengthy drive. However, I don't think the venue is as poor as you describe - sightlines aren't as good as a soccer specific stadium, but the concourses are nice and no seats are very far away from the action. Families are familiar with the stadium and I don't think you are giving "soccer parents" enough credit. At the end of a day I am happy to have a poorly located team rather than no team.

An article in the athletic last week quoted them at 1,800 season ticket holders already, leading the league. While I would agree my estimate is aggressive, I think local teams generally do quite well in attendance. If enough people like you or I, soccer fans living far east of 90th, make it to one or two games a year the attendance will be great. Only time will tell.

Edit: On April 9th they will host a home game at UNO, would be a good opportunity to watch a game while avoiding a huge drive and potentially showing the demand for a more centrally-located stadium.

[Omahacritic]

Well Taco, perhaps you will be correct. I will be happy to have been incorrect.

I just see the seating as being a detriment to success. I looked it over on their website. At the ends 1/3’s of the pitch spectators will be too low to see the other 2/3’s. I think.

But who knows ... they could average 10,000 and it won’t matter unless the league itself can stand.

In time, I’ll get myself one of those Union Omaha jerseys.

[Taco]

Free match vs Creighton @ Morrison on Weds 3/4 at 5pm

[omaha79]

I like they new jerseys they came out with for the team. I'd like to buy one, but I want to wait until they decide whether or not a game will be played this year. Honestly, I could see a scenario where, if the whole season gets cancelled, this team just goes away without ever playing a game. I'd like to be wrong about that, but their cash reserves have to be poor, at best.

[S.O.Boy]

I like they new jerseys they came out with for the team. I'd like to buy one, but I want to wait until they decide whether or not a game will be played this year. Honestly, I could see a scenario where, if the whole season gets cancelled, this team just goes away without ever playing a game. I'd like to be wrong about that, but their cash reserves have to be poor, at best.

For some having a jersey of a team that is gone, adds to the mystique.

[omaha79]

I like they new jerseys they came out with for the team. I'd like to buy one, but I want to wait until they decide whether or not a game will be played this year. Honestly, I could see a scenario where, if the whole season gets cancelled, this team just goes away without ever playing a game. I'd like to be wrong about that, but their cash reserves have to be poor, at best.

For some having a jersey of a team that is gone, adds to the mystique.

I could understand that, but not sure about one that never even played a game. At least, not for me.

[Omaha Cowboy]

Looks like the season kickoff date is tentatively July 18th:

“Union Omaha might make its Werner Park debut this summer after all.

USL League One announced Friday a tentative start date for the season of July 18.”..

The W-H story link-

https://www.omaha.com/sports/local-spor ... 7a3fe.html

Ciao..LiO...Peace