As expected, the USL’s new D-III division is coming to Chattanooga.
Businessman Bob Martino’s yet to be named Chattanooga Pro Soccer will compete with established NPSL side Chattanooga FC, which has averaged 4,000-plus fans and helped open the area’s soccer scene to include USMNT and USWNT games.
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Chattanooga joins Toronto FC II, Tormenta FC (Georgia), FC Tucson, and fellow unnamed clubs in Madison (Wisc.) and Greenville (S.C.) as founding members for 2019.
The USL lauded “up to 40 full-time jobs,” more media awareness, and a longer season for the professional league that come with the announcement.
Martino is behind the move, the Utah businessman excited to bring professional soccer to Chattanooga. From USLD3.com:“This is a fantastic opportunity and watershed moment for soccer fans in Chattanooga,” said Bob Martino. “This market has proven that it has the right ingredients to launch and sustain a professional franchise, and we are excited to take this next step into USL Division III for fans and the community.
“I applaud the existing grassroots support and passionate fan base already in place in the city, and I welcome the opportunity for us to work together to realize the great vision for professional soccer in Chattanooga. Our goal is to build upon the remarkable soccer history that has been created here, and establish a professional club of which both fans and our community can be proud – one that will make a lasting contribution to what makes this city great.”
Martino’s group will have a careful balancing act should it secure Finley Stadium, where CFC plays, and his phrasing shows the challenge that will come with convincing an established fan base to latch onto something new and shiny. It wouldn’t be the first time a name league’s expansion team knocked an established club off its perch.
There’s been no update from Sean McDaniel, who left the CFC general manager position last week when reports broke of USL D-III’s entry into the Chattanooga market. Earlier in the week, he told ProSoccerTalk that would release an announcement later this week.