Investors have come forward to make a case to the USL to place a team in Baltimore, according to a report from The Washington Post.
As the USL looks to grow, Baltimore–which is currently without professional soccer–could be in the mix. While the city has been tied to the USL in recent months, the proposal that has come forward is reportedly catching the eye of league officials.
The proposal could allow the city to join the league as soon as 2018. In addition, while a temporary venue could be used in the interim, a new stadium is believed to be in the works. More from The Washington Post:
The identity of the individuals was not immediately known but their proposal to field a team as early as 2018 was described by one source as “strong.”
Baltimore is high on the league’s list for possible expansion. The group is apparently looking to build a stadium from scratch and, if necessary, play in an existing facility on a temporary basis.
Last year, the Wilmington Hammerheads explored the possibility of moving to Towson University‘s football-lacrosse stadium. Instead, they remained in the North Carolina coastal town as an amateur team in the fourth-division Premier Development League while their owners eyed investing in an established USL club. They are not actively pursuing the Baltimore option.
Reached at their headquarters in Tampa, league officials did not want to comment.
Soccer has been hosted sparingly in Baltimore over the years. The NASL’s Baltimore Comets had a brief run at Memorial Stadium in the 1970’s, while Crystal Palace Baltimore played the 2007-2009 seasons in the USL Second Division, before playing its final campaign in the USSF Division 2 Professional League.
From 2012-2016, Premier Development League fielded the Baltimore Bohemians, which most recently played at Cedar Lane in Bel Air. The Bohemians issued a statement in January declaring that they would sit out the 2017 season.
Image of USL action courtesy Louisville City FC.