A Lansing USL Division III team is being planned for 2019, with the club expected to play its games at the existing Cooley Law School Stadium.
As the upstart USL DIII approaches its inaugural season, details are emerging on a club in Lansing, Michigan’s capital city. The team will be backed by Tom Dickson, and play its games at Cooley Law School Stadium (shown above in baseball configuration). It would share Cooley Law School Stadium with Minor League Baseball’s Lansing Lugnuts (Low A; Midwest League), a franchise that is also owned by Dickson.
During a presentation on Monday, the Lansing City Council committee of the whole was given an overview of the plans for the club. The full council is expected to vote next month on an agreement for the professional soccer club to use the facility. More from the Lansing State Journal:
The Lansing City Council is reviewing plans for a Lansing professional team in the new United Soccer League Division 3, an offshoot of the longstanding USL and a league loosely affiliated with Major League Soccer.
Lugnuts president Nick Grueser presented plans to the City Council’s committee of the whole Monday evening. If approved, the club will play its home games at the city-owned Cooley Law School Stadium. The soccer team is separate from the baseball organization, Grueser said, though he will be team president and Lugnuts owner Tom Dickson will own the team. A full City Council vote is slated for early October, Mayor Andy Schor said.
Lansing would join a group of 2019 USL DIII clubs that includes South Georgia Tormenta FC (Statesboro, Georgia), FC Tucson, Greenville Triumph SC, Madison Pro Soccer, Toronto FC II, Chattanooga Pro Soccer, Orlando City B, and Richmond Kickers. In addition, the Rochester Rhinos have announced that they are shifting from USL to USL DIII, but will not begin USL DIII play until 2020.
Image courtesy Lansing Lugnuts.