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Buffalo, WPS yet to find road block for 2011 expansion entry
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Talks continue to progress between the Buffalo Flash and Women's Professional Soccer for a Buffalo, N.Y. area expansion team to enter the league in time for the 2011 season.
The two parties are currently at the stage of discussing operations and have yet to encounter problems that would prevent entry into the league in time for 2011, said Philadelphia Independence COO/Owner David Halstead, who is also co-chair of the expansion committee.
“Talks between the leadership of the Buffalo Flash and WPS continue to progress," Halstead said. "We are still making our way through the diligence process but have not discovered any issues that will prevent entry of a Rochester-Buffalo franchise in the WPS in time for the 2011 season, which means fairly quick turnaround for team branding, infrastructure build-up, and an expansion draft. Additionally, the momentum from the upcoming playoffs and ongoing structural changes within the WPS is being felt in the area of expansion as the WPS is opening dialogue with more markets for league entry in 2012 and beyond.”
Flash owner Joe Sahlen said the organization is tentatively planning on playing half its games at Rochester's Marina Auto Stadium (home of USSF Division 2 Rochester Rhinos) and half the time in Buffalo or Niagara. Those two options come down to playing at a soccer-specific field on the campus of Niagara University - where seating capacity of just 1,200 would need to be greatly increased - or a downtown Buffalo location at Coyer Field on the campus of Buffalo State College, not to be confused with the University of Buffalo.
Niagara would allow the Flash to play on an actual soccer field and to tap into the Canadian market more but also lacks sufficient permanent seating. Coyer Field is well located in downtown Buffalo and seats approximately 3,000 fans, but it is a turf football stadium and the Flash are looking into whether or not the American football lines could be painted over for matches.
"Our goal was to enter WPS in 2011 and I'm very encouraged that we are working toward that," Sahlen said.
A decision on Buffalo's future is expected in the coming weeks on a deadline that is not set in stone, but continues to approach. The Flash has more flexibility than other teams with this bid because there is already an established product and organization, making it less of an expansion bid and more of a team being promoted to WPS. 
Niagara Field (above) is soccer-specific but seats just 1,200 and looks out toward some unappealing power lines. Facility details here. 
... More
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Tuesday, August 31, 2010
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Posted by
Jeff
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Fitzgerald joining WPS will create synergy between women's soccer leagues
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Former USL W-League Director of Operations Melanie Fitzgerald has joined Women's Professional Soccer as manager of league operations, replacing former Chief Operating Officer Mary Harvey.
The league will formally announce the news Tuesday. Harvey left WPS last week and Fitzgerald will now serve in a similar role just below WPS Commissioner Tonya Antonucci. “Mary Harvey’s experience, hard-work and deep knowledge of soccer and its international community have been such a huge asset to developing WPS’s operational infrastructure over the past two years,” Antonucci said. “She put in place many of the structures which enabled the birth of this league such as player transactions, drafts, scheduling, game-day operations and officiating, while also assisting me and the board on more strategic league issues. Her passion for building and growing the game will be missed within WPS. At the same time, we have brought in an experienced operations manager. Melanie Fitzgerald has overseen tremendous growth within USL’s W-League as Sr. Director of Operations and we are confident that Melanie will continue the excellent game-day product, atmosphere and operational standards that we have established at WPS.”
Adding Fitzgerald to its arsenal gives WPS a formal link to the W-League, the second division semi-professional tier of North American women's soccer. Creating a synergy between the leagues will surely be on the agenda in the future and doing so is necessary to help develop the women's game in North America.
I have argued previously for a women's open cup featuring WPS, W-League and WPSL teams, although I realize the cost constraints associated with that. I think there are ways to work around those, such as regionalized cups, but the relationships between the three leagues must go beyond that. There needs to be more formal relationships between WPS and W-League and WPSL teams, both of which serve as direct feeders to the professional ranks. Over 60 percent of current WPS players have W-League experience and the influx of talent will continue following new discoveries at the 2010 W-League Combine.
Some clubs like the Chicago Red Eleven (W-League) have a direct and obvious relationship with a WPS team (in that case, the Chicago Red Stars). An organized pyramid is exactly what women's soccer in North America needs more of, especially as W-League and WPSL teams look to make the jump from semi-professional to professional as the Buffalo Flash is looking to do for 2011. There is no better way to do that than bringing the W-League's director of operations to WPS .
Replacing Fitzgerald at the top of the W-League will be Amanda Duffy, who previously served as the director of pro operations for USL. Duffy has previously assisted Fitzgerald with W-League operations and is very familiar with the ins and outs of the league. Check out the Sport's Business Journal's report on WPS league office restructuring here.
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Tuesday, August 31, 2010
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Posted by
Jeff
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