MountainStar Sports Group bringing professional USL team to El Paso

MountainStar Sports Group announced Wednesday it will be bringing a United Soccer League team to El Paso.

“This is a big day for El Paso as we join cities like San Antonio and Phoenix who are already experiencing the excitement we are about to bring to El Paso,” Alan Ledford said.

“We’re handing this over to you. This is your club – yours to build and support,” said United Soccer League President Jake Edwards, “You will be facing some pretty cool regional rivals in Las Vegas, Phoenix and Albuquerque as well as other Texas teams in San Antonio and Austin.”

The ownership group hopes to establish a youth soccer academy tied to the team, expected to start playing in 2019.

“El Paso has all the ingredients to sustain a professional soccer team, a passionate fan base and a stadium plan that will be the envy of the league,” Edwards said. When asked about the stadium, officials said they plan to design a “soccer specific stadium.” El Paso Mayor Dee Margo said he does not anticipate the City asking taxpayers to help pay for the stadium.

“A USL team will provide our city with the opportunity to share our story and culture with numerous cities, thereby increasing El Paso’s visibility across the nation,” Margo said, “El Paso is winning and continues to win. Remember, we are two cities, two countries and three states – but we are a single community.”

Mountainstar Sports Groups said fans can start reserving tickets with a $50 deposit by calling 915-235-GOAL or by visiting elpasousl.com.

The USL is a Division II professional soccer league that’s been in existence since 2011. The league currently has 35 teams across the United States, and will add six expansion teams, including El Paso.

In 2014, MountainStar launched an MLS in El Paso campaign. MLS commissioner Don Garber said in 2014 that El Paso wasn’t “as far along” as other cities when it came to applying to be an expansion team.

In September of 2017, ABC-7 confirmed MountainStar had approached the City and County of El Paso about a potential public-private partnership to bring a USL team to the city. In a statement given to ABC-7 the group said:

“Our objective is to build a first-class soccer stadium in or as close to Downtown as possible as part of a public/private partnership.”

El Paso currently has a professional indoor soccer team, the El Paso Coyotes. The team plays in the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) and is in its second season.

Previously, the El Paso Patriots played in the American Professional Soccer League from 1997-2003.

Answers to frequently asked questions posted on elpasousl.com:

Why now? Wouldn’t it be better to wait for a soccer stadium?
The USL is expanding rapidly and we didn’t want to miss the opportunity to acquire a team for El Paso. In addition, bringing Division II professional soccer to the market now will further enhance the city and region’s quality of life.

Where will El Paso USL play? How will that work? For how long?
Beginning 2019, El Paso USL will play at Southwest University Park. We’ve hosted several international exhibition soccer matches and will configure the playing field similarly.The ultimate goal is to play in a first-class soccer specific outdoor stadium in or near downtown and expect to play in the ballpark until it’s complete.

Why can’t El Paso USL play in Southwest University Park for the foreseeable future?
Two reasons:1) the USL’s goal is to have its teams in soccer-specific outdoor stadiums, and 2) we’ve stated since we began pursuing professional soccer for this market that we believe El Paso deserves a first-class soccer-specific outdoor stadium and it remains our intention to accomplish this objective.

The club’s location is also an interesting one thanks to the presence of the Ascenso MX club FC Juarez. Is there hope that the two clubs could work together in the future?
We are fortunate to be geographically situated to create a very unique relationship with our neighbors across the border.In fact, we’ve already had discussions with FC Juarez about those possibilities.

How does this affect El Paso’s ability to attract a future MLS club?
When we last met with MLS Commissioner Don Garber he was very enthused about our ownership group and the unique aspects of the region.However, based on market size, the current number of corporate headquarters, and television market size, amongst other parameters, he indicated that El Paso is not yet ready and that we should pursue an opportunity with the USL. Competition will always be significant for a MLS team and it’s likely to be many years before those attributes in our region make us a viable candidate for MLS expansion.

Will the ballpark host additional soccer matches other than USL home games?
Yes, from time to time we anticipate hosting friendlies (exhibition games) in El Paso, as has happened regularly in other venues across the USL.

What does the roadmap for the club look like now, in terms of potential branding announcements, including the team name, as the work starts towards 2019’s inaugural season? What do we call our team until it is officially named?
Soon we will unveil a process to get everyone’s input regarding the team name.In the meantime, the club will be known as El Paso USL.

What is the projected economic impact?
Bringing USL Division II professional soccer to El Paso improves our quality of life and helps to make our region more attractive as we compete to keep and attract employees and businesses, and to create new jobs.In addition to employing full-time staff and the hundreds of game day employees, the team will help to continue the growth and popularity of downtown.Part of the soccer tradition is to visit local pubs and restaurants before and after each match which adds to the economic impact.The team and its fans will also create additional energy and excitement downtown.Furthermore, “El Paso” will now be mentioned in dozens of markets across the country as part of news coverage of our new USL soccer team.</