It was announced earlier today that the Carolina RailHawks, a North American Soccer League franchise located in Cary, N.C. is exploring the possibility of putting a team in the NWSL.
In the opinion of this writer, this needs to happen sooner than later.
“We are interested,” said RailHawks President Curt Johnson when speaking with Tim Nash of Equalizer Soccer. “Our owner, Steve Malik and I met with (NWSL Commissioner) Jeff Plush in Chicago in June, and we have had further conversations. There is interest from both sides, and the process is on-going. We are just doing our due diligence and getting the lay of the land, understanding budgets, the relationship with U.S. Soccer and the long-term vision."
North Carolina a perfect market for the NWSL
Whether the NWSL is planning for expansion in 2017 or not, the Carolina market is perfect for the league to expand to. Due to the success of the Tar Heel soccer program, there is a large and passionate fan base that would welcome a professional soccer team. The potential location of Cary, North Carolina is a great one because it is located between North Carolina State (11 miles), Duke University (27 miles) and the University of North Carolina (31 miles). In addition, it boasts one of the top areas for youth soccer as there are over 12,000 registered youth soccer players playing within 40 miles of the town. This writer, for one, thinks that the league should relocate either the Boston Breakers or Sky Blue FC, two teams struggling at the box office to North Carolina. The Sky Blue may be a more lucrative attraction to relocate since they boast some of the top young players in the league. If the NWSL decides to keep those two franchises in their respective markets, they could simply award Carolina an outright expansion franchise.
Any franchise in Carolina would and should find a way to build around Tobin Heath, who starred at North Carolina and would be an instant attraction. To acquire Heath, it would either take trading for her rights or have her be allocated by U.S. Soccer. With a player like Heath to build around in a solid soccer market, there is little chance for failure.
The league needs more of a presence in the mid- south and a team in Carolina would set up a potential rivalry with the Washington Spirit. The league needs some rivalry games, either by virtue of location or animosity and a Carolina-Washington set up would accomplish one, and perhaps both criteria.
Although right now this is nothing more than talk, putting a team in North Carolina is something the NWSL needs to do. Both sides to make sure the financial end of this deal is solid and the league needs to assure Johnson that it has a long-term vision. In the opinion of this writer, move an existing franchise to Cary (Carolina Breakers? Carolina Blues?), get U.S. Soccer to allocate Tobin Heath and enjoy.