While we continue to wait for any sort of news out of the Riverhounds let’s take a look at some happenings with our neighbors. While most of the pomp and circumstance surrounding USL PRO going into 2015 has been focused Westward, and with MLS 2 teams, changes to Dayton and Harrisburg could and will shake up the future “Eastern conference”.

Dayton

Oh Dayton, we hardly knew thee. The worst team last season with some of the lowest attendance numbers in the league has decided to pull a Charlotte and self relegate themselves back to whence they came, the USL PDL. Dayton leaves USL PRO as an Icarus story- aiming high only to fall. A cautionary tale for small market teams that don’t want to spend much. I’m sure the Michigan Bucks are taking notes. In the 4 years of Dayton’s USL career they’ve been at or near the bottom, making the playoffs only once, and never having a positive goal differential. While we never really became heated rivals, seeing a close team disappear does suck as we cross off a potential road trip.

Harrisburg

Harrisburg is another team who’s future is suddenly a little more cloudy. After coming off of a great season where everything was looking up, rumors have started to come out about Harrisburg being partially assimilated by the MLS borg. The Philly CBS affiliate is reporting there are talks of Harrisburg moving to Philly to be closer to the Union and essentially if not outright becoming Union 2. As the MLS and USL continue to become more intertwined it seems MLS teams aren’t content with sending their players to small teams with little to no facilities. We saw that with Dayton, and we’re seeing it here. The article mentioned the Islanders possibly still playing in Harrisburg, but I don’t see how that could work. Travel costs alone make that rather nuts, and having your day-to-day operations / training two hours away from your “home” games is going to kill any connection that team has with the city. It’s going to suck for Harrisburg fans if they move, but in the end Papa MLS is going to get what Papa wants.

New York Red Bulls 2

Also worth noting is the on again, off again NYRB2 appears to be on again. Red Bulls 2 coming into the league would balance out Dayton leaving, but we’ll see if they actually go through with it or back out again.

If Harrisburg moves, coupled with Dayton’s jump down to PDL, Rochester becomes the closest team to the Riverhounds. I’m sure most fans across the USL won’t shed a tear for us based on their closest rivals, but it sure isn’t a situation we’re used to. It also throws a big wrench into our away trip plans which is ultimately what I care about the most. The USL AGM is currently on going down in Tampa. We’ll see if it brings any news.

#UNLEASH