As the inaugural USL League One season inches closer to kickoff, teams across the league are busy preparing not only for 2019 but the future that lies ahead.

While a lot of the short-term preparation revolves around roster construction and community outreach, much of the long-term planning is focused on finding, and oftentimes constructing, a permanent home.

For Chattanooga Red Wolves SC, Greenville Triumph SC and South Georgia Tormenta FC, that is certainly the case. The clubs are set to play the 2019 season at David Stanton Field, Legacy Early College and Erk Russell Athletic Park, respectively, but are in the process of developing new stadiums that will provide stability and economic development to their local communities in the future.

“For me, owning a team is one business model, owning a stadium is a very different business model,” said Tormenta FC Owner and President Darin Van Tassell. “Stadiums are much more stable than teams ever will be, but if you can also own those areas and operate those areas around the stadium, I think that’s the mixed portfolio that really creates the long-term health of this as a business and it ultimately will make the biggest footprint on the community.”

In June 2017, Tormenta FC released early renderings of a soccer-specific stadium that is expected to be ready ahead of the 2020 season and will seat over 5,000 fans as well as incorporate retail and office space. Van Tassell believes that developing a community and neighborhood around the stadium will make Statesboro a more exciting city for its residents.

“I’ve often talked about there are four global languages in the world: food, art, music and sport,” said Van Tassell. “We’ve tried to take all four of those elements and build them into the stadium – both architecturally and functionally – because those elements, those languages if you will, build bridges to creating communities, and if you do it right, the community follows.”