NASL commissioner gives state of the union

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North American Soccer League commissioner Bill Peterson has been on the job less than four months, yet he's already making his second round of visits to the various outposts he oversees.

Peterson met with Scorpions FC on Friday before jetting off to his latest stop. He also spoke to the Express-News on a variety of subjects.

On the new split-season format, the first leg of which begins April 6: “It's going to put pressure on the players and coaches to win every week. Coming away with a tie is no longer going to be a positive as it is in some soccer leagues. They're going to have to win every week. It's also going to create intensity with early-season matches. All of which translates to a positive fan experience.”

On the NASL's relationship with MLS: “Our focus is not being a minor-league system for somebody. We're focused on winning games for our own fans, and that's a big difference. We're more worried about (the Scorpions) winning a championship for San Antonio than how many players end up playing for someone else some day.”

On the Scorpions' fast start: “On every level, San Antonio is really a league leader. They're ... ahead of people, and that's great. The team is not only successful (on the field), they're healthy in every aspect. This is an organization that's in great shape. They're going to have a long, successful future here.”

On NASL expansion: “We're hoping to add two teams a year until we get to probably 18 teams and then stop and look around and see what we need to do next. We want to take our time, pick the cities where we can create some rivalries, create a little more of a Western footprint, maybe even do some things here in Texas.”

On potential targets: “San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Phoenix, Austin, Dallas, Chicago, a list of about a dozen of them. Obviously, Austin is an exciting city with a lot of growth over the last decade. There have been a couple of inquiries from people with interest. We haven't fully engaged, but it's something we're looking at doing over the next couple of months.”

Notebook: Four of the Scorpions' five European signings were on hand for the training session, with only Croatian midfielder Ivan Milicevic still awaiting his visa. Manager Tim Hankinson said the team also will be joined by defenders Steven DeRoux and Chris Williams upon completion of their championship series with Baltimore in the Major Indoor Soccer League. The final match is set for today. ... Hankinson said the Scorpions are in discussions with San Antonio native Sean Arters, 24, to join the team for the upcoming season.

“He clearly is one of our hardest-working players,” he said. “We have not signed a contract with him, but it's in discussions. We'll hope to have a final decision shortly.”