IMAGE, CHICAGO NASL

by JAKE NUTTING

Do not expect to see the North American Soccer League in the Windy City next year.

There was some optimism earlier this year that the group attempting to bring a NASL team to Chicago might be ready to kick off for the 2017 season, but setbacks in securing a home venue have squashed that hope.

The group’s official Twitter account posted on Tuesday that it won’t have an update on it’s venue search until November.

@tpolcaster Still TBD. Venue delays have pushed launch to 2018 season. Won't know more on venue until November. — Chicago NASL (@ChicagoNASL) August 23, 2016

The organization behind the expansion effort, Club 9 Sports, has targeted Soldier Field as its number one choice for a home venue. If the group were to secure the historic stadium, CEO Peter Wilt has stated that they would likely only open up 15,000 seats of the 61,000 seat venue for matches. Remaining within Chicago city limits has been highlighted as a primary goal of the group.

The delay in Chicago means the San Francisco Deltas are the only confirmed expansion team for the NASL’s 2017 season. With Minnesota United FC moving to Major League Soccer next year, the ambitious second division league would hold steady at 12 teams unless there are any surprise expansion announcements within the next few months.

Chicago is the group farthest down the road when it comes to gaining approval from the NASL Board of Governors. It was reported in May that former Tennessee Economic and Development Commissioner Bill Hagerty was in the process of building a group of investors for an expansion effort in Nashville, but there have been no updates since then. Meanwhile, th United Soccer League has already announced a new team in the market with hopes of kicking off in 2018.

There are also rumors of the NASL possibly returning to Atlanta in a new stadium in the suburbs of the city, but Commissioner Bill Peterson has stated many times that adding more teams on the West Coast is a priority for the league.