For months, it seemed a matter of when, not if, the New York Red Bulls would officially launch their own USL PRO team. Eager to expand opportunities for their reserves and academy players, Red Bulls officials had alluded to tentative plans to base the new squad at their new training complex in Hanover, New Jersey

But apparently it's not happening after all.

“We will not have our own team, that much I can tell. We will not have own team,” RBNY sporting director Andy Roxburgh told BigAppleSoccer.com this week. “We will not be creating our own USL PRO team here. That much I can tell you.

“We're in the process of trying to organize our relationship with someone else.”

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Roxburgh noted that his club is instead exploring a USL PRO affiliate partnership along the lines of those crafted by 11 of their MLS counterparts. The league has directed all teams to partner with a USL PRO club or field a team of their own in the third-division professional league by the 2015 season.

“We're still progressing, we're still talking with the league, other clubs. It's a process. I can't give an answer right now,” Roxburgh said. “MLS don't give us a choice here. You've got to have your own or be with someone.”