The USL wouldn’t be the first to bring the sport to the city, but previous ventures have struggled. Omaha had two prior soccer teams that played at lower levels — one amateur and one indoor team. Each folded within a few years because of poor attendance or profitability.

The amateur Omaha Flames (1996-98) and the professional Omaha Vipers (2010-11) both played in significantly lower levels of U.S. Soccer than the USL, and both played at least half of their season indoors. The Flames drew more than 3,000 fans per game to the Ak-Sar-Ben Coliseum over two seasons, and the Vipers drew about 2,700 per game during its lone season at the Civic Auditorium.

But the USL hopes that a higher quality of play and more star power would help a team succeed here.

And there is already a soccer fan base. Creighton University’s men’s soccer team regularly ranks in the top five nationally in attendance, averaging about 3,300 fans in 2015, the NCAA’s most recent count. Down the road in Lincoln, the country’s largest U.S. National Soccer Teams’ supporters group, the American Outlaws, was founded and has an active Omaha chapter.

When Green was first approached by a broker about investing in a USL team, he was hesitant to commit. He didn’t know much about soccer.