|
October 31, 2000
WUSA
approves removal of Orlando team from Florida to North Carolina
for the inaugural 2001 season
The Orlando
team was unable to locate an appropriate stadium before November
1, 2000. Jerome Ramsey, President of both the New York and North
Carolina teams, made the stadium announcement today.
"While we
regret that Orlando cannot be part of the WUSA inaugural season,
we are very excited about the move to North Carolina," said Ramsey.
"Beginning in 2002, a soccer-specific complex will be completed
that exemplifies the WUSA's commitment to developing and playing
in facilities that effectively showcase the sport. For the 2001
season we are hoping to play at Fetzer Field at the University of
North Carolina. With its rich history and number of UNC athletes
who have played on the national team, Fetzer Field would serve as
a perfect backdrop for the WUSA's North Carolina team to kick off
its' inaugural season."
"Orlando remains
very high on the WUSA's list of potential expansion cities," said
Lee Berke, Acting President of the WUSA. "It's a great city and
was initially selected because of the tremendous enthusiasm the
city had for the WUSA, local ownership interest, sponsorship potential
and television resources."
Forward Danielle
Fotopoulos and midfielder/defender Tiffany Roberts (another UNC
alum) will compete for the North Carolina team and will be joined
by defender Carla Overbeck. Fotopoulos and Roberts were part of
the original WUSA player allocation draft while Overbeck only recently
decided to play in 2001. In Overbeck, North Carolina gets a tremendously
skilled player.
Midfielder
Michelle Akers, who was part of the initial allocation draft, will
not play for North Carolina in 2001. She will take the year off
to recover from shoulder surgery.
The WUSA conditionally
awarded the initial eight markets with franchises for the 2001 season
with the provision that they execute a venue contract by November
1, 2000. If an appropriate venue could not be secured by that date
then an alternate city would be substituted. When the Orlando ownership
group felt it could not find an appropriate stadium in time for
the deadline, the decision to move was made. The WUSA selected the
eight cities last April from a finalist list of 16, of which North
Carolina was one of the alternates. A list of otherpossible expansion
markets that the WUSA may explore as the League expands in subsequent
years, includes Chicago, Columbus, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami,
Orlando, Portland, and St. Louis. The League is closely monitoring
stadium development opportunities as well in Milwaukee, Denver and
Houston. The League will open with eight teams and may expand to
as many as 14 teams during the first five years of operation
|
