In Part 2 of my three-part interview with Tim Holt, president of the United Soccer Leagues (USL), Holt talks about potential changes to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup structure that would make it more competitive and serve to promote MLS in underserved areas.
The Open Cup, the oldest existing tournament in the United States, pits lower division soccer teams against upper division teams up through MLS. In 2011, the Seattle Sounders won the Open Cup for the third consecutive year.
Read the overview of my entire interview with Holt here.
Part 1: MLS and USL affiliation and the new MISL
Part 3: W-League/MLS affiliation and WPS
Interview with Tim Holt, president USL
Part 2: Changes coming for the U.S. Open Cup
LE: It seems obvious that a change in the structure of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup tournament where the lower seed hosts would make the Open Cup more competitive and more of an exciting, marketable event. How do you make that happen?
Holt: In full disclosure, I serve on the Open Cup Committee for U.S. Soccer. The last couple years for the Open Cup have been a real positive step forward in terms of the awareness of the Cup, how the media perceived it, especially the finals, a lot more buzz. It helps when you have a Seattle packing the numbers that they pack in for these games. They’ve been great, first as a USL team and now as an MLS team, in terms of how they take the Cup seriously. But now all of the MLS teams take this tournament more seriously and a lot of MLS teams do draw well for Open Cup games.
The Open Cup has always been a fantastic showcase for USL PRO and PDL because it gives them the opportunity to play on an equal competitive platform.
LE: But is it really equal? Harrisburg City Islanders’ coach Bill Becher spoke with me for Examiner last year when the City Islanders were the last lower division team in Open Cup. While MLS teams hosted, the City Islanders were up and down the coast in a bus with additional Cup games beyond MLS participation and on top of Harrisburg’s regular season. It doesn’t seem fairly competitive.
Holt: I won’t disagree with that point. One of things the tournament will need to address going forward is the manner in which teams are selected to host in each of the individual rounds, and de-emphasize the economics of hosting each round and emphasize competitive balance. There are always minimum standards in facilities that teams must meet. In many cup competitions around the world there’s a draw for each round - home or away – and mathematically, you’ve a fifty percent chance of hosting and fifty percent chance of traveling.
It’s exciting. Fans get excited about the draw. The draw is part of the entertainment and part of cup competition. We’d love to see the tournament get to the point, sooner rather than later, where that can occur because it would more fairly balance which teams host and create real balance in terms of the competitive side of the tournament.
There are things that can be improved in this competition. It’s got such a great history it’s an honor and a privilege to compete in this tournament. Our teams have done very well over time. Richmond beat two MLS teams on the road and played in the semifinals and that’s a lot to ask when you have a domestic schedule that’s also very difficult.
That’s one thing the tournament would benefit from and all the teams would benefit from, from a competition standpoint. We’re working internally to make changes to improve the tournament next year and the way things are going there will be a lot of positive changes in the tournament next year in a number of different areas.
LE: How do you make it more attractive for MLS teams to play away at a USL home field?
Holt: Nobody wants to play away. From a USL standpoint this is best, and this is also best for the tournament and for growing the game of soccer in the United States. For a Wilmington Hammerheads, if they advance to the third round and play an MLS team – let’s say it’s Real Salt Lake – candidly, Wilmington Hammerheads are not going to be a huge draw in Salt Lake City. They’re going to have a tough time selling that game. There’s just not anything special about that game, it’s the domestic cup and you don’t see that team very much. That’s not usually what moves the needle.
On the flip side, if Real Salt Lake or the LA Galaxy go into Wilmington, North Carolina where there’s a great stadium and great crowd support to play an Open Cup game, it will be the biggest soccer game in North Carolina that year unless the National Team is playing there. For MLS, there’s a chance to really grow the sport in areas where there’s not a team.
For a PDL team, for the Ocean City Nor’easters to host, one time, whether it’s the Red Bulls or the Philadelphia Union, would have a huge impact on the sport of soccer in areas where they may not be able to consume MLS. Des Moine, Iowa, El Paso Texas - these type of places. There’s great opportunity by taking big games that involve MLS teams to the lower division markets.
In some competitions, the lowest seeded team always gets to host. While that would be great from a USL standpoint in the later rounds, a fairer approach would be to make sure minimum standards are met and then conduct a draw. You’d get excitement out of a draw and there would be balance in terms of who was hosting games.
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