Brownsville advances as finalist for potential professional soccer team

Brownsville is now one of two cities under consideration for a potential professional soccer team after the United Soccer League secured an interested ownership partner, according to the city.

Brownsville has spent the past year and a half working with the United Soccer League, or USL, and local soccer organizations to explore bringing a professional team to the city.

Those discussions have now narrowed.

“We’re at the point now where ownership is between Brownsville and another city, and Brownsville has the largest return on investment as opposed to the other city, but we also have the best talent here,” Nathan Burkhardt, director of the Brownsville Convention and Visitors Bureau and Office of Space Commerce, said in a city announcement Thursday.

The city did not identify the other community under consideration or the interested ownership partner. It also did not disclose the potential investment involved or provide a timeline for a final decision.

A franchise has not yet been awarded to Brownsville.

Sports Park could see improvements

If Brownsville ultimately lands the expansion team, the project could also bring improvements to the Brownsville Sports Park, which could become home to the professional club.

The city has been meeting with local soccer leagues and teams about how potential development at the park could move forward without interfering with existing practices, games and tournaments.

Details about the scope or potential cost of those improvements have not been released.

The Sports Park discussion adds an infrastructure component to the city’s pursuit of professional soccer, with any expansion potentially requiring facilities capable of accommodating both a professional franchise and the youth and amateur organizations already using the complex.

Building on Brownsville’s soccer culture

City officials are also pitching Brownsville’s existing soccer culture and player base as an advantage in its bid for a team.

Francisco Chavez, director of BTX Soccer Club, said bringing professional soccer to Brownsville could expose local players to a higher level of competition while creating a potential pathway for young athletes.

“They will have the opportunity to see a higher level of soccer here in Brownsville if the professional team comes to a reality,” Chavez said. “Not only will they have that, but they will have the platform to run next to and maybe one day be able to play at that level.”

The United Soccer League operates professional and pre-professional soccer leagues across the United States. The city did not specify in Thursday’s announcement which USL league or level the potential Brownsville franchise would join.

For now, the city’s bid remains under consideration, but the emergence of an interested ownership partner and the narrowing of the competition to Brownsville and one other city move the effort beyond the exploratory discussions that have taken place over the past 18 months.