North Carolina FC won't compete in 2026 while applying to new division
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North Carolina FC, the Cary-based men's professional soccer team, won't compete in next year's USL Championship season, the team said Tuesday.
Why it matters: The team, in a statement, promised that it is not permanently shuttering the soccer franchise.
- Rather, it hopes to get the right infrastructure in place to apply to the USL's new Division One League, which hopes to compete with MLS as a top-tier league in the country and feature promotion and relegation starting in 2028.
Zoom in: The main sticking point to getting a spot in the Division One League appears to be a larger stadium than the team's current 10,000-seat First Horizon Stadium in Cary, also home to the North Carolina Courage, a National Women's Soccer League team.
- That league currently requires teams to have a minimum 15,000-seat soccer-specific stadium, North Carolina FC said in a statement.
Between the lines: Team owner Steve Malik has long been in pursuit of a new stadium for North Carolina FC and the North Carolina Courage, even pitching Kane Realty's Downtown South property as a potential home for it.
- However, the Downtown South project has not gotten off the ground, and financing for the stadium remains unclear.
Flashback: Malik bought the team, then called the Carolina RailHawks, in 2015. Shortly after, the club rebranded as North Carolina FC, and Malik began a campaign to bring an MLS franchise to the region.
- After failing to land an MLS franchise (ultimately Charlotte won out), most of the Triangle's local soccer efforts have been geared toward the Courage, which compete in the premier women's soccer league.
- Malik has brought on new investors for the Courage in recent years and nearly completed a deal to sell the team to former Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry.
What they're saying: In a statement, Malik called his decision a difficult one that he reached after much consideration of the future of pro soccer in the Triangle. He added that his team will focus its energy and resources on investing in the Courage and "resetting our men's strategy for the future."
- "With the right infrastructure in place, Raleigh can become a world-class home for the sport for years to come," he added.