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Riverhounds still have 'ways to go' before making MLS leap

Riverhounds still have 'ways to go' before making MLS leap

When MLS powerhouse D.C. United visited Highmark Stadium in the U.S. Open Cup last month, drawing a season-high 3,988 fans to a Riverhounds home game, major league buzz naturally started to build.

After all, the Riverhounds, a third-tier USL team, held their own against a top team until extra time, and the usually family-heavy crowd was infiltrated by more young adult fans.

But the Riverhounds still have several barriers to overcome before they can make the jump to Major League Soccer. While the D.C. United game might have shown a glimpse into what the future of soccer in Pittsburgh could be, it was an anomaly compared to current conditions.

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When the Riverhounds face New York Red Bulls II at 7 p.m. today at Highmark Stadium, they’ll expect attendance near their average 2,197 for the 3,500-capacity stadium. The lowest MLS attendance this season was just more than 10,000 — the highest, close to 63,000.

“The immediate concern is getting 3,500 in for every game,” Riverhounds general manager Richard Nightingale said. “D.C. United, that’s what you want every game. But we’re certainly not there yet.”

Highmark Stadium, which opened in 2013 and cost $10.2 million to build, has the ability to expand and accommodate more fans — but not to the extent necessary to house an MLS team. Even with extensive renovations, there is only so much room for Highmark Stadium to grow, confined by train tracks and a river on one side of the stadium and a busy road and hill on the other. 

Nightingale said the stadium could only grow to seat about 5,000 people into a U-shaped, ampitheater design, leaving open panoramic views of Pittsburgh’s downtown. 

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The smallest MLS stadium seats 18,000. So if the Riverhounds were to join MLS, the team would have to move out of Highmark and into a larger stadium.

The construction of Highmark Stadium led the team to filing for bankruptcy in 2014. While it is now in better financial standing, coming up with an MLS expansion fee in the next few years that could reach toward the $100 million range might be too much too soon.

In 2013, the Riverhounds announced a goal of joining MLS by 2023. MLS is running ahead of schedule on its plan to have 24 teams by 2020 and has just started initial meetings about further expansion. The league hopes to finalize expansion plans by the end of this year, MLS executive vice president Dan Courtemanche said.

Courtemanche said MLS looks at three main aspects for a potential new franchise: a committed local ownership group with financial resources; a stadium plan where the ownership controls the venue; and a market in a good location with a history of strong support for soccer and other sports that are attractive to sponsors and TV partners.

He said MLS observes attendance at Riverhounds games as well as TV ratings for MLS and other soccer matches and will be watching when the U.S. women’s national soccer team comes to Heinz Field in August.

“It’s one of those markets that we certainly are monitoring,” he said. “But we haven’t had any formal discussions regarding future expansion.”

While MLS might be a fairly long-term goal, the Riverhounds are taking small steps now that might help its major league bid in the future. Team owner Tuffy Shallenberger is interested in adding a professional women’s soccer team to the Riverhounds organization, and Nightingale said after an MLS affiliation with Houston Dynamo last year, another affiliation with a team closer to home, such as Columbus Crew or D.C. United, isn’t unreasonable.

But becoming an MLS team, he said, is far off. 

“You want to play, and you want to aspire to be in the highest level that you can,” Nightingale said. “It’s natural for Pittsburgh to have a team that’s in the highest level of soccer in this country. But I think we’re still a ways to go.”

Megan Ryan: mryan@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1722 and Twitter @theothermegryan.

First Published: July 4, 2015, 4:00 a.m.

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