At the same time the USL welcomes two new teams to the 1st division in 2009, the expansion team Austin Aztex FC; and the USL-2 Champions Cleveland City Stars, who got promoted to the 1st division.

The Aztex will kick off its inaugural season in the USL-First Division at Nelson Field in downtown Austin. Nelson Field seats up to 10,000 fans and features a new field turf pitch installed in 2007, as part of a $2 million renovation project. Krenzler Field is the new home of the Cleveland City Stars and just reopened this past fall after undergoing a $2.9 million renovation that has transformed it from just a soccer field to a year-round multi-use sports complex.

The two 1st division Canadian teams, the Montreal Impact and the Vancouver Whitecaps, are both reconsidering their bids to join the MLS, and are questioning the ridiculous MLS $40,000,000 USD franchise fee. They both should be back in the USL in 2009. Just 3 years ago the Toronto FC paid a $10,000,000 USD franchise fee to join the MLS, still ridiculous.

The overated MLS might be considered by some to be the United States’ “1st Division”, but recent history in the CONCACAF Champions League proves otherwise.

The USL must do a better marketing job, nobody argues that. They need a face lift–not on the field–as the league has done an outstanding job of growing quality on the field. But, they need to retool from a marketing standpoint.

With the addition of the Aztex and the City Stars, and the deletion of the Sounders and the Silverbacks, the TRUE 1st division! maintains a total of 11 teams for 2009, including the returning teams: Puerto Rico Islanders, Vancouver Whitecaps, Montreal Impact, Rochester Rhinos, Charleston Battery, Minnesota Thunder, Carolina Railhawks, Miami FC Blues and the Portland Timbers. Another team, the Tampa Bay Rowdies is scheduled to join the 1st division in 2010.

The Silverbacks webpage claimed that “Due to the state of the economy and the potential of an MLS team coming to town, the men’s pro team has decided to sit the year out while the Silverbacks assess the landscape”.

“This was an extremely difficult decision that was prompted by the dynamic events in our economy and the soccer community. We would like to thank all of our fans and partners who have supported the team over the years and hope they continue to come out to the Women’s games,” said Atlanta Silverbacks General Manager, Michael Oki.

The Puerto Rico Islanders have traditionally not fared well against the Silverbacks. The Islanders have posted a 3-6-7 (W-T-L) record alltime against Atlanta. While Puerto Rico has managed a .500 record at home (2-3-2), the Silverbacks have trashed the Islanders on the road where the Puertoricans have a 1-3-5 record. The Silverbacks have outscored the Islanders 30-22 in their sixteen USL encounters.

While the Silverbacks finished second to last place in the USL in 2008, they still managed to have a 1-2-0 winning record against the Commisioners Cup winners Puerto Rico Islanders. The Islanders actually won this season’s Commisioners Cup on their last game against the Silverbacks with a 1-1 draw at home in Juan Ramón Lobriel Stadium in Bayamón on September 19th.

Back in October Arthur Blank’s AMB Group LLC, which owns and operates the National Football League’s Atlanta Falcons and the Arena Football League’s Georgia Force, announced that they had applied for a MLS franchise, which may be fueling the rumor. Back in 2007 the successful entry of the Toronto FC to the MLS caused another USL-1 team to fold, the Toronto Lynx.