For the next month, many soccer fans will be focusing their attention across the Atlantic as the first games of the World Cup kick off in Germany. But in the coming years, some professional soccer action could be seen closer to Philadelphia.
Just how close? There's a possibility that a team might play right on campus at Franklin Field.
The team's stay would only be temporary, though, as it is part of a larger plan by Milestone University Investments, LLC in conjunction with Rowan University to bring a Major League Soccer team to a new soccer-specific stadium that would be constructed on the Rowan campus in Glassboro, N.J.
Rowan, in an effort to expand its campus and draw a soccer team in, took proposals from various investment companies for the project. The University accepted a proposal from Milestone in late April.
The proposal submitted by Milestone explains that until the new stadium is completed, possibly in 2009, "it is anticipated that the team will play at Lincoln Financial Field, Franklin Field, Villanova University or a similar venue."
The Penn Athletic Department did not respond to questions about the issue, saying that discussions were "extremely early in the process."
A Villanova athletic department spokesperson said that their venue would not be a likely location because of scheduling conflicts with other events that it hosts.
If the deal works out, it won't be the first time that a professional sports team, or even a pro soccer team, called the 52,000-capacity Franklin Field its home.
The Philadelphia Eagles of the NFL played there from 1958-70, while the Philadelphia Atoms, who were part of the North American Soccer League that dissolved in 1984, used it during their 1976 season.
Lew Meehl, the current Drexel men's soccer coach, who played with the Atoms for two years and was part of the 1973 championship team, enjoyed playing in Philadelphia.
"People realized [that the Atoms had] a number of local guys," Meehl said. "So the crowd following supported them well."
Recent soccer media attention due to the World Cup could interest more people in the sport and might help boost support.
"It depends on how many people pay attention to it," Meehl said. "If the U.S. was to do really well, it might excite people about it a bit more and help bring a team here."
But there are a number of people who have wanted to bring a team to the area since the creation of the MLS in 1993.
Ethan Gomberg has been promoting bringing a soccer team to Philadelphia through a website, phillysoccer.com, which he created about a year ago along with a group of fellow soccer enthusiasts.
"We wanted to have a presence, to be a deposit of information," he said. "We wanted to tell people to just check our website for information."
Gomberg has been keeping in contact with officials involved with the expansion project and posting updates on the website, along with other information.
Recently, the Milestone Group contacted him, inquiring about what colors and team name people in the area would likely support. Gomberg created an online poll where fans could vote for a team name and colors, and he also made a discussion board where patrons can voice their opinions.
"We want to help the MLS come to Philly," Gomberg said. "We'll build support clubs and fan groups and embrace a team as it comes."
Discussions and planning on the expansion project at Rowan University will continue until July 1, 2006, the deadline for negotiations between Milestone and the MLS for a deal involving the stadium and the team.
And soon enough, the Penn team might not be the only source of soccer action on campus.
