The USL has seen a "mercurial and Quixotic growth" since debuting in '11, as it has "doubled in size to 30 teams -- making it the world’s largest tier-two league," according to Kevin Baxter of the L.A. TIMES. Attendance also has "grown by more than 32% in each of the last two seasons -- albeit to a modest 4,179 a game." The league, which ranks second behind MLS on the U.S. soccer pyramid, "recently announced plans to launch a Division III league in 2019, further expanding its reach." USL President Jake Edwards said that the league's model "can succeed only if the USL continues to draw passionate, professional and prosperous owners." Baxter noted Didier Drogba, who has played for the Impact and EPL club Chelsea during his career, is now playing for and is an investor in the USL Phoenix Rising. Kona Grill CEO Berke Bakay is the main investor in the club. Other USL owners joining the league since '15 include Spurs Sports & Entertainment, which owns San Antonio FC as well the Spurs; Hewlett Packard President & CEO Meg Whitman, who is part of Sacramento Republic’s ownership group; and American Financial Group co-CEO Carl Lindner III who is the majority owner of FC Cincinnati. While some of them "signed on with an eye toward joining MLS someday, others ... consider USL a major league in its own right." USL Orange County Blues Owner James Keston: "MLS is one model. USL is a completely different model. People like me -- especially ones who saw MLS 10, 15 years ago and found it very interesting -- now look at USL and see that same interesting growth and say there are amazing things we can do with this business." Baxter noted the league has invested $10M in USL Productions, a "broadcasting and content-development arm" and last month reached an agreement for Sirius XM "to carry a game of the week and a weekly one-hour talk program on satellite radio" (L.A. TIMES, 5/21).
