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Los Angeles Sol pro soccer team folds after only one season
Shannon Boxx #7 of the Los Angeles Sol prepares to kick a bouncing ball against the New Jersey Blue Sky during the WPS CHampionship at The Home Depot Center on August 22, 2009 in Carson, California. The Blue Sky won 1-0 to win the WPS Championship.
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Los Angeles Sol pro soccer team folds after only one season
Los Angeles Sol pro soccer team folds after only one season
Los Angeles' pro women's soccer team is folding after only one season. The Women's Professional Soccer league made the announcement today.
The L.A. Sol had the best record in the Women's Professional Soccer league last season – the league's inaugural season.
The best female soccer player in the world, Brazilian forward Marta, led the Sol to the playoffs, where they lost to Sky Blue FC, a team from New Jersey.
But the Sol won't have a chance for redemption this season. The league is shutting the team down.
The team regularly drew more than 6,000 fans a game to Home Depot Center in Carson last season. That's higher than the league average.
But the Sol have been struggling financially since Anschutz Entertainment Group returned its ownership stake in the team to the league. The league tried to find a new owner, but negotiations fell through at the last minute.
"Ownership changes are part of pro sports, particularly in a young league, and we have made solid progress in growing WPS from where we were last season," says Women's Professional Soccer league Commissioner Tonya Antonucci. "We believe Los Angeles is a healthy, viable market for women’s pro soccer and a city where our league can again thrive with an LA franchise in the future."
The demise of the Sol coincides with growth in Women's Professional Soccer. The league is expanding to Philadelphia and Atlanta this season. Atlanta has even built a new stadium specifically for pro women's soccer.
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Sol players who are signed to multi-year contracts -- including Shannon Boxx and Marta -- will be drafted to the league's eight remaining teams.
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