Evidence of another bidder in Jacksonville

Jacksonville

Photo credit: Jacksonville Armada FC

During his press conference today, Robert Palmer, owner of Jacksonville Armada FC, suggested that a USL ownership group had been interested in playing in Jacksonville — one that was also attempting to secure Hodges Stadium as its stadium of choice.

In researching this claim, Soc Takes has been provided with a letter dated July 11, 2017 addressed to Marshall Happer, COO of Jax Armada, and NASL interim commissioner Rishi Sehgal that corroborates part of this claim. The letter (below) clearly suggests that another “competing interest” wished to use Hodges Stadium to host “professional soccer matches for the 2018 season.”

Jacksonville

While it does not categorically state the USL as the league of interest, “professional soccer” suggests it would be a team interested in MLS or the USL, with the latter being far more likely. Additionally, sources have confirmed that the USL was interested in placing a team in Jacksonville.

Soc Takes is not aware of the identity of the alternate Jacksonville USL group.

During a time when owners and leagues regularly make incendiary allegations, it is good to have documentation to back one of these.

To see a good summary of today’s press conference, see the following:

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Nipun divides his time between his two great loves - neuroscience and soccer. You can find him discussing both of those, as well as regular updates (pupdates) on his wonderful doggo, Octavia on Twitter. Get in touch with feedback/story suggestions at @NipunChopra7 or nipun.chopra@SocTakes.com

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