4 questions (so far) about the possible Wilmington pro soccer franchise for 2024

For more than a year, Chris Mumford and Dewan Bader have been asking questions, and listening to answers, when it comes to bringing professional soccer back to Southeastern North Carolina for the first time since the Wilmington Hammerheads' final game of the 2016 season.

The leadership at the United Soccer Leagues have heard enough their ownership group exclusive rights to create a team for USL League One in 2024.

Which means the listening and the answering are really just getting started.

On June 3, the league announced that it believes Mumford, Bader and Sullivan will be able to put a team on the field for 2024 with stable financial backing and a stadium plan that goes far beyond just a playing field.

As it all begins to take shape, here are some of the questions out there about the game's hopeful return to the Port City.

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Why Wilmington for USL League One, and why now?

USL League One is currently made up of 11 teams, with expansion to Lexington, Kentucky, in 2013, and Spokane, Washington, and Wilmington in 2024.

The league’s current eastern teams are located in Charlotte; Chattanooga; Greenville, S.C.; Raleigh; Richmond; and Statesboro, Georgia. With those teams already within reasonable driving distance, Mumford and Bader said another team in North Carolina made sense. They narrowed their options to Wilmington or the Winston-Salem/High Point area before choosing the coast.

"Well, that’s pretty easy," Mumford said of the why. "You know the answer to that: The mojo of Wilmington is pretty remarkable."

USL chief operating officer Justin Papadakis also said the league always has hoped to return to Wilmington. The Hammerheads were among the attendance leaders in its old leagues, averaging more than 3,000 fans per game on a regular basis.

“Since USL was last in Wilmington, the game is in a very different place,” he said. “We know Wilmington can be a top soccer market in the country, and we wanted to make sure we had all the right places in place.”

Who is the Wilmington ownership group?

Dewan Bader is a Maryland native with long ties to soccer in North Carolina. He played for N.C. State, then professionally in indoor and outdoor leagues for more than a decade, including a stint with the Wilmington Hammerheads in 1996. Since ending his playing days, he's been a coach from the youth to professional level. He's currently with North Carolina FC in Raleigh.

Chris Mumford is a former investment banker and the co-founder of The Accelerator School in Raleigh, which provides academic and athletic opportunity for teenage athletes, and also teaches at the Kenan-Flagler Business School at UNC. He is a former goalkeeper for the UNC men’s soccer program.

Scott Sullivan is the co-founder of Cameron Management in Wilmington. The investment management company focuses on real estate development, brokerage and property management, according to its website. Sullivan, for now, is deferring comment to his ownership group partners.

What’s got to happen for Wilmington to have a team in 2024?

Let’s get right to it: A new stadium is imperative. The ownership group emphasized it, and Papadakis said the USL wants all of its franchises to be in a new venue or "have a clear pathway for a new venue," as part of their plans.

In this case, Mumford talks of a "community gathering area" for soccer games and beyond. It might include youth fields or room for other sports. It almost certainly will have some sort of dining and beverage area or food hall concept.

For comparison's sake, Mumford spoke highly of Sparkman’s Wharf in Tampa, located between the Amalie Arena for the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning and the Florida Aquarium.

With the city of Wilmington's limited space for a venue of this size, replicating something like Live Oak Pavilion along the downtown riverfront seems unrealistic.

Enter Sullivan, who the league said was a major reason it is letting the Wilmington franchise opportunity move forward.

"Scott, his day job is to make real estate dreams come true," Mumford said. "He’s chatting with people in town and figuring out what makes sense. We have to recognize reality for what it is and find a solution from there."

So, until a location is established, there’s no idea about how it’s paid for, a timetable for its completion, or any of the other logistics.

“While the city has not received a formal proposal and is not currently party to the group’s initiative, the city remains open to possible synergies and involvement. Promoting economic development and cultural vitality through expanded sports and entertainment options are strategic priorities for the City of Wilmington,” Jerod Patterson, with City of Wilmington Communications Department said in an email.

What sort of local ties could the team have?

Toward the end of their tenure, the Wilmington Hammerheads affiliated themselves with the Cape Fear Soccer Club and eventually gave them the name they have today: Wilmington Hammerheads Youth FC.

What would happen if a new team comes back? Club executive director Carson Porter said the new ownership has been in touch constantly.

“I’ve been connected to this group for 2-3 years,” he said. “They earned my trust, they came to Wilmington and asked a bunch of questions. … They showed more than anyone else that they were serious.”

Porter said the ownership group also announced its approval from the USL at the Hammerheads’ annual end-of-season banquet on June 3 before about 250 people, ahead of the press release put out by the league on that date.

In addition to that hopeful partnership, the ownership group is asking for public interest at its website: USLToWilmington.com. There, people can give their email address for an assortment of opportunities to share information or be a part of the new team. That will include a host of “listening sessions” in the community to see what worked in the past, and what’s needed in the future.

“Honestly, you want some of it to be the same. People came, they had success on the field,” Bader said. “I think we’re building on a foundation that was in place – for people that truly enjoyed the game, and for people that enjoyed a night out.”

Dan Spears is the sports editor for the Wilmington StarNews, and Southeast Regional sports editor for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at Dan.Spears@StarNewsOnline.com or on Twitter @DanSpears.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Early questions for Wilmington's USL League One hopes for 2024