USL Nola Stadium Options

Patty V • August 2, 2022

As I’m sure you’ve heard by now, the United Soccer League has announced they have entered an exclusive partnership with USL NOLA, with plans to bring both a men’s and women’s professional soccer club to the “Greater New Orleans Area” by the year 2025.

The biggest question this has seemingly brought up, other than team names, kit designs, etc., is “Where will the team play?” There are a few options on the table, each with different reasoning behind them. In my opinion however, there are truly only two options if the team wants to see any sort of long-term success.

What are the first options that come to mind?

Pan-Am Stadium

Currently host the high school football and the New Orleans Jesters (NOLA’s current soccer team, playing in the National Premier Soccer League, which for many who don’t know, is considered “semi-pro”. Pan-American Stadium has been around for decades, being built in 1973 and hosting many Soccer Clubs throughout the years, feels more suited for a high school football game than any professional sporting event. It has been renovated post Katrina, but even this was done over 14 years ago. By the time the USL Nola team would be ready to play, these renovations for what ultimately looks like a small-scale high school stadium, would have taken place around 17 years prior. By stadium standards this is a lifetime. On top of this, the location in City Park isn’t ideal to draw any sort of walk-up crowd. People would have to seek out this old, run down, small stadium, to spend a day feeling as though they’re attending their nephew’s ball game. The overall vibe is off here, do not recommend.

Patty’s grade for this option: D+

Tad Gormley Stadium

Also located in City Park, the location is a bit more ideal being that Gormley is much closer to, well, anything. This stadium would certainly allow for a better walk-up option, and the stadium is also much larger. This stadium gives the feel of the classic, romantic, historic stadiums of yester year. This stadium actually hosted a World Cup tune up match back in the 80’s, as well as a friendly between the MLS’s Chicago Fire, and Honduran soccer club Real C.D. Espana. However, the positives basically stop there. While history is romantic, the scoreboard and concrete seating are not. Also, with the dated feel, as well as location a little off the beaten path (closer to neighborhoods and Delgado, which is a ghost town outside of school hours), the ease of being in the area and just simply catching a game doesn’t feel, special. This could cause a major problem. The game day experience and overall perception of the team can take a major hit if you are only drawing 5,000 people to a stadium that seats over 26,000. I would steer clear of this one as well.

Patty’s grade for this option: D-

The Shrine on Airline

First and foremost, this is a place that is VERY close to my heart. For years, I lived just across the highway from the shrine off Elise. I also worked at the Shrine for over 2 years. Even as I type, I am looking to my right at my placard for my old workspace: “Account Executive – Patrick Vath”, once employed by the Zephyrs/Baby Cakes. CAKE NATION NEVER DIES. I digress. For years I have wondered why the following for the Zephyr’s turned Cakes waned. What lead to their untimely demise? In my humble opinion, I point to the Shrine (amongst a few other things). This stadium, originally built in 1997, has simply not been kept up with through the years. It does provide many options that a professional club would be looking for: suites, party space, corporate sponsorship possibilities. However, it certainly FEELS old. The pre-game and post-game options in this are also severely limit the possibility of young folks in the area who just happen to decide to walk up to the game last minute. If you are going to the Shrine on Airline, you are just…..going to Metairie. Also, when talking about hosting a Soccer Club (or even rugby, see: NOLA Gold), there is no getting around that the place feels like a baseball stadium. Without some serious renovations to this stadium, there is really no draw other than the on-field product, which is a major way to set yourself up for failure. While the club could make this space work, it would be a LARGE undertaking, where they would be fighting an uphill battle from day one.

Patty’s grade for this option: C

Yulman Stadium

I’m not sure if this is even an option, or how they would go about negotiating this, but Yulman stadium feels like a space that was simply built for a professional soccer club. The stadium, easily the most modern on the list, was opened in 2014. It would provide the updated amenities any professional team would be looking for. Yulman offers multiple club options, bars, suites, and padded seat back chairs in many areas. They also have a brand new 94 by 24-foot LED scoreboard. With the location of the stadium being uptown on the Tulane campus, the location is certainly much more promising than some of the other areas, with local bars and restaurants scattered all around the campus, plus perhaps the ability to use some of the campus for pregame festivities. The two negatives here I would think, are the size of the stadium and the overall feeling of it not being themed towards the club. Would there be a way to cover seats at Yulman to make it feel more intimate? How would they cover the giant angry wave, or other Tulane markings?

Patty’s grade for this option: C+

Build new in the “River District development”

The other option for the new USL Nola franchises would be to simply build a brand-new stadium. The current thought/proposal has the club attached to a development in the River District of New Orleans. When it comes to starting a team off with the most buzz possible, having a brand-new stadium, on the river, surrounded by a BRAND NEW entertainment district, certainly seems like the way to go. The possibilities would be endless here. The only true negatives would be dealing with the politics of the situation, which we all know can be difficult in the area we live, and simply dealing with any public pushback against the development including a stadium rather than something else voters would like to see. The area in question is extremely close to a currently bustling Warehouse District, where the exact demographic this team would hope to draw currently resides.

Patty’s grade for this option: A

The best option available for the new Soccer Club would have to be building new, for various reasons. Firstly, many of the stadiums suggested are either outdated, too large, or just not set up to host a professional soccer club and draw in the way one would hope. Even Yulman, the most up to date of the bunch, is far too large, and totally themed towards the University. In looking at the attendance numbers for the 2022 season so far, New Mexico United comes in with the highest avg, sitting right around 11,000 people, with the league average sitting right around 4,800. Without a new stadium, my fear is that The New Orleans Football Club to Be Named Later may be fighting an uphill battle to create buzz from day one. I suppose it depends what the goal is here. If the goal is simply to draw 2,000 to 5,000 on average, a few improvements to one of the run down stadiums may be just enough. Otherwise, I fear the club could be doomed from the start if the goals are much loftier, and the team cannot secure a stadium deal to their liking.

Regardless, I'm in.

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Sacramento St - 6, LSU - 1

By David Billiot Jr • March 9, 2026

Lifeless. There’s no better way to describe this LSU team right now, specifically the offense. There are a hundred questions and not a single answer at this point in time. The fans are confused. Those that cover this team are confused. Even Jay Johnson appears confused. Friday night’s offensive explosion seemed like a “we’re back” sort of game, but now appears to be an anomaly. The 8-0 start feels like a century ago. Nothing makes sense. It was another night marred by missed opportunities and letting the opposing pitching staff off of the hook. LSU left 8 runners on base. The strikeouts weren’t as big of an issue tonight as they were on Saturday, but Tiger hitters also only drew 2 walks. As for the pitching, William Schmidt was, once again, pretty good. His final stat line doesn’t do his performance justice, especially considering the mistakes that led to Sacramento St scoring their first 2 runs. The first run the Hornets scored in the 3rd was the first run Schmidt had allowed since his opening weekend start vs Milwaukee. Although he allowed 4 runs on 4 hits, the 0 walks number is the most promising stat from his performance. As he has been for his past three starts, Schmidt lived in the strike zone and attacked hitters throughout his outing. He had his breaking balls working throughout, flashing the ability to throw both at any time. The ability to land a slider and/or curveball for a strike not only in pitcher’s counts, but also in hitter’s counts or to start off an at bat, will make him tough to deal with no matter which team is in the other dugout. It’s becoming more and more evident that LSU’s weekend rotation may have to carry their subpar offense, at least early on in SEC play until they can flip a switch. Pitching William Schmidt picked up right where he left off last week. He struck out two in the 1st inning on just 7 pitches between the two batters. He followed that up with a 1-2-3 2nd inning and sat with only 24 pitches through the two innings. Things got shaky in the 3rd when he gave up a lead off single on a 3-1 count, which was his first 3 ball count of the game. He struck out a batter looking and then got a Superman diving catch by Derek Curiel, adding to the sophomore’s already impressive defensive weekend. On another 3 ball count, Sacramento St leadoff hitter Sam Harry laced a ball over Mason Braun’s head in left field. It goes down as a double, but Braun misplayed the ball and it probably should have been caught, which would have ended the inning. Schmidt looked to have an inning ended strikeout on the next batter, but the ball in the dirt forced a throw and Cade Arrambide threw the ball off of the runner’s helmet, allowing another run to score to give the Hornets a 2-0 lead. He would immediately make up for it, throwing out the potential base-stealer at second. Following that 25 pitch inning, Schmidt got back on track with a quick 3 up, 3 down inning, finishing four innings with 62 pitches. His 5th inning was just as smooth, retiring the side in order, capped off by another silky smooth defensive play by Steven Milam. Schmidt quickly retired two in the 6th before giving up opposite field single, just the third hit of the game for Sacramento St. The Hornets would follow with another single and that would be the end of the day for the sophomore starter. Final line: 5.2 IP / 4 hits / 4 runs / 8 Ks / 0 BBs Cooper Williams entered with runners on 1st and 3rd and looked to build upon a solid 9th inning yesterday. Unfortunately, he only lasted two pitches. After throwing a first pitch strike, he hit the batter on his second one. Jay Johnson was halfway out of the dugout before the runner even got to 1st base and that was all. Final line: 0.0 IP / 0 hits / 1 run / 0 K / 1 HBP With the bases now loaded, it was Gavin Guidry time and you always feel good about that. Tonight was different, as Guidry struggled to find the strike zone upon entering. He walked in a run and then gave up a weak ground ball through the left side of the infield and just like that, LSU was losing to Sacramento St 5-0, once again. He’d record a strikeout to end the inning, but the damage was done. Guidry returned for the 7th and battled past a 2 out walk. Back in the 8th, he drew a flyout to Curiel, but then walked a batter, threw a wild pitch, and gave up a bloop single to set up 1st and 3rd and one out. Sacramento St executed fundamentals and squeezed the runner home on a perfect sacrifice bunt. That’s where Jay would, again, turn to his bullpen. Final line: 2.0 IP / 2 hits / 1 run / 2 Ks / 3 BBs Santiago Garcia entered with a runner on 2nd and two outs and delivered the strikeout LSU needed to avoid further damage. Final line: .1 IP / 0 hits / 0 runs / 1 K / 0 BBs Hopes of a comeback were slim as LSU entered the 9th down 5-1, but it was Mavrick Rizy’s task to keep it right there. Despite hitting a batter, he was able to do his job and get the Tigers back to the dugout for one last chance. Final line: 1.0 IP / 0 hits / 0 runs / 1 K / 1 HBP Hitting Brayden Simpson drove in the sole LSU run tonight, which makes him the top offensive performer. For the second game in a row, not a single Tiger hitter had multiple hits. Simpson finished 1-4 and also struck out twice. After a 4-5 night that included 3 homeruns on Friday, Jake Brown finished up his weekend with a hitless effort on Saturday and just one single tonight. He hit the ball hard a few times, but it was one of those nights where he didn’t have much to show for it. Brown finished 1-3 with one of the two LSU walks. Derek Curiel’s weekend followed the same trajectory as Brown’s, following up a huge Friday night with just one hit over the next two days. He, too, finished with just a single and went 1-4. Zach Yorke drew the other walk for Tiger hitters and later singled in the 8th inning when they were trying to rally. He finished 1-3. Freshman Mason Braun continues to sting the ball in his early season opportunities. While he only has a 1-4 stat line to show for it, he continues to flash high exit velocity. Obviously that doesn’t put runs on the board, but hard hit balls will eventually start to find grass if he keeps it up. Seth Dardar was another Tiger who stung the ball a few times tonight, also finishing just 1-4. In his post game press conference, Jay specifically mentioned Dardar as someone he was happy with in terms of how they swung the bat. Up Next LSU will remain home and welcome the Creighton Blue Jays for one of the best Tuesday night midweek games you’ll find. The Blue Jays won both the Big East regular season championship and their conference tournament, as well. They made the NCAA tournament as a #3 seed and traveled to Arkansas for the Fayetteville Regional. Creighton made it to the regional final, but lost to the Razorbacks for the second time. So far in 2026, the Blue Jays are off to a slower start with a 5-7 record, but will head to Baton Rouge after taking 2 of 3 from Gonzaga. LSU now sits at 12-5, which looks even worse when you consider they started 8-0. The Tigers will, no doubt, take quite a tumble in the top 25 rankings tomorrow.

Sacramento St - 5, LSU - 4

By David Billiot Jr • March 8, 2026

While everyone was thrilled about the offensive explosion on Friday night, there was still skepticism about whether or not LSU’s bats could keep it up. We saw plenty of it through the 8-0 start, but the six games that followed completely changed the outlook of this team’s actual potential. While it’s naïve to abandon the ship that is a Jay Johnson coached team, the performance of his squad had certainly allowed some doubt to start creeping in. On Friday night, some of that doubt was squashed…temporarily, at least. We needed to see more to feel better about saying that the Tiger offense was all the way back. Well, Saturday was the complete opposite. LSU had one hit going in to the 8th inning. Yes, they were facing the same pitching staff that they hit 6 homeruns and scored 15 on less than 24 hours prior. Nonetheless, the two games were polar opposites. Sacramento St struck LSU hitters out 11 times, 5 of which were looking. It was in the 8th that the Tigers finally got on the scoreboard, putting up a three spot just minutes after a grand slam extended the Hornets lead to 5-0. LSU would truly threaten in the 9th, getting the winning run on base with only one out, but the at bats reverted right back to what they had been for the first seven innings…poor. Despite the one big swing allowed on the other side of the field, the LSU pitching staff did all they could to give their offense a chance to turn the game around. Cooper Moore had his shakiest outing of the season and suffered his first loss of the season, despite only allowing a single run. His record now stands at 3-1, while LSU dropped to 12-4 overall. Pitching Cooper Moore had been marvelous through his first three starts. He was throwing a lot of strikes and piling up zeros on the scoreboard. On Saturday, we saw his command struggle for the first time. He averaged a 77% strike rate coming in to Saturday, which is pretty absurd, but the issues saw that dip to 55%. The 5 free passes nearly doubled his season total of 3 that he entered with. Still, Moore fought and fought, despite having a runner on base in every inning he threw. The one run he did allow came on a 2 out, 2 strike bloop double in to the right field corner. His day would come to an end in the 5th inning following his third walk of the day. With control already being an issue, the rain started to fall just as Moore took the mound to start that inning and that certainly didn’t help. After the game, Jay praised how he battled despite the struggles and stated that he’s comfortable winning or losing with Cooper out there because of his mental resilience that the staff trusts. Final line: 4.2 IP / 4 hits / 1 run / 4 Ks / 3 BBs / 2 HBPs / 89 pitches (49 strikes, 55%). Ethan Plog took over in the 5th and was phenomenal. Not only did he enter and end the 2 out threat with 2 runners on base, but he followed that with back to back 3 up, 3 down innings. He started the 8th, but was relieved after recording a strikeout on the first batter of the inning. Plog filled up the zone with 16 of his 26 pitches being strikes. His only blemish was a leadoff walk in the 7th, but he immediately induced a groundball back to himself which started a 1-6-3 double play. Following Wednesday’s loss to ULL, Jay mentioned that he had four relievers that he absolutely trusts at this point in time. Many speculated that Plog was one of them and if there was any doubt that was the case, there shouldn’t be now. Final line: 2.2 IP / 0 hits / 0 runs / 2 Ks / 1 BB Deven Sheerin entered in the 8th with no one on base and one out following Plog’s strikeout. This would be his 6th appearance of the season and in the moment, there was no reason to feel anything but great about seeing him jog out to potentially finish the game. Sheerin had yet to allow a hit coming in to Saturday, while striking out 13 and only allowing 2 walks. Well, much like Moore, he was due for a shaky performance. He walked the first batter he faced, but followed that with a flyout to record the second out of the inning. That’s when the impressive hitless streak came to an end with a bloop single in to left field. Sheerin then walked another batter to load the bases and Jay had seen enough. Final line: .1 IP / 1 hit / 3 runs / 0 Ks / 2 BB Ever since his rough debut on the Monday following opening weekend, Jaden Noot had been fantastic. He hadn’t allowed a single baserunner through his next three appearances. On Wednesday, he threw a scoreless 8th inning in which he threw 11 pitches, with all 11 being strikes. But, despite turning things around, Noot came back down to earth in a brutal way. It was a huge spot with the bases loaded and down 1-0, considering the offense had a single hit up to this point. Any more runs would make the comeback feel closer to impossible. After working ahead to his first batter with a 1-2 count, he just missed a called strike three to even it at 2-2. He then left a pitch up in the zone and one swing later, LSU found themselves down 5-0. The spot made sense to go to Noot, but he simply just didn’t execute. A pitch later, he recorded a flyout to end the inning, but the damage was done. Final line: .1 IP / 1 hit / 1 run / 0 Ks / 0 BB Cooper Williams had a brilliant opening day performance when he followed up Casan Evans, but his outings went down hill after that. With how strong he came on down the stretch a season ago and how dominant he was in preseason scrimmages, his poor performances were a big surprise. He entered for the 9th on Sunday following the Tiger offense finally scoring a few runs to close the deficit to 5-3. Williams task was simple. Hold the rope right there and give LSU’s offense a chance to get back to work and pull off the comeback. He did just that, recording a quick 1-2-3 inning on just 10 pitches. While the comeback fell just short, we can only hope that Saturday’s performance was a sign that Williams is getting back on track. Final line: 1.0 IP / 0 hits / 0 runs / 1 K / 0 BB Hitting Daniel Harden made his first start of the season in Lafayette on Wednesday and it did not go very well. But he bounced back in a big way when he got his chance on Saturday. To lead off the 9th inning with LSU down 5-3, Harden blasted a solo homerun in to the Diamond Dech in right field. It was a no-doubter, traveling 392 feet to get the Tigers within a run. It’s not often that you find yourself on the list of top offensive performers with a 3 strikeout game, but Cade Arrambide had one of the only three hits for LSU all day. He finished 1-4 with two of his Ks being caught looking. Zach Yorke had the other of the three hits, a ground rule double in the 8th that drove in the first LSU run of the game. It almost certainly would have scored both Jake Brown and Steven Milam, but the bounce over the 1st base line wall bailed the Hornets out. Both Milam and Yorke would eventually come around to score before the end of the inning, which is what set up the 5-3 deficit going in to the 9th. Up Next LSU and Sacramento St will face off in a rubber match on Sunday at 6 pm central. The game was originally scheduled for 1 pm, but was moved back due to inclement weather between Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. William Schmidt will take the mound for the Tigers with his 3-0 record and have the chance to be the first to record a fourth win. The Hornets will answer with Carson Timothy, a sophomore RHP with a record of 0-1. Timothy has started all three Sundays for Sacramento St, so far, and enters with a 2.45 ERA in 11.0 innings pitched.