Dayton is getting a new minor league soccer team. After hinting at a move for several months, the Cincinnati Saints are making it official.
A release says the team will rebrand and play next year in Dayton in the National Premier Soccer League. A new name, logo, and playing venue are expected to be released later this month.
"It's our goal to bring Dayton a club that represents the city, a club that the city can be proud to call their own."
“It's our goal to bring Dayton a club that represents the city, a club that the city can be proud to call their own," says Saints owner David Satterwhite. "We want to be a reflection of all the great qualities that make up Dayton.”
The move comes on the heals of the launch earlier this year of FC Cincinnati- a third tier professional soccer team that will play at UC's Nippert Stadium in the spring. FC Cincinnati owner Carl Lindner III and General Manager Jeff Berding have said they intend to move FC Cincinnati up to Major League Soccer within five years.
According to soccer writer DJ Switzer of Wrong Side of the Pond, the current soccer team in Dayton, the Dayton Dutch Lions, still intend to field a USL PDL team next year. The Dutch Lion group is also a minority owner of FC Cincinnati. Switzer says it's uncertain if the Cincinnati Dutch Lions will return for a second season. That team launched last year and played at Xavier University.
