Professional soccer will return to the Lehigh Valley in March of 2016 and the Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer are hoping to go all-in on the prospects of success the region can offer.

The Union made the announcement last month during a press conference at Lehigh’s Goodman Stadium, officially announcing the Lehigh Valley as the 27th franchise of the United Soccer League.

USL CEO and managing partner Alec Papadakis led the press conference in awarding the area their newest minor league franchise, while Union CEO and operating partner Nick Sakiewicz and Lehigh University President John Simon also took center stage for the announcement.

The Union will own and operate the new franchise and have agreed to play at Goodman Stadium on a renewable year-to-year basis. The USL team will have their office headquartered in the Lehigh Valley, while the team will train at the Union’s facilities in Chester at PPL Park.

With the USL side essentially becoming a second-team for the Union, the quality of play should be the highest fans in the region have ever seen. And based off the fan reaction that SteelStacks has gotten over the past two summers with World Cup viewing parties for the men’s and women’s national teams, Sakiewicz felt strongly about the prospects of the team being supported in the region.

“We were partnered with the Harrisburg City Islanders for the past six seasons and we had thought about potentially relocating the team and that was something they weren’t interested in,” said Sakiewicz about their partnership with the Harrisburg USL club. “At the end of the day, we wanted to have a team of our own and over the last two years, starting with the Brazil World Cup, we saw the fan engagement at SteelStacks. We knew of the Bethlehem Steel history and we really started to understand the magnitude of this marketplace. When you get over 10,000 people to watch the women’s World Cup final at ArtsQuest, we knew we had to be here. Nothing is a no-brainer in building soccer in America, but this is as close as you can get.”

Goodman Stadium was also a no-brainer, both for the Union and for Lehigh, as the 16,000 seat capacity, as well as the grass surface were two winning factors for the team. Sakiewicz also left the door open about possibly building a soccer-specific stadium in the Lehigh Valley down the road.

“We will explore the possibility of building a new stadium in the Lehigh Valley,” Sakiewicz said, “but if we go through that process and can’t get that done, this venue [Goodman Stadium] is fantastic.”

The name of the team will be chosen by the fans through an online ballot at www.philadelphiaunion.com running from September 8-28. Fans will get to choose from four pre-selected team names, as well as a write-in option. During last week’s news conference Sakiewicz noted that the Union’s moniker came from write-in submissions when the franchise started six years ago.

While the Union have modest expectations for the franchise, in terms of attendance, Sakiewicz plans to build a winner with the franchise.

“The team will train during the week next to our first team at PPL Park and that’s very important,” Sakiewicz said. “There will be a lot of movement of players between PPL Park and Goodman Stadium and that’s very important because that’s what the USL is all about. It’s a league where players that are just about ready for MLS are polishing their craft here.”

The Union will become the ninth team in MLS to have their own USL club and it’s a relationship that Papadakis takes great pride in.

“We take this relationship very, very seriously,” said Papadakis. “We remain focused on a commitment to protect and enhance their investments, and provide the highest level of competition for these teams

The USL is slated as the third division of professional soccer in America, but is very competitive due to the relationship it has with MLS teams.

Teams will play 28 matches next season with Goodman Stadium hosting 14 home matches. Last season, Sacramento Republic FC averaged over 11,000 spectators per game.

Harrisburg averaged roughly 2,500 per contest.

The USL plans to have 30 teams by 2016 after only having 12 in 2014.