THUNDER BAY — The future of the Thunder Bay Chill is up in the air.
The soccer team is waiting for a decision from USL League Two on whether its membership will be terminated this year.
"We won't know until later on whether we're continuing on or not in the league," said executive director and head coach Tony Colistro.
With the Chill being the only remaining Canadian franchise in the 128-team league, he told TBnewswatch the cost of travelling across the border has become an issue for visiting teams.
In an interview Wednesday, he said concerns were raised by the league after the Chill returned from a two-year absence caused by COVID-19 restrictions.
"The talk started happening after the pandemic. When we came back, there were more and more Canadian teams that had dropped out. Last year there was only us and Manitoba. So they put a lot of pressure on us . . . I don't know how to put it any better, but we begged for them to give us our 25th year."
Colistro revealed the Chill didn't get confirmation until January of this year that they would still be in the league this season.
"Obviously, we've got a lot of history there. We've got a lot of tradition, and the league was compassionate to that . . . We wanted to at least get 25 years in."
He said the organization expects to get a final decision by September on whether it will be part of USL League Two next year.
"I like to always be optimistic . . . We've definitely got a very good relationship with the league. We've got a history with the league. We always put a good product on the field. Off the field, we run a pretty professional game-day operation. And the league gets that. We're not trying to sell them. It's really just coming down to affordability, you know, the economics part of it."
Colistsro said he still believes the league would prefer to keep the Chill as a member because of its history.
"It's just a matter of being creative economically, to make it affordable for everybody. We're finding ourselves, you know, we have to make that decision because the cost of travel now, hotels, meals, they've just jumped so high after the pandemic. So we have to look at our own business model as well."
He said if the Chill were ousted from the league, it would be unfortunate not only for the fans but for the development of the game in Thunder Bay.
"We offer high-level soccer for our community to watch. It's probably more impactful for the youth players, who maybe look at the USL Two as a stepping-stone for them. And to have a team in their home community probably makes it a lot easier for them to realize those goals . . . Playing at home is a nice carrot for them to have."
The Chill currently play in the league's Deep North Division along with five U.S. teams.
This season they won their division but failed to advance in the playoffs.
