Jay Heaps spoke exclusively to Birmingham Sports Media about the USL’s decision to implement promotion and relegation in the future, and his hopes for its impact on the Legion and U.S. soccer
by Timothy Belin
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - March 24, 2025
On Wednesday, the United Soccer League announced a momentous decision for the sport’s future. With a supermajority vote, the league opted to become the first professional sports league in the country to adopt a promotion and relegation model.
This system, used in nearly every other soccer league around the world, sees the best teams in each lower division climb up a rank, while the worst-performing ones drop down an echelon to compensate. Coupled with the announcement of a new USL Division I league that hopes to start play in 2028, a designation that would put it on par with Major League Soccer, change is coming for all USL teams.
On Friday, Birmingham Sports Media sat down with Jay Heaps, president and general manager of Birmingham Legion FC, to discuss the decision's ramifications for the club.
[This is Part III of a three-part series. If you missed the previous instalments, you can find them at the following links:
Part I: Making the Decision link
Part II: Benefits of Promotion/Relegation link]
Part III: What it means for Birmingham Legion FC
So what does this all mean for Birmingham Legion? Heaps said there’s still a lot to be discussed before he can properly answer that question.
“That’s probably phase two,” Heaps said. “I think this is still a league-driven next couple of steps on where we’re going to go. You don’t want to get out in front of it and not know exactly what you’re getting in front of.”
Heaps said the next few steps for the league will revolve around solving its PLS differences with USSF, and then making decisions on what they want their Division I to look like. No decision has been made as of yet as to how many teams will start in that division, and whether any of those will be current USL Championship teams.
The goal for the Legion, regardless of the initial decision, is to end up in that Division I as soon as possible in order to be part of and compete with the best USL teams in the nation.
“I think right now we’re really assessing what that looks like for the Legion, whether it’s a Division I or Division II, where do we want to be in two years, three years, from a starting point,” Heaps said. “But that’s also for us to look at how much are we going to invest in, like I mentioned, development of younger players.”
Heaps said he hopes to see U.S. soccer change its PLS requirements to forgo to 15,000-seater stadium rule, potentially in favor of alternatives such as requirements for more robust youth academies. He said such an idea could see the club change their business model and develop a stronger reach throughout the state to find and develop Alabama’s best players at a younger age.
“U.S. soccer has got to be thinking that way,” Heaps said. “They’ve got to be thinking, how do we get more investors in professional soccer to align with what we’re doing? Because it’s a great sport to be in, but right now you just feel like people are investing in their own market and not really putting it into the greater good of the game, which to me is ultimately the national team and the federation. They’ve got to set that pathway for the investment into the game.”
On the stadium front, Birmingham Legion would have no problem complying with a 15,000-minimum, given that Protective Stadium can accommodate up to 47,100 fans. However, with an average turnout close to the 5,000 spectators mark, a lot of discussion surrounds the idea of a potential Legion-owned soccer-specific stadium.
While the USL Division I and promotion/relegation model do not require any change for the Three Sparks, Heaps said other factors do play into the consideration for a potential venue change in the future.
“I want to continue to grow our fanbase to then make the right decision on what that next step for stadium is for the Legion,” Heaps said. “So yes, [the USL’s announcement] impacts, but more impactful is what our market really needs. What would be the best way for Birmingham Legion and the fans of Birmingham to have the best fan experience possible? What size stadium is that, for that intimate, fan-engaged environment that allows for the best revenue-growth for the club, to be able to have more spend on players, longer-term sustainability, all those things that you’ve got to kind of match when you’re talking about a business.”
On the field, Heaps said it’s still too soon to see any changes made with 2028 and beyond in mind, as too much remains to be determined. Once the promotion/relegation system is better defined and teams know where they stand, however, he expects that knowledge to impact the team building moving forward, probably starting next winter.
The goal will be to have the best team possible already in place once all the changes are implemented, to hit the ground running in the USL’s new landscape.
“You don’t want to go too young, too soon, or too old, too late,” Heaps said. “You want to balance where your roster is.”
“Our focus is really on 2025 right now,” he added. “We’ve had a very inconsistent performance to start the season this year, so my goal right now is to get us back on level ground, get us back to the team that we need to be.
"And then, big picture, what does that look like? I think next year we’ll know where U.S. Soccer is on this, we’ll know where USL is a little bit further along and what they’re looking for from a Division I and a II and a III. So that would put us in a much better line of sight on what our business plan has to look like, and that what our soccer strategy has to look like.”