The recent announcement from Riverside Pro Soccer that it is working with the United Soccer League to bring professional soccer to the Inland region’s largest city has certainly raised eyebrows and voices.

For many in Riverside’s soccer community, the professional club is a long-awaited foray into the highest levels of The Beautiful Game.

“The potential for a soccer project like this and what it would mean for the Riverside community is so significant,” California Baptist University men’s soccer coach Coe Michaelson said. “We have a community that loves soccer.”

The idea that a pro team can lift the region’s soccer profile remains one of the project’s biggest selling points. However, some say without a plan to fix the community’s biggest youth sports issues — the creation and access t

See Full Page