The third full A-League season will kick off on April 9, 1999. With the expansion of the league to 30 teams, the regular-season schedule includes 420 games — 28 for each team. The top eight teams in each conference will advance to the playoffs, which begin the weekend of Sept. 9-12, with the final to be played the weekend of Oct. 16-18. The 1999 season will feature four new teams. The Lehigh Valley Steam, Maryland Mania and Pittsburgh Riverhounds are expansion franchises, while the Indiana Blast have made the jump from the D3 Pro League after being named that league’s 1998 Organization of the Year. In addition, the Albuquerque Geckos moved to Sacramento, and the Worcester Wildfire relocated to Boston and will be called the Bulldogs. The Raleigh Flyers are now known as the Raleigh Express, and the Atlanta Ruckus’ new name is the Atlanta Silverbacks. In a change from last year’s schedule, the U.S. Pro-40 Select team will face its Western Conference opponents twice and two Eastern Conference teams (Richmond and Hampton Roads) once to complete its 28-game schedule. U.S. Pro-40 Select will move to the Central Division for the 1999 season. Like last year, the first six games of each team’s regular season schedule will double as qualifying matches for the U.S. Open Cup. As in 1998 eight teams will qualify for the tournament.

1999 Divisional Alignment

EASTERN CONFERENCE Northeast Division — Boston Bulldogs, Connecticut Wolves, Lehigh Valley Steam, Long Island Rough Riders, Pittsburgh Riverhounds, Rochester Raging Rhinos, Staten Island Vipers, Toronto Lynx. Atlantic Division — Atlanta Silverbacks, Charleston Battery, Hampton Roads Mariners, Hershey Wildcats, Jacksonville Cyclones, Maryland Mania, Raleigh Express, Richmond Kickers. WESTERN CONFERENCE Central Division — Cincinnati Riverhawks, Indiana Blast, Milwaukee Rampage, Minnesota Thunder, Nashville Metros, New Orleans Storm, U.S. Pro-40 Select. Pacific Division — El Paso Patriots, Orange County Zodiac, Sacramento Geckos, San Diego Flash, San Francisco Bay Seals, Seattle Sounders, Vancouver 86ers.

1999 A-League Team Directory

Here is address and phone information for the 30 A-League teams: Atlanta Silverbacks — 116 East Howard Ave., Decatur GA 30030. (404) 377-5575. Boston Bulldogs — 276 Turnpike Rd., Route 9 East, Suite 9, Westboro MA 01581. (508) 870-0057. Charleston Battery — 4401 Belle Oaks Dr., Suite 450, Charleston SC 29405. (843) 740-7787. Cincinnati Riverhawks — 5585 Spellmire Dr., Cincinnati OH 45246. (513) 942-7627. Connecticut Wolves — P.O. Box 3096, New Britain CT 06050-3096. (860) 223-0710. El Paso Patriots — 6941 Industrial, El Paso TX 79915. (915) 771-8620. Hampton Roads Mariners — 2181 Landstown Road, Virginia Beach VA 23456. (757) 430-8873. Hershey Wildcats — 100 W. Hersheypark Dr., Hershey PA 17033. (717) 534-8900 Indiana Blast — P.O. Box 50980, Indianapolis IN 46250-0980. (317) 585-9203. Jacksonville Cyclones — 975 Martin Ave., Green Cove Springs FL 32043. (904) 529-7943. Lehigh Valley Steam — P.O. Box 4000, Easton PA 18403-4000. (610) 250-2273. Long Island Rough Riders — 1670 Old Country Rd., Suite 227, Plain View NY 11803. (516) 756-4625. Maryland Mania — 5570 Sterrett Place #106, Columbia MD 21044. (410) 715-4625. Milwaukee Rampage — 7101 W. Good Hope Road, Milwaukee WI 53223. (414) 358-2655. Minnesota Thunder — 1700 105th Ave. NE, Blaine MN 55449. (612) 785-3668. Nashville Metros — 5135 Harding Place, Nashville TN 37211. (615) 781-0600. New Orleans Storm — 6000 Airline Dr., Metairie LA 70003. (504) 734-5155. Orange County Zodiac — 26391 Crown Valley Pkwy., Mission Viejo CA 92691. Pittsburgh Riverhounds — 3201 East Carson Street, Pittsburgh PA 15203. (412) 381-4625. Raleigh Express — 2626 Glenwood Ave., Suite 300, Raleigh NC 27608. (919) 786-1313. Richmond Kickers — 2320 W. Main Street, Richmond VA 23220. (804) 644-5425. Rochester Raging Rhinos — 333 N. Plymouth Ave., Rochester NY 14608. (716) 454-5425. Sacramento Geckos — One Sports Parkway, Sacramento CA 95834. (916) 928-0000. San Diego Flash — 1940 Garnet Ave., #303, San Diego CA 92109. (619) 581-2120. San Francisco Bay Seals — 120 Magellan Ave., San Francisco CA 94116. (415) 397-3257. Seattle Sounders — 14120 NE 21st Street, Bellevue WA 98007. (206) 622-3415. Staten Island Vipers — 1253 Hylan Blvd., Second Floor, Staten Island NY 10305. (718) 447-9000. Toronto Lynx — 100 The East Mall, Suite 11, Toronto ON M8Z 5X2, CANADA. (416) 251-4625. U.S. Pro-40 Select — 2304 Rehberg Lane, Billings MT 59102. (406) 655-0698. Vancouver 86ers — c/o BC Lions Football Club, 10605 135th Street, Surrey B.C. V3T 4C8, CANADA. (604) 930-2255. Note: For further information, contact the USISL at (813) 963-3909.