WILDER — Professional soccer is coming back to Northern Kentucky.

        Two years after the Riverhawks, a men's team, left the Town & Country soccer complex in Wilder to play in Mason, facility managers announced Friday that they have purchased a minor league women's soccer franchise.

        The Northern Kentucky TC Stars will play in the USL National Women's League, which includes a team in Cincinnati (the Cincinnati Ladyhawks) and Lexington. The league has 37 teams and is one step below the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA).

        “This is not so much an investment, but a way to promote soccer” said Town & Country developer and owner John Toebben. “We are looking at a way to allow our girls to play at a higher level of competition than what is currently offered.”

        Season tickets to the TC Stars seven home games start at $30 for adults with the home opener scheduled for May 17.

        The team's slogan is “Where local players become future stars,” and Mr. Toebben anticipates 90 percent of the players will be from the Tristate. The TC Stars' head coach, J.T. Roberts, said he expects to begin naming players to the team by mid-January.

        “With the talent in Greater Cincinnati alone, there is no reason why we can't compete and have a very good record,” said Mr. Roberts, the former Princeton High School and NKU star.

        Some players will be paid or compensated, Mr. Toebben said, while some college athletes participating in the league will not get paid.

        “I think our facility helped convince the league to grant us a franchise,” Mr. Toebben said. He would not say what the franchise fee was.

        Town & Country features an artificial playing surface. Both the indoor and outdoor fields are made of an artificial turf called AstroPlay, a combination of sand, rubber and nylon that gives the feel of natural grass.

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