After a turbulent offseason of wondering whether or not there would be a team, a league or the Carolina RailHawks name, RailHawks executives were more than pleased to formally announce that they'd be ready for all three in 2011.

Most who spoke at the Wednesday press conference at the Herb C. Young Community Center in Cary talked of two simultaneous and differing goals: long-term sustainability while focusing on getting everything down-pat in the first year of the North American Soccer League, which received one-year provisional sanctioning from the U.S. Soccer Federation this past weekend.

With the regular season opener looming on April 9, new president Curt Johnson announced that about two-thirds of last year's season ticket holders have already renewed.

The Triangle has had professional soccer in the Triangle in some form in the last 17 years, but Johnson hopes to gain a foothold for the RailHawks, which have seen home attendance decline steadily in its four years of existence.

"Imagine if since 1994 we had continuous ownership, front office leadership, brand and name, that name recognition would be a lot greater," Johnson said. "We as professional soccer in the Triangle, have reinvented the wheel too much."

Aaron Davidson, president of NASL and president of Traffic Sports USA — which owns stakes in four of the eight NASL teams — said his focus was on getting down the "nuts and bolts" of running the league so it can become fully sanctioned after the 2011 season.

"We need to focus on our league right now," Davidson said. "We're pretty humble about about where we're at and where we're going. We have to have reasonable expectations. We're laying the foundation this season."

Martin Rennie, who will return for his third season as head coach after getting Carolina to the league championship final last year, said his focus this year was on "dominating."

Rennie said about 8-10 players will return from last year's squad, including striker Etienne Barbara, stalwart defender Brad Rusin and Kupono Low — the only remaining member of the original RailHawks team.

With a more balanced schedule this year, Rennie said he will consider straying from its usual substitution pattern of alternating his starters every other game.

"We'll still rotate somewhat but I think we'll be a smaller squad this year and will some more continuity provided we're winning and there's no one getting injured and suspended," Rennie said.