Building a Soccer Club for People to Care About | Brad Stith, CEO of AC Boise

What does it take to build a professional soccer club from scratch in a market nobody expected? In Episode 103 of the Because Football Podcast, we learn from Brad Stith, Co-Founder and CEO of Athletic Club Boise, a new USL League One club. For more than a decade, Brad has believed professional soccer belonged in Boise and this club is already breaking USL records before kicking a single ball.Brad's resume is unique among leaders of third division soccer clubs - whether in the US or abroad. He was VP of Ticket Sales and Service for the Portland Trail Blazers of the NBA, founded his own sports agency consulting with franchises across all major American sports properties, and has supported multiple USL expansion launches across the country. For more than 20 years, he’s seen it and done it - he gets it.When he moved back to his hometown of Boise, he saw something most outsiders missed - a top youth soccer market per capita, a diverse, soccer-hungry community that bought 29,000 tickets for an international friendly, and a thriving business ecosystem hungry to rally around something meaningful.In this conversation, Brad breaks down how the club enrolled over 2,000 community members in the branding process, why they meet with dozens of local CEOs every Wednesday for lunch, and the philosophy that's driving their record-breaking ticket sales: owners don't own teams — communities do.He also discusses the distinctions among fans in the American soccer market - the Premier League purists, Liga MX devotees, and how to engage them all in their local soccer scene.Brad brought us multiple lightbulb moments and a proven, cultured perspective on how to sustainably build a pro soccer club in America. - through fans and corporate backing.Whether you're building a club, running a youth program, or just trying to understand what "community-first" actually looks like in practice - you’ll gain a ton from this episode.Connect with Brad here:https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradstith1/https://www.linkedin.com/company/acboise/https://www.instagram.com/acboise/?hl=enConnect with Because Football here:⁠https://www.youtube.com/@BecauseFootball_⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/becausefootball_/⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/baggaleyandrew/⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/because-football-media/⁠Need help with your content strategy and production? We can help.To get in contact with us, email becausefootballmedia [at] ⁠gmail.com⁠