What is your best gun? To Detroit City FC fan cast. It's been almost two months since we've done one of these, but we are here this evening at He Worth Stadium, watching Handtreater Kite School take on Grand Rook. I am John Rosina alongside Dean Simmer.
Hello guys. And Sean Grogan. Hey everyone. And we have a little instead of like a bar noise we got.
The Northern Guard. Come on kid, come on. Come on. Oh, come on.
All right. All right, sorry. We had a little bit of a thrash. It's a slightly live-sung.
We're here. This kid's got hauled down at these reps. So right off the bar. The reps we've already threatened to kick us out for smoking till we ask them to point us to the part of the rule book where it says we can't have smoke.
Aren't calling anything. So there you go. Anyways, we're here at He Worth. And for me, the best part of this whole thing is how many kids from He Worth and in the town have already got excited.
So in terms of the dedication we do every year, we're going to dedicate this one to all the kids who are here. Not only learning our chance, but teaching us their stuff, which I think is the best thing ever. They've already got some chance of really excited about it. We've already got a couple of ideas how we can incorporate some of their chance into some of our stuff.
I don't know if they'll actually get used, but it's been fun. You already reached out to the team name is the cosmos. We already reached out to the cosmos. I thought some of the cosmos, here are cosmos scores to find that interesting just because I don't know.
They're friendly guys. We might want to see if they've got any chance to share. So I mean, we're here at He Worth. And later on this episode, we're going to be talking to Alex Wright and Sean Mann of Detroit's against the ownership about their plans for this place.
I think the general feeling among everybody seems to be this is going to be awesome, but there's a lot of work to be done in this place before it's like not like terrifyingly dangerous. I'm sitting here looking at Rusty rebar, looking out of the edge right at like ankle level. Yeah, without a doubt. And I think that's a little bit of the guys a little bit about what they're, this is a huge project, but there's no doubt about it that just being here tonight for a high school soccer game with a, you know, what couple hundred people, maybe the atmosphere is really lively.
It's a great place to play. It's a beautiful night in the fall. I mean, this to me is just an incredible atmosphere already. I'm going to be honest right now, like, even though this place is unfortunately falling into disrepair, because it's really, really a nice stadium and it's going to be awesome once it's renovated a bit, I think.
But just even just being here with all these, like not even all that many people I can already see how the atmosphere is just going to be incredible. Like we've got so much room for activities than a cast. And I know in the past I've had a cast like people be like, wait, you guys don't play in a soccer specific stadium? No, we don't.
It's just some random high school. Once you get all the people packed in there, once you get all the banners and stuff up, it doesn't really make all that much of a difference. I think we found them and this place is mild better already. It already looks more like a stadium.
Yeah. And there's like, you know, people are already sizing up the light stanchions for TFOs. They're already like looking at where can we hang this? Where can we hang that?
Hey, can we put an extra piece of wall up to reflect our sound a little bit more on the pitch? We are maybe, I don't know, three feet less close to the field than we would otherwise be at cast, but it's not. There's no track. So that's right.
Right. And I'm not sure how they'll configure it with the sidelines as far as where the teams are. But right now tonight, we're right on top of the teams. I suspect they may change that.
I agree. You know, but the atmosphere is kind of a comparable ethos to cast in a lot of ways. You know, the train tracks just south of us with the train slowly roll by. The train's going to go by.
Absolutely. It's got a perfect dirty old town feel to it. You know, if we get the trains in time, so they roll by when we do dirty old town, that would be better. They talk about the skyline.
We're sitting here looking at the Fisher Building, the golden tower of the Fisher Building, as they used to say from here. So we still got the city feel. There's a blinking red lights, a smoke stack right over the edge of the stadium. It's got that feel.
And I know it's further away from downtown. And that's maybe a little bit of an extra castle for some people. But it's really not that far outside. I mean, hand-tremists are entirely within the city of Detroit.
It's not something way out in the birds or something. That's going to like, I think it's a completely. I think we have some supporters right at my side. I think right at my side.
Greco Road is like up in the stands with us like. Sorry playing on the field. So I'm sorry. Sir, referee.
Yeah, I don't know. Probably for the hell of it. Yeah. So without a doubt, I think you're on the majority of the guard and district to strike city supporters have not been down here yet.
But without a doubt, this is going to be an incredible place for the next chapter in Detroit city. I was somewhat skeptical or not skeptical, but I had a lot of hesitations or concerns when I first heard about the plan and there are definitely some questions that we're going to have for the guys a little later on about what they're planning on doing. But at the same time, I don't think there's a better spot for the next chapter of city. You know, without a doubt, Cass was not going to grow at all.
We had we had reached our peak really this past season. And I think there's a ton of potential here to have six to seven thousand people back in the stands and along the fence lines. And it's going to be an incredible atmosphere for some summers of soccer. And I think the club can get involved and grow here and bring in a lot of new supporters that you know that Cass had become very broad and maybe 40 years apart.
Yeah, I mean, I'm not ragging on the cast tech kids because they were great and then we might, you know, we'll cast will always have a place in our hearts. But we've got more ham-tramming kids in the stands with us in the first half than we did at Cass the entire three-show cast. We were there the whole time. So I mean, it's I think that I think the way that this is integrated more into the community that is come from, I mean, kids come to Cass from much wider radius and that like people get to do this school from this neighborhood.
Right. I think that's going to make a difference. I think this is going to feel like a neighborhood team to a lot of folks. And we are there already invited us out to the football, like American football game tomorrow.
And I thought, you come out for us too. We're like, no, no, no, no. I think the other thing that we might forget, oh, five minutes left. So the sport is just lost in mind.
And we're sitting down here and saying, I think the other thing that this stadium is going to allow us to do from the supporter side is because of the extra space, more people are going to feel comfortable joining in and being on the fringes of the sport. It's like, we're Cass, you really this year and even last season, there really wasn't that building and it slipped in on the fringes and not really participate and see what was going on and get comfortable because we get maxed out of the sporters action. So I think we're going to see exactly what we've seen tonight, where the ice cream gets started on fringes, feel it out, see what's going on, and within 15 minutes of a soccer match, they're writing the thick of things with us. And I think that's the most exciting thing for me as far as supporting city is going to be a lot of growth in a sporter.
And it's going to be, I think a lot of it's going to be young growth, which is the cool thing. That's like that next year. And that's what we've had. I know the hairball, right?
You're really bad. Sir, you aren't really bad. I'm not score. You're going to be a one star review on Amazon.
Yes. So you're a Yelp review comes out here. So, but I mean, that's the thing is, you know, in the supporter stands, we've got a lot of 20s and above as a tree. Oh, right!
Holy crap. Oh, here we go. Downpour. He has a total.
Wow. Pause. Yeah, I'm dreaming of the next new west. We might have to finish this next new bar.
So hey, it's John, as you may have gathered a torrential downpour in front of the recording of the community session there. So we were planning on picking that up back up, but our interview with owners went so long that we decided, you know what, you all don't want to listen, I'll talk to one of those of them. One thing we did want to touch on that we did was in the swing of the last podcast, and this one, our friend John Brown of the Out of Drive podcast got married. And Dean Padre, who you may not know is not called Padre just because, but is called Padre because he is an actual priest, not like a send-in $5 priest, but like an actual for real priest officiated the certain one, which I thought was bad ass.
So our best wishes from Dean John and myself to the Brown family and our hopes and prayers for many happy years together, all the happiness and on the podcast side, if you all are listening to the Out of Drive, they're now on iTunes, so if you listen to us, you should listen to them as well, because we probably wouldn't be doing this if it weren't for them. Anyways, on to the interview. Back traffic! Back traffic!
It's got more! And we're back, and we're here at Motor City, really works in motion, with Alice Wright and Sean Jan, who will be on the tour to your seat guys. Thanks for joining us. Thanks for having us.
So first and most importantly, before we get to the other sort of new beginnings that are going on in and around the club, Sean, I was wondering how we bother with the treating you. Yeah, it's great. It's awesome. I think this guy's probably not supporting us on our way on the tour.
No, we're starting to the game at Cass, and then we took him out to the National Consulate tournament last weekend, so some weeks to GCFC games already. Did you get a special size star for him? No, but in one regard, he has to buy a new 4-day 0-2-month onesie, and a 3-day 6-month one, so he's going to go for a while. Alright, I think I just want to go for a second.
What? What? Well, maybe later. Well, I know.
So before we get into all the exciting new news, we thought we'd check in really quickly on sort of how you guys felt about 2015, sort of on and off the field. I guess the medical question is, I'm sure you guys went into the season with expectations. Do you feel like you met those expectations? Well, I would say that overall, the last season, like every season before, was an incredibly success in every single way, except for, of course, like one of the biggest goals that we had is to go as far as we can in the playoffs.
We'd like to go farther. Sometimes the way the personnel is available to us over the course of summer makes that a little bit more difficult than you'd like it to be, but in every other way, in terms of buying, attending, and on reach, and media accomplishments and what we did, and really getting questions on, I think it was a massive success, and then another owner had a kid. Right? Yeah, I mean, sure, it's a disquieting way to end the season, and I think for all our success, I'll have to feel, you know, people that are way better at all, they're like, we're actually committing to a kind of long period, and they're going to force them.
You know, and we talked at the end, but it's not the same thing as you. You know, we want to build some future ups. Yeah, we came in second in the division of 13 teams, and it's good if you're almost like, so it's good, but, you know, it's tough watching that to my final owner, which I knew that I was playing again higher, I wanted to do it. I was not allowed to be there because I was not in the stream.
I don't have to be watching the stream, I'm not saying that. So, you know, that's, I don't think we have to ask this term about the point of view of history as well, but it's absolutely, you know, possibly a good one. How about a new show? Yeah, I mean, losing an answer was a thing, for sure, but the fact of that matter is we were at home with the lead at the end of the first half of the game in which we wanted to be able to go to the playoffs.
I mean, that's what Ben's job is, is to put us in that position. You know, it was an unfortunate finish to that chapter, but, you know, when you bring a coach in, that's the kind of, that's what you expect, like that's the best case scenario. You want to put your guys in position to, you have the most playoffs and, you know, the best. Alright, so, this is a particular interest to me, especially, but as far as like the team squad from last year, going in the next year, how do you feel about like the squad from last year, you know, if like any recruiting was already going on, something like it was there?
You know, we're sitting down Ben next week, kind of, you know, the thing is like, you took over Kylie's squad at Michigan State, so he's all in, you know, everyone is sitting down at Michigan State, so that's a good job for him. So we had a chance to really sit down and catch up on everything, like, continue to get out of the way that we passed. So we're doing that this one week, but no, Ben, I mean, that guy's just constantly texting every potential player year round, so I think he probably could be two or something. He's texting some kid who maybe didn't have the crucial state when he was coming back to the summer 2017.
So, yeah, I mean, it turns out guys, who went to make up team matches, maybe, it's so early this day. Yeah, it was, I think, by giving him a promise at this point, and we haven't got to work out on that. Usually going to win all those, you know, in a way, kind of start coming in. So, well, one of the things that you did this past year, that being a difference in the team made up, it was a little bit different as you housed players.
If you had discussions about whether or not you're planning on doing that again, I know at least some of the guys we talked to, the Charlie Bennett, and how do you, whatever, seem to all things being able and live going to what you think, you want to do it again, but they also said, assuming there's some type of housing types thing again, is that something you've been giving me a budget? Well, you know, with the Keyworth situation, you know, becoming a reality, it remains to be seen exactly how we're doing to handle the flow of the game. What we can provide for lack of a word for giving us the best we can, but we are no less committed to having the best roster that we possibly can. That was the case last year, that's when we told Ben.
And we need to sit down with Ben and just sort of like the core group and figure out what we need to do, because it's not just about making teams with a new competition now, and we've got, you know, because of our success. Our teams have higher profile, and it's not, we're not being able to get in time. So we understand that we have to put these, to dedicate resources to having a good team. It's not just enough to get DCSE.
We've got to make it possible to be the best destination to develop talent, and the coaches and the players, and we're committed to that. We're just not ever so sure exactly how to turn the fence. So if you're involved, housing is going to be a fun conversation. One of the changes that happened there is now all of a sudden, in our BRC, is an NPSL side.
They have a well-respected coach there now, the former coach of Lansing, United, who I know we wouldn't talk to Dave Edwards, and he's the guy who referred Edwards and Taban. I mean, he's not a lot of awareness. And U of M already had a couple players, sort of lower level players playing for the Ann Arbor FC, whatever the hell they're called. Are you a little concerned that given that there's only one U of M player now with eligibility left, who has its connection to DCSE, that you might lose some of those guys for taking classes during the summer, could say, I can play NPSL for a good coach here and now, or I can schlep the hour back and forth to the city?
Has that some of you talked to the earlier about it all? Well, I mean, to be clear, there's playing for us in this place, for every other team in the West, and I don't think there's any mistake about that. Everyone wants to play for a team. Whether or not we are able to, you know, who we get to play for us, that's a trick.
I don't think we need to go out there and sell anything, but we do need to recognize what the individual circumstances the players are and figure out a way to create the best possible way for them to develop. The NPSL is a bell and a leap. So that's our goal, is to give these guys something that's in ways to get better. But no, I don't think we're, at least in our own merits, we think that the team is a team of people.
So let's talk about the merits from the perspective of the off-field side. This year was the first year we had streaming, and we talked about it on the podcast, but holy crap, it was fantastic. Stream. My dad's introduction to the city of the river city has been a stream, and he went from like, he liked hearing stories about our attendance to he's texting me like demanding wise they're not a stream for this away game at eerie or something, because it's eerie.
So, I think you understand what the casual fan or new fan responds to the streaming, but as far as like, the streaming growth, was it what you wanted? So that's one question, kind of how the streaming growth worked in this first year. These new sponsored weathers like Metro Detroit, Chevy dealers, and these new people to the city story, what are they saying after the end of year one is part of this? So who wants to take first?
Alex, what you talk about this for a day? Okay, I'll talk about soon. So, again, when you ask sort of our thoughts on 2015, I have to mention because we're extremely proud of the fact that we put together, we think it's one of the best quality stock histories on any level in this country. We've been getting a lot of feedback over the years that people want to see these games, but our internal mantra about this is about everything we do, is not going to do it until it's a proper reflection on the atmosphere of our games, and that's what the stream wants.
And evidence of that is we started out with very good viewership, and we built it every year by the end of the year, Fox Sports Detroit came to us and said, we want to put you on our website, we want to partner with you, because the word is out, this is one of the best things around the summer, we want to help you amplify it, and just from the build perspective alone, we're looking at triple numbers, we're looking at the end of the year. Wow, that's something from the problem. Right, I didn't heard that the Netafox works on sites, kids are like supporters too. Yeah, I mean there's a lot of kids that know what's cool with the conure games.
They're saying it's like bad bad, it's cool. Yeah, well I mean they would have found it no matter what it is, you know, it's the fact that I've never heard it on itself too, so we've had that conversation online open for quite a while, that the fact is we want to win some of these games. I've watched a lot of Big Ten Network, and I take you guys over Big Ten Network with a production call, and you can get the points, I mean it's bad, you guys can notice that, from a sponsorship perspective. Yeah, I mean, the sponsorship was a commentary of both for us, one of the craft's most wise, it's not only wise, but also in the significance of sponsors.
You know, every step we're taking is really up in infrastructure to grow this world, to take it to a higher level, and we start lining up sponsors like the Chevy dealers, which are hospitals, like so-called things. I mean now we're getting into the role of what we're doing at the 30s at home, so great relationships to develop those organizations right now, we're locking in sponsorships next year, the audience is paid, most of all of the guys are coming back, we're talking with other very notable local brands as well. I mean, you're frank, here there's a huge endeavor, it's going to change our budget dramatically, so we're going to need some of the corporate sponsors, thankfully we'll be signing off all, and so there's a lot of companies themselves off at home, like the last one a lot of money on advertising, so it's a whole new arena for us to help us. So, yeah, those partners are great, and I know it was flexed by the solvers, we were like, I think they totally faced us, social media-wise, I mean, they're all over everything they're doing, I mean those are cost-driven, help us, because we want to do the community champ, we're doing bus rides, it's a neighborhood, I think it could pop and bring into the game, so my other ones are not going to do that, growing up, right, so people can do more part of it.
How do you feel that community outreach went in terms of, did it do what you wanted it to do in terms of getting people who otherwise wouldn't have gone to the game or to become city fans to get there from more than one game or just in the supposed to have? Yeah, it's up one gimmick, it's up one season, it's a, it's a genuine long term effort, oh, frequently as people in the city, it's happening, and we can go, the cast as much as it's looking at the next one, it's going to be a for a while, like, actually the charter is a community, I'm waiting to go down there on the event, and I guess what I think is about people who are visiting us, they're building both the population at the same time at that stadium, at that point, so I think that's what we're going to, you know, support still, we're going to get a naturalist off the quarters, and I think that's what really brought our region of communities, as we've been to the community. I think earlier, so we visited Teamwork during that very time, kind of came early this evening, and that community connection was pretty obvious, the number of other sports teams, the football team and the girls' soccer team being there for the most soccer match, and that was really evident to us. Well, I got here to go there any other night before some down in the after school on a weekend, we got 100 kids out there playing soccer, pick up soccer, where the hell are kids playing pick up sports at?
Like, you know, you know, people are there there. That's what George Schonlke said, he said before and after practice, there's like 100 younger kids out there playing back and forth, you know. Yeah, I drove out there last week, just to kind of wander around and see it, and that's exactly what I saw. There was nothing official going on, and there were tons of kids just kicking them all around, throwing them all around in the park.
But the obvious elephant in the Keyworth room, if you will, is the amount of work. And we were on the supporter section, which we were informed kind of as relieving, oh yeah, by the way, you're not supposed to be over there because it's condemned, good luck with that. You know, I don't think we were too threatening to be chased off during match, but so, how realistic is the goal of being ready for 6,000 people in April or May? Yeah, it's used to be.
I think about it, you know, maybe- I'd say it gets you awake at night, but the baby brother doesn't. Yeah, it's on our mind, like this is the biggest thing to take on. And yeah, it's taking some comfort in what I said the other day, and we were kind of crazy when we started seeing the first place. I mean, a lot of people were just like, we probably didn't do it.
So, I think we're taking the same mentality. We haven't been responsible. We've got to do buildings. But I think there's a head on us who can date everybody that this is a good offer.
It's not the five of us owners, you know, it's not the standard. I mean, we're going to need everyone's support to do that. One is for financial perspective, but as we get closer, you know, we're going to be looking to you guys to support us to help with cleanups, help with getting the word out in the community, or not. I mean, it's, it's been all hands on back, but I think hopefully you guys were there, saving the terraces.
You could see what we see. Yeah, no. This will be one of the unique, I think one of the most unique data experiences here. Well, it was as the trains were literally driving past as people saying, Durniel, down at the end.
It was the vibe is there, and where we were sitting down to before the end, we were trying to record our early-minute podcast. We could see the golden tower of the Fisher bar. You know, the reality is there's just no way to do that. But that being said, there are definitely like bite-sized tasks that, you know, we can have a lot of fun with getting supporters out there.
And I think maybe something we can get standing open up and take part in. And when it's cleanups, you guys, there's a lot of debris around there. We created more tonight, sorry. That's your problem.
Yeah, I mean, like cleaning up, painting benches. I think for people who don't want to do work with that nature, you know, we've, we've brought our new staff in the intersection in the last week, help with outreach. And I suppose the March, like, organizing the, like, local background, is organizing going on, you know, it's around the neighborhood. We're introducing ourselves as a new neighbor.
So, all right, we need some extra bodies to get up. You guys are very trying to be playing, so we'll be bringing this to the end. They are. So, okay, let's talk a little more at space up there.
You know, we've seen the drawings, you guys have put out a couple of drawings and things like that. The biggest thing that Keywords and that space definitely lacks is a large parking lot next door. You know, the cast provides a certain amount of space for good and bad reasons, as far as adjacent. But we notice that there's like the parking area on the north side next to the administrative buildings.
And there's also that park to the east, I guess, kind of behind the stadium and all that. And as you guys are working on these plans, are there opportunities to use these as far as you guys are concerned, and what you're envisioning for next year, or how much this is like a phase-age process? Yeah, I mean, these aren't, despite the current conditions of the stadium, there are still a large events that have been held there very, very, very, very, especially, you know, the young community will be quite efficient on Ramadan and already packed at sea. And so, we're even in constant contact with the city, and so we all feel pretty confident that we're working on solutions that it's going to be addressed and people will be able to get in and out easily.
So, yeah, I mean, I'm not working on it. Sure. Yeah. Also, I mean, one of the things that's killing aspect of Keywords in the term of general is the whole game gets raised.
And I love the idea of people not coming to parking at the stadium. There'll be an opportunity to do that, but going to a speed of jar, going to a post-language, and then a few blocks of water, walking over the city, and really making a day, making an evening up. Yeah. And my favorite solution to parking problem is that that is there's 22,000 people that were down a mile over the US of stadium, like we didn't walk into that center, which was our population of soccer fans.
And reaching out to them and getting them to watch events. Right. I mean, that's an interesting question. I mean, to what everybody talks to me, I sort of thought about, you know, okay, we're going to take sort of the DCFC fan slash supporter base that grew at cast and transmitted the Keyword, and then it's going to grow up at bigger and more people still go to Keyword.
I mean, just from this evening at the stadium, it's clear that there's a huge appetite in that and that community that's not just a, like, we're borrowing the stadium, but it's really like, we'll be talking part of that community. And is that, I mean, it's changed the flavor of the club even a little bit, but I mean, is that what you're excited about? Yeah, I mean, I think that, like, this is our job as Detroiters that are cared about this community. Like, it's up to us to identify the fact that there's a massive and diverse and passionate community in the middle of the city of Detroit.
They love soccer. And we're a soccer team that needs a venue. And I think we need to take pride in the fact that we're an organization that looks at that as a solution to a problem. Because I'm not sure how many organizations out there in this area, they say, hey, we got a problem, solution to that problem is in the pandemic.
You know, that's what we feel because we live downtown, because we hang out in downtown. And when we tell the story of what an endemic is and what it can be, it's a lot to do different than telling the story of past second of the second. Or core town, what that's like to live in for us. It's only strange if you're not familiar.
It's our job to make it more familiar to make people as possible. Like Sean said, while we're working on that, and maybe there will be a transition. Maybe folks might need a game or two to get that hang of it. But there's folks who will walk through the game in the meantime.
And like every other season we've had since we started, everyone who comes to a game is going to bring some else to game after that. And before we know, they've seen problems that we had at gas hopefully in a return to people away. And it's been a lot harder to watch the game without buying a ticket and a trip. Because it was a cat.
We have quarters riding their bikes. I know some folks who live in the basically new center who rode their bikes to here with the night. Do you like it? Yeah.
I've done it. It's a good ride. So you talk about kind of sponsored relationships and things like that. Without obviously going into the details that you can't talk about with us.
What is the 2015 and this kind of previous crop as sponsors reactions to kind of the opportunities that keywords versus cash? I haven't heard anything about that. Yeah, I haven't heard anything about that. I can tell.
I can actually get people who are like the best in the US. And at least I haven't until I think that's how you see us and grow. Yeah. What sponsors tell us almost through a one is that they look to us to be, you know, like if you want to do like, hey, answer the street, you get a pizza.
There's plenty of sports teams that are invested in. And you play that game. They're looking at us to do something crazy. There's something outside the box.
There's something authentic and exciting. And when they want to invest in that and they see the potential in that, I mean, the move in the time is another example of sort of what they expect from us. So that's one of the top sponsors. You know, a lot of times we had to get out of the habit of when they come to us.
We were doing this and this was like, okay, we want to do that. Right. What can we do that involves smoke bombs? Yeah.
When we got out, we got a sponsor and we said this is one of the greatest things ever. We got a sponsor that's putting out Tony Bandanas. Yeah. They obviously get the expectation right.
I think we have an extra one that we're supposed to get away. So the only idea is for how we'll do it. We'll give you a slice of pizza, but I won't give you a Tony Bandana. That's any right.
So the other huge partner that you've got in this endeavor is Camtravic Schools. Your new landlord, partner, best friend, talk to you about it. Can you talk a little bit about sort of what the engagement there has been and also without all due to what I would expect for DPS or maybe some lessons you learned in your first school. Go around with a school system that you're taking into this engagement.
Do you have any other future schools? I mean, we initially came from 2012. He worked with the first place we were planning on playing at. It's not even where we were at that we had to solve a whole, well, anywhere.
Well, we realized that no one was a lesser number. And so we had a guest time. And it worked out perfectly. I paid many of those right size, right?
And no trick you get all without a no CS. Yeah. Right. We're legally out of the same place.
Yeah. So, you know, we gave them a year and a half ago, one for this last season at the past. I started a conversation going about, you know, what would it take for our grandkids? So I came to work with the average friend here.
Did it? You know, I was kind of being a city coming in off, like, one school where members play in the GCL. And they won. So, you know, I engaged him a few years ago, and I got the idea of what we were doing to keep here.
So, one of the best things that was on that relationship was one of our last meetings at Caskack, the whole Hand School. You know, we're hopefully bringing 6,000 people into the town in 20,000. So, the city itself has been a great partner as well. Now, all of this takes money.
Everything you want to do on an off the field. And sort of the big, you know, announcements one in one A were key worth, and then one A was an opportunity for supporters, fans, others to get involved through a sort of financing option that I think a lot of people are very interested in, but also very confused by. So, what can you tell us now about what that's going to look like or when all the details are going to look like? Yeah, so, actually last year, there was a public act that was called the MyLAC, the Michigan Investing Locally Exclusively Act of 2014.
What it did was it liberalized investment law to allow people who are non-acrate investors. So, I went around here, people who didn't have less than $1 million or make less than $4 million a year. It allows them to invest in budgets on a local level. And there's caps on it, you can always $1 million.
There's a lot to go through in the law. Unfortunately, one of the things about the aspects of law is it's not a federal law. So, all the way Michigan residents can be participants and on top of that, only Michigan residents can be familiar with the terms in the arrangement, but anywhere I can tell you under the MyLAC, or how one of these deals is arranged is that it's not equity investment. It's a community share investment where you would make an investment in the club, and then we would pay back your investment and then an additional percentage on that.
And so, that has been rolled out, our paper's been submitted to the state, we're going to have the state to cool on our offering. So, October 29th, we'll be having a kickoff party at the Portland Warehouse, where we have open house, we'll articulate all of the aspects of the deal, we have to be an interesting resident to attend. So, we'll go through all of the things. Unfortunately, we can't go into details because I'm assuming you have people who listen to us who go outside the state and listen to us.
Do you know what mechanism you're going to use to get the word out to interested people who are Michigan residents to get the details in front of them? I think we've developed a lot of relationships with local media. I mean, as I was walking to a bar, a guy I came up with said, I don't know what the deal is, I don't know the arrangements, I'm giving you $1,000. It's like my grandfather played at the U.S.
stadium in the 1940s, and that place means a lot to my family. It doesn't matter. But that's things like, I mean, we're going full for press. We also reach out to the media and tell the story, but we have a huge database of such as ticket holders, and we're reaching out to them.
The Michigan residents. Yeah, Michigan residents. And making the case that this is the next step, we've invested so much time in effort and this club, we're going to ask you to make that one more effort. And on top of that, we have a chance to benefit from this.
Well, how do I even see your club bro? You know, you really were part of it, essentially. And you're like the benefit of coming this way. So, have you announced how much money you're looking for out of that process?
That's part of the, so what's going to happen is, to your previous question, is what we can say is that everyone needs, that there's going to be a website, that we're going to be able to point everyone to you. And all of those specific questions are answers to anyone who proves that they're machine-resuming. It's a very, very specific process. We can talk about it in general terms, that this is basically what Sean just said.
But for the term, for the specific terms of the deal, you have to, you know, it has to be only communicating to the president. This event at the polling, for example, helps get the word out because everyone who knows has to, we're going to put an event right out. And part of signing up is going to have to improve the presidency. You're not going to be able to communicate to anyone.
It's not going to be an open forum. By law, like people can't overhear, they have to, only machine-resuming to overhear. Anything that goes into that. Okay, so Sean, let me ask you a question.
I'm the machine-resuming. Everybody here is mission-resuming. Legally, in under the mile-act, let's take DCS the only question for a second. Under the mile-act, so I find out about an opportunity with the state of Michigan.
Am I allowed to then share that to other residents of the state of Michigan? Or is that only supposed to come directly from that organization? How does that work? I mean, I'm pretty sure we talked about this one.
Yeah, actually, the answer is that's complicated. Oh, we have to be a machine-resuming. Very interesting. We have to be a machine-resuming to another different.
One machine-resuming to another different. You have to be a machine-resuming to another different. You have to be a machine-resuming to another different guy. I'm not waiting for you to know what you're doing.
I'm recognizing that you guys aren't security attorneys. Is this a situation where I'm in the social media world, and it's also a communication where, like, if Michigan residents get the info and share it widely outside of another, like, friends and family-based, that it could create problems for the club? I mean, the information is clearly, the sensitive information is clearly water-mards. Saying that it is only pretty particular machine-resuming.
I just said that we're not trying to find lubolts or trying to understand. We're trying to find out how to say it. We're trying to figure out how to say it. I mean, talking to our attorney this afternoon, I mean, the federal government just had hearing today.
It won't be into facts until after us, unfortunately, but they are looking at liberalizing that communication aspect of it. So they haven't yet? Right, but they have not yet. So, and it's actually pretty simple.
For example, we have to geolocate all of our Facebook information. We put a post to HEC this out, and we listen to the machine. That's right. And that's because it's a state-only thing.
But this is making the state that are going to be exciting. Well, that goes so interesting because some of us have been talking about this just informally and thinking like, you know, are there going to be enough people who love the club enough and care enough about the club and also have the disposable income that's for Ben Diagram to do this. And I think a lot of us think in terms of the supporters' stance, but you've got the other family-friendly call and everyone on the real side of folks over there. I mean, have you talked about how you're going to be reaching out to folks who are maybe just like a show-up on Saturday kind of or maybe going to the Tevo painting parties and race-level masks side of things?
We have their emails, their phone numbers, we'll be reaching out to them. I'm always amazed working up at their capital, the brand-new people that know the goal, details, and they be crazy to me. I don't have to be any of the UPs that represent what comes from you. I never talk to you.
Hey, I hear you guys are taking over the stadium. I'm like, I'm going to go home. What type of stuff do you want to talk about? Yeah, I mean, yes, we have our air circle folks that we'll definitely reach out to.
I'm just going to take a hold of our people who have been in excess, the social media, the companies that have been operating. There's people who just know that stadium. It's not like we're, these explorers who just found it. I mean, up until a couple of years ago, all of the Catholic football teams, the history of the football teams, and veteran Detroit played it for eight decades.
There's a lot of people who know that stadium. I think our team is where to tell the story about investing in the community. They really, those people who are looking at it, we're investing in historic structure. And then we're investing in a soccer club.
And we're investing in soccer. And so I think, you know, in between a lot of people, they tell us. Yeah, and on top of that, too, this is a Kickstarter. I'll do respect all my friends who have gotten out and put together because they put it on Kickstarter.
This is a... It's the way that... This is a product of a successful business. Right.
This isn't sure. We hold ourselves to a high standard of professionalism and sustainable business. We look good on paper. They don't just sound good on podcasts.
And we don't think that you have to be the kind of person that's going to go to a high school on Thursday in the rain to check it out, to secure it. To be independent. No, they don't have to be convinced that this is a really valuable project to be part of. I know people who have momentum to see FC game may not have come through this thing, but they're going to write a check.
Because they're like, you know, yeah. Who'd have to have it? We have to do this. We can't take that out of the original bank.
Because we're minor league-sized. No, funny enough, thanks to our insets. We're minor league-sized in a crash. Right.
They can be the exact same bubble burst. Not a major yet. So you're in a position, thankfully, because it's new law, that our supporters are better from that. Because you seem to hire interest off investing in us, that they do it, from all you tools.
Right. I mean, thanks for that. But yes. Go ahead.
Maybe. Yes. So yeah. For a thank-not-seam potential in us, you guys know you know the potential in us.
So that's what we ask is to make that investment to take us to a highlight of how you put it in. So October 29th, Foley warehouse? No. So we have 7.
The presentation will start at 8 up until then, or we've got some folding lanes. Right. And registration in advance is required. Yeah.
So we're going to start pushing out that information starting tomorrow. Whether or not we have the form, it's sort of complicated, how they can actually form. Basically, we're putting it in like, say the dates. I'm going to form.
Well, not, we have the podcast out, yeah. I'm going to fall in. I'm going to fall in. I'm going to be saying tomorrow.
We're going to call it a time-saying. Now, October 9th, T.P.B.B.B.B.B.B.B.B.B.B.E.R. Yeah, that's all. Maybe I'll fall in my death.
Sorry, October 29th. Sorry, it started 7-5 hours ago. All right. Last Friday.
So, but I'm sort of going, again, into the world of forward-looking statements and investors. Beyond the not crowdfunding, but quasi-crowd-funding thing and beyond everything else you're doing. Community finance. Community finance, good, where first?
You've also, it's sort of an open thing in secret that you all have been talking to other potential investors, other potential partners in the club over the years. Has Keyworth, within the degree that you've come up with, has Keyworth opened things up to other people with whom there might be interested in investing in the club as sort of a more larger equity, state, non-community finance investor? And can you give us at all any feel about when you're talking to folks like that? What you're looking at, I mean I'm assuming you're not looking to soul unquote the club, but what kind of people are you talking to that sort of say, what would you be asking for and what would be sort of the level of control or influence me in return?
Yeah, also I can't go into details about that. Right. And what I can say is Keyworth represents a lot of us and manage really to say we're growing this club. We started this club because we were sticking off the degree.
I guess we weren't in committed relationship with the time, so we hadn't worked with the time, we were supposed to. And we were entirely around for somebody else who was doing it, right? And so, yeah, for the last year and a half, we've been talking to investors and we've had great conversations that people are still in dialogue with who are looking for that like partner. And we have that partner being stepped up and we have to cast back and we're not going to just set on our hands like our investors come through to build some data seeing downtown.
We're here on this where people are involved in the relationship style. So, at that point, I mean, it's just like investors were talking to, I mean, US Soccer has like great, great requirements of what equity has to be held by certain people right now. So that's certainly a criteria that the board's talking to. Yeah, some people have been great partners and it could be a critical part of the time is not right.
Sure. You know, there's a hip hop in the stock market and all sense of it is that it's pretty hard. It's all kinds of random stocks and I'll follow more than I ever thought. And, you know, it's one of the things, like, you know, we have our owners box there, a cast and there's a random entourage of people coming to games from all over the world and we're asking the best in soccer in America.
We talked to all the global families that we would talk to in the future, and we have some doors to shut, others are still open. As we keep growing, as we keep on taking the work to make it private, you know, I think the prospects are planning that right harder and the right conditions just include, you know? I mean, one of the things that's different now from when you started is that you all have proven that a minor soccer in general, but specifically as a business, a minor league soccer team can survive in flourish in Michigan. Do you feel like there is competition for that investor base from others out there who wouldn't be trying to go, like, sort of leapfrog you guys?
You need like, within the trainer. I'll just say tandem. Okay. I'm not the guy.
I don't know. You know, a good question is, you know, there was the rumor on Twitter, like, oh, there's a Detroit group from a presenting for the NSL here, or to the NSL thing, and like, nobody ever got any legit answer on that. The NSL, the R guy, the return of my text. I mean, we heard directly from ASL officials.
No one from Twitter. So a lot of other teams were speaking on the right. Yeah. And I was actually trying to talk to my customers.
We got to have the most of them. I've met a new 10 to spend in the day. So you know it for a long time. It's been a good opportunity.
I told you guys a lot of tickets. No, I didn't want to work too. I didn't. You know it for a long time.
It's been a good opportunity. I told you guys a lot of tickets. No, I didn't want to work too. I didn't want to work too.
No, I mean, yes. One of the things we saw people on the road were just working in the background. I thought we were going to talk to them. And we're not the only one who seen that.
That's what we did. You know, we were looking at our own. And I think our role, the end of the day, is to be Detroit's office. And we want to solidify that position.
And that's why we want to keep growing this time. That's why we want to have a facility of our own. That's why we want to take a festival level of all. That's why we want to take a festival level of all.
That's why we want to take a festival level of all. That's why we want to take a festival level of all. That's why we want to keep growing this time. That's why we want to keep growing this time.
That's why we want to have a facility of our own. That's why we want to take a festival level of all. That's why we want to take a festival level of all. That's why we want to take a festival level of all.
That's why we want to take a festival level of all. That's why we want to take a festival level of all. That's why we want to take a festival level of all. That's why we want to take a festival level of all.
That's why we want to take a festival level of all. That's why we want to take a festival level of all. That's why we want to take a festival level of all. But we could, and some groups maybe would have just been content to sell a pass rate of five years.
But because we want to be the team, the pro team in Detroit, we have to move forward. And the way to move forward is through Hensremen. And the way to do that is by harnessing all this energy, like in the initial that we've already got going, and everyone buying it even more and doubling down on this. Because it's not just about a great community move and supporting soccer.
It's about what do you want your pro-socrates to do, in your town? We're the largest city in the country that gets to decide. These decisions that are being made for these other cities are massive and multinational, like, hyper-million dollar levels. We're still in play, and we have to do everything we can as a group, as a team, as supporters, and as people who just care about soccer and the quality of soccer.
And so to put our stand and send that message of what kind of team we want that to be. So how do you preserve that, U5, and can be the only trickle down? When you're looking long-term at NSL or something at that level, that requires that. And listen to the five of you wins the lottery, which would be great.
When you're talking about bringing on an investor at that level, how do you retain the character and the ethos and all that kind of stuff? We see that in Cincinnati and other cities that are suddenly dealing with an MPS out team and then something like that, the US L thing is plot down, and the character is just shot. How do we preserve, not just the DCS team name, but the character and everything, when you're talking about bringing that person on board? Yeah.
Yeah, I think the best potential partners we talk to, the conversations are all over the place. Right, of course. So, we're talking about a lot of the players in multi-multi-million years. That's been an IOP experience.
And one guy who was like, what do you guys do? Really impressed. But, yeah, if you guys are a little bit professional, you get to move up to Rochester. That's what money's in.
And he's like, you know what we can do? We can have an annual game in Detroit, like a heritage game, like a drill back game. He's like, yeah, man, you're not a part of it. You're not a part of it.
You're not a part of it. You're part of the partners who are, you know, partners who are most of the time, but are the ones who recognize and are honest that, hey, what we're investing in is not an market, but what you guys have built. And we might need to be a part of that in the stage. And, you know, we want that very, very good, very good.
So, you know, you found potential partners like that in your, you got to go down. I think the media, the way that it's boiled down is like, you know, if you've got a really good, you know, product, it's really well established and it's known for what it does well, people don't want to invest in it because they want to make it more that. Right. Not, they're going to get attracted to it because they want to make it more that.
They want to make it bigger that. They're much less likely being in the world and living now. They can just build investing something else if they want to change it. Right.
You know, whole sale. I think because of the kind of product that a soccer team is, that's what we're looking at is that by us doing what we do, and living our values and doing the kind of crazy, amazing outside of the box things that we do, we're kind of planting a flag. Yeah. And we're sending a very clear message to potential investors like what you're getting.
And so far, that's, you know, that's, it's just a very interesting conversation. It doesn't scare everyone in the light. And isn't there the risk though that you've got people out there like the Rochester money people who sort of think that what you've proven is that there's quote, an appetite for soccer, you know, hashtag grow the game types who are like, well, I think this has proven that there's a market for a soccer team in the tripe, but not those nanti-fowl-mouth, whatever types and somebody who's proposing. Yeah, sure.
I mean, yeah. Sure. If they want to plop, raise dollars in doing that. I mean, the only thing we can control was our fault in growing into a point where that guy's not going to have to pick his, you know, and building up the investment and you can hear people care about it called that much, right?
What's saying that doesn't change your bottom line of what you're doing on paper. Right. Like we've got, look, we have the culture, but we also have a sustainable organization that has a wonderful potential to grow. Like, so, you know, like, I think it's good for soccer, but these conversations are out there, the people are having them.
At this point, you know, we talk about a lot of work, we're hit right now. And people are watching us and what we're going to do next. And we need to start internally. We're not about comparing ourselves to anyone other than like our own personal vision for what we want this team to be.
And when, I think the reality check for all of us as supporters is that in all those towns where they've had a small level team and a big level team just plop down the top. Many of the small level teams don't have the track record that we have in terms of growth and sustainability. A lot of them are small fledgling clubs with a supporter base. You know, I don't want to, because everybody else is brave.
Yeah. I mean, I think we ran the numbers and it was something like 23% attendance. 14% to 40% does 15. Maybe more than that at our home games.
Like, there wasn't a club out there that could throw those numbers out there. Regardless of how many free tickets they gave away or how many whatever's they... It speaks to how many people have matched their expectations. That's how you meet the situations.
That's why when people look back at this line and they swear, you've always been talking about what happened in Detroit, because it is like that here, I'm not going to say perfect storm because that's a terrible thing, Jay from my attention. Right. So you said it. No, but you guys like that.
Right. You got the number of the current people. You give us a much better. I think we're getting like, what do we have a presentation on, what do we do, and you know what it takes, like, it's not perfect.
There's a worry in the market, there's a need place in the island. I think there's a turn. I think it's going to take a look at how we broke things, but you're not going to be popping down with the DCSC story anymore. Well, but they're certainly trying to plop down the DCSC story in every, you know, municipal market over, I think, like 300,000 people in a week or so they get the feels like this season.
I mean, are we going to have like a Michigan League and the end of that stuff? I mean, how do you feel about sort of all of the clubs that have popped up around the state and then like, what do you think it's going to look like the season you don't feel like that? Yeah, we're going to the conditions. I mean, actually, what would you vote for?
The expansions are, the applications aren't even due until then in a month. So we're showing a couple of markets that we're talking to. And then for some we're recruiting, others are kind of backburner and we're still waiting for what clubs are coming back. You really won't be talking to AGM.
So I think it's all kind of, there's been a much more conversation about it. I think it's been a very good approach to your extension. Not just taking off pieces of command but we're doing them all at once. If you're not like where it makes us have teams and where it doesn't, who has the proposal, who doesn't?
Did we ever find out where Zanesville is? I would have seen some of that. I think it was like performance, it actually exists. No, John, we'll do that too.
Yeah, it's historic. There was more DCS, you can say. They got the last shape pitch. Yeah, they pots.
One of the interesting things is the whole, and I know you guys don't want to get dragged in this too far, but we sort of have to ask the whole argument about the NPSL tried to kill the great ex-premierly to that bad, like open letter rant from Toledo and all that. And I know that you would say in the past that you all had supported the idea of Grand Rapids joining them. I think the way you told us that when we talked to before, that when Grand Rapids, SC came and asked the joint NPSL, that DCS plays like, yeah, sounds good to us. But now that you've got all these clubs, so close, and there's talent-based issues and all sorts of stuff.
I mean, in some ways it's a compliment to what you all have built, but in other ways it's like, really, we know him. I think I did the math. We have more teams in Michigan than any state, but California or Texas in the NPSL. Yeah, but you look at the cities.
I mean, first of all, obviously they're baseball teams, and they've had baseball teams. Second of all, the way we look at it is there needs to be one minor league. We need brand clarity. We need to be playing with each other, picking up the job fans, especially, we need to be creating rivalries because, you know, like this scattered version of it isn't a good idea, but also look at the cities in Toronto who talks about this and never thought about it until he can't point it out.
It's like an arbor Lansing, Grand Rapids and some other, some other of that size. Those are minor league towns. I don't mean that disparaging. I mean, those are towns where a minor league team is, like, it's successful.
You know, you guys have a lot of shit about it, but Grand Rapids is going a lot of people because that's a minor league town in Detroit. It's way harder to pull off a minor league team in Detroit than it is in Grand Rapids because there's all these proteins. We've learned the Grand Rapids fans. We drew more people than you know it were like, yes, we were fighting for our parking with Tigers fans.
Right, and that's what I mean. Of course, Grand Rapids is going out because they should have a stop. What the hell else is there to do there? There's a ton to do there, but it's all minor league in terms of the sport options.
I mean, look at other cities, like the New Year's World Media, Grand Rapids has a review of the idea that I mean, falls into Detroit at the most part. But there's other markets where they're not taking away new stories from us. Is there anything like... For players, then.
No, really, not really. I mean, that's the thing. I look forward to getting our supporters to go to Housemen Field. It raises a profile of DCS to be cross the state.
Like, as we continue to grow, we, I think, are some of our positions being like, which we'll see. You know, like, this is not a few of us, we bring in the masters of what DCS and is. I don't think we should try to make them. No, I mean, we got all the grants for us.
Not professional, but like, you know, we, Jeremy and I, we approached the community teams and we tried to get away, like, how can we work together? Because we don't want to play for you guys, because we kind of guys want to be with you. We want to mean something. We want to actually, think we've created more special here, where like, it doesn't exist in America.
Like, where like, there's legitimate away sections, I think there's some floor soccer. You know, right? I think that's, I think that's what it's saying. So, so then, I guess that leads into the, so in the short term, you know, NPSL, DCS, all these things kind of fit together.
So, and maybe there's a Michigan division or, you know, whatever shakes out over the next six months. Well, I mean, so, what you say to that, let's, before you, before you go on, we are still committed towards Michigan. Oh, without, without the rest of our dirty, I mean, it's not like a computer. It's not like a computer.
It's not like a computer. It's not like a computer. Like, those guys are, you know, like, we got the bubble guys. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. No. Yeah. We got any guys that become really, really good allies.
And obviously, I, that's what they're doing. Yeah. That's what they're doing. One thing is, you know, we're talking earlier about the idea of like, you know, the clock again.
I mean, obviously, it was a lot more business value to see what you do, see what a lot of people here look at what happened since then. You know, you know, if they are, but for the grace of, you know, fans of the stands, I guess. I love this coach. Yeah.
Like, they've really, he does it all the way away. He had military in his shirt, I think. He's a big guy, he's a third department. And I thought he was a third department.
Yeah. So, but they George and his own vision is that he was trying to make a big video game, like, we're in different places. You know, if we were trying to make a big video, I think they're probably a New yourself protein, we've determined. Right.