More than 140 staff members from clubs around the United Soccer League descended upon San Antonio this week for the USL’s annual Operations & Sales Summit.
Attendees included Louisville City FC president Amanda Duffy, director of operations Brandon Morris, director of corporate partnerships Campbell Brewer, manager of ticket sales Dave Walkovic and manager of ticket operations Suzy Taylor.
Most of the group returned has already returned to begin considering ideas and best practices shared by fellow USL front offices.
“The San Antonio trip was a great learning experience for the LouCity front office,” Walkovic said. “We were able to see what other clubs in the league do to create a better fan experience. We are looking forward to applying what we learned for the 2017 LouCity season and beyond.”
In its own story about the Operations & Sales Summit, the USL highlighted San Antonio’s Toyota Field, “a state of the art soccer-specific venue that provides a perfect backdrop for the club’s home contests. The visit provided insight for those clubs who have hopes of creating a soccer-specific venue of their own.”
Duffy also attended a Business Strategy Committee meeting on Thursday in Dallas before returning to Louisville. She’s one of 11 senior executives from USL clubs on the panel.
“The Business Strategy Committee will be a tremendous resource for the USL as we looking to maintain the league’s season-on-season growth,” said USL President Jake Edwards. “The executives who have been nominated to serve on the committee bring a wide range of ideas and experience that will be crucial to building the league’s commercial interests, which in turn will increase the league’s revenues and provide a strong, stable future for the USL as a whole.”
Saint Louis’ returners named
LouCity rival Saint Louis FC this week announced few pieces of its 2016 team will return after a mid-season coaching change. Back for 2017 are a pair of the club’ star players, midfielder Chad Bond and forward Irvin Herrera, along with defender, AJ Cochran and midfielders Seth Rudolph and Tyler David.
Saint Louis’ general manager, Jeremy Alumbaugh, said that since the club announced Preki as its new head coach that “he and I have been active in identifying players for the 2017 season. This includes a handful of out-of-contract players from the 2016 season, and we expect to make announcements [regarding new players] in the coming weeks.”
Saint Louis played in the Western Conference last season but still met LouCity twice, losing both games before failing to make the playoffs.
Ottawa continues to reload
The Ottawa Fury, which will transition from the North American Soccer League to USL in 2017, continued to remain active with player announcements this week. The club returns nine players and announced two new additions Thursday, Spanish-born American forward Jose Enrique Seoane – nicknamed Sito – and Jamaican international defender Andrae Campbell.
Seoane spent the last two years playing in Iceland’s top-level league, while Campbell most recently suited up for the USL’s Orange County Blues.
Individual awards finalized
The USL last week announced league champion New York Red Bulls II had claimed a majority of its individual awards: Coach of the Year (John Wolyniec), Rookie of the Year (Brandon Allen) and defender of the Year (Aaron Long). The other two, Most Valuable Player (Sean Okoli) and Goalkeeper of the Year (Mitch Hildebrandt), went to first-year expansion club FC Cincinnati.
