UM Day at Detroit City Football Club - Brian, I will spot you a ticket if you go!

I was part of an alumni group that brought DCFC's GM, two owners and one of the founders of the Northern Guard in to speak at the Union a couple of days ago. The Guard founder (Ken Butcher) was hysterical. Great guy. He actually spent some time before the talk speaking to the leader of the Michigan Ultras about what they do. https://www.facebook.com/events/1397789703868234/ 

If Brian had any desire to do what you suggested, it would be a breeze. Ken definitely enjoyed the opportunity.

I respect your love for your local team. That said, the offer is still open. DCFC is debatably the best on-field product we have access to over the summer but the off-field product is worth it anyway. If you want to send one of the other guys to cover just to have some summer content, let me know.

The slightly different way to ask this, is what will it take to bring an MLS team to Detroit. Personally I'd like to see DCFC slowly push to become an MLS team. Here's where things are:

1) MLS Expansion - MLS wants to get to 24 teams As many know the MLS had two new teams start play this year (New York City FC and Orlando City FC). The MLS has also approved Atlanta an expansion franchise to start in 2017 and Los Angeles to start a second franchise some time in either 2017 or 2018. Word is that Minnesota United, an existing NASL team (NASL is like AAA baseball) will be granted an expansion team to start sometime between 2018-2020. That would bring the MLS to 23 teams. Minnesota is interesting because they've taken a lot of the steps a Detroit team would have to take. They've made their way from the depths of the minor league soccer system up to the NASL and, then, when it was time to be considered for MLS, they went out and found their investors in the owners of the Minnesota Twins and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Don Garber, the commissioner of the MLS has stated that he wants to expand to 24 teams by 2020 and won't consider further expansion after that issue is settled. The 24th team will be Miami (whose ownership group is led by David Beckham) if they can get their ownership group together AND get funding for a stadium. If they falter, team 24 will be Sacramento.  So accordingly, Detroit would have to wait for that process to play out which is fine because they're not where they need to be.

2) Detroit - This really goes in two parts: (a) The DCFC guys and (b) other options

   (a) The MLS question was raised to the owners at the panel they sat on last week at the Michigan Union. Truth is, I'm not 100% convinced that the MLS is where they want to go. To make a long story short, none of the five owners has nearly the money needed or connections to bring an MLS franchise to Detroit. They would have to bring in some kind of money man. Further, you don't make the jump from the NPSL (American Soccers fourth tier where DCFC is) to the MLS. That would be like a single A baseball team being added to Major League Baseball. The DCFC owners stated they have two big goals in the next couple of years. The first is get a bigger stadium as they're selling out the 3000 seat Cass Tech Stadium. They are in talks to possibly renovate and rent Keyworth Stadium in Hamtramack (a city surrounded on all sides by Detroit) that seats 7,000 but they said the cost to repair would be about $1 million. They also said they see the next move as likely taking the team to USL Pro (Like AA baseball)  or (and I think from the way they talked they would prefer) the NASL. I think the key to DCFC is watch for those two steps before we see how serious they are. That said, the owners said that they were flown in by MLS to discuss the Detroit market for an MLS team. 

  (b) The other big player in the metro Detroit soccer world is the Michigan Bucks who have been around a long time and actually won the national title at the other fourth tier level (the PDL) last year and have beaten MLS teams in the US Open tournament before. They play up in Pontiac and the owner is Dan Duggan who has been making noises about bringing an MLS team to Metro Detroit for years. The Bucks are actually affiliated with the Columbus Crew of the MLS as one of their developmental teams. The problem is no one gives a crap about the Bucks. They've had a winning team for a long time but no one goes to their games. Duggan thinks the key to a Detroit MLS franchise is the soccer moms and little kids of the Detroit suburbs but if that were true it would be reflected in their attendance and its not. The DCFC owners have proven that's complete BS and even publicly stated that during the panel last year. DCFC has been proving that the true route to soccer fandom is through the young professionals and new Detroiters and that is who has been showing up. You will not see that many kids in the stands at DCFC games which is why the team got away from doing daytime games and tries to play all of their games at night.  Duggan might be able to put together the financing for a team but I think the MLS is weary of the fact that he hasn't proven he can create a brand that will gain traction in Detroit the way DCFC has.

There is a wildcard out there and if any of you in Ann Arbor wanted to meet him, he's doing a speaking engagement at UM on Friday. https://www.facebook.com/events/1635334473364353/ 

His name is Andy Appleby. He's a Michigan alum and owner and founder of General Sports & Entertainment. Among the properties GS&E owns is the Derby County Football Club which is currently the top team in England's Championship League (England's AAA behind the Premier League) which means that Derby is going to be promoted to the Premier League next year under their relegation/promotion system (yes that means Michigan will be able to say we have an owner of an English Premier League team among our alums). The owners of DCFC were asked about Andy during the speech and they sort of looked athte ground and hemmed and hawed. Made you wonder if those groups have talked at all.

Anyway, long story short, Detroit isn't getting an MLS team this decade. Whether we get one after that really will depend on how things develop but I would keep a very close eye on DCFC and their moves regarding a stadium and if they try to make a move to a higher league like NASL. If those two things were to happen in the next five years, I'd say DCFC will be in a prime spot to lead an MLS bid IF AND ONLY IF they get some kind of investor to lead them the way the Minnesota United group has done.