New Southeast Conference Team
Soccer News: The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) announced Memphis City FC (Memphis, TN) has joined the league as an expansion team. The club will compete in the South Region’s Southeast Conference.
“We are thrilled to see another NPSL team come to Tennessee,” NPSL Chairman Joe Barone commented. “Tennessee has been a stronghold of our league for many years and this addition ensures that this will be the case for many more. It truly is an exciting time for our fans and supporters in the South.”
Home matches will take place at the Mike Rose Soccer Complex in Memphis. The stadium, which was completed in 2001, has a playing surface of hybrid Bermuda grass along with a state-of-the-art underground sprinkler and drainage system. Facilities within the stadium include locker rooms, a food court, a corporate skybox, full media services, administrative offices, and a conference room.
MCFC is led by co-founders Dan Collins and Doug Kranz. Collins, who will serve as the club’s chairman, has a background in international business as well as private equity ventures, including financial reporting, real estate, and soccer enterprises. Kranz, who will serve as president, has a background in business operations and IT. He also works and invests in real estate and sporting companies. He has been playing and/or coaching soccer for over 35 years. “For us, it was pretty simple,” Collins added.
“The NPSL represents grassroots soccer at one of the highest levels within the U.S. It is everything we were looking for in an organization: a growing league, a reputation for success, and reasonable entry costs that offers independence to establish our business model. Most importantly, it allows us to create a huge impact on the local and potentially national and international markets. Establishing Memphis as a soccer powerhouse and exposing it to bigger markets is something that we are extremely passionate about and is one of the pillars of our organization.”
Memphis City FC is a startup team established by the local founders who sought to offer not only inspiring entertainment for the public, but highly competitive match play for the players and coaches in West Tennessee. The club seeks to open doors for talented players in the region to compete at the highest level of the sport, including domestic and worldwide stages.
“Considering the explosion of popularity in the game in recent years, we feel there is no ceiling in sight and we all have a genuine opportunity to make soccer a mainstream sport in the U.S. in a very short period of time,” Collins concluded. “We want to be a part of that and help push it in any way possible.”
Follow MCFC on Twitter (@memphiscityfc), Instagram (@memphiscityfc), and Facebook.
