You wouldn’t know by the look of it, but, on the first floor of a modest office park in Linglestown, the future of Harrisburg soccer is being shaped.
That’s where Tiago Lopes, the 32-year-old president of the Harrisburg City Islanders, works in the off-season. A year ago, he was hired to resuscitate the stalling franchise, which is part of USL Pro, a 14-team professional outdoor soccer league that, since 2011, has added seven franchises across the country.
“The goal is to prepare the organization for the next five to 10 years,” said Lopes, who in his native Portuguese accent calls the city “Ehrris-burg.” In his first year, he said, the city “accomplished a lot of things with limited resources.”
In business terms, that meant higher attendance figures from a year ago, going from about 1,500 fans to about 2,100 per game in 2014, including six sell-outs at Skyline Sports Complex.
But, to Lopes, the success put a real emphasis on a growing problem in Harrisburg. The stadium, located adjacent to Metro Bank Stadium, is a shell of what most other markets offer in the same league, just as the sport itself is in the middle of a boom.
On Board
When Lopes talks about the picture of soccer in Harrisburg, there’s a real concern with the future at City Island. As it stands now, rickety metal bleachers and a hilltop offer fans their main source of seating.
“When I arrived,” Lopes said, “of course the stadium at that time was in need already. Part of my plan going forward is having the stadium as a priority … the strategy is very clear. The stadium is a big part of that. There is no future without a stadium.”
Lopes talks a lot about “priority” when he talks about stadium details. Until recently, he says, the city and the organization haven’t made a new facility much of a priority.
But that changed last March.
Backed by private partners, plus an affiliation with the Philadelphia Union, which remains the City Islanders’ affiliated franchise in Major League Soccer, the City Islanders unveiled plans for a new structure at their current location.
Lopes talks about a two-phase project that includes the structural bones of a new, $6 million, 4,000-seat facility built by the 2016 season.
Construction is expected to commence after the 2015 season in August or September, he said, with the hope that the team can be on the field by the beginning of the next calendar year.
A potential second phase, which could add another 2,000 seats and $4 million to the budget, could be implemented after other feasibility studies are conducted.
In the coming months, the financial terms will be negotiated between organization personnel, partners and the city—with all financing, Lopes adds, slated to come privately.
And key to the discussion will be site location. While the city is currently playing nice with the team, there’s an outside shot both parties may not come to a solution on the Island.
“Of course, we want it at City Island,” Lopes said, “But if we don’t find the resources, the conditions, the support from the city, then we’ll have to look at other locations. At this point, we do find that the city is on board with us.”
Growing Pains
As the league grows, another concern looms. It’s becoming harder and harder to keep pace with growing travel costs.
Four franchises were added to the league in 2014, all of which were significantly west of what used to be a league dominated by East Coast teams. Cities like Sacramento, Los Angeles, Arizona and Oklahoma City all unveiled debut seasons.
Lopes said the travel part of the budget has become “extremely high” over the last two seasons with the addition of these franchises. In previous years, the main mode of transportation was a bus, but flights now are more common.
When Orlando moves up to MLS in 2015, a new franchise in Louisville will take its place, adding another team west of Pennsylvania to the mix.
“We’re working to control that piece of the budget,” Lopes said. “And that’s why we need to have partners involved with us that can help us lower those costs.”
Changing Tides
While Harrisburg is finding ways to meet its need in a growing league, business on the field has been anything but troublesome. In fact, the City Islanders continue to get better year after year.
In 2014, Harrisburg reached the league finals after finishing eighth overall in the regular season, losing 2-0 to Sacramento Republic FC at Bonney Field in Sacramento before 8,000 fans.
The Islanders, which debuted in the USL Pro in 2004, have been to the finals twice in the past four seasons under Head Coach Bill Becher.
The City Islanders have gained respect across the league, Lopes said, by winning games and competing for championships.
“If you ask any of our fans,” he said, “and you ask them within any team in this league what they think about Harrisburg—what their reputation will be—people are amazed at what we do. That’s the key point for us. We embrace that.”
A byproduct of that success has been a successful crossover of talent developing on the field. Lopes says, on average, the Islanders have put two players into the MLS each year over the last few years, including recent players like Leo Fernandes and Antoine Hoppenot.
Slowly but surely, it seems, the tides of soccer in Harrisburg are beginning to change.
By 2016, Lopes hopes to execute what he hopes will be a shift in gears for soccer in central Pennsylvania.
“If we have over 2,500 people coming to our games in a terrible stadium,” Lopes said, “imagine how many people we could attract with a good facility?”
If Harrisburg wants to survive in this fast-paced and fast-growing industry, Lopes said, the city, the organization and its partners will need to invest in infrastructure to help that vision come to fruition.
“It has to be partners, it has to be sponsors, it has to be politicians,” he said. “We have to be united, if we want to keep seeing the name Harrisburg.”
Learn more about the Islanders and keep up to date with their stadium plans at www.cityislanders.com.
