16 Nov Moving Beyond SoccerCity – the New ASC San Diego
To the City of San Diego and the San Diego soccer community,
It’s been a remarkable year watching our soccer community rally behind SoccerCity with the hope of bringing a Major League Soccer team to San Diego. From a fan perspective, all of us at ASC were disappointed to see the effort fall short, but were inspired by the support that the proposal received from the broader sports community, despite the uphill battle that it faced from the get-go. What the initiative showed us is that it’s not a matter of if San Diego will have a top-tier professional team in the near future—it’s a matter of when.
So today I’m extremely excited to share that ASC San Diego has taken a major step forward in our pursuit to become San Diego’s team by joining the newly established NPSL Founders Cup Competition that was just announced!
I’m equally excited to announce that I have added two new partners on this incredible journey, Scot Chisholm and Joe Callahan, two of the founders of the successful local tech social enterprise, Classy, the leading online fundraising platform for nonprofits. Scot and Joe have made very meaningful, personal investments in ASC San Diego to help us move into the NPSL Founders Cup Competition and fulfill the ultimate vision of the club I first met them when the Albion 12 Foundation partnered with Classy to power the fundraising for the club’s community programs a few years back. I knew right away that I wanted to work with them somehow, given their entrepreneurial experience and their love for soccer, so it’s exciting that just a few years later the partnership is finally coming to fruition!
Along with Scot and Joe, ASC San Diego wants nothing more than to deliver the soccer experience that we know San Diego deserves, and that’s why today’s announcement is especially exciting. Most of the ASC staff have dedicated their entire professional careers to building up soccer in the San Diego community, starting with the 130+ Albion youth soccer teams and over 3,000 players, then the prestigious US Development Academy, and now the ASC men and women’s professional teams. By the Spring of 2020, we’ll be playing alongside some of the most storied and successful clubs in the United States, including the New York Cosmos, Miami FC, Detroit FC, Chattanooga FC and FC Arizona… just to name a few. Leading up to that moment, we’re focused on building a world-class team on and off the field, upgrading our fan experience, and working toward a soccer-specific stadium in San Diego that rivals the best in the country. We have a lot to do in the next 12-24 months to get ready, but we’re confident we can build upon the foundation we’ve laid over the past 20 years in San Diego and bring to life a vision that is both bold and sustainable for ASC moving forward.
Today’s a proud day for me personally and for our entire team, but more than anything, we hope you feel that way too! We saw a spark of brilliance in the momentum surrounding SoccerCity, and we’re more motivated than ever to help turn that spark into a legitimate flame—an outright movement built on a rich history of inspiring greatness on and off the field. We hope you join us by becoming a member, following us on social media, or even emailing me directly to share your own thoughts and ideas. I’m looking forward to rolling my sleeves up with you to make the dream of professional soccer in San Diego a reality.
Cheers to the future!
Noah
