News & Notes

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Season Preview Announcement + 2016 Pocket Schedule

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I’m currently working on the 2016 Season Preview and I think it’s going to be the biggest and bestest I’ve done yet. (Click to view the 2014 and 2015 editions). I’m breaking it up into five parts and I’ll post one part each day next week, Monday through Friday, leading up to the final preseason match against Muskegon on Saturday.

Until then, feel free to share the 2016 Pocket Schedule I’ve put together (and revised several times – never try to do work while simultaneously watching GoT). Save it, copy it, print it out and stick it in your wallet, purse, bulletin board, tuck it in your football sock, or wherever else you may want to keep it. Make sure to share it with as many kids as possible. Detroit City is for the children.

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News & Notes

Keyworth Construction Photos

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Photos by Detroit City FC

Just over a month away from the home opener, a few photos have leaked (read: have been freely taken since the stadium is an open public venue) showing some of the work that has been done at Keyworth Stadium.

The one that excites me the most shows the benches from the supporters’ section have been removed, creating a traditional concrete standing terrace:

Photo by Konrad Maziarz
Photo by Konrad Maziarz

Another shows that an entrance to the supporters’ section, previously closed up, has now been opened:

Maziarz
Maziarz

Click below to view the rest of the gallery (Photos by Konrad Maziarz and Timothy Clark):

[foogallery id=”1919″]

Update 4/17 – New Benches:

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DCFC

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News & Notes - Podcasts/Audio/Interviews

DCFCFC Episode #15 + Bonus News & Notes

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Click here to listen to the latest episode of the DCFC Fancast, which I guest-hosted as we spoke to head coach Ben Pirmann and co-owner Alex Wright. A few items of interest that didn’t make the recording:

I asked Alex about the Keyworth construction timetable, specifically how long it would take for the stadium to be considered a “finished product.” He said that, following this year’s renovations, the next big project is obviously replacing the field. While many people perfer a natural grass surface, the cost of maintenance and upkeep is much more than fieldturf. With kids playing on the field virtually every day, the installation of a new artificial surface is something that will be considered. Once that decision is made and the installation is complete (ideally some time before next season), Keyworth should be just about finished.

Second, there will be new kits for this upcoming season. Alex said that they’d be a simpler design because of the availability issues they’ve had with the more customized kits (2013 and 2015 in particular). Jerseys sold out at several of last year’s matches, so the move to a more basic model should help to ensure that supply matches demand.

Third, when we were talking about the possibility of some local Hamtramck talent making the team, he brought up a roster rule that I was unaware of. Since Ben Pirmann is a college coach, there is an NCAA stipulation that he cannot coach uncommitted prospects. This means that if there is a college-aged player not in school but with eligibility remaining, he can’t play for City. Even if he’s never attended college and has zero intention of doing so, he is still ineligible until he reaches a certain age threshold. (I’ve tried to do a little research and figure out what that age is, but I’ve come up empty so far.)

One final note, Ben told us a story about a recent phone call he received. It was from a woman in England who was calling because Charlie MacInnes had asked Ben if he could use him as a reference. After Ben answered her questions and praised Charlie’s punctuality, teamwork skills, attention to detail, etc., he asked her what the job was. She replied: kindergarten teacher.

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News & Notes - Stats & Analysis

2016 Schedule Analysis

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After many cold, dark weeks devoid of news (save for the occasional Keyworth funding update), some real information pertaining to the 2016 season finally dropped this past Friday. Detroit City released its complete league schedule in the morning, and in the afternoon, completely out of the blue, learned that it would be competing in the U.S. Open Cup for the third straight year.

According to the official release from U.S. Soccer, the Open Cup match will take place Wednesday, May 11th. As the matchups for the first rounds of the tournament are determined by regional proximity and teams are paired up with opponents from outside their league, City will likely find itself in a rematch against the Michigan Bucks, but the Dayton Dutch Lions are also a strong possibility. The date of the first round draw is April 6th.

As for the league schedule, it was also confirmed that Fort Pitt Regiment are no more, unbalancing the Midwest Region’s East Division, which had existed in its new form for about a month and a half. Good ol’ NPSL. A quick refresher: the top two teams from each division make the four-team single-elimination playoffs; the winner goes to the national final four. The new, slightly altered divisions are as follows:

2016mwdiv updated

City’s division remains unchanged. For now…

The full slate of matches, minus the probable preseason college friendlies, looks like this (home matches bolded, friendlies in blue):

2016sched

  • The first thing that jumps out is that 4 of the first 5 league matches are on the road. One plus is that City gets its longest road trip of the year – Dayton – out of the way on the very first weekend.
  • The upside of having so many road matches frontloaded is the payoff in the second half of the season. 5 of the final 7 league matches are at home, and City will go almost an entire month (June 10th – July 3rd) without playing away.
  • The toughest stretch may very well be the opening week of the season – 3 competitive matches in the span of 5 days, possibly all of them away from home. Playing the Bucks and Stars in Pontiac wouldn’t be too bad as far as travel goes, but the Sunday match at Dayton looks extremely difficult considering the circumstances. For reference, last year’s USOC match was on a Wednesday, it was followed up on Friday with the home opening win over Cleveland, and there was no match on Sunday. A slow start would be disappointing, but understandable.
  • As of this writing, the Rust Belt Derby is on hiatus for at least 2016. The home-and-home friendlies with Buffalo are a nice midseason break, but it remains to be seen if Cleveland can be bothered to pull their weight and help preserve the rivalry.
  • The marquee event of the year, the friendly against FC United of Manchester, gets a weekend all to itself, as it should.
  • It should be a banner year for Rouge Rovers. The farthest trip is to Dayton, which is little more than a three hour drive. Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo are both two hours and change, and Lansing and Ann Arbor are quick jaunts up I-96 and I-94, respectively. I expect triple-digit supporters at each and every “away” match and I wouldn’t be surprised if we outdrew the home crowds at half of those.

As we ramp up to the new season, we should start to see player announcements for both returners and newcomers very soon. Additionally, now that the Keyworth minimum has been met, it will be interesting to see the construction progress photos that begin to trickle out. Speaking to Alex Wright at tryouts, he confirmed that demolition and other preliminary jobs have been ongoing. With the home opening date now set for May 20th, just over 14 weeks remain for the bulk of the work to be completed.

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News & Notes

Keyworth: Funded

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Just over three months since its launch, DCFC’s Keyworth investment campaign has reached blown past its minimum goal of $400k. As 7 PM on 2/3/16 the current tally stands at:

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The heavy duty renovations of Keyworth Stadium can now begin, with three solid months remaining until the start of the 2016 season. We’ll probably get one last year of preseason games at Hurley Field, after all.

Looking ahead, $500k seems within reach, but the maximum target goal of $750k may be asking a little too much at this point. What that means:

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To sum up, unless a massive investment push happens in the next week and a half, major construction on the east grandstand – the future supporters’ section – will likely be put on hold for the time being. I would imagine that project, along with the installation of a grass field, would be at the top of the agenda for 2017, but everything will obviously depend on the funds available.

For now, it’s time to celebrate this milestone. We’ve achieved something most other clubs would never even consider attempting, and our actions as supporters are going to have tangible, long-lasting, positive effects on a piece of our local community. I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished, and I can’t wait to see what’s next.

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