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USL Operations & Sales Summit in Full Swing at SAFC

By USLSoccer.com Staff, 11/07/16, 4:00PM EST

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SS&E presence plays significant role in this year’s event


United Soccer League

The 2016 USL Operations & Sales Summit kicked off Monday as all of the league’s teams convened to the Alamo City for the San Antonio FC-hosted event.

This marks the second annual Operations & Sales Summit, which was hosted in 2015 by Tulsa Roughnecks FC at ONEOK Field. This year’s summit runs through Wednesday as the league and its organizations share ideas and best practices to help boost off-the-field business within the USL’s respective markets and league-wide moving forward.

Holding the event in San Antonio certainly is a benefit for the USL, particularly with Spurs Sports & Entertainment’s role as the owner and operator of San Antonio FC. Frank Miceli, the SS&E Senior Vice President of Marketing and Sales, took part in a management and leadership session Monday. On Tuesday, SS&E’s Jeanne Garza, the Senior Director for Corporate Partnerships, will spearhead a broadcast industry trends session, giving the USL clubs present insight from two of the organization’s top executives.

“The resources available to our clubs, which include senior executives from the NBA speaking to our group, will be a tremendous learning tool our clubs can take with them back to their respective clubs,” USL President Jake Edwards said. “In addition, the opportunity to host the event at a first-class stadium like Toyota Field will provide important hands-on experience for the staff members on hand.”

One difference from the Tulsa event is the summit being divided into multiple focal points: game operations, team operations, ticketing, sponsorship and the league’s broadcasting initiatives with the launch of USL Productions. Various leaders among the league and its respective teams are not only sharing their practices but also partaking in various case studies within their areas of expertise.

Along with the heavy focus of group meetings and presentations, club participants will have the opportunity to tour Toyota Field, the soccer-specific home of San Antonio FC, which recently completed its first season in the USL.

USL Forms Business Strategy Committee

This Thursday will mark the first gathering of the USL Business Strategy Committee, Edwards told USLSoccer.com. USL teams’ senior leadership will feature 11 executives who were nominated and selected for this sub-committee, which will focus heavily on commercial and digital initiatives, national sponsorship, licensing and more.

“With the growth within the USL and the number of teams and voices, we felt it was essential to form this sub-committee to strategize and serve as a ‘think tank’ and an advising resource,” Edwards said.

The USL Business Strategy Committee will meet in Dallas on Thursday. Those nominated and selected for this sub-committee include the following:

  • Charlotte Independence’s Mike Behrman, Chief Operating Officer

  • FC Cincinnati’s Jeff Berding, General Manager

  • Louisville City FC’s Amanda Duffy, President

  • Nashville SC’s Court Jeske, Chief Executive Officer

  • OKC Energy FC’s Jeff Ewing, President of Prodigal LLC

  • Reno 1868 FC’s Eric Edelstein, President

  • Sacramento Republic FC’s Joe Wagoner, Executive Vice President/Co-Founder

  • Saint Louis FC’s Patrick Barry, Executive Director

  • San Antonio FC’s Tim Holt, Managing Director

  • Tulsa Roughnecks FC’s Mike Melega, General Manager

  • Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2’s Lisa Modica-Amore, Managing Director