skip navigation

From a Birmingham Brewery to the USL

By CHRIS HOCKMAN – chris.hockman@uslsoccer.com, 08/17/17, 10:53AM EDT

Share

What started as friends at a bar has resulted in the league's first 2019 expansion club

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – It started as a couple of beers at a local brewery. So when USL Birmingham Vice President Morgan Copes was set to announce a new professional soccer team for Birmingham, it seemed serendipitous that the event be held at Good People Brewing Company.

“This really came from a couple of beers at a local brewery, this whole idea. To see it come to fruition is really incredible,” said Copes. “Joining USL is something of a dream come true.”

Copes, who played college soccer, has been longing to bring a professional soccer team to his home town for a number of years, to continue the growth of soccer in Birmingham.

“I moved to Birmingham and got started with a dream, with a buddy of mine, that our city could support a pro soccer team," Copes said. "That was about four and a half years ago, and now here we are today living that dream.”

It’s a dream that has captured many in Birmingham, with a professional soccer team the next step in a growing soccer landscape in the city.

“Support, in general, for soccer is great… more than you might think out of Birmingham, Alabama," said Copes. "Occasionally we’ve ranked in the top five as far as viewer rankings go.”

James Outland, both a member of the ownership group and the founder and managing partner of New Capital Partners, agrees. It's one of the main reasons he teamed with Birmingham Barons co-owner Jeff Logan, and Lee Styslinger III, the chairman and chief executive officer of Altec, Inc., to help Copes' dream of professional soccer in Birmingham become a reality.

“[The Birmingham soccer scene] is actually a lot stronger than people would realize," said Outland "There’s actually a big youth soccer program there, and is one of the fastest growing in the country. We’ve hosted a number of professional soccer events, like many games for the 96 Olympics, and this year we had over 30,000 show up for a women’s national team match against Haiti.”

Copes already has experience with that grassroots reception for soccer in Birmingham having been the President of the Birmingham Hammers. The growth the club has built from the group up, from fielding its initial team in 2015 to building a strong soccer culture alongside groups like the Magic City Brigade has been rapid, even for the dreams Copes began with.

“I knew we would be successful when I got a text message from a supporter, he showed up with his son, and a little later his father came, and he said ‘I just wanted to thank you so much for all that you and your partners do for providing me something to do with my kid, and my dad,’" Copes said "To see three generations of men come together to support us, as a club, it gives me goosebumps.”

The appeal to families at the Hammers is something Copes expects to continue as the USL club takes shape, and grows in to playing matches in front of what is sure to be an enthusiastic crowd.

“It’s going to be a fun, fast, and exciting atmosphere. The game of soccer is always exciting to watch live. We’re going to have a great, fun, family atmosphere.”

It’s been quite a journey from “a couple of beers at a local brewery” and it’s not over yet. Birmingham will begin play in the PDL next spring as they build toward the club's first professional season in 2019, and will continue to grow from that grassroots origin to what is sure to be a thriving club for the long term.

Follow the USL Championship

Most Recent News

Most Read News

Latest Videos