Meet North Carolina’s newest PDL team: Tobacco Road FC

“A true grassroots movement” switches leagues in 2017. What will TRFC bring to the Triangle sports table this season?

For those of you who haven’t heard the news, North Carolina is getting a new PDL (Premier Development League) team this year in Tobacco Road FC. Previously a part of the NPSL (National Premier Soccer League), Tobacco Road is switching leagues for the 2017 season.

A successful amateur program for many years, TRFC was “founded” in 2013 by Seth Kaplan and Cedric Burke, brought together to create a family-friendly semi-professional team in the Bull City. They made it to the NPSL South Atlantic Conference Playoffs in 2016 but are excited to start a new direction this year.

I got the opportunity to speak with Seth Kaplan about the club.

What do you think separates Tobacco Road FC from others in the PDL?

We are a healthy mix: we want to grow our brand and help develop young players. We want to get our community involved in supporting this club, but we also want to help players be able to get to the next level as well. This club will have those in-state rivalries that others can’t get.

So where do you hold your home games?

We are lucky to get to play in Durham County Stadium just a mile outside of downtown Durham. It holds 8,500 people, so we are blessed to get play our games in a nice stadium.

Do you have any supporter groups for the hardcore fans out there?

Bright Leaf Battalion is the independent supporter group that formed to support the club. They meet at Mattie B’s Public House, and that is also where the Durham chapter of the American Outlaws meets to watch the national team games as well.

We are getting their support for games, and that’s great to help us grow our club.

How can people get tickets?

We just released our individual and season tickets on our website. If you buy a ticket in advance, it’s $7 for an adult and $5 for youth. Buying tickets at the gate costs $10 for adult and $7 for youth.

Everyone under 5 gets in for free.

Any big goals for this season?

As we want to grow our brand, we want to increase our attendance and become a family-friendly club for everyone. We also want to perform well on the field and be able to build off of last year’s success. We want to be able to win the conference and get a shot at winning the division as well.

Building the fan experience is something that is important to us, and it is what makes going to a soccer game so special. We want that friendly experience in creating events like tailgating for games or having a drum roll in our supporters sections to help make games fun and to bring people back to games.