The Detroit City Football Club is heading into its third season opener at Keyworth Stadium on Saturday with a new title sponsor, fresh jersey kits and a wave of momentum from record season ticket sales and mounting fanfare.

Ridesharing service Lyft has signed on to a one-year deal as the semiprofessional soccer team's new title sponsor, replacing Metro Detroit Chevy Dealers, which had the deal for three years, said Sean Mann, team co-owner.

"We're excited about the Lyft sponsorship because it fit with a lot of our needs," he said. "It was great working with Metro Detroit Chevy Dealers."

The San Francisco-based company will have its logo on the front of DCFC's jerseys this season, along with prominent signage throughout the stadium and on broadcasts. It will be the first sponsorship of its kind for the national company, and it will serve to boost a soccer club set on turning professional.

As part of the new sponsorship, fans will be offered special credits and discounts on rides to and from the game through Lyft, with details to be finalized. There will be a designated drop-off and pick-up zone at Hamtramck's Keyworth Stadium on the corner of Goodson Street and Gallagher Avenue. Lyft riders will also receive $1 off drinks at the stadium before kickoff.

Lyft will also help host a soccer clinic at Keyworth Stadium this summer and will serve as official sponsor of Detroit City FC's Neighborhood Champion program — a season-long initiative that provides tickets, transportation and giveaways to designated neighborhood groups in the spirit of growing the game of soccer.

The team closed its season ticket offerings Wednesday after achieving record sales. Mann said the team sold 25 percent more season tickets than its previous record, but he did not wish to disclose numbers. This is the club's third season at Keyworth Stadium and seventh season overall since launching in 2012.

Season tickets started at $80. The Gold Card for midfield season seats cost $180 and sold out within three days after being offered. Single-game tickets start at $10.

Mann said besides more exposure, one reason for high season tickets sales is that unlike years past, the team's popular international games were included in the package.

Tickets are still available for Saturday's game — the team's first ever home opener in April. DCFC takes on Western Michigan University 7:30 p.m. at Keyworth Stadium. Mann said he thinks "there will be an above average crowd" and that "weather is a big factor." The forecast as of Wednesday is rainy with temperatures in the high 40s.

During the team's annual Soccer Prom — a gathering of fans and supporters held at Small's Bar in Hamtramck Wednesday night — the team also unveiled new uniforms. They are being sold for $50 on the team's website through Sunday.

Other news delivered at the event is DCFC's partnership with Detroit PAL. It is working with the Detroit-based youth nonprofit to launch a soccer program for 12- and 13-year-old players. The idea is to recruit 100 kids, to start, from the 3,000 or so involved in the nonprofit and develop them into accomplished players that could eventually join DCFC, Mann said.

Mann said funds from beer sales throughout the season will be tapped to pay for the program, which will "definitely cost in the six figures."

The team is also planning to build a pipeline with the YMCA of Metropolitan Detroit, which it partnered with to start "an enhanced soccer youth initiative." Later this year, the team plans to headquarter its youth programs in a former ice rink on Detroit's east side, which it is renovating.

As for other sponsors, Dearborn Federal Credit Union has its name on a lounge section behind the north goal that will consist of 100 seats maximum, varying from game to game. A $50 ticket for that section gets fans all-you-can-eat-and-drink access to a food spread catered by Slows Bar BQ or Royal Kabob and drinks from Axle Brewing Co., Stroh Brewing Co. and Blake's Hard Cider Co.

Detroit-based Level One Bank, which worked on financing repairs of Keyworth Stadium, is sponsoring a 50-seat hospitality section behind the south goal reserved each game for different small business in the Detroit area.

"That's how we see ourselves — the sporting team that represents the entrepreneur, startup community," Mann said.