Greenville FC: What it took to build the soccer startup in the Upstate

Gabe Cavallaro | The Greenville News

Show Caption Hide Caption Greenville FC brings semi-pro soccer to Upstate Greenville FC brings semi-pro soccer to Upstate

What it cost to do this: About $130,000

Why Greenville: The brothers saw a market hungry for soccer and fan reactions are backing that up

Greenville til I die: The hashtag is emblematic of the Greenville-centric brand the team's building

What if, as a 20-something, you could own and run your own sports franchise?

This isn’t fantasy sports, and it didn’t cost millions of dollars, either.

It’s a real-life soccer club run like a true small-business startup in a market that was hungry for a post-collegiate team playing the world’s game.

It’s Greenville FC, launched this year by Dallas-native brothers Marco and Richard Carrizales, ages 23 and 27, respectively.

Other news: Greenville has a plan to prevent another Economy Inn situation

And with some elbow grease, the right financial backing and an emphasis on creating a soccer brand built on, for and about the Greenville community itself, they've cultivated a fan base of drum-beating diehards as well as moms and dads seeking affordable summer entertainment for their families.

After playing its final game last week, the team is carrying real momentum as it heads into its first off-season, the Carrizales brothers believe. Here's how they got here.

Getting down to business

So what did it cost to start a soccer team?

The Carrizales brothers paid $20,000 for a spot in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), which has grown to be the largest national soccer league in the U.S. Soccer development pyramid, with new teams continually joining over the last decade.

They then determined they'd need $100,000 to $120,000 to cover startup costs and rolling team expenses over the first season — things like travel, gear and housing for some of the players, none of whom are paid, Richard Carrizales said.

To put enough money together, they solicited investments from family and friends, he said. The brothers' parents are part owners of the team, but the ownership does not extend outside the family.

That fits with the plan Marco and Richard envisioned — working together on the business side of sports.

"It's been a dream to work with my brother, who I love and trust," Richard Carrizales said. "We have a good yin and yang — I'm a perfectionist, and he likes to move really fast."

Other news: Camperdown apartments: Renderings released for downtown Greenville residential tower

Those complementary traits have served them well, both in personality and skill set.

Marco is a recent Furman University graduate with a communication studies degree. He had a brief career in Major League Soccer with FC Dallas that he decided to end after a knee injury. He describes himself as the "idea guy" with a more visible role, securing sponsorship deals from Greenville Health System, Spinx, local utility company Holmes Underground and 13 Stripes Brewery, and looking for other partnerships within the community.

"I feel like I'm constantly researching, 'OK, what's our next move?'" he said.

On the other side, Richard brings hands-on experience in local government and business management, coming from a job with the city of Dallas's economic development department where he consulted with small business owners on how to grow. He handles graphics and website design, and manages schedules and financial operations.

"We had a lot of the pieces we needed already in house," Richard Carrizales said. "We were able to bootstrap it and make something out of nothing."

Like any startup, they aren't just the owners and front-office executives. They do the team's laundry, take players to the doctor, pack and ship merchandise orders and help out wherever needed during games, whether that's filling in at the concession stand or operating the online livestream game broadcast.

"You get to wear multiple hats," Richard Carrizales said. "You take sports out of it, and it's just like any other small business."

Greenville was ready

What's a business without a market interested in buying its product? In Greenville, Marco and Richard saw a community hungry for a higher level of soccer.

"Even though people consider this football country," Richard Carrizales said. "A lot of these colleges up here through the Carolinas, they all have soccer programs."

The brothers think that provides the infrastructure for soccer to thrive here, especially Marco, who looked around the Upstate after his playing career at Furman and didn't see any post-collegiate opportunities for all the players in the area. The pipeline for player development he was familiar with from growing up in Dallas didn't exist here.

"There was always something here that was lacking and that was outside your Furmans and Clemsons and Woffords and USC Upstates, like, what's that next step for players?" Marco Carrizales said. "If we did it right, I think it would catch fire and kind of be something that was really successful."

It didn't take long for them to see they were onto something, with sales of about 400 season ticket packages and a season launch party that drew more than 400 people to 13 Stripes Brewery.

"From day one, literally, when we launched the club, we had people reaching out saying they wanted to help out, they wanted to volunteer, saying they wanted to form a supporters group," Marco Carrizales said.

Chris Ashley was one of those people. He co-founded the team's supporters group, dubbed "Mill Town Operatives," inspired by Greenville's history as a mill town, and also started a podcast chronicling the team called "Yeah, THAT Soccer Show."

And he wasn't alone. Jason Gillespie and his two soccer-playing boys were energized by nearby Atlanta United's foray into Major League Soccer in 2017, but were even more excited to have a team to watch in Greenville.

"These two guys, they made it happen," said Wes Yates, who's been yearning for a local soccer team since he moved to the area in 2005. "They brought a collective unknown dream to us."

'Greenville til I die'

The thought process behind the team was always, "How do we make it Greenville's team?" Marco Carrizales said.

They were very intentional with the development of the Greenville FC brand, calling season ticket buyers "Founding Members" of the club and hashtagging social media posts and graphics with "Greenville til I die" or #GTID.

"How do you build a club that's supported no matter what the result?" Marco Carrizales said. "How do you keep people coming back and how do you build such a strong connection that results at the end of the day don't really matter?"

A focus on creating a strong brand and tailoring it specifically to their market has been key to the success of Greenville FC so far, the brothers said. They wanted people in Greenville to feel like they were part of a larger soccer community, and fans embraced that grassroots ethos.

Ashley and Yates both cited Marco's humility and approachability as an owner, and said they've really felt like they were part of the formation of the club.

"He makes us feel like we're part owners in this team," Ashley said.

That's helped create a strong fan experience, Alex Brotherton said.

"They're not too big for themselves," he said, noting that they come out and interact with the fans and are part of the community that has formed around Greenville FC.

Building something sustainable

While the team narrowly missed a playoff berth with a tough road defeat in its final game, Marco and Richard hope they've laid the foundation for their team to have success for years to come.

"The entire journey of getting something started, to seeing it come to life and people wearing your T-shirts and waving your scarves … it's such a cool and rewarding thing to see,” Richard Carrizales said.

They point to successes such as having more than 2,000 people fill the stadium for the team's home opener, selling about 400 season ticket packages and the team providing a stepping stone for several players wanting to move on to higher levels of soccer in their careers.

"I think it was a big success for everyone involved," Richard Carrizales said. "We're just looking to continue to build on that and make sure we don't get content and sit back."

There's work to do and room to grow. They're in the black with a positive cash flow, but they still aren't able to really pay themselves anything yet, Richard Carrizales said.

They're aiming to upgrade the livestream quality and find other ways to improve the fan experience, like potentially offering fan input on the next set of team jerseys.

"Now that we have a full off-season, if you will, to really fine-tune things," Richard Carrizales said, "I think you'll see a lot improved and better product coming around from us next year."

The kickoff of year two in 2019 is a long way off, but this was never just about wins and losses – the brothers want Greenville FC to "provide the scaffolding" for soccer to grow here, Richard Carrizales said.

There will be soccer clinics, FIFA tournaments and other events coming down the line, like the World Cup Final watch party the team's hosting on Sunday.

"We're going to continue to bring people together," Richard Carrizales said. "That's really what it was always about, building a community around the sport of soccer."

And that's what makes a team truly belong to a place, he said.

"If you can capture that spirit, the true soccer and football spirit, and kind of bring a piece of that here," Richard Carrizales said. "Then you have the ability to make it about the city and make it the city's team."

Related: Where to watch the World Cup Final in Greenville

You can connect with Gabe on Twitter @gabe_cavallaro or at facebook.com/cavallarogabe.