In the end, the culprit, as it often is, was bureaucracy. Paperwork, red tape, rules, regulations and TPS reports.



More precisely, it was insurance.



Detroit City FC, the semi-pro soccer club that plays before raucous crowds of more than 6,000 fans a match in a ramshackle Depression-era stadium, for years has planned to turn professional in a league of like-minded clubs.



It was finally going to make that pro turn this summer with a one-off cup tournament followed by participation in a new professional league next year, but insurance problems squelched those plans and forced a reboot.



Le Rouge, as Detroit City is nicknamed, has struggled to manage growth within the confines of the amateur National Premier Soccer League’s short summer season, where DCFC has played since forming in 2012. It needs more matches to increase revenue and to sate a fan base that can’t get enough of its beloved maroon and gold, club owners say.



Last fall,...