There’s been a lot of news surrounding the Hounds this week following their press conference on Tuesday. All of it very is exciting. It seems like every news article has a new nugget of information. So we’re going to consolidate the news from all over the web in a couple posts on here to make a one stop shop. It looks like it’s going to be a busy off season so we’ll do this periodically so that everyone is up to date.
I’m going to break this week’s news into two posts. On the field news, and off the field news.
Now for some off the field news!
Tuffy
The big off the field news from Tuesday is Tuffy Shallenberger becoming the majority owner of Highmark Stadium. The Hounds already brought Tuffy on as the majority owner of the Hounds mid season. This move solidifies his investment and dedication to the team. It also brings Highmark Stadium and the Riverhounds closer as one single entity instead of two separate ones. It should fix the disconnect between the two groups that we noticed last season. Everything we’ve heard out of the Hounds front office indicates Tuffy is, and will, do everything within his power to make the Hounds the best in the USL. Tuffy wants hardware, and Tuffy is going to get it. Many also see this as the first step for an MLS push.
In terms of making this jump and pushing ourselves in an alignment with the MLS at some point, we needed to make some changes on the ownership side,” Riverhounds CEO and former Duquesne player Jason Kutney said.
“He brings financial support to the club, but also from a visionary standpoint…he’s got ideas on how we can build this thing that us, as soccer brains, don’t necessarily see.”
Stadium Expansion
Besides owning the place Tuffy also has big plans for expansions and improvements at Highmark Stadium. From the PG article mentioned above-
Shallenberger wants to expand seating in the “Steel Army” supporters section at Highmark Stadium and eventually increase overall seating, as well. New sound equipment will be installed for next season, he said.
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And if attendance continues to increase, Kutney and Shallenberger would like to wrap the corners of the stadium with seating to resemble a bowl stadium, which could push capacity above 6,500.
The ultimate goal for the Hounds looks to be getting Highmark Stadium up to 7,000 seats.
“Overall, [a] bigger, more professional field,” Kutney said of his vision. “Our belief is that if we put a championship-caliber team on the field and we’re winning…we’re going to need every bit of 7,000 seats.
“That’s kind of the magic number for us and for our league, 7,000. If you can hit 7,000 and you can fill 7,000 consistently, you can then look at that next jump.”
Kutney was on the TribLive Radio Show today and reiterated the 7,000 goal. It sounded like once they get to 7,000 they’ll probably stay there. 7k is a good number for the Hounds and would put them at the top of the USL in attendance. They also don’t really need to go any bigger even if they have MLS aspirations (which they clearly do). All the USL clubs who jumped to the MLS averaged around there. There’s also the space issue at their current location, but that’s very much a future conversation for another time. The important thing to know is the Hounds have a 7-10 year plan with the MLS as the end game.
We haven’t heard any indication regarding when the supporters section will be expanded. It could be next year, it could be the year after. But the fact that they’re going to do it is a great sign.
Besides seating expansion per theSoccerObserver.com the Hounds also plan to build a team store in the stadium. It’s good to see something nicer going in than some fold out tables. Also, if they’re building a store then one could assume more and better merch is on the horizon.
Hounds on your TV
Something that wasn’t announced at the press conference, but was dropped by Kutney while on the TribLIVE show, is that the Hounds are looking to broadcast games on TV. If they’re able to do this it’ll be a great way to expose the Hounds to more people. The real question is if they can do away games too. I’m going to be at the games so watching on TV doesn’t really matter to me, but being able to watch away matches from the comfort of my couch sure is appealing.
Kutney also mentioned besides games they’d like to do some sort of programming that focuses on behind the scenes of the team, and shows off the players. I’d imagine they’re shooting for something like the Pens and Pirates do on ROOT. Probably won’t see it on ROOT because of how much overlap there is with the Pirates (and sometimes the Pens). I suspect if they are able to do this (and a big if… TV is expensive) you’ll see it on the CW or something.
Front Office Hirings
Finally, something neat to know. The Hounds are making some hiring moves to improve upon the front office. Earlier in October they hired a full time marketing person, and a full time sales / marketing person. Both these individuals worked for the Pens for a number of years, so they know what they’re doing. You’re not going to see press conferences for these moves, but it’s good to see the Hounds building a solid behind the scenes roster. I imagine there will be more of this the closer we get to the season.
Keep an eye on Twitter and Facebook for news as it happens. If you’re out of the loop check back here every so often for our recaps.
