After the news broke this morning that Stumptown AC would be returning to NISA, there were a lot of questions generated by fans and journalists alike about the status of the club. The club was apparently going to be owned and operated by the league, which was a first of a kind moment for NISA. So we reached out to the league and league Commissioner John Prutch was nice enough to chat with our own Dan Creel about the situation and some of the specifics of what the future holds for NISA and Stumptown.

Apparently the Stumptown situation happened because both 1904 FC and Stumptown took massive losses due to issues around the pandemic. Both clubs had intentions of returning for Spring, but it became obvious that Stumptown's ownership was going to struggle in getting back to the field. The situation was dire enough that the team decided not to proceed. NISA decided to support the Charlotte market and brought in fresh capital and leadership. The goal is that the team in charge at Stumptown will lead to a successful year for the club and attract a new investor. It’s a move meant to preserve the market for another owner to come along. It’s only short term to serve the local market.

While fans may see the club as a continuation of the original Stumptown, NISA views this club as a brand new club. The ownership of the “old club” covered all liabilities and NISA founded a “new club” which happened to have a very similar name. The goal was to have live soccer being played to make the club more attractive to potential buyers. The league hopes to get Stumptown back in action, show the club can perform on and off the pitch, and then bring in new ownership. In fact, the league is already in talks with several potential investors.

Some fans have questioned what the difference was between this market and others that have either folded or gone apparently dormant. Prutch highlighted that this situation was different due to the timeframe, which allowed the league to construct a plan, one that would succeed in the short AND long term. And while some have asked about Atlanta, Prutch mentioned that the Atlanta group is only taking time off for stadium development. The club is still live and will be part of NISA moving forward.

Some argued that the league owning one of the clubs runs contrary to the principles of the league and, currently, Stumptown is borderline a franchise. Prutch refuted this idea entirely. The league’s approach is entirely temporary and only till NISA can find a new owner that will support the club. Generally, NISA’s goal is to support its clubs in anyway it can to ensure that the league doesn't go into a market and all of a sudden disappoint fans when a club has to fall out. While this hasn’t happened as of yet, NISA will do everything it can to maintain the markets it has.

From the league perspective, there’s a lot going on in the Charlotte area right now. MLS is moving in but still establishing itself. The league sees the area as similar to Chicago (though there are plenty of differences) in that with great leadership, the club can make significant inroads in a crowded market. Prutch believes NISA can carve out a niche. And the proximity of Stumptown to current NISA stalwart, Chattanooga FC, certainly played a role in the decision making process. The league’s hope is that a derby develops in the triangle when Atlanta does come back (Atlanta, Charlotte, Chattanooga). Not to mention the other prospects in the southeast should create great regional rivalries.

In other news, the league is very excited for the upcoming Spring tournament in Chattanooga and has a major branding release to announce next week along with the Spring regular season schedule. The plan for fans to be present at the Spring Championship in Detroit. The goal is to get through the pandemic and get in front of fans again. Fall will bring two new clubs. Two more clubs are also expected to join for the Spring 2022 season.

Massive thanks to John Prutch for talking to us and Dan Creel for doing the listening/note-taking.

- Dan Vaughn