Interview with Lansing Ignite VP Jeremy Sampson

On the heels of USL League One’s official announcement that Lansing Ignite FC is discontinuing operations after their inaugural season, we caught up with club vice president Jeremy Sampson to find out more.

Nipun Chopra: Let’s start with how are you doing? 

Jeremy Sampson: The feeling right now is emptiness and disappointment. This decision to cease operations was made by (Lansing Ignite owner) Tom Dickson. The owner is the ultimate decision maker. I’m devastated at the outcome as this team was something I spent six years building. And now it’s gone. 

 NC: Was this decision out of your hands?

JS: Absolutely, I didn’t have a say in the outcome of the organization. He’s the owner, I’m an employee. I handled the soccer side and the president handled the business side.

NC: Before we get into details, when did you know that the club was in trouble?

JS: The first signs were in late June, early July (2019).

NC: What were those signs?

JS: Front office folks were let go and their positions were not filled. I started to wonder what was going on.

NC: Did you bring that up with Tom Dickson?

JS: I would approximate that I haven’t spoken to him in three months. When we did communicate it was by text.

NC: Was your relationship always this way?

JS: Yes, from the very beginning. If there was information, it was routed via the president, Nick Grueser.

NC: How was your relationship with Grueser?

JS: Nick was great. We had a really good working relationship.

NC: Then why was there a lack of communication between yourself and the ownership for three months?

JS: That’s a question for Tom, I’m not sure why he didn’t reach out.

NC: Were expectations from ownership, such as attendance, unrealistic?

JS: Unrealistic is an interesting word. When you’re starting a business for the first time, you have to understand what you’re getting into. We had expectations that our attendance would be a little higher. But, we’re a smaller market and we had the third-highest attendance, so I’m not sure that was the issue.

NC: Why did Dickson not want Lansing to continue?

JS: Not comfortable answering that because I don’t know what his reasons are for not continuing past year one.

NC: Was Lansing Ignite just a way to get more revenue at the baseball stadium?

JS: I am not comfortable speaking to that. I know some changes were made to the stadium lease with the city to include soccer, but I honestly don’t know what his end goal was. 

NC: Let me ask again, why do you think Dickson ceased operations?

JS: I am told, this is second-hand information, that it was a financially motivated decision.

NC: Approximately how much money did Ignite lose in their first year?

JS: I have no idea. I was never privy to that information.

NC: Do you regret your decision to move Lansing United from the NPSL to League Two, which subsequently lead to the decision to go pro with League One?

JS: Six years ago, I had a dream of growing the game of soccer in the Lansing community. It turned into a grassroots club that was a contender in the NPSL. It captured the imagination of the city and my heart. As difficult as it is to watch it come to end, I’m proud that we had the opportunity to play as a professional team. I would rather have tried and failed than not to have tried at all.

NC: Would you do it the same way — making the switch from the NPSL?

JS: I would go the same route. In looking back, one of the biggest mistakes we made was that we rushed to go from League Two to League One. It was my recommendation to start in 2020. I remember Tom calling me and telling me good and bad news. Good: We had a pro franchise. Bad: We start in 2019. Announcing the franchise in late October and going through the process of building a team, franchise and front office staff is a Herculean task.

NC: Why did the team start in 2019 and not 2020 like you recommended?

JS: I was not told that information.

NC: Was it a league decision or ownership decision to begin in 2019 or 2020?

JS: I wasn’t privy to any discussions between league and ownership.

NC: Did you feel supported by the league through the process? Did they offer ideas on how to save the club?

JS: The league provided a lot of support. I had a lot of dealings with League One and League Two. There are people at the league office dedicated to help you increase ticket revenue. We implemented some of those strategies.

NC: What were some of those strategies to increase ticket sales.

JS: Here’s one I can think of. Another team in the (USL) Championship had a process they were using — take a single ticket buyer and turn them into a multiple-game ticket buyer and/or season ticket sales for the following year.

NC: Other than not rushing through the building process, what advice would you offer to other clubs?

JS: Each individual organization in each market will have to learn different lessons. What worked in Albuquerque doesn’t necessarily work in Lansing. We needed more time and more marketing to make this work. The staff you hire on the sales side is tremendously important; we were hit and miss on that staff. We had a staff member who was first or second in ticket sales in the league. We needed a few more like him.

NC: What have you learned personally?

JS: In our meetings with the players last Monday, my message to them — in your life, you’re going to have something that doesn’t go your way. You’re going to have struggles, obstacles. Through that adversity, you build character. This is an adverse situation in my professional career but it’s taught me so much in who I want to be as a person/employee/leader. A lot of people could look at it full of regret, I’m glad we took a shot. You have to have a belief in yourself in the way you do things and handle people and situations. You learn through mistakes than you do successes.

NC: What’s next for you and soccer in Lansing?

JS: I’m looking for a job and I’m not sure what my next endeavor will be. I’m going to keep the Lansing United women’s team going. The big question is regarding the Lansing United men’s team and to be honest, I don’t know the answer to that yet. I haven’t had any discussions with any league about a men’s team at this point.

NC: In your opinion, is what happened a Lansing-specific phenomenon or a larger issue with the league?

JS: Lansing-specific. If it was a wider phenomena, I think we would see more teams folding. Individual teams are different and there are owners putting in millions of dollars into their clubs such as Chattanooga, Greenville and South Tormenta. There are a lot of good things happening in League One.

Follow Nipun on Twitter: @NipunChopra7.

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