July 24, 2025 • 37 mins
What happens when passion for soccer meets the explosive growth of Northwest Arkansas? Ross Cully, founder and CEO of Harvest Group and early investor in Ozark United FC, reveals the powerful vision behind bringing professional soccer to this dynamic region.
Ross shares his personal connection to the beautiful game, from youth leagues in Missouri to watching his former teammate Jack Jewsbury captain the Portland Timbers. That experience opened his eyes to soccer's unique ability to unite communities through an electric matchday atmosphere unlike anything else in American sports. As a father of four, Ross recognizes how younger generations embrace soccer differently than previous ones did, a demographic shift that makes this the perfect moment for professional soccer to thrive in Northwest Arkansas.
Beyond the business opportunity, Ross articulates how Ozark United FC represents something more meaningful: a chance to give back to a community that has given him so much. The club's vision extends beyond the pitch to create a vibrant destination combining soccer, housing, retail, and community spaces that will enhance Northwest Arkansas's appeal for current and future residents.
The success of this vision relies on community support at every level. Whether you're following social media accounts, purchasing merchandise, attending events, or exploring investment opportunities, each action builds momentum toward making professional soccer a reality in Northwest Arkansas. For those interested in contributing to this community-transforming project, Ross encourages reaching out with questions about sponsorship or investment.
Join us on this journey as we unite Northwest Arkansas through the beautiful game and create unforgettable sporting moments for generations to come.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Pitch to Pro is the official podcast of Ozark United
FC.
This will be our platform totell our story about the club
and the special place that wecall home, Northwest Arkansas.
This is a journey we want tobring you along for the ride.
We'll share what's going onbehind the curtain, help educate
the community at large aboutsoccer, our league, and give
(00:25):
updates on the progress of theclub along the way.
Together, we'll explore andunpack our journey to
professional soccer, the magicthat is NWA, our community, and
talk all things soccer from onthe pitch to behind the scenes,
telling the story of our club.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Pitch to Pro Podcast is proudly sponsored by
PodcastVideoscom byPodcastVideoscom.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
Podcastvideoscom is Northwest Arkansas' premier
podcast recording studio,equipped with industry-leading
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The recording studio andservices save you time, money
and hassle.
They are dedicated to helpingyou create, record and publish
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Be sure to check them out todayat podcastvideoscom.
(01:07):
Hello everybody and welcome backto the Pitcher Pro Podcast.
I'm your host, wes Harris,managing Director for Ozark
United FC Northwest Arkansas'professional soccer club playing
in the United Soccer League.
I am very pleased to welcomeback my very special guest, mr
Ross Culley, founder and CEO ofHarvest Group and Ozark United
Investor Ross, thank you so muchfor coming back and joining me
(01:28):
today.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
Really excited to be with you again.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
So last time we talked, you know, kind of growth
of NWA, how you got here andyour entrepreneurial journey,
some of the insights and lessonslearned and you know, funny
enough, parallels into startinga soccer club and there's so
much that I think we can draw inthe grit and the vision and we
(01:53):
talked a lot about that andwe'll dive in a little bit more
here.
But first I want to understandkind of sometimes some investors
are like I never really playedsoccer or don't have this
affinity for it, but I see thevalue in the asset class.
Where do you find yourself?
Did you find yourself involvedin soccer in any way before you
(02:14):
kind of heard about the projectand decided to invest?
Speaker 3 (02:17):
Yeah, thankfully there was not a tryout, you know
, but yes, I was familiar withsoccer before choosing to invest
, and so really my introductioncame as a kid.
My parents signed me up for arec program, ymca program in
Springfield, missouri, and sothat was my introduction, and my
dad was my coach in every othersport except for soccer and he
(02:44):
didn't know, know anything, andso maybe that correlated with
why that was my favorite sport,because all he could do is cheer
.
You know, for me, um, he was, I, I was a the typical coach's
kid.
You know they got the extra uhpoints on the drive home, but um
, but I know I fell in love with, with soccer, uh, and and was
able to play on a competitiveclub, and so we would travel
(03:05):
around and play tournaments inSt Louis and Kansas City and do
the show me game, state cup andand and just had a ton of fun
and uh made a lot of memories,like a lot of youth uh sports
families can relate to um,hanging at the hotel pool and
eating out and just having uhtime with friends that are your
(03:26):
teammates yeah, that's uh, Iknow you're.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
You just came back from, uh, from dallas, doing
that with with your family aswell, and I'm in the middle of
it with my son.
Uh, I am the coach, so I trynot to be that coach on the
extra points, but I know that myson would tell me that I do.
Uh, but no, that's great, Imean it's.
It's.
I always, you know, ask peoplethat question like how did you
(03:50):
find the game?
What's your experience withinthe game?
Um, and you know, either, as aplayer, parent, coach um, it's
always fun to hear those stories.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
Yeah, I think, uh, one of my favorite soccer
memories besides the thememories of my kids was I grew
up playing with a guy inspringfield, missouri, that that
made it to the mls oh, that'sgreat, his name is is jack
juiceberry, and uh, he was.
He went to slew to play hiscollege soccer and was drafted,
(04:20):
uh, in the early days of themlast, yeah, the kensley Wizards
and then made his way to thePortland Timbers and it was now
probably gosh 10 years ago thatI thought, you know, I got to
get up there and watch Jack playbecause he's probably going to
be retiring the next few years,and so I had a reason to be up
there for business and took mywife and my oldest son, jude,
(04:44):
who was, I think, six or sevenat the time, and we went and
caught a match and he ends upscoring.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Oh of course.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
And you know, for those that haven't been to a
Timbers game, just the Timbersarmy is, you know, kind of
unmatched in terms of some oftheir color and passion and just
the tradition of, you know,cutting off the tree for the
goal and uh, it was uhphenomenal and we got to hang
out with him afterwards.
He gave his captain uh band tojude and uh just had a
(05:13):
phenomenal experience.
But that was, I would say,where my eyes were open to the
passion, the fans and, um, justthe, the unmatched experience of
just being pulled in to asoccer match yeah, I I think
what a cool experience.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
By the way, and I remember uh jack and watching
many games with jack uh anddoing this at jack and I'm
shaking my fist for those thataren't watching and are
listening uh, because I was a dcunited fan growing up and he
was one of the best number sixesuh and holding midfielders uh
out there during his time, so uhfoiled many attacks.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
He uh, he had a great career and uh, yeah, they ended
up winning the mls cup.
Uh, when he was up there ascaptain for the timbers and I
think when he when he retired,he was among like the top 10
players Timbers, and I thinkwhen he retired, he was among
like the top ten players interms of number of matches
played I think over 300 in thelast and so he was one of those
guys that you know was in theleague in the beginning the
infancy, you know, and as wetalk about our project, you know
(06:17):
he was playing an arrowhead.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
And so you think about a fan experience, uh, of
early, early soccer interest andyou know midwest united states
in the you know early 2000splaying an arrowhead and then
seeing the portland experience.
I mean he was a local celebrity.
Yeah, the local brewery said,captain jack, you know special
(06:42):
edition brews and it was likeokay, and so for me as an
investor, that's actually areally important experience that
I think maybe not many inNorthwest Arkansas has actually
going to like a major match andjust feeling the energy, seeing
(07:02):
the passion that fans bring theof of people that it brings in,
because of how accessible aticket is from a price point
standpoint and just how unifyingit is for a community.
I mean just downtown portlandwas just buzzing, you know,
ahead of that match.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
Um, it was just, it was really special I think it's
such an important point and Ilove that you had that
experience yourself.
Um, as you know, even thoughyou kind of grew up playing the
game and you're a fan kind ofalready but even for fans, I
think I think that's the I wetalk about this all the time and
(07:43):
you hit it is it's such adifferent experience to anything
else in terms of as a fan and a, a just a, a participant, a
viewer and, uh, a matchgoer toattend a live soccer match in an
environment where you're notlike Jack had to play in the
(08:05):
5,000 people in 70,000 seatstadium where it's echoing from
players on the field in silence,uh, but more so, what you
experienced important, which issmaller stadium, but a packed
stadium and a very involved andpassionate fan base and
supporters group and all aroundyou can just sense the vibe is
(08:29):
just so different and when agoal is scored in a live soccer
match setting, it's like, unlikeanything else in pro sports,
live sports in that arena.
Speaker 3 (08:41):
Yeah, no, people go nuts.
And since then, mainly chasingmy kids, and so we play a lot of
sports in that arena.
Yeah, no, people go nuts.
And I, you know, since then, um, mainly chasing my kids, and so
we, we play a lot oftournaments in Kansas city, and
you know so.
I remember going to a sportinggame I think it was last year,
uh, my parents were in theirseventies or with us and I said
you know, we're going to gocatch a match, why don't you
come?
They're like I don't know, youknow, okay, you know.
(09:07):
So they end up going.
They talked about how much funthey had, how how great the
seats were.
You know I could see everything.
I was, I was right there.
You know they just went on andon about the experience and I
think they had in their head,you know, big NFL, you know like
arrowhead type of experience,and it just it blew them away
how unique it was and and wejust we just had a blast, so um,
so yeah.
So that that's kind of been myexposure to soccer.
(09:29):
I think it's been helpful to meto see that vision that we're
all aiming for, uh, to, to seeit, uh, it, and it realized.
You know, be that my experiencein Portland or Kansas City, I
think the other thing that'sbeen helpful to me as an
investor to kind of spot thistrend and believe in it is
(09:51):
seeing demographic changes,having kids that are you know 17
to 6, and see that what they'reinterested in from a sports
standpoint is different thanwhen my, my dad, was growing up.
It's different than when I wasgrowing up, um, in terms of
where soccer ranks in terms oftheir interest, the jerseys that
(10:14):
they own, uh, what they want togo watch, um, soccer is is, you
know, I think in a lot ofsurveys the number two youth
sport, and I think that'sprobably surprising to some
older generations that that'schanging.
But I kind of have been able tosee that, as my kids have been
(10:35):
involved in soccer, and so Ikind of put Portland, kansas
City, my kids together in mybelief in Northwest Arkansas and
I'm so bullish about this club.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
No, thank you, and that's such an awesome thing to
hear because it's, you know,being in it.
We hear about it, talk about itand, you know, throw the
numbers out, the stats and notpreach it.
But we say it a lot as we'regoing through the process,
whether that's potentialinvestors, partners, but to hear
(11:11):
it from someone that you knowkind of got to see, that
experience it themselves alreadybefore they ever met us, you
know was really cool to hearabout and you know-shared here.
But I think we I mean back toyour point on not sure a ton of
(11:33):
folks in northwest arkansas havehad the opportunity, just from
a proximity standpoint, I mean,the closest opportunity really
is fc tulsa, technically withinusl um, and then, you know, in
the type of stadium that we'retalking about, uh really is
sporting Kansas city uh, whichis three hours away, three and a
quarter Um, and is not alwaysnecessarily accessible.
(11:54):
I count myself fortunate to beable to, you know, be able to do
that right and go totournaments and things like that
and take the kids, um, and wehad, uh, the opportunity to kind
of take some uh NorthwestArkansas leaders and community
builders Uh, they were up inProvidence, rhode Island, in the
middle of June for, uh,something called the Congress of
(12:16):
the New, congress for the NewUrbanism, excuse me and it was
all about, I mean, it's cityplanning, essentially, and one
of the best stadiums that's inthe league is newly opened,
which is Rhode Island FC and isright there in Pawtucket, right
next to Providence, and so weasked them they were already
going to be up there.
(12:37):
We were like, hey, would youguys go to a game if we were
able to kind of coordinate thatand get that available for you
guys?
And we had about 20 of them,there was like 71.
The congress at cnu congressnew era, is being held in
northwest arkansas on 2026, sothat'll be really cool.
Yeah, um, and hopefully I've.
We have a lot more to kind oftalk about and and be able to
(12:59):
share it.
That, uh, that'll be really funand cool.
But about half of them had beento pro soccer in one way, shape
or another.
Another half probably had it.
But I think it was even morepowerful for me for listening to
the people that had been tosoccer before experience it,
(13:19):
because their bar for you knowkind of what's going to wow me,
what's going to, you know, I'veseen it.
Yeah, I know what to expect.
I feel like that was higherwithin that group.
I mean, yes, your first time toa pro soccer match, especially
in such an amazing stadium.
Shout out to the Rhode Island FCgroup and ownership team Thank
(13:40):
you guys so much for that tripand experience and for showing
us a good time in yourhospitality.
But yeah, you know, everybodywas kind of like that click,
like oh my gosh, wow, I had noidea, like soccer was this big,
this is great, this is so cool.
I love the environment.
But what was even moreimpactful for me, like I said,
was the people that had beenalready.
They were like this is so muchmore than I ever thought it
(14:01):
could be.
And that just is again one ofthose moments where, if you're
on your journey and we talkedabout it in the last episode of
those, I'm sure you had them oflike, where you're like oh man,
you may be in a trough and youhit that moment of you know I'm
reaffirmed, I'm re-energized,like let's go yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 3 (14:21):
You know, I I think another, um, another opportunity
we have to experience, that isis the, the, the late Razorbacks
and Coach Hale and the job thatColby's done, and so I mean
they're just perennial.
You know top five, top ten, andif you've gone to one of those,
you know NCAA tournament gamesor SEC tournament games.
(14:43):
Uh, well, I guess those areusually out of town, but, um,
the NCAA tournament games, it'sjust, it's an electric uh
atmosphere.
The team is phenomenallytalented incredible um, and so
you just imagine kind of thatlevel of soccer, but in a
stadium that's really designedto invite, you know, 5,000 or
(15:05):
plus of your closest, you know,friends and super fans.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
Um it, it really is a unique uh vision that I'm
excited about and I think I'm soglad you brought that up
because I think it's yet a yes.
If you haven't been, guys, ohmy goodness, you cannot ask for
like a better night out then,and you know it's not a knock on
them, inexpensive, my goodness.
The barrier to entry is, is andit's it's a shout out to the
(15:32):
Razorbacks for making it thataccessible, because it's an
incredible experience and such atalented team, perennially,
like you said, on the field top10.
But they're also a benchmarkfor somebody that is looking for
, you know, again,solidification of Northwest
Arkansas is ready for this.
Ozfc is where I'm going.
(15:53):
They're top 10 in the countryin attendance, like annually,
believe it, and they routinelypack in their 3,500 to you know,
upwards of 4,600 people forDivision I women's college
soccer in SEC football country.
That is just a testament A totheir program and what they've
(16:17):
done, but also a testament to areally encouraging benchmark for
what is to come and the levelof support that we do have for
the sport in the area.
Speaker 3 (16:28):
Yeah, it's definitely a proof of concept.
If you're an investor lookingfor uh, could that, could this
happen here?
Um can?
Can you have top performing topattending soccer in Northwest
Arkansas?
I would say we do uh on theNCAA uh level with coach Hale
and his team.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
Yeah, absolutely so, let's talk about it.
You yeah, absolutely so, let'stalk about it.
You, one of our early investors, took a chance and and and but
have a strong belief and, likeyou've said, you're very bullish
(17:08):
on on the thought about theopportunity and evaluated it.
I guess is is kind of aninteresting uh lens to kind of
you know, maybe take thediscussion for a minute.
Speaker 3 (17:17):
Yeah, you know, I think I got introduced to you
guys by a mutual friend, acoworker of mine.
Shout out to Mike Harvey, uh,who had worked with Chris before
and uh, and and so, as I heardabout it, I was like I want to
hear more and don't need tobelabor.
We've already talked about why.
I've had some experiences withsoccer, had seen pro soccer, and
(17:39):
I'm just bullish on this area.
And so as I, as I got to knowwhat you guys were, were focused
on, as I got to know warren,who, um, has done this what six
times, yeah, times, yeah, allaround the country, as I got to
know you and Chris, who lovethis area, who know this area,
and I thought about foundingteams.
(17:59):
Being a founder, being anentrepreneur, I loved the makeup
of your team as you describedhow you wanted to build the club
, how you wanted to build thebrand with your customer, with
your fan in mind, coming fromthe retail space, with market
(18:20):
research, with differentiterations of design, with lots
of different input.
You guys are using cutting edgeresearch techniques in order to
really come up with everythingfrom the name to the logo, to
the fan experience.
Um, it gave me the confidencethat you guys were were not just
people with pipe dream.
(18:41):
You know that had an idea oneday, um, but that you were
really going through this in amethodical, proven way.
Uh, that had the person thatyou're catering to, which is our
fans, at the center of what youwere building from a design
perspective, and so you knowthat gave me a ton of confidence
as well.
(19:03):
And then I'm an entrepreneurthat is familiar with risk enjoy
vision, uh, enjoy vision, uh.
And so when I envision whatthis will be at the end, uh, I'm
excited about what that willmean for our community.
Um, I'm excited to experienceit with my family.
(19:25):
I mentioned I have four kids,um, uh, and, and from an
investment standpoint, I believethat Northwest Arkansas will
continue to grow, and I thinkthis is something that will
appeal to a very broad economicbase in Northwest Arkansas,
(19:46):
every community in NorthwestArkansas.
I think there's the likelihoodthat it'll pull people that
travel to this area fromsurrounding communities that
don't have a professional team,and so I believe in the
long-term value creation that'sthere from an opportunity
standpoint.
And then, you know, for Kate, mywife Kate and um, we're at a
(20:09):
stage where Northwest Arkansashas given us so much, uh, both
personally, with our family, andprofessionally, um, we were so
excited to be part of a projectthat we can be proud of and say,
hey, we, we helped get thisthing off the ground.
Um, and it's something that alot of people can enjoy.
Um and uh, and sports issomething that really puts a
(20:31):
community on a map.
It's something that canrepresent an area, and we would
love for Northwest Arkansas tocontinue to be represented in a
positive way nationally.
As citizens here, as anemployer here, we want to
continue to see NorthwestArkansas shine on a bigger stage
(20:51):
, and we think this can play asmall part in that.
Speaker 1 (20:55):
I think that it's such a cool thing to hear back,
because that's part of why Ijumped in, not as an investor,
but as someone that took apretty significant professional
risk.
You invested, you invested.
I invested not money butprofessional risk.
(21:15):
I had a long upward trajectorycareer within CPG and yet I'm
beyond fortunate to have beenoffered this opportunity, but it
for sure is a risk.
But it for sure is a risk, um,and it part of my why is I want
(21:39):
to do good through soccer andgive back.
The second kind of iteration ofthat is give back to a community
that, even though I'm not fromhere, I call home and has given
me so much.
Two of my three kids were bornhere, met my wife here, and
really cool to hear back fromyou that it's, yes, an
investment in the club andhelping that go, but it's also
(22:01):
an investment in the community,and I think that that's such an
important piece for people tohear because I think that,
especially within the USL, theclubs are so interwoven into the
fabric of the community andpart and such active members of
the community um, in everythingthat they do, as you said, with
(22:24):
the customer or the fan, are ourneighbors.
Uh, as you know, the reason andthe why behind what we do, and
so I think that that's also abit of a a differentiator for me
for.
But also soccer in the formthat we have, that's very
grassroots-oriented in the USL.
Speaker 3 (22:43):
Yeah, and you know some people might hear give back
and, oh, this is charitable.
My wife and I have a verydifferent charitable strategy.
I think it can be give back andan investment and uh and so um,
an investment that's actively,positively contributing to our
(23:05):
community.
And but it is an investment andit's it's it's a unique asset.
It's not an asset, um, thatprobably a lot of people are
familiar with.
I had to do my research tounderstand it better and get
some wise counsel on that.
But I think for somebody who'slooking for a particular type of
(23:26):
asset, it can play a great rolein a financial strategy and
have the benefit of contributingpositively to the community.
And so that's what reallyattracted Kate and I to jump in.
Speaker 1 (23:40):
I think it's such a good distinction too, and I'm
glad that you did it.
And, yes, it's giving back, butI mean it's an investment for a
reason and it's because andyou're also seeing a ton and
this goes into again we can getinto a Wall Street type-esque
podcast here, but you're seeinga ton of investment into sports
(24:06):
right now.
There's a lot of transactionshappening.
We mentioned the LA Lakers lastepisode.
There's just the whole Wrexhamphenomenon with Ryan Reynolds
and Rob McElhenney, and there'sa reason for that.
Like, yes, it's, it's, it'sthey're, they're helping a
community, all of those things.
(24:28):
But you know, don't let anybodyfool you, they're, they're.
Also, they have a very smartand strategic investment
strategy behind that, and so Ithink that that's also to your
point.
I mean, it sounds like you didyour research and got some
counsel, and sports is an assetclass, like it's a place that
you can invest in and definitelymake a return but also have.
(24:51):
I think it's so special becauseit's a vehicle that you can do
so much good with as well.
Speaker 3 (24:56):
For sure, and I think what I've experienced about our
area is there's some verypopular asset classes and
they've given great returns overthe last 20 years Land, you
know things that are, that arephysical.
There's collateral.
It's easier to understand.
I'm in a service business andI've gone through, you know, my
(25:21):
own entrepreneurial journey ofworking with different banks.
To describe what I do with abusiness that's more about
knowledge and a knowledgeeconomy and less about physical
assets.
And so when you think about riskand collateral and what could
this be worth, land is very easyto get and see, but I think
(25:43):
when we're in a knowledgesituation or a service-based
business or you know, dare I say, movement, you know with the
Ozark United, it's harder totouch and feel that and
understand the value of that.
And so, to me, studying broadlyacross different sports,
(26:04):
different levels, to see themovement of valuation across
sports franchises gave me theconfidence to invest here.
But it takes vision because itwill be an intangible movement.
It'll be a pride in this club.
It will be seeing, uh, thisfamily from that community that
(26:27):
you didn't think would show upin this community, this family
from another community sittingnext to that and all cheering
for the same club and buying youknow the merch at the store and
then seeing you know as I thinkmost people that are here will
recognize the tremendous amountof sponsorship opportunities
where we punch well above ourweight as a size of community.
(26:53):
For me, coming from that CPGretail space, I can clearly see
that those are the revenuesources in this enterprise it's
ticket sales, it's merge salesand it's going to be the
sponsorships, and so I just seethat and sorry I keep going on,
but I believe it.
(27:15):
And when you look at the recentpivot, it's beautiful because
it matches that kind ofintangible movement and spirit
investment in sports that manyof us are less familiar with,
With that physical asset,tangible collateral of land and
development that we all can seejust driving around Northwest
(27:40):
Arkansas and know that we needmore housing, we need more
apartments and more condos andvarious you know size real
estate that people can accesshere.
And if I can go back to my 20s,if I'm picking where to live,
if I could live down the streetfrom a professional soccer
complex that's surrounded by youknow shopping and restaurants
(28:02):
and everything, I think I mightpick that.
Speaker 1 (28:05):
Yeah, it's going to be.
You know, the vision for, again, vision we keep using that word
but I mean is to be thatdestination, that hub, that
lifestyle center that you know,community placemaking, uh, you
know, destination, um, and Ithink you hit it spot on it's.
It's kind of symbolic of, youknow, and much more
(28:28):
representative of of the, of thearea in which we're building
this in Northwest Arkansas andand kind of you know, yes, you
have incredible adding a newentertainment thing, more things
for people to do.
You know 60% of the populationis not from here, they're used
to pro sports, they've seensoccer, um, but also this need
and understanding for combiningthat with a, an asset class that
(28:53):
people can kind of be a littlebit more comfortable with,
perhaps, and understand anddefinitely can, can latch onto.
But also, how do we, you know,add to and be contributive to
the growth of the area andproviding solutions for housing,
for placemaking, for, you know,creating this vibrant district
(29:14):
and destination for folks toenjoy?
Speaker 3 (29:16):
Yeah, Again, I think it's.
It's just a beautiful marriageof that knowledge base movement
type asset with the physicalassets we've got in this
development.
That make it really exciting.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
I think let's pivot as we kind of get to a little
bit of a close here.
What are you most lookingforward to for for the club and
Ozark United?
Speaker 3 (29:45):
Yeah, I think my vision mentioned it.
You know just kind of themoments you have at a match.
You know when a goal is scored.
You know my boys uh we were inKansas City.
Uh you know the the Golden Cupsgoing on in the US, you know
won in penalties and I mean justgoing crazy.
You know together and and justhaving those moments, I'm just
excited to look around thestadium and see Ozark United as
we kind of cheer for our club todo special things.
(30:09):
It'd be known on a broaderstage and I think that that
would be really cool for us touh to represent our community in
a more broad way you, you kindof hit on it.
Speaker 1 (30:30):
I mean there's, you know, if the league and and gets
all its ducks in a row, this,this Division I league and
promotion and relegation, youcould have a little bit of a
Wrexham story here.
Not quite as many levels asthey've kind of caused, but we
don't have to go as far, butit's kind of this really neat
thing.
And then once you're at thatlevel, you start to then be
(30:52):
eligible for the internationalstages and tournaments and
things like that, like theCONCACaf Champions League and
all of those fun things.
And to your point, northwestArkansas and our club and our
community get to be.
You know, there's the potentialright for that type of stage to
be on and to compete at, andit's just there's so many cool
(31:12):
things.
But I kind of share your.
You know what are you excitedfor?
I mean first match.
I know I'm going to ball like alittle kid, but it's going to
just be just this overwhelmingjoy that this is happening in
NWA and to see it to fruition.
But also I tell people, youknow what will?
(31:35):
I think it was actually ourmarketing agency when we started
going through this.
Brett parker asked us thequestion of like, how do you
know?
If somebody were to ask you,like you were to tell me this
project was successful, whatwould you say?
And I'm curious to hear yourthoughts and I'll um, I'll give
you mine, but I think that's afun question.
Speaker 3 (31:55):
It is a fun question yeah, for me I think it's.
It's all in our name isactually seeing our community
United again across all thedifferent origin stories where
people came from, whether that'saround this country or around
the world, and at leastincreasingly, we have a global
group of neighbors here inNorthwest Arkansas, across
(32:18):
Solemylum Springs andBentonville, fayetteville and
just across.
All of us just coming togetherto to cheer for one club and, um
, I just think that thatprofessional soccer offers, um,
just beautiful moments to bringus all together.
I'm excited for that, for that,that's what I think would make
this successful.
Speaker 1 (32:38):
The beautiful game man, uh, I love that.
My, mine was, um is veryspecific and it's kind of like
walking down the street, uh, oneday or or after a match, and I
had, I had this vision of of alittle kid and it was their
first time at a professionalsoccer match and just being this
(33:03):
biggest smile on their face andcan't stop talking about it and
the experience and gettingsomeone, a little kid, that
experience into the game in sucha positive way and having that
type of experience.
I got to have that as a a kid.
So if I can do something thatallows for that to happen, just
for one, um, you know, a littlekid, special kid, then uh, and,
(33:27):
and pass it on a little bitthere, that's, that's my, that's
my.
Yes, we've, we've succeededhere that's gonna happen uh
happen.
I truly hope so and believe so.
Uh, ross, before we leave, Iguess, if you were to have,
maybe, a call to action forpeople listening, um, whoever
(33:48):
they may be and whatevercapacity they may be, in terms
of you want to find out moreabout the club or you want to
support the club, like what,what would you say to them?
Speaker 3 (33:58):
Yeah, I think, uh, you know at the stage that we're
at every single action matters.
So if, if, somebody islistening to this and they're
like man I, I hope, I hope theymake it, I hope that I hope this
happens Um, and they're not, uh, going to be in a position to
be an investor, um, that personcould go out and really
(34:23):
contribute to the momentum thatwe have in the club by following
us on social media, buy somemerch, just whatever is at the
level that they're comfortablewith.
The more we can show theinvestment community that this
area wants this, the better andthe better chance we have of
this happening.
And so, um, I saw the other daya guy running down the street
(34:43):
with an ozark united t-shirt.
I'm like that's what we needmore of, and that does take
vision, because it's like wedon't have a team yet.
Yeah, yeah, uh, but going to buymerch, following us, I think is
key.
Um, if you're a business leaderhere and you're in a you, you
know you guys have budget forsponsorships, maybe sponsor the
Razorbacks, or you know highschool athletics here and you're
(35:04):
interested reaching out andexpressing like, hey, I want to
know more.
That kind of momentum ishelpful to us as we talk with
investors, and then I thinkthere's inevitably going to be
local entrepreneurs and localpeople here that say, hey, I
actually want to learn moreabout becoming an investor.
(35:25):
Reach out and look, there's nosilly questions.
I have never invested inprofessional sports, so I have
never invested in professionalsports, wasn't on my radar,
wasn't on my life plan, and soif you're just a bit intrigued,
reach out and so those arethings that are helpful for us
(35:53):
as we gain momentum in theseearly stages and that signal to
those investors that areevaluating this that this area
wants this.
Speaker 1 (35:59):
I think it's such a great message and showing up to
events and even council meetingswhen those happen we don't have
any on the docket right now,but any way that you can express
man, we want this, thiscommunity needs this, deserves
this and we want it to happen toyour point.
(36:21):
I think it's that movement thatthe bigger it gets, the more
de-risked the project becomesand a potential investor or
corporate sponsor or whateverthat is can see that and say
they've got something here and,man, that looks more interesting
(36:43):
.
We should find out more.
So I really appreciate thatmessage for everybody and just
thank you again for believing inus and the vision and the team
and the sport and this community.
Speaker 3 (36:57):
We are privileged to be a part and excited for the
journey ahead.
Thank you, ross, that's goingto do it.
And this community?
We are privileged to be a partand excited for the journey
ahead.
Speaker 1 (37:01):
Thank you, ross.
That's going to do it for thisepisode of Pitch to Pro.
We hope you guys enjoyed it.
Be sure to catch all of ourepisodes at pitchtoprocom, or
look for Pitch to Pro on YouTube, spotify, apple or wherever you
get your podcasts.
For more content Until nexttime.
Cheers, northwest Arkansas.
Speaker 2 (37:16):
Thanks for joining us on this episode of the Pitch to
Pro podcast.
Be sure to tune in again in twoweeks for the next installment
and check out the Stoppage Timeseries for a recap of today's
episode.
Be sure to find us at Pitch toPro on YouTube, instagram and
everywhere you get your podcasts.
Until next time, northwestArkansas cheers.
Pitch to Pro is the official podcast of Ozark United
FC.
This will be our platform totell our story about the club
and the special place that wecall home, Northwest Arkansas.
This is a journey we want tobring you along for the ride.
We'll share what's going onbehind the curtain, help educate
the community at large aboutsoccer, our league, and give
(00:25):
updates on the progress of theclub along the way.
Together, we'll explore andunpack our journey to
professional soccer, the magicthat is NWA, our community, and
talk all things soccer from onthe pitch to behind the scenes,
telling the story of our club.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Pitch to Pro Podcast is proudly sponsored by
PodcastVideoscom byPodcastVideoscom.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
Podcastvideoscom is Northwest Arkansas' premier
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They are dedicated to helpingyou create, record and publish
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Be sure to check them out todayat podcastvideoscom.
(01:07):
Hello everybody and welcome backto the Pitcher Pro Podcast.
I'm your host, wes Harris,managing Director for Ozark
United FC Northwest Arkansas'professional soccer club playing
in the United Soccer League.
I am very pleased to welcomeback my very special guest, mr
Ross Culley, founder and CEO ofHarvest Group and Ozark United
Investor Ross, thank you so muchfor coming back and joining me
(01:28):
today.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
Really excited to be with you again.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
So last time we talked, you know, kind of growth
of NWA, how you got here andyour entrepreneurial journey,
some of the insights and lessonslearned and you know, funny
enough, parallels into startinga soccer club and there's so
much that I think we can draw inthe grit and the vision and we
(01:53):
talked a lot about that andwe'll dive in a little bit more
here.
But first I want to understandkind of sometimes some investors
are like I never really playedsoccer or don't have this
affinity for it, but I see thevalue in the asset class.
Where do you find yourself?
Did you find yourself involvedin soccer in any way before you
(02:14):
kind of heard about the projectand decided to invest?
Speaker 3 (02:17):
Yeah, thankfully there was not a tryout, you know
, but yes, I was familiar withsoccer before choosing to invest
, and so really my introductioncame as a kid.
My parents signed me up for arec program, ymca program in
Springfield, missouri, and sothat was my introduction, and my
dad was my coach in every othersport except for soccer and he
(02:44):
didn't know, know anything, andso maybe that correlated with
why that was my favorite sport,because all he could do is cheer
.
You know, for me, um, he was, I, I was a the typical coach's
kid.
You know they got the extra uhpoints on the drive home, but um
, but I know I fell in love with, with soccer, uh, and and was
able to play on a competitiveclub, and so we would travel
(03:05):
around and play tournaments inSt Louis and Kansas City and do
the show me game, state cup andand and just had a ton of fun
and uh made a lot of memories,like a lot of youth uh sports
families can relate to um,hanging at the hotel pool and
eating out and just having uhtime with friends that are your
(03:26):
teammates yeah, that's uh, Iknow you're.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
You just came back from, uh, from dallas, doing
that with with your family aswell, and I'm in the middle of
it with my son.
Uh, I am the coach, so I trynot to be that coach on the
extra points, but I know that myson would tell me that I do.
Uh, but no, that's great, Imean it's.
It's.
I always, you know, ask peoplethat question like how did you
(03:50):
find the game?
What's your experience withinthe game?
Um, and you know, either, as aplayer, parent, coach um, it's
always fun to hear those stories.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
Yeah, I think, uh, one of my favorite soccer
memories besides the thememories of my kids was I grew
up playing with a guy inspringfield, missouri, that that
made it to the mls oh, that'sgreat, his name is is jack
juiceberry, and uh, he was.
He went to slew to play hiscollege soccer and was drafted,
(04:20):
uh, in the early days of themlast, yeah, the kensley Wizards
and then made his way to thePortland Timbers and it was now
probably gosh 10 years ago thatI thought, you know, I got to
get up there and watch Jack playbecause he's probably going to
be retiring the next few years,and so I had a reason to be up
there for business and took mywife and my oldest son, jude,
(04:44):
who was, I think, six or sevenat the time, and we went and
caught a match and he ends upscoring.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
Oh of course.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
And you know, for those that haven't been to a
Timbers game, just the Timbersarmy is, you know, kind of
unmatched in terms of some oftheir color and passion and just
the tradition of, you know,cutting off the tree for the
goal and uh, it was uhphenomenal and we got to hang
out with him afterwards.
He gave his captain uh band tojude and uh just had a
(05:13):
phenomenal experience.
But that was, I would say,where my eyes were open to the
passion, the fans and, um, justthe, the unmatched experience of
just being pulled in to asoccer match yeah, I I think
what a cool experience.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
By the way, and I remember uh jack and watching
many games with jack uh anddoing this at jack and I'm
shaking my fist for those thataren't watching and are
listening uh, because I was a dcunited fan growing up and he
was one of the best number sixesuh and holding midfielders uh
out there during his time, so uhfoiled many attacks.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
He uh, he had a great career and uh, yeah, they ended
up winning the mls cup.
Uh, when he was up there ascaptain for the timbers and I
think when he when he retired,he was among like the top 10
players Timbers, and I thinkwhen he retired, he was among
like the top ten players interms of number of matches
played I think over 300 in thelast and so he was one of those
guys that you know was in theleague in the beginning the
infancy, you know, and as wetalk about our project, you know
(06:17):
he was playing an arrowhead.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:22):
And so you think about a fan experience, uh, of
early, early soccer interest andyou know midwest united states
in the you know early 2000splaying an arrowhead and then
seeing the portland experience.
I mean he was a local celebrity.
Yeah, the local brewery said,captain jack, you know special
(06:42):
edition brews and it was likeokay, and so for me as an
investor, that's actually areally important experience that
I think maybe not many inNorthwest Arkansas has actually
going to like a major match andjust feeling the energy, seeing
(07:02):
the passion that fans bring theof of people that it brings in,
because of how accessible aticket is from a price point
standpoint and just how unifyingit is for a community.
I mean just downtown portlandwas just buzzing, you know,
ahead of that match.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
Um, it was just, it was really special I think it's
such an important point and Ilove that you had that
experience yourself.
Um, as you know, even thoughyou kind of grew up playing the
game and you're a fan kind ofalready but even for fans, I
think I think that's the I wetalk about this all the time and
(07:43):
you hit it is it's such adifferent experience to anything
else in terms of as a fan and a, a just a, a participant, a
viewer and, uh, a matchgoer toattend a live soccer match in an
environment where you're notlike Jack had to play in the
(08:05):
5,000 people in 70,000 seatstadium where it's echoing from
players on the field in silence,uh, but more so, what you
experienced important, which issmaller stadium, but a packed
stadium and a very involved andpassionate fan base and
supporters group and all aroundyou can just sense the vibe is
(08:29):
just so different and when agoal is scored in a live soccer
match setting, it's like, unlikeanything else in pro sports,
live sports in that arena.
Speaker 3 (08:41):
Yeah, no, people go nuts.
And since then, mainly chasingmy kids, and so we play a lot of
sports in that arena.
Yeah, no, people go nuts.
And I, you know, since then, um, mainly chasing my kids, and so
we, we play a lot oftournaments in Kansas city, and
you know so.
I remember going to a sportinggame I think it was last year,
uh, my parents were in theirseventies or with us and I said
you know, we're going to gocatch a match, why don't you
come?
They're like I don't know, youknow, okay, you know.
(09:07):
So they end up going.
They talked about how much funthey had, how how great the
seats were.
You know I could see everything.
I was, I was right there.
You know they just went on andon about the experience and I
think they had in their head,you know, big NFL, you know like
arrowhead type of experience,and it just it blew them away
how unique it was and and wejust we just had a blast, so um,
so yeah.
So that that's kind of been myexposure to soccer.
(09:29):
I think it's been helpful to meto see that vision that we're
all aiming for, uh, to, to seeit, uh, it, and it realized.
You know, be that my experiencein Portland or Kansas City, I
think the other thing that'sbeen helpful to me as an
investor to kind of spot thistrend and believe in it is
(09:51):
seeing demographic changes,having kids that are you know 17
to 6, and see that what they'reinterested in from a sports
standpoint is different thanwhen my, my dad, was growing up.
It's different than when I wasgrowing up, um, in terms of
where soccer ranks in terms oftheir interest, the jerseys that
(10:14):
they own, uh, what they want togo watch, um, soccer is is, you
know, I think in a lot ofsurveys the number two youth
sport, and I think that'sprobably surprising to some
older generations that that'schanging.
But I kind of have been able tosee that, as my kids have been
(10:35):
involved in soccer, and so Ikind of put Portland, kansas
City, my kids together in mybelief in Northwest Arkansas and
I'm so bullish about this club.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
No, thank you, and that's such an awesome thing to
hear because it's, you know,being in it.
We hear about it, talk about itand, you know, throw the
numbers out, the stats and notpreach it.
But we say it a lot as we'regoing through the process,
whether that's potentialinvestors, partners, but to hear
(11:11):
it from someone that you knowkind of got to see, that
experience it themselves alreadybefore they ever met us, you
know was really cool to hearabout and you know-shared here.
But I think we I mean back toyour point on not sure a ton of
(11:33):
folks in northwest arkansas havehad the opportunity, just from
a proximity standpoint, I mean,the closest opportunity really
is fc tulsa, technically withinusl um, and then, you know, in
the type of stadium that we'retalking about, uh really is
sporting Kansas city uh, whichis three hours away, three and a
quarter Um, and is not alwaysnecessarily accessible.
(11:54):
I count myself fortunate to beable to, you know, be able to do
that right and go totournaments and things like that
and take the kids, um, and wehad, uh, the opportunity to kind
of take some uh NorthwestArkansas leaders and community
builders Uh, they were up inProvidence, rhode Island, in the
middle of June for, uh,something called the Congress of
(12:16):
the New, congress for the NewUrbanism, excuse me and it was
all about, I mean, it's cityplanning, essentially, and one
of the best stadiums that's inthe league is newly opened,
which is Rhode Island FC and isright there in Pawtucket, right
next to Providence, and so weasked them they were already
going to be up there.
(12:37):
We were like, hey, would youguys go to a game if we were
able to kind of coordinate thatand get that available for you
guys?
And we had about 20 of them,there was like 71.
The congress at cnu congressnew era, is being held in
northwest arkansas on 2026, sothat'll be really cool.
Yeah, um, and hopefully I've.
We have a lot more to kind oftalk about and and be able to
(12:59):
share it.
That, uh, that'll be really funand cool.
But about half of them had beento pro soccer in one way, shape
or another.
Another half probably had it.
But I think it was even morepowerful for me for listening to
the people that had been tosoccer before experience it,
(13:19):
because their bar for you knowkind of what's going to wow me,
what's going to, you know, I'veseen it.
Yeah, I know what to expect.
I feel like that was higherwithin that group.
I mean, yes, your first time toa pro soccer match, especially
in such an amazing stadium.
Shout out to the Rhode Island FCgroup and ownership team Thank
(13:40):
you guys so much for that tripand experience and for showing
us a good time in yourhospitality.
But yeah, you know, everybodywas kind of like that click,
like oh my gosh, wow, I had noidea, like soccer was this big,
this is great, this is so cool.
I love the environment.
But what was even moreimpactful for me, like I said,
was the people that had beenalready.
They were like this is so muchmore than I ever thought it
(14:01):
could be.
And that just is again one ofthose moments where, if you're
on your journey and we talkedabout it in the last episode of
those, I'm sure you had them oflike, where you're like oh man,
you may be in a trough and youhit that moment of you know I'm
reaffirmed, I'm re-energized,like let's go yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 3 (14:21):
You know, I I think another, um, another opportunity
we have to experience, that isis the, the, the late Razorbacks
and Coach Hale and the job thatColby's done, and so I mean
they're just perennial.
You know top five, top ten, andif you've gone to one of those,
you know NCAA tournament gamesor SEC tournament games.
(14:43):
Uh, well, I guess those areusually out of town, but, um,
the NCAA tournament games, it'sjust, it's an electric uh
atmosphere.
The team is phenomenallytalented incredible um, and so
you just imagine kind of thatlevel of soccer, but in a
stadium that's really designedto invite, you know, 5,000 or
(15:05):
plus of your closest, you know,friends and super fans.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
Um it, it really is a unique uh vision that I'm
excited about and I think I'm soglad you brought that up
because I think it's yet a yes.
If you haven't been, guys, ohmy goodness, you cannot ask for
like a better night out then,and you know it's not a knock on
them, inexpensive, my goodness.
The barrier to entry is, is andit's it's a shout out to the
(15:32):
Razorbacks for making it thataccessible, because it's an
incredible experience and such atalented team, perennially,
like you said, on the field top10.
But they're also a benchmarkfor somebody that is looking for
, you know, again,solidification of Northwest
Arkansas is ready for this.
Ozfc is where I'm going.
(15:53):
They're top 10 in the countryin attendance, like annually,
believe it, and they routinelypack in their 3,500 to you know,
upwards of 4,600 people forDivision I women's college
soccer in SEC football country.
That is just a testament A totheir program and what they've
(16:17):
done, but also a testament to areally encouraging benchmark for
what is to come and the levelof support that we do have for
the sport in the area.
Speaker 3 (16:28):
Yeah, it's definitely a proof of concept.
If you're an investor lookingfor uh, could that, could this
happen here?
Um can?
Can you have top performing topattending soccer in Northwest
Arkansas?
I would say we do uh on theNCAA uh level with coach Hale
and his team.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
Yeah, absolutely so, let's talk about it.
You yeah, absolutely so, let'stalk about it.
You, one of our early investors, took a chance and and and but
have a strong belief and, likeyou've said, you're very bullish
(17:08):
on on the thought about theopportunity and evaluated it.
I guess is is kind of aninteresting uh lens to kind of
you know, maybe take thediscussion for a minute.
Speaker 3 (17:17):
Yeah, you know, I think I got introduced to you
guys by a mutual friend, acoworker of mine.
Shout out to Mike Harvey, uh,who had worked with Chris before
and uh, and and so, as I heardabout it, I was like I want to
hear more and don't need tobelabor.
We've already talked about why.
I've had some experiences withsoccer, had seen pro soccer, and
(17:39):
I'm just bullish on this area.
And so as I, as I got to knowwhat you guys were, were focused
on, as I got to know warren,who, um, has done this what six
times, yeah, times, yeah, allaround the country, as I got to
know you and Chris, who lovethis area, who know this area,
and I thought about foundingteams.
(17:59):
Being a founder, being anentrepreneur, I loved the makeup
of your team as you describedhow you wanted to build the club
, how you wanted to build thebrand with your customer, with
your fan in mind, coming fromthe retail space, with market
(18:20):
research, with differentiterations of design, with lots
of different input.
You guys are using cutting edgeresearch techniques in order to
really come up with everythingfrom the name to the logo, to
the fan experience.
Um, it gave me the confidencethat you guys were were not just
people with pipe dream.
(18:41):
You know that had an idea oneday, um, but that you were
really going through this in amethodical, proven way.
Uh, that had the person thatyou're catering to, which is our
fans, at the center of what youwere building from a design
perspective, and so you knowthat gave me a ton of confidence
as well.
(19:03):
And then I'm an entrepreneurthat is familiar with risk enjoy
vision, uh, enjoy vision, uh.
And so when I envision whatthis will be at the end, uh, I'm
excited about what that willmean for our community.
Um, I'm excited to experienceit with my family.
(19:25):
I mentioned I have four kids,um, uh, and, and from an
investment standpoint, I believethat Northwest Arkansas will
continue to grow, and I thinkthis is something that will
appeal to a very broad economicbase in Northwest Arkansas,
(19:46):
every community in NorthwestArkansas.
I think there's the likelihoodthat it'll pull people that
travel to this area fromsurrounding communities that
don't have a professional team,and so I believe in the
long-term value creation that'sthere from an opportunity
standpoint.
And then, you know, for Kate, mywife Kate and um, we're at a
(20:09):
stage where Northwest Arkansashas given us so much, uh, both
personally, with our family, andprofessionally, um, we were so
excited to be part of a projectthat we can be proud of and say,
hey, we, we helped get thisthing off the ground.
Um, and it's something that alot of people can enjoy.
Um and uh, and sports issomething that really puts a
(20:31):
community on a map.
It's something that canrepresent an area, and we would
love for Northwest Arkansas tocontinue to be represented in a
positive way nationally.
As citizens here, as anemployer here, we want to
continue to see NorthwestArkansas shine on a bigger stage
(20:51):
, and we think this can play asmall part in that.
Speaker 1 (20:55):
I think that it's such a cool thing to hear back,
because that's part of why Ijumped in, not as an investor,
but as someone that took apretty significant professional
risk.
You invested, you invested.
I invested not money butprofessional risk.
(21:15):
I had a long upward trajectorycareer within CPG and yet I'm
beyond fortunate to have beenoffered this opportunity, but it
for sure is a risk.
But it for sure is a risk, um,and it part of my why is I want
(21:39):
to do good through soccer andgive back.
The second kind of iteration ofthat is give back to a community
that, even though I'm not fromhere, I call home and has given
me so much.
Two of my three kids were bornhere, met my wife here, and
really cool to hear back fromyou that it's, yes, an
investment in the club andhelping that go, but it's also
(22:01):
an investment in the community,and I think that that's such an
important piece for people tohear because I think that,
especially within the USL, theclubs are so interwoven into the
fabric of the community andpart and such active members of
the community um, in everythingthat they do, as you said, with
(22:24):
the customer or the fan, are ourneighbors.
Uh, as you know, the reason andthe why behind what we do, and
so I think that that's also abit of a a differentiator for me
for.
But also soccer in the formthat we have, that's very
grassroots-oriented in the USL.
Speaker 3 (22:43):
Yeah, and you know some people might hear give back
and, oh, this is charitable.
My wife and I have a verydifferent charitable strategy.
I think it can be give back andan investment and uh and so um,
an investment that's actively,positively contributing to our
(23:05):
community.
And but it is an investment andit's it's it's a unique asset.
It's not an asset, um, thatprobably a lot of people are
familiar with.
I had to do my research tounderstand it better and get
some wise counsel on that.
But I think for somebody who'slooking for a particular type of
(23:26):
asset, it can play a great rolein a financial strategy and
have the benefit of contributingpositively to the community.
And so that's what reallyattracted Kate and I to jump in.
Speaker 1 (23:40):
I think it's such a good distinction too, and I'm
glad that you did it.
And, yes, it's giving back, butI mean it's an investment for a
reason and it's because andyou're also seeing a ton and
this goes into again we can getinto a Wall Street type-esque
podcast here, but you're seeinga ton of investment into sports
(24:06):
right now.
There's a lot of transactionshappening.
We mentioned the LA Lakers lastepisode.
There's just the whole Wrexhamphenomenon with Ryan Reynolds
and Rob McElhenney, and there'sa reason for that.
Like, yes, it's, it's, it'sthey're, they're helping a
community, all of those things.
(24:28):
But you know, don't let anybodyfool you, they're, they're.
Also, they have a very smartand strategic investment
strategy behind that, and so Ithink that that's also to your
point.
I mean, it sounds like you didyour research and got some
counsel, and sports is an assetclass, like it's a place that
you can invest in and definitelymake a return but also have.
(24:51):
I think it's so special becauseit's a vehicle that you can do
so much good with as well.
Speaker 3 (24:56):
For sure, and I think what I've experienced about our
area is there's some verypopular asset classes and
they've given great returns overthe last 20 years Land, you
know things that are, that arephysical.
There's collateral.
It's easier to understand.
I'm in a service business andI've gone through, you know, my
(25:21):
own entrepreneurial journey ofworking with different banks.
To describe what I do with abusiness that's more about
knowledge and a knowledgeeconomy and less about physical
assets.
And so when you think about riskand collateral and what could
this be worth, land is very easyto get and see, but I think
(25:43):
when we're in a knowledgesituation or a service-based
business or you know, dare I say, movement, you know with the
Ozark United, it's harder totouch and feel that and
understand the value of that.
And so, to me, studying broadlyacross different sports,
(26:04):
different levels, to see themovement of valuation across
sports franchises gave me theconfidence to invest here.
But it takes vision because itwill be an intangible movement.
It'll be a pride in this club.
It will be seeing, uh, thisfamily from that community that
(26:27):
you didn't think would show upin this community, this family
from another community sittingnext to that and all cheering
for the same club and buying youknow the merch at the store and
then seeing you know as I thinkmost people that are here will
recognize the tremendous amountof sponsorship opportunities
where we punch well above ourweight as a size of community.
(26:53):
For me, coming from that CPGretail space, I can clearly see
that those are the revenuesources in this enterprise it's
ticket sales, it's merge salesand it's going to be the
sponsorships, and so I just seethat and sorry I keep going on,
but I believe it.
(27:15):
And when you look at the recentpivot, it's beautiful because
it matches that kind ofintangible movement and spirit
investment in sports that manyof us are less familiar with,
With that physical asset,tangible collateral of land and
development that we all can seejust driving around Northwest
(27:40):
Arkansas and know that we needmore housing, we need more
apartments and more condos andvarious you know size real
estate that people can accesshere.
And if I can go back to my 20s,if I'm picking where to live,
if I could live down the streetfrom a professional soccer
complex that's surrounded by youknow shopping and restaurants
(28:02):
and everything, I think I mightpick that.
Speaker 1 (28:05):
Yeah, it's going to be.
You know, the vision for, again, vision we keep using that word
but I mean is to be thatdestination, that hub, that
lifestyle center that you know,community placemaking, uh, you
know, destination, um, and Ithink you hit it spot on it's.
It's kind of symbolic of, youknow, and much more
(28:28):
representative of of the, of thearea in which we're building
this in Northwest Arkansas andand kind of you know, yes, you
have incredible adding a newentertainment thing, more things
for people to do.
You know 60% of the populationis not from here, they're used
to pro sports, they've seensoccer, um, but also this need
and understanding for combiningthat with a, an asset class that
(28:53):
people can kind of be a littlebit more comfortable with,
perhaps, and understand anddefinitely can, can latch onto.
But also, how do we, you know,add to and be contributive to
the growth of the area andproviding solutions for housing,
for placemaking, for, you know,creating this vibrant district
(29:14):
and destination for folks toenjoy?
Speaker 3 (29:16):
Yeah, Again, I think it's.
It's just a beautiful marriageof that knowledge base movement
type asset with the physicalassets we've got in this
development.
That make it really exciting.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
I think let's pivot as we kind of get to a little
bit of a close here.
What are you most lookingforward to for for the club and
Ozark United?
Speaker 3 (29:45):
Yeah, I think my vision mentioned it.
You know just kind of themoments you have at a match.
You know when a goal is scored.
You know my boys uh we were inKansas City.
Uh you know the the Golden Cupsgoing on in the US, you know
won in penalties and I mean justgoing crazy.
You know together and and justhaving those moments, I'm just
excited to look around thestadium and see Ozark United as
we kind of cheer for our club todo special things.
(30:09):
It'd be known on a broaderstage and I think that that
would be really cool for us touh to represent our community in
a more broad way you, you kindof hit on it.
Speaker 1 (30:30):
I mean there's, you know, if the league and and gets
all its ducks in a row, this,this Division I league and
promotion and relegation, youcould have a little bit of a
Wrexham story here.
Not quite as many levels asthey've kind of caused, but we
don't have to go as far, butit's kind of this really neat
thing.
And then once you're at thatlevel, you start to then be
(30:52):
eligible for the internationalstages and tournaments and
things like that, like theCONCACaf Champions League and
all of those fun things.
And to your point, northwestArkansas and our club and our
community get to be.
You know, there's the potentialright for that type of stage to
be on and to compete at, andit's just there's so many cool
(31:12):
things.
But I kind of share your.
You know what are you excitedfor?
I mean first match.
I know I'm going to ball like alittle kid, but it's going to
just be just this overwhelmingjoy that this is happening in
NWA and to see it to fruition.
But also I tell people, youknow what will?
(31:35):
I think it was actually ourmarketing agency when we started
going through this.
Brett parker asked us thequestion of like, how do you
know?
If somebody were to ask you,like you were to tell me this
project was successful, whatwould you say?
And I'm curious to hear yourthoughts and I'll um, I'll give
you mine, but I think that's afun question.
Speaker 3 (31:55):
It is a fun question yeah, for me I think it's.
It's all in our name isactually seeing our community
United again across all thedifferent origin stories where
people came from, whether that'saround this country or around
the world, and at leastincreasingly, we have a global
group of neighbors here inNorthwest Arkansas, across
(32:18):
Solemylum Springs andBentonville, fayetteville and
just across.
All of us just coming togetherto to cheer for one club and, um
, I just think that thatprofessional soccer offers, um,
just beautiful moments to bringus all together.
I'm excited for that, for that,that's what I think would make
this successful.
Speaker 1 (32:38):
The beautiful game man, uh, I love that.
My, mine was, um is veryspecific and it's kind of like
walking down the street, uh, oneday or or after a match, and I
had, I had this vision of of alittle kid and it was their
first time at a professionalsoccer match and just being this
(33:03):
biggest smile on their face andcan't stop talking about it and
the experience and gettingsomeone, a little kid, that
experience into the game in sucha positive way and having that
type of experience.
I got to have that as a a kid.
So if I can do something thatallows for that to happen, just
for one, um, you know, a littlekid, special kid, then uh, and,
(33:27):
and pass it on a little bitthere, that's, that's my, that's
my.
Yes, we've, we've succeededhere that's gonna happen uh
happen.
I truly hope so and believe so.
Uh, ross, before we leave, Iguess, if you were to have,
maybe, a call to action forpeople listening, um, whoever
(33:48):
they may be and whatevercapacity they may be, in terms
of you want to find out moreabout the club or you want to
support the club, like what,what would you say to them?
Speaker 3 (33:58):
Yeah, I think, uh, you know at the stage that we're
at every single action matters.
So if, if, somebody islistening to this and they're
like man I, I hope, I hope theymake it, I hope that I hope this
happens Um, and they're not, uh, going to be in a position to
be an investor, um, that personcould go out and really
(34:23):
contribute to the momentum thatwe have in the club by following
us on social media, buy somemerch, just whatever is at the
level that they're comfortablewith.
The more we can show theinvestment community that this
area wants this, the better andthe better chance we have of
this happening.
And so, um, I saw the other daya guy running down the street
(34:43):
with an ozark united t-shirt.
I'm like that's what we needmore of, and that does take
vision, because it's like wedon't have a team yet.
Yeah, yeah, uh, but going to buymerch, following us, I think is
key.
Um, if you're a business leaderhere and you're in a you, you
know you guys have budget forsponsorships, maybe sponsor the
Razorbacks, or you know highschool athletics here and you're
(35:04):
interested reaching out andexpressing like, hey, I want to
know more.
That kind of momentum ishelpful to us as we talk with
investors, and then I thinkthere's inevitably going to be
local entrepreneurs and localpeople here that say, hey, I
actually want to learn moreabout becoming an investor.
(35:25):
Reach out and look, there's nosilly questions.
I have never invested inprofessional sports, so I have
never invested in professionalsports, wasn't on my radar,
wasn't on my life plan, and soif you're just a bit intrigued,
reach out and so those arethings that are helpful for us
(35:53):
as we gain momentum in theseearly stages and that signal to
those investors that areevaluating this that this area
wants this.
Speaker 1 (35:59):
I think it's such a great message and showing up to
events and even council meetingswhen those happen we don't have
any on the docket right now,but any way that you can express
man, we want this, thiscommunity needs this, deserves
this and we want it to happen toyour point.
(36:21):
I think it's that movement thatthe bigger it gets, the more
de-risked the project becomesand a potential investor or
corporate sponsor or whateverthat is can see that and say
they've got something here and,man, that looks more interesting
(36:43):
.
We should find out more.
So I really appreciate thatmessage for everybody and just
thank you again for believing inus and the vision and the team
and the sport and this community.
Speaker 3 (36:57):
We are privileged to be a part and excited for the
journey ahead.
Thank you, ross, that's goingto do it.
And this community?
We are privileged to be a partand excited for the journey
ahead.
Speaker 1 (37:01):
Thank you, ross.
That's going to do it for thisepisode of Pitch to Pro.
We hope you guys enjoyed it.
Be sure to catch all of ourepisodes at pitchtoprocom, or
look for Pitch to Pro on YouTube, spotify, apple or wherever you
get your podcasts.
For more content Until nexttime.
Cheers, northwest Arkansas.
Speaker 2 (37:16):
Thanks for joining us on this episode of the Pitch to
Pro podcast.
Be sure to tune in again in twoweeks for the next installment
and check out the Stoppage Timeseries for a recap of today's
episode.
Be sure to find us at Pitch toPro on YouTube, instagram and
everywhere you get your podcasts.
Until next time, northwestArkansas cheers.
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