Ahead of Loudoun United’s home finale with Pittsburgh, I had the chance to spend some time with Doug Raftery, the team’s Executive Business Officer, to discuss the team’s continued off-field growth as they continue to explore ground as an independent USL side (Note: this interview has been slightly edited for clarity).

District Press: What’s it been like this year for your group in general?

Doug Raftery: Yeah, I feel like we had a really good year. This was the first year with a full offseason with Attain Sports, and that has been amazing. I think that their support with some of the changes that we made off the field with the enhancements from Capelli (uniform provider) to Seat Geek (ticketing), DC News Now (broadcast partner), all of that was was influenced by being an independent club and acting that way. So I think that we’ve seen a lot of success with those partnerships and have been pretty proud of where we’ve gotten to in what’s been a pretty short timeframe, certainly since Attain Sports took majority ownership, but also in what is now my third season.

DP: What has been notable for you in terms of what (Attain) has put into the to the enhancements, and any other aspects of your area?

DR: I think it’s been just overall support. There’s a lot of staff support within Attain Sports, and across the Attain enterprise that we’ve been able to utilize from HR to Finance to IT, into the more nitty gritty of business analytics. There’s a data and business analytics data strategy team that works across Attain Sports, that we work hand in hand with that has been beneficial when it comes to learning more about (who’s) coming to our games. How are we targeting the correct demographics? How we can be mindful of how to get fans out more than than one game across the season, and using those data points to truly drive the growth of the organization, I think, has been some of the biggest of areas. They’ve been very influential in the introduction of product for connections that exist around the community, with people who they know, and introducing those people to their first games, and then those people introduce their friends and family and coworkers to additional games, and it’s a little bit of a domino effect. Certainly the business that has come out of all that which is added to the success of the club.

DP: What kind of surprises, either positive or negative, have you experienced over the course of the year that come to mind.

DR: I think so overall, we’ll end up with about 30% growth on the ticketing side. So overall, it’s been a good year. I think that when I first started here, we didn’t really have an identity of any of our teams in building out those games. And I think now, looking at the season, we’ve created five staple games, and we need to continue to add experiences to those games to make those even better. But in the end, the goal is to have 17 games of 1000s and 1000s of fans dedicated to the club. But I think that the five staple games (home opener, end of school bash, July 3, food truck festival), and we’re expecting a very good crowd for fan appreciation night and fireworks coming up on on Saturday. (So) the goal is to continue to increase those. Certainly would love to get to a sellout for those games as we move forward into 2025, and we very well may get there against Pittsburgh on Saturday, but I think that it’s the next layer, right? I think our next layer has been trying to solve what the community is really interested in and what type of themes and promotions. But as we’ve been more successful on the pitch, we’ve changed our tone from our messaging, our marketing, our social media, our reach out to your general soccer consumer and fan. And I think that is a opportunity for us moving forward, to just talk more about the soccer than than everything else. And knowing what soccer is in this area, I think that there’s likelihood that that continues to increase the business as wins continue to pile up in the table.

DP: You mentioned looking at the at the next layer. And I think from your Year One (2022) to Year Three (2024) I think attendance is just about doubled. And, you know, there’s, there’s kind of that rebirth of sorts. So do you figure in that kind of vision of a next layer when it comes to an off season wish list for yourself, or for the group?

DR: So there’s a few key areas going into 2025. Continuing to build our season member base is of critical importance. We are now having many more fans come out, 1,2,3 times per year, and working to find that commitment from the fan, to commit to a half season plan or a full season plan. And working with businesses as well, right in the community, there’s, there’s 100 plus ways that you can use season tickets as a business. So that’s really number one. I think number two is we’ve seen a lot of success in our premium offerings this year. We are extremely increased in our in our premium revenue. We’ve added some small things this year, some field level experiences that are field level tables, field level seating. We have a field level lounge that’s more of a mini group area that we’ve seen basically sell out every single game for what we have. So our goal is to increase our premium offerings and our experience and just our our business presence in the marketplace, I think is key for us. We’re just true believers. We recently, you know, our 2025 plan? You know, we’re using, several key attributes that represent Loudoun United anywhere and everywhere that we go, and as we beat the drum, moving forward into 2025, we need to continue to scream that we’re professional soccer and that we are close to home. We offer some high level premium experiences that you don’t have to go to the city for. It’s family friendly, and in the end, we are the community club, so focusing on those areas is a level that everyone across the organization is aware of, and one that we think can, can move the needle no matter who we’re talking to.

DP: We talked for a second before starting about the team being in a playoff run. And it’s been a little while for you on a professional level (2017 I believe! ed.) when it comes to like marketing a team in a playoff race. Have you noticed any changing dynamic from when you were doing it a few years ago. And if so, what it? Or is the lure of making the playoffs still appeal to the most common buyer?

DR: I think that if you’re a soccer fan, having, having your local club in the playoff race is, should be of interest, right? This Saturday should be a game that that you want to come to. I think from a marketing (and) social media side of things, we’ve certainly attempted to go all in on having our players ask for that community support. I think that it’s just a different feel (than) having players ask fans to (come out and) watch fireworks year ago. And I think the true message is, in Northern Virginia, this is your club, and come on out and support it. And I think from a player standpoint, what we do really well is the community side. Tthese players are part of the community. They live here. They obviously work here as professional soccer players. They coach here. They run training sessions. We’ve hit 16 different elementary schools this year for assembly programs and carpool initiatives. So they’re in it with the community. I think that the Loudoun United message, different than what I’ve done elsewhere in a playoff chase is ‘we will continue to be there for you, and we’re hopeful that you’ll be there for us for this Saturday and hopefully enjoy a playoff run hand in hand with us.’

DP: Was there anything you wanted me to ask that I missed, or was there anything else that you wanted to share ahead of the finale?

DR: I think it’s just like Ollie (Gage), our Director of Soccer said, our rallying call is out. We’re a little bit short of a sellout atmosphere, and would love to get there. It’s very near term at the moment, focusing on tomorrow, and as we’re able to progress into the playoff race next weekend in Charleston, watching that game and being a supporter and commenting on social media and being supportive of the club, I think, is part of what the what the fan is able to do, the connection that they’re able to have with the club, coming to watch parties and being part of something special in our backyard.

So we’re asking for support. That’s the biggest of things as we head into Pittsburgh, and as we go throughout hopefully, what is the next five week stretch or so? If you get in, you never know what can
happen.

Loudoun United hosts Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC at 6pm at Segra Field. As of this writing, tickets are still available.