Lansing Ignite forward Ricky Lopez-Espin was banned and fined for, what is being reported as, anti-gay comments said to fans during a game on Saturday night. "We worked hard for many months alongside the team, the stadium and other stakeholders to build Michigan's first professional soccer team. Lansing Community College. Jeremy Sampson, the team's vice president and general manager, said the decision was Dickson's alone. The Lansing Ignite Football Club is no more. I would rather have tried and failed than to have never tried at all. "The owner of the organization is the ultimate decision-maker. "Lansing United's move to PDL comes with new rivalries, USL dreams", "Lansing Ignite USL pro soccer team likely to begin in downtown Lansing", "Lansing Ignite, new USL soccer club, gets go-ahead to play downtown", "Lansing Ignite FC Unveiled as USL League One Founding Member", "Lansing Ignite Soccer's First Coach, Nate Miller, Ready to Bring Championships to the City", "Lansing Ignite forms alliance with Chicago Fire, will host MLS team at Cooley Stadium", "Lansing Ignite wins inaugural match, 3–2, over Richmond Kickers in USL League One", "Lansing Ignite falls to Greenville Triumph, 1–0, in USL League One semifinals", "Lansing Ignite president: 'No further updates' about club's future until next week", "LAFCU Named Official Kit Sponsor of Lansing Ignite", "LIFC to Host Livonia City FC in Final 2019 Exhibition Match", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lansing_Ignite_FC&oldid=1001245817, Association football clubs established in 2018, Association football clubs disestablished in 2019, Football team templates which use American parameter, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Dickson did not go into specifics regarding how much money he lost, but he said revenue came at about half of what was expected. ", LIFC coach Nate Miller declined to comment to the State Journal, but he tweeted this afternoon, "I am really proud of our phenomenal young players who represented this city so well. [3], On October 25, 2018, USL League One officially announced Lansing Ignite FC as its ninth founding member team, to begin play in 2019. In a press release, Mayor Andy Schor said he was disappointed in learning that the Ignite had ceased operations. “We are extremely disappointed to make this announcement, and we know our fans will be disappointed too,” said Tom Dickson, owner of Lansing Ignite. People are going to come to what they want to come to. Lansing also didn’t do too badly at the gate for a new third division club and averaged 2,788 fans in 14 home games. Lansing Ignite FC was a professional soccer team based in Lansing, Michigan, United States. players and the team's supporters' group, the Assembly Line, had been told the team would fold, Why Lansing Ignite went belly-up – a look at what killed our pro soccer club, club would need an average home attendance of 4,000, lost in the semifinals, 1-0, to Greenville, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. "For this to be a financial decision, there's either some miscommunication or disregard for the facts regarding the finances," Fricke said. [5] On March 19, 2019, Lansing Ignite FC announced an affiliation agreement with Chicago Fire of Major League Soccer. "We were the ones grinding out the hours, putting our bodies on the line to build something for the city and we really thought we had a good product. Team President Nick Grueser said that the team would not give an update on the team's future until after the conclusion of the League One final. Led by Majority Owner Tom Dickson, President Nick Grueser and Vice President and General Manager Jeremy Sampson, the club becomes the only professional outdoor soccer team in Michigan. Tom Dickson made one thing clear: The decision to fold Lansing Ignite Football Club after one season came down to how much money the team was losing on a month-to-month basis. Sampson, who was the owner of Lansing United, said Lansing Ignite will elevate what Lansing United did for Lansing the last five years. Kirk is also a former professional soccer player, who most recently played for Lansing Ignite during their inaugural season. [2] On October 8, the city council unanimously approved the plans, which are expected to cost the city $1 million over the course of a five-year contract. Saint Joseph's University. In 2019, League One teams such as Lansing Ignite paid a $500,000 expansion fee while Championship teams paid $7 million, according to a Dallas News article from November 2018. 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