(Editor’s note: This is the 14th installment in a weekly series spotlighting Rhode Island FC and Centreville Bank Stadium from a business perspective throughout the 2025 United Soccer League Championship season. To read past stories in this series, click here.) PAWTUCKET – Wanting Rhode Island FC and the club’s home facility to be the best
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STEEL SUPPORT BEAMS on each end zone of Centreville Bank Stadium are in place to add more seats to comply with U.S. Soccer regulations to compete in top-division play. / PBN PHOTO / JAMES BESSETTE[/caption]
Johnson said the club being part of Division One could mean capitalizing on a “sizeable” media rights deal, where clubs could receive “meaningful” revenue from broadcast networks showing games on local or national television. Sponsorship interest would also “go up another level,” he said.
While Rhode Island FC and others around USL are still in the dark about what is needed to join Division One, Kroeber said he is beginning to prepare its application and starting to think about the business plan associated with it. “If this were to launch in 2028 and we want to be part of it, our planning would have to start well in advance of that,” Kroeber said.
A league board meeting, where promotion-relegation is expected to be “a prominent part” of that agenda, will be held next month, Johnson said. If Division One is set, the sport of soccer could really elevate, especially if Rhode Island FC is playing at that level, Johnson said.
“Every single game that matters is an exciting construct. What will eventually take root in this country is soccer like what we have here will go to a whole another level,” he said. “More kids are going to want to play this sport. You’ll see a huge lift in youth participation.”
Adding seats to Centreville Bank Stadium is one vital element that Johnson and Kroeber know for certain will be needed for the club to get to Division One. U.S. Soccer regulations call for stadiums in a league’s highest level to have 15,000 seats minimum – Centreville Bank Stadium’s current capacity is 10,500.
But Johnson and Kroeber designed the stadium along the Seekonk River with expansion in mind. Steel support beams are constructed on the stadium’s north and south end to allow for new upper-level seating to be built if and when the time comes.
“That’s going to be the No. 1 area teams will have to check [to join Division One]. There won’t be too much latitude to give exceptions to any club that wants to be in Division One where they’ll be able to get in without a 15,000-seat stadium,” Johnson said.
Johnson also noted that any stadium expansion will be privately funded by Fortuitous and the club, and not be financed with any state or city money.
Also front of mind with Fortuitous is the planned mixed-use development. Johnson made clear to PBN there won’t be a situation where club ownership says Division One promotion will be prioritized over building more than 600 residential units and housing some businesses near the venue in three separate buildings.
[caption id="attachment_502528" align="alignright" width="421"]
AN EARLIER RENDERING of Centreville Bank Stadium shows part of the mixed-use development, at left. The mixed-use buildings will contain more than 600 affordable-housing units once completed. / COURTESY RHODE ISLAND FC[/caption]
“If you put it on a scale, the development has been and always will be critical for us,” Johnson said.
Kroeber said the mixed-use development process has begun. Club ownership is partnering with Dallas-based Wood Partners and Philadelphia-based Pennrose Management Co. to get the mixed-use facilities constructed. One of Pennrose’s recently completed affordable-housing projects is Soria Apartments in East Greenwich.
Between obtaining necessary permitting and design work, shovels are likely to get into the ground for construction 18 months to two years from now, Kroeber estimates.
“Now that the stadium is built, my focus is getting the real estate built,” Kroeber said. Pawtucket Mayor Donald R. Grebian previously told PBN the pedestrian bridge spanning the river will open next year.
Johnson told PBN investors in the team and stadium are “interested and committed” to investing in the surrounding real estate development. While club officials have not formally started calling capital for this next phase, Johnson said the organization is “well-positioned” to move forward with the investment and “when the appropriate pieces are in place.”
And then there’s the team’s performance, which has fallen short of expectations since the red carpet for the new stadium was rolled out. Significant lengthy injuries to key players – including to forward JJ Williams and goalkeeper Koke Vegas – hampered Rhode Island FC’s play for much of the season to where cheers from home fans have been at a premium.
Some fans have recently expressed frustration with the team – currently at 5-9-6 in USL Championship play and barely in playoff position and currently in eighth place in the Eastern Conference standings – both on social media and on podcast mediums about the club’s on-field play.
[caption id="attachment_502525" align="alignleft" width="383"]
RHODE ISLAND FC has struggled for most of the season, particularly offensively, and hanging onto the last playoff spot in the United Soccer League Championship standings. Club Co-Founder Brett M. Johnson says he remains confident the club will find success by season's end. / COURTESY RHODE ISLAND FC[/caption]
Plus, Rhode Island FC had only won twice from May through the end of July at Centreville Bank Stadium before recently netting a 1-0 win against Detroit City FC on Aug. 6. However, Aug. 9 was the third time Rhode Island FC fans witnessed a 0-0 match at Centreville Bank Stadium this year – a scoreless draw against Loudoun United FC – and the local club has the second-worst goal-scoring output in USL Championship play.
When asked what additional investments are needed to maintain high quality of play and interest from fans, Johnson said there is “no difference” in how ownership financially invested in Rhode Island FC’s roster this year as it did a year ago. While he acknowledged that injuries can “really set you back,” Johnson said any faltering by the team won’t be because of a lack of investment.
“[Our struggles] might be because the ball didn’t bounce our way or because there were injuries that were out of your control. It’s the nature of the business,” he said. “It doesn’t change any of our focus to constantly investing in the right product and right culture to have a winning team. I’m confident we have that. I recognize that one of the beautiful things about sports is there’s a lot of things out of your control. Money isn’t the panacea that solves it all the time.”
Johnson also said there were stretches last year where club ownership needed patience and faith. He’s confident a similar scenario will unfold this year.
“We have every bit of confidence and faith relative to the fact that there is plenty of time left in the season,” Johnson said. “We remain sanguine relative to how it will all turn out.”