Robby Davis

J 462

4/28/14

One key stakeholder for my topic is Dave Galas, the Managing Director for Lane United FC. He is one of the most informed people on this topic considering he’s the one who established the team. A few years ago Galas wondered what it would take to start a soccer team here in the Eugene area, so he decided to look into it. Fortunately he was able to use connections his brother, John Galas, had through his many years of being part of successful soccer programs. Since then they’ve been putting in the work to make this organization a success.

What motivated Galas to start this team was his deep passion for the sport. As a child Galas tried to play whenever he could. When he was 7 his family moved to Europe and that is when he started to become a fan and follow soccer. Since then he’s remained heavily involved with the sport.

During a recent interview with Galas he explained that they’ve set up goals they want to accomplish in the short term and long term. This year the goal is to win the rookie PDL franchise of the year award. The year after that they would ideally like to increase attendance and make the playoffs. Once that’s been accomplished they are hoping to go U.S. All-Pro.

In order to accomplish these goals Galas and his team have gone through several obstacles in order to prepare for this season and future seasons. The first major obstacle was finding a place to play. A couple of years ago Galas looked into possibly playing at Civic stadium but was unsure whether it would happen with the uncertainty of who’s actually going to purchase the land. Galas also looked into playing at local high schools since they have the best turf in Eugene. Unfortunately scheduling and payment through the 4J district was going to prove difficult. After a few months of researching Galas found a venue that would prove sufficient for the team. Galas signed a three-year deal to use Willamalane’s facility in Springfield. He’s still working on ways to unsure fans have the best game day experience.

Another aspect of Lane United FC that Galas has dedicated much of his time to is finding sponsors to support the team. One of the first sponsors that he signed was Oakshire Brewing. Oakshire is the title sponsor who has their name on the front of all the jerseys. Galas stated that he loves being in a partnership with Oakshire because they are a community-based company that focuses on local craftsmanship. He also likes that both organizations are able to promote each other. Tetherow golf course is another sponsor Lane United FC has been able to sign with. Tetherow is based out of Bend. Galas is especially found of this sponsorship since Tetherow is able to market their brand to another part of Oregon. This sponsorship occurred because the owner grew up in the Netherlands playing soccer. When he heard Lane United FC was going to start up he knew he wanted to be part of it. The final sponsor that Lane United FC was able to secure was Slocum. Slocum has agreed to provide at least one doctor at each home game in case injuries occur. Galas explained that Slocum was happy to be a team sponsor because they want to be involved with athletics within Eugene. They also have their name on the youth jerseys.

Galas has also worked hard to establish a personnel team that is committed to the Lane United FC organization. John Galas, the Sporting Director/Head Coach, is in charge of all things team related. Connor Cappelletti, the Assistant Coach, works as John’s right hand man. He also helps organize away travel for the team. Chris Burke, the Media Coordinator, deals with all the social media for team in an effort to communicate to their fans what the team is up to. Galas also mentioned that he has several other interns who come in and work on projects throughout the week.