With a Pac-12 university around the corner, it has been difficult for some professional sports teams to stay here in Tucson.
“No matter what you say, the big gorilla in this town is the University of Arizona,” former Tucson Padres manager Mike Feder said. “That’s hard sometimes for a professional sports team to compete.
However, F.C. Tucson isn’t letting the U of A outshine its semi-professional soccer club. A factor of the downfall of professional baseball in Tucson was simply the location of Kino Stadium, but F.C. Tucson, founded in 2010, has no intention of leaving its location.
“We always go out to entertain and perform, and you see that through and through,” F.C. Tucson Chief Business Officer Chris Keeney said. “And that also transcends outside of the game; this is where I want to be and this is where I’m committed to being for the long haul.”
Local fans finally have a team to call their own, and with that security comes a new level of loyalty.
“It gives you a sense of peace to know that it’s OK yo get excited for this team and not know that they’re going to be leaving again,” local Tucson soccer fan Ricardo Camacho said.
For Keeney, he believes that it’s time for Tucson to have a team here for many years to come.
“That’s what this town deserves; a first-class, even world-class place to come watch a great sport with a great game,” Keeney said. “Great players, fans, and entertainment; that’s what we all want.”