News
Playfly Aspire and USL Spokane Agree To Multi-Year Partnership
July 18, 2023
ATLANTA, GA – The Aspire Group (Aspire), recently acquired by Playfly Sports, and USL Spokane, through its ownership group, Aequus Sports, LLC have agreed to a multi-year ticket sales, service, and consulting partnership. Aspire will launch and staff a fan relationship management center (FRMC) in Spokane, WA. The FRMC will be responsible for selling and servicing tickets across premium and non-premium areas for the club’s USL League 1 (USL1) and women’s professional USL Super League (USLS) teams. Aspire staff will also drive attendance for the club’s pre-professional USL Women’s League (USLW) matches. The FRMC will be led by Director of Ticket Sales and Service, Cory Howerton. Cory is a Washington state native with over 16 years of experience in ticket sales and fan service in professional sports leagues.
USL Spokane is the 6th club to partner with Playfly Aspire, who is the official ticketing solutions provider for the USL across its 5 leagues. The Playfly Aspire Strategy, Analytics, and Marketing (SAM) team, will provide USL Spokane with consulting services to ensure they are right-priced and maximize inaugural season excitement.
“It is thrilling to partner with Aequus Sports to launch both women’s and men’s professional soccer clubs in Spokane,” said Playfly Aspire Senior Vice President, Strategy & Operations, Chad Cardinal. “We love how Ryan and Katie Harnetiaux practice business. With culture, diversity and inclusion, and the fan experience being pillars of the franchise, it is evident that the great people of the Greater Spokane area will be proud to call these Clubs their own.”
Managing Partner of Aequus Sports, Ryan Harnetiaux said:
“Given the incredible community support around the club, and the importance of executing our ticketing conversion process efficiently for the thousands of season ticket deposit holders we already have, partnering with the Aspire team was an easy choice.”
Strategy & Leadership Team, Janette Atkins said:
“We are intentional about who we partner with and Aspire epitomizes our fan-centric commitment. Their experience and mutual passion for community is an integral part of our shared success and we’re excited to have Cory on our team.”
About USL Spokane
Announced in June of 2021, Spokane, Washington will be home to three new USL clubs. A men’s professional team will compete in USL League One, a women’s pre-professional team will compete in the USL W League, and a women’s professional team will represent USL Spokane in the inaugural season of the USL Super League starting August 2024. Spokane has all the ingredients to be one of the best soccer cities in America and will bring the world’s game to the home of the World’s Fair in a new downtown stadium set to open in spring 2024. The new stadium is in the vibrant North Bank District of downtown Spokane providing a premium fan experience with walkability to local bars, dining, hotels, and cultural amenities. The new stadium is a multi-use venue in partnership with Spokane Public Schools and the Spokane Public Facilities District with a Fall 2023 projected completion. Rounding out the investment in community in parallel with growing the game of soccer for Washington State, USL Spokane will be adding a Youth Academy to the club in the summer of 2025.
The club is hosting a reveal of the professional men’s League One team name, colors, and crest, on July 21st at Brick West Brewery; announcement begins at 5PM sharp.
To ensure your seat at the first USL Spokane matches, visit the club’s ticket deposit page.
About The Aspire Group, a Playfly Sports Company
The Aspire Group, a Playfly Sports Company, is an award winning sports and entertainment marketing firm, named as a top employer in the industry by both Forbes and Front Office Sports. Globally recognized for innovative consulting, ticket sales, and partnership services, Aspire created the outsourced ticket sales niche, revolutionizing with its first Fan Relationship Management Center (FRMC) at Georgia Tech in 2009. Over the past 15 years, more than 300 collegiate and professional sports properties have trusted Aspire to drive revenue, attendance, and enterprise-value growth through the combination of strategic consulting and research, sales and service training, and best-in-industry fan relationship management.
For more information about The Aspire Group visit: www.theaspiregroupinc.com and follow us on Twitter @theaspire_group
For project and partnership inquiries, contact A.J. Smith at aj.smith@theaspiregroupinc.com or Joe Kronander at joe.kronander@theaspiregroupinc.com