The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is proud to announce that Kingston Stockade Football Club (Kingston, NY) has joined the league as an expansion team. The club, based in the heart of the Hudson Valley, will compete in the league’s Northeast Region.
“New York is a great state for soccer,” NPSL Chairman Joe Barone commented. “Adding Stockade FC gives the NPSL yet another market in the Northeast. It should be very exciting news for our fans and supporters in the region.”
Home matches will take place at Dietz Stadium in Kingston, NY. The 1500-seat stadium is named for Robert H. Dietz, a Kingston native and Medal of Honor recipient killed in World War II.
The Stockade FC name is a nod to the historic “Stockade District” in uptown Kingston and the 14-foot-tall wooden stockade fence that protected the town in the late-1600s/mid-17th century.
Stockade FC is led by Chairman Dennis Crowley, Operations Director Randy Kim, and Creative Directors Doug Jaeger and Kristin Sloan.
Crowley is an entrepreneur with a background in building online and offline communities. A former D-III college soccer player, Kim has managed digital content at the NBA, FOX Sports, AOL Sports, NBC Sports, and presently Bleacher Report. Jaeger and Sloan are the founders and creative directors of JaegerSloan Studio, a brand consultancy and creative studio.
The club is also guided by a prestigious board of advisors. Those advisors include Greg Lalas, Michael Milberger, and Dan Hoffay. A former professional soccer player and longtime soccer journalist, Lalas is currently the vice president of content for Major League Soccer (MLS). Milberger, a former D-I college soccer player, is now director of video content for MLS. Hoffay is a Hudson Valley native and the co-founder/President of American Outlaws Hudson Valley.
“We expect to field a team of homegrown, regional talent from the Hudson Valley that is capable of making its way to the NPSL playoffs and earning a spot to compete in the U.S. Open Cup,” Crowley added.
This is Stockade FC’s founding year and first season. While Stockade FC will play its home games in Kingston, their aim is to represent the entire Hudson Valley area. They started the club as a platform that can allow high-level soccer to succeed in the area. In starting from scratch, they are inviting people from Kingston to Beacon, Newburgh to Albany to help build and shape the club. Stockade FC wants to compete, have fun, and, most importantly, be a part of the community. They expect the success of the club to produce a positive economic impact for Kingston, NY and the surrounding communities and to establish the Hudson Valley as a destination for soccer enthusiasts.
“The quality of NPSL clubs and the communities behind them have been on the rise over the past few years,” Crowley concluded. “We believe the Hudson Valley has the talent, passion, and audience to support a soccer club that can compete at a high level, and we hope Stockade FC can be a showcase of that talent and a point of pride for the entire Hudson Valley community.”
