This week: Erik Stover, CEO of the New York Cosmos, shares how he’s rebuilding one of America’s most historical soccer clubs with a commercial model built for long-term growth.
How Erik is rebuilding the Cosmos:
Restoring Hinchliffe Stadium as a revenue-generating venue and cultural landmark
Building a player development pipeline focused on mid-to-late teenage talent, a especially from underserved urban areas like Paterson, NJ
Forming a network of affiliate clubs to scout and develop players. This avoids the cost and limitations of traditional pay-to-play academies
Expanding into multi-sport programming to maximize stadium usage and deepen community engagement year-round
Why it matters: Most U.S. soccer clubs rely on franchise scarcity and overlook key revenue streams like player transfers and multi-use stadiums. This model flips that script by building a commercially viable club by developing teenage talent, restoring a historic venue, and creating a multi-sport ecosystem. It’s a model for long-term profitability in a system shifting toward promotion, relegation, and valuations from sporting outcomes.
👇 Scroll down for the full breakdown + my personal thoughts of the rebuild.
What is it? The New York Cosmos are relaunching as a professional soccer club in Paterson, NJ. Originally founded in 1970, the Cosmos became the most iconic team in the NASL, drawing over 70,000 fans to Giants Stadium and popularizing soccer in the U.S. with global stars like Pelé and Beckenbauer.
Why Paterson, New Jersey? Paterson sits in the heart of North Jersey’s 9.5 million person region, yet has no professional soccer club despite its deep cultural ties to the sport. Hinchliffe Stadium’s restoration creates a rare opportunity to anchor a club in an underserved urban center just 15 miles from Manhattan.
Youth & Real Estate? The Cosmos are building a regional scouting and affiliate network focused on mid-to-late teenage players from underserved urban areas like Paterson, where the pathway to professional soccer is nearly nonexistent. Instead of launching a traditional pay-to-play academy, the club is forming formal relationships with semi-pro and youth teams to identify talent, offer pro contracts, and pay training compensation and solidarity fees, just like top clubs do globally.
How will the Team Generate Revenues? The Cosmos are adopting a European-style membership approach inspired by German clubs where fans and community members play an active role in shaping the club’s identity and operations. Rather than a top-down franchise model, the club is building grassroots engagement through multi-sport programming, local partnerships, and shared ownership of its mission, creating a sustainable ecosystem that connects the stadium to the streets.
“What what we want is to have a formal relationship where we're working together on player identification and they benefit from it as they would if they were academy somewhere else in the world.”
My Thoughts & Future Outlook
① The focus on mid-to-late teenage talent is exactly what U.S. soccer needs. It supports the underdog spirit that defines North America and creates real pathways for players who’ve been overlooked. I’m excited to learn more about how this model builds long-term value, especially as we head toward the first promotion/relegation season in 2027.
② I attended matches in 2016 and 2017 when they were dominating the NASL Spring and Fall Seasons, and it’s exciting to see that legacy return. The Italian influence in the sporting operations reflects the culture of New Jersey and aligns perfectly with Erik’s vision of rebuilding from the roots of the local community.
Next week, we’re hosting the CEO of a multi-family office for pro athletes to talk about how he helps them make smart financial and investment choices.
Best,
Edoardo Grandi
