So, for those of you who might not be aware, Denita and I just did this rodeo in France at a big advertising conference. And in that conversation, one of the things that we discussed was that what's changed in DC is that we went from having mostly casual fans and some avid fans of DC United to now having a lot of avid fans as well as a lot of casual fans. When you look at the makeup of DC United and your ticket sales, is it mostly recurring customers, season ticket holders, or is it mostly some of casual fans? How is it shifting?
Yeah, I think, hi everybody, welcome. You know, for us, our fans, we have a core base that's been with us. So, we talk about our 96ers that have been there since the very beginning. Us being one of the founding clubs in Major League Soccer really plays into that. What's fun right now for us is it's kind of we have our second generation. So, we have our 96ers with us and then we have those that their parents were our fans and now they're ingrained with us and they're part of our supporters and our larger season ticket base. When it comes to the casual fan piece, I think for us right now, it's really introducing people to the experience of Major League Soccer and what soccer is representing here in the United States. And our goal in that is that anybody can come out at any time. And as we talk about all are welcome, all are united is really creating an amazing fan experience from beginning to end.
Something that we try to dial in on as an organization and try to uplift so that every fan, whether you know soccer in and out or you're new to the sport, you feel welcome within the space.
And then, so part of this magic of DC United is definitely that Audi Field. I mean, you have the beautiful view of the Capitol. What are the other things that you do to bring a casual fan in and to make them excited about it?
Yeah, you know, we think about what our pregame events are. You know, we're hosting, we're working on new shows that will come in prior to concerts on the plaza, the lighting up Audi Drive. I think one of the other things we do is cross-selling when it comes to our casual fans. When we think about our tenants, the DC Defenders, the Washington Spirit, Power FC, which is part of the USL Super League, in addition hosting events of all kind, for 5 years now, we're in our fifth season, that we've been hosting the Truth and Service Classic, which is the Howard Hampton annual football game. We hosted Broccoli City in 2024. These are all things that help us integrate different communities into our ecosystem of Audi Field that creates opportunities for them to potentially cross over and become fans in the near future.
This is a great time to be the president of a soccer club because the US, North America, is hosting the World Cup next year. What role will Audi Field and DC United play in that experience?
Yeah, well, part of our role is the preparation to that. As you all know, and if you don't know, Club World Cup is actively happening right now here in Washington DC, and we're hosting that at Audi Field. We actually have another match tomorrow at 3 p.m. Shameless plug. So, be sure to make your way to Audi and leave work early. It's a nice day. But our role in this is to help elevate the game. So, Club World Cup is the caveat to that leading into World Cup in 2026. As we're not a host city, we are the capital, right? And with that, we want to be the nation's capital of sport. So, we'll be hosting watch parties and other special events at our stadium in 2026. So, be on the lookout.
And then in terms of the World Cup, there are some folks that think this will be like the Olympics. They'll come and they'll tune in and then they'll drop off until four years later. There are others that are more optimistic that the World Cup coming to North America is going to bring fans in and keep and retain them. How are you estimating this is going to play out?
I think what it's going to help is really teach here locally and nationally star power. And I think what will happen after the World Cup is that they'll have their natural stars that they see from the World Cup and then opportunities to then gravitate towards them in their home markets in the US and throughout the world, which I think will help continue fandom. In 1994 when the World Cup was hosted here in the United States, that was then the birth of Major League Soccer, which came to be in 1996. So, if a league can be birthed out of the first World Cup that was done here, well, not the first, but the World Cup that was done here in '94, I believe that growth can happen in the World Cup in 2026, and I think that's what's ahead, and I think it's sustainable growth for us as a league.
So, let's talk about growth for DC United as a team. I think last year Forbes valued the club at $775 million, which is impressive because it was in, I think, just, you know, single-digit millions like 10 years before. What do you need to do between now and a few years from now for you to become a unicorn, a billion-dollar franchise?
I love this kind of question. I think for us it's continued investment. And so what we look at our footprint in DC and what we can do in that southwest area of DC from our stadium, from stadium enhancements. We're actually opening a new lounge, the AV lounge this Saturday at Audi Field. So, how we invest in our stadium is going to be a really big piece for us. And we've talked about some other additional projects. Hopefully we'll publicly be able to talk about them soon to enhance our overall facility. That will be a big piece in that. In addition, our investment in youth soccer through our DC United Academy is a big piece for us. I don't know if you guys have heard of MLS Next Pro, but that's an opportunity for us to help youth actually advocate to get them to the first team. And so I think growing our footprint there from an investment standpoint will be really big for us as we continue to amp up our valuation.
And thinking about the infrastructure that you're talking about right now, there's a bill in front of the DC city council around bringing the Commanders from Virginia into DC. What impact would that have on DC United if the Commanders were to move into Washington as well?
I think it's a positive impact. We get new neighbors, right? And I think it really goes into what the mayor is trying to do here in DC. And that's to be the sports capital. And so our ability to have all of the major sports leagues right in the backyard of our community is going to be powerful. And so we're excited for them. We want to be good neighbors to them. I think for us it helps to showcase options, but also lets fans know that we're all here to stay and we want everybody in this community to enjoy sport and make it easy and accessible.
