Coliseum Wants to Bring Back Indoor Soccer League
One goal they have is to bring indoor soccer back to the Coast. It’s been over 15 years since indoor soccer was played on the Coast, but for fans like Cameron Troutman, it seems like only yesterday. Troutman says, "I remember going to the games and just having a great time. They had a pretty good following. I think there was always a few thousand people there."
The Mississippi Beach Kings was one of the most successful teams in the now defunct Eastern Indoor Soccer League. They averaged over 3,000 fans during the regular season and 4,000 during playoffs. Matt McDonnell, Assistant Executive Director of the Coliseum, says, "Fans were really starting to get into it. It was kid friendly, it was family friendly, and we were starting to see a lot of momentum and crowds were coming out."
With Thursday night’s Florida Georgia Line concert and acts like Miranda Lambert and the Harlem Globetrotters still to come, the Coliseum is always looking for ways to fill their seats, including another idea they’ve been kicking around: resurrecting the indoor soccer league. McDonnell also says, "Anytime that you can have activities that bring out families, it’s a good thing. So we’re anxious to sit down with these investors to see if their depth is such that we can sustain the team for a full season."
The Beach Kings lost the 1998 finals to the Louisiana Swamp Cats before the league folded due to financial issues. Local fans feel soccer’s popularity has grown enough for the Coast to support a team. Troutman also says, "Soccer has gotten a lot bigger in the last ten years since they’ve been gone, and I think that they would have plenty of support and with the Shuckers coming to town, why not bring soccer too?"
While talks are still in the preliminary stages right now, Troutman is ready to support the team on or off the field.
Troutman closes, "I’d be going to the games, if not playing or trying, but I would love to go to the games."
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