Kitsap Soccer Club has big plans

for future.

Even before the Kitsap Pumas host their first home game on May 15 at Bremerton High School’s Memorial Stadium, their impact has already been felt throughout the Kitsap Peninsula.

Perhaps the most visible sign of the arrival of professional sports to Kitsap County is the renovations to Memorial Stadium, which include an already-installed new scoreboard and a video scoreboard, which is en route, all provided by Pumas owner Robin Waite.

“Bremerton was really an 11th hour deal,” Pumas Executive Director Ben Pecora said. “I think (Bremerton School District Superintendent) Bette Hyde is a visionary and was able to see the potential.”

Before coming to an agreement with BSD, Waite had begun the process of building his own self-funded stadium in Poulsbo, but that project, due to zoning issues, failed to come to fruition.

One of the many advantages to being in Bremerton is it allows the Pumas to be centrally located for the nearly 8,000 families on the peninsula who are involved with youth soccer, Pecora said.

“We’ve already had nearly every school and every youth club request us for camps, clinics and visits,” he said. “I believe we are at the epicenter of what is going to be happening in soccer.”

With Seattle having a Major League Soccer (MLS) team, which includes an ownership group made up of mainly Waite’s partners with the now-defunct USL D1-version of the Sounders, the Kitsap team has one of the closest links to an MLS team anywhere, Pecora said, noting one of the team’s hopes is to have a local player climb through the ranks and play for the Seattle MLS team, Seattle Sounders FC or beyond.

In addition to bringing fans and players to Kitsap County, the club plays a role in promoting both the city of Bremerton and the county around the globe, he said.

“Every time I send out a press release, the dateline is Bremerton,” he said, noting that information about the team is distributed around the globe through a variety of outlets.

The team’s presence has drawn one new business to Kitsap County, which will be announced next week, and it’s possible others may follow suit once the season gets rolling, he said.

Although the team has yet to officially announce the signings of any players, Pecora said at least one potential player has already asked about community service.

“One of the first things he asked was, ‘Do you think it’s possible we can go visit hospitals and senior centers and schools?’” Pecora said, adding the team is in the process of identifying schools and other community organizations to help in the future.

“We have to be careful about overpromising and underdelivering,” team owner Robin Waite said, noting some players may be working part-time jobs in addition to playing for the team.

Some of the team’s sponsors have stepped up to offer job placement assistance for players and finding jobs for players is one of the things the team works with potential sponsors to create, Pecora said.

Each time the team is on the field, younger players will benefit as 5 percent of the concession revenues go into a scholarship fund to help kids attend Puma camps, he said.

That 5 percent doesn’t mean the team’s ticket prices will be out of reach for the large majority of fans, either, he said.

“Our lowest priced season ticket is $45 and our highest is $90,” he said, adding concessions at the game also will be more affordable than those in Seattle.

“Our vendor presented us a price list and we had her go back and lower it across the board,” Pecora said, noting one of the team’s goals is to make attending a game cost about the same as going to a movie or riding the ferry to Seattle.