Matt Homonoff has worked in the highest level of American soccer, having spent seven seasons in the front office of D.C. United of Major League Soccer in addition to a stint with FC Edmonton of the North American Soccer League. He joined the Des Moines Menace this fall to fulfill a goal of running a soccer organization at the professional level. Homonoff has ties to the area, as his wife is a graduate of West Des Moines’ Valley High School, but says more than anything, his desire to join the Menace stems from the fact that “the Menace are, quite frankly, regarded as the pre-eminent franchise in the entire Premier Development League and have been for quite some time.”

What interested you in this job?
    It has long been a goal of mine to lead my own soccer team at the professional level. I’ve had the good fortune to be with some excellent organizations and teams over the course of my career, and I saw the good, the bad and the ugly when it came to leading from a GM role. I consider myself very fortunate to have worked with some excellent franchises. I learned a tremendous amount from my previous experiences. My next logical step in my professional career was to become a GM. The opportunity to do it in a great city like Des Moines made it a bonus.

What have you learned from your past that will translate to the job here?
    My time in D.C., I think, is most germane to this conversation simply because of the length of time. It certainly taught me a tremendous amount about why people make purchases, specifically in relation to tickets to a live event, more specifically to a soccer game. And on the other side of that, why they don’t. What the motivating factors are, or demotivating factors in terms of not wanting to purchase a ticket ahead of time. Transitioning at D.C. United into my role of corporate partnerships, it really allowed me to see how the business decisions are made on the marketing and importantly on the sponsorship side, why directors of marketing and market executives and increasingly advertising agencies choose to invest their limited marketing budgets with teams.

Why should businesses care about the Menace?
    First and foremost is that the Menace are committed to promoting healthy lifestyles among all ages of soccer fans. The opportunities that (Menace parent company) Kum & Go LC and Kyle Krause and the ownership have provided for fans of virtually all ages  – from our junior Menace program to our academy to the men’s and women’s PDL and W-League franchises –  provide really a great set of role models and activities for soccer fans to become actively engaged in a sport that is clearly growing. From a purely business perspective, I think the Menace, and soccer in general, provide a unique platform for businesses to sponsor an entertainment property that has a greater reach in a multicultural sense than virtually any other in modern society.

What are your goals?
    One of my ultimate goals is to make soccer fans in Iowa Menace fans. It’s to give them a team and a club atmosphere that they can be proud of and they can be included in. Winning is a great first step.

Other goals?
    To provide mutually beneficial revenue opportunities through corporate sponsorships, and ultimately to drive ticket sales by creating a game-day atmosphere that fans want to be a part of. I’m looking for corporate partners to help us raise the level of fan experience that really runs the gamut from medical providers and hospital groups, to automotive dealers, and of course financial service providers, and really any company that is particularly interested in reaching the family demographic here in Central Iowa. I look forward to engaging the business community at a very basic level, one-on-one interactions, and finding those potential and actual corporate partners that we can move forward with.

What do you do for fun?
    I thoroughly enjoy spending time with my family. I have two young children, which takes up a lot of time. I am an avid sports fan overall, so I certainly love football, baseball, basketball. I’m becoming more of a golfer. And I’m looking forward to seeing more of the Des Moines area, more of Central Iowa and really more of the state. Any opportunities I have to take my family to some of the state’s greater attractions I will absolutely take advantage of.