As one of the co-founders of Detroit City FC, Sean Mann has seen it all.

Now, the co-owner and current Chief Executive Officer of the club is overseeing the biggest project in club history – the establishment of a permanent soccer-specific venue that will take the club into a new era from its current home at Keyworth Stadium.

Ahead of Detroit City’s nationally televised clash with Rhode Island FC on the CBS Television Network (Saturday | 4 p.m. ET), we spoke with Mann about taking on a project of this magnitude, why this was the right time for the club to find a permanent home, the history the club has built at Keyworth Stadium, and the spirit he hopes the new venue will retain as DCFC moves into the future.

Editors’ Note: This conversation has been lightly edited for clarity.

Q: Why was this the right time for a stadium project for Detroit City?

Sean Mann: We are looking to solidify our place as Detroit’s soccer team, and we’re looking for a place that we can call our permanent home to justify having that title. It provides stability for today but also for growth in the future. I think since joining the USL Championship in 2022, we’re now at a level where you see that type of investment, and you see lenders are familiar with the league and comfortable with it. There’s stability where you can start soliciting these types of investments to build up this type of infrastructure.

Q: The feedback about the location of the new stadium seems positive. What does relocation to the southwest part of the city offer?

SM: It's a location that has a tremendous amount of potential. It exudes the values of the club. It’s an opportunity to take a long-blighted property that combines two neighborhoods that people across this region regularly come to – Mexicantown and Corktown. It can bridge those communities, where we can create a stadium and development that is neighborhood-oriented and scaled appropriately.

It’s a location that’s complementary to things that are naturally happening organically within the city. It’s not dropping a spaceship on a community but instead bridging existing communities in a positive way.

Q: We’ve heard about the renaissance of Detroit. What is it like to be part of that as you undertake this project?

SM: I think the stadium project is really the culmination of the last 15 years of this endeavor, right? It’s building upon the relationships we’ve established in the community, both as a soccer club but also as residents. You know, I live two blocks from the stadium site. The other guys I founded the team with live three blocks on the other side. I think there's a unique opportunity for the C-suite of a professional American sports team to build a stadium in their own backyard.

We’ve been longtime residents. I’ve lived here for 16 years now and seen the ebbs and flows of Detroit. I’m reluctant to call it a renaissance, but, yeah, the ups and downs that we’ve experienced, the investment that’s happening in the city right now, it’s kind of hard to understand. It’s hard to appreciate at times – for every step forward there’s maybe a step back – but this project is an opportunity for us to contribute in a significant way and do it in a way that we feel like – based on the lives we live in the communities we choose to live in – is complementary to the communities we love.

Q: At the same time, Keyworth Stadium has become an iconic venue in American soccer.

SM: I mean, Keyworth is a really special place. I’m definitely a romantic when it comes to sports, so our leaving Keyworth is not done lightly. [Keyworth] has a lot of charm to it, and there are a lot of special memories that have been developed there for the club and our supporters. But it has its limitations and I think for the club to have much more viability, we had to look beyond Keyworth.

I take solace in the fact that Keyworth is not going to get knocked down after we leave. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow, it's a public park. Outside of the hours DCFC is there for matchday, it is open to the public, and that’s not going to change anytime in the foreseeable future.

Q: Many soccer fans, journalists, and experts have attended DCFC games over the years and been blown away. What makes a matchday so unique and special?

SM: I appreciate people still to this day experiencing it for the first time. You get a bit jaded because you’ve been doing it for so long, so hearing those first timers is always kind of a breath of fresh air and a reminder of how special it is that the experience of this community around the club has created. Hopefully we don’t lose sight of it. It’s kind of a grounding thing. It gives us a renewed sense of appreciation, and I think that’s one of the exciting challenges of having done this for all these years is maintaining that and growing it.

That atmosphere at Keyworth is really special and unique and we don’t take it lightly. As we head to the new stadium, probably the most daunting task is how do you move that atmosphere to the new venue? It weighs on us heavily as we think through the design process for the venue.

Q: We will be at Keyworth this Saturday afternoon for a nationally televised game on the CBS television network against Rhode Island FC. For fans that haven't seen a game there before but are curious, what should they expect?

SM: We’re the only team in North America in professional soccer that I’m aware of where the supporters’ standing section is at midfield and in broadcast view, right? It’s not tucked away in the corner, it’s front and center. So, in the foreground, I think you’re going to have an exciting attacking game on the pitch and then in the background you’re going to have the most vociferous, loudest, animated supporters in the country creating a really unique atmosphere that’s lively and engaging and just all-around special. Then you go just beyond that and there's a railyard and you’ll have trains whizzing within 20 feet of the stadium, blowing on their horn. So, it’s unique, it’s special, it’s not sterile. It’s something that stands out.

Q: You mentioned in an interview with the Detroit News that the stadium project was taking up most of your time at this point. How big a task is it to keep a project of this size on course?

SM: It’s one of the greatest professional challenges I’ve ever been a part of. But it’s incredibly rewarding. Again, this is kind of the culmination of 15 years of relationship-building that this club has been doing and we as individuals have been doing. So, yeah, moving this forward and putting together a vision that we’re going to be rolling out in the coming months that I think is fairly unique and special and worthy of this club and that leverages partnerships in the community that we’ve developed over these years, yeah, it’s an incredibly daunting task, but exciting. I think we’ve always strived as an organization to put our values into action, and this will be the biggest test of that.

Q: Are there other venues around American soccer you've seen elements from the you're hoping can be integrated into Detroit City's new venue?

SM: Oh, yeah, sure. I mean, we have a wild Pinterest board of motivators, and I appreciate a lot of the venues in the USL that have come online and everything like that, but truth be told, we’re probably drawing more inspiration from stadiums in Northern Europe. That’s more along the lines of the aesthetic and vibes in the stadium that we’re going for. But, yeah, without a doubt we’ve definitely pointed to Louisville and appreciate what they’ve done, and Colorado Springs and what they’re doing, and what Rhode Island is doing, and drawing inspiration from their experiences.

Q: Detroit City's community work, especially in making soccer accessible to broader sections of the city has been remarkable. How does building a new facility like this help those efforts?

SM: It creates permanence for the sport in our community. The location is going to raise its profile. And then it comes down to activation, right, and who we are partners with. I think that’s where the onus is going to be on us to make sure that, like the other partners we have, that we make it a welcoming space for the people that make up the city of Detroit.

Q: When the venue opens, what do you hope it will represent not just for Detroit City, but for the City of Detroit?

SM: I think the driving thing is the authenticity, that it’s a Detroit experience. That not only applies to Detroiters feeling comfortable going to games, but that you see Detroit vendors are able to be engaged and active in the space, and that it’s distinct. I think we’re very committed to doing our best to make it like a very distinct experience, not just from the other venues in Detroit, but in the American soccer landscape as well.