Soccer Spectrum boasts leagues for all ages.
“We have a banner we pay for at J.J. Pierce [High School] that says, ‘We take [people] from two years olds until you die.’” Barton said. “Until you lack oxygen; that's our age range.”
The details
When Pingelton and Barton bought Soccer Spectrum, which Barton called “the soccer mecca for North Texas,” there were many things they didn’t change. However, they prioritized changes to allow for growth, including building an outdoor turf field featuring 7-versus-7 fields.
“When you have a waiting list every night—lots of people around the community want to come here, they'll literally drive sometimes an hour and a half on a Tuesday to come play in the leagues here,” Pingelton said. “For this to be able to work for us financially, and build the community that we wanted, we had to have extra space.”
Another change under new ownership was the addition of an outdoor patio. Barton credits Pingelton with the vision for the outdoor space.
“Wes saw kind of this Katy Trail Ice House meets English Premier soccer inside, outside [facility]," Barton said. “The community rallied around us. We had good architects—they played for the club, and their kids played for the club.”
What’s happening
Approximately 4,000 people walk into Soccer Spectrum a week, Operations Manager Andy Kaasa said. On weeknights, between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m., the youth soccer league practices on the outdoor fields. Throughout the day, starting as early as 6 a.m., adult league games are held.
“On most nights, our average age is 35 to 40. You want exercise but you’re not trying to run a marathon,” Pingelton said. “The field, from a soccer perspective, is meant for good exercise and lots of goals, which equates to a lot of fun and a good experience.”
What else?
In addition to a full bar, Soccer Spectrum also has a full kitchen featuring pizzas named after the four founding Mungioli brothers: The Anthony, The Gerald, The Luigi and The Richard.
The brothers, who immigrated from Italy, coached soccer at Richardson ISD’s J.J. Pearce and Berkner High School.
Head Chef Eloy Tejeda has worked at Soccer Spectrum for 17 years and was given the Mungioli’s family’s pizza recipe. Tejeda also comes up with new menu items.
“It’s funny, we’ll give him ideas for different genres of food, and he’ll say, ‘I’m trained to cook anything,’” Barton said. “He just added a cinnamon dessert pizza that is ridiculous.”
Going forward
The business owners' one year goal is to be hyper-focused on the World Cup. Kaasa has connected Soccer Spectrum with the European Chamber of Commerce with the goal of hosting watch party events for fans coming in from European countries. They also plan on holding World Cup style 7-versus-7 tournaments featuring different country representation.
Their five-year goals might include expansion. The business owners have been approached by three different companies in the last two years about expanding across the country.
“Steve and I need to focus on if that meets our aims,” Pingelton said. “If we’re going to do something we want it to be exceptional. If the right opportunity came across, we would open up at least one more location.”
- 1251 Digital Drive, Richardson
- www.soccerspectrum.com
