The Charlotte Independence are in no rush to sell Dan DiMicco’s ownership stake.

USL Championship released a statement on Monday on the sale of club’s lead investor, a retired CEO of Nucor and trade advisor on former President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign but did not indicate whether his departure had anything to do with backlash the club faced from DiMicco’s racist and xenophobic tweets last summer.

DiMicco joined the Independence investment group in 2017 and became primary investor in 2018. He provided the financial stability the club needed to entice Mecklenburg County to renovate and widen Memorial Stadium to meet the demands of modern professional soccer. The Independence will begin their first of 10 years as the primary tenant on June 5 against Tampa Bay.

DiMicco, club founder and managing partner Jim McPhilliamy and Rob Engel, a Wells Fargo Securities executive, comprise 75% of the team’s ownership.

“[DiMicco] has a high-level attachment to the players,” McPhilliamy said. “He is certainly not going to leave anybody out to dry, but he is also stepping down from the Duke Energy board. He has invested in a lot of local companies. I think he is ready for the next phase of life.”

When McPhilliamy purchased the market rights to a USL Championship team in 2014, the cost was much cheaper. The league has since expanded, and prices have gone up more than 10 times what they were in 2014. Forbes magazine reported expansion fees were $1 million in 2015, $10 million in 2019 and $12 million a year later. The Independence could drop to USL League One like former USL Championship rival North Carolina FC did during the 2020 offseason to save money, but won't do so this year. McPhilliamy said there is no intention for the club to go away, and League One may not be the ultimate goal.

“If you try to buy an expansion [USL Championship] franchise, it is $12 million right now, and a USL League One team is $2 million,” he said. “It is better if you own a Championship team to sell your franchise rights to someone who wants them at the higher number. If you were to go League One, just repurchase the team.”

Sports organizations across the globe felt the financial ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Independence played all but their final match of the season without fans, which was a fundraiser for McKenna Woodhead, who was paralyzed in a Jet Ski accident on Lake Wylie in 2018.

Current COVID-19 precautions will keep attendance limited at Memorial Stadium for now, but McPhilliamy credits club president Tim Schudlt with increasing sponsorship revenue by almost double.

“If we have a really good year, that could change the outlook on everything as well,” McPhilliamy said. 

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