The Island FC hires Travis Lamprecht to help build 'Long Island's pro soccer team' – Newsday

From left, Peter Zaratin, president of The Island FC; Travis Lamprecht, president of business operations of The Island FC; and Mitchell Rechler, principal owner and chairman of The Island FC at MLS Headquarters. Credit: The Island FC
As The Island F.C. — the new professional minor-league soccer team coming to Long Island — gears up for its March 2027 debut, pieces are falling into place.
On Thursday morning, the club — which will compete in MLS Next Pro, the professional development league of Major League Soccer — announced the hiring of Queens native Travis Lamprecht as its president of business operations.
Lamprecht, 40, has nearly a decade of pro soccer front-office experience across various levels, including MLS. He will lead The Island F.C.’s commercial and business operations and focus on building its community presence and brand.
Lamprecht said there will be a rollout of news in the next few months, including an update on the building of a modular stadium at Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondale. The construction of the privately funded $20 million stadium, which will have 2,500 seats (scalable to 5,000), initially was scheduled to begin sometime this spring. He said to expect something regarding the stadium “in the coming months” and to “stay tuned.”
“I just want this to be Long Island’s pro soccer team, period,” Lamprecht told Newsday in a phone interview Wednesday.
He added: “Long Island has such a diverse community, and I want everyone to feel like they have a piece of it, they have a part of it, and feel some ownership with it, too. That kind of goes back to building a supporters group, which I know there’s a hotbed of soccer fans across the Island.
“Just overall, I want it to be synonymous — when you think of Long Island, that you’ll think of Island F.C., and vice versa.”
Lamprecht started his career in soccer in 2017 as the director of marketing for the New York Cosmos, who trained at Mitchel Athletic Complex, of the now defunct second-tier North American Soccer League.
He has plenty of experience working in minor-league soccer with teams in the second-tier USL Championship league (one tier above MLS Next Pro).
He also has experience building teams from the ground up, as he was the vice president of brand for San Diego FC, a recent MLS expansion team.
Lamprecht noted the benefits of The Island F.C. being in the MLS ecosystem, and MLS Next Pro still is relatively new after launching in 2022. But he recognized the challenges of making the club’s presence felt.
“The uphill battle, I would say, is you compete with other things to do, right?” he said. “And there’s a lot of things to do in Long Island. But I think if we build an emotive connection with Long Islanders well before kickoff, I think they’ll want to connect with us in more ways than one.”
In addition to the stadium, other key developments expected in the coming months include a uniform provider announcement and a uniform reveal. Lamprecht also will be involved in hiring a head coach and said “it’s literally building everything from zero.”
“From the outset, our goal has been to build a club that reflects the energy, identity, and resiliency of Long Island,” The Island F.C. principal owner and chairman Mitchell Rechler said in a statement. “Travis brings the experience and leadership needed to help turn that vision into reality. He understands how to build professional soccer clubs the right way, and we are excited to welcome him as an important part of what we are creating here.”
Ben Dickson is Newsday Sports' general assignment reporter. He joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.
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