PORTLAND, Maine — On a bright September afternoon on Thompson’s Point, scores of soccer fans joined in support of their new favorite team: the Portland Hearts of Pine.
The professional club will be the first of its kind in Maine, competing in USL League One next year. The fan base is already breaking records. According to the club, 3,800 fans have already made deposits on season tickets—more than any franchise in the history of the league.
"It's unbelievable. We’re not taking the field for another six months," Kevin Schohl, the club president, said Friday.
With a growing interest in soccer across the country, and the U.S. set to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Schohl is confident the time is right for a new team in Portland.
"Soccer has always been talked about as the sport of the future and I think we may finally be there right now," Schohl said.
Beyond attracting the soccer die-hards, who will no doubt bring the raucous energy of a newly promoted Premier League team to Fitzpatrick Stadium next spring, the club is also hoping to sell more casual fans on a new community experience.
"Maine is a relatively low-frills kind of place. You show up, you have a beer, you watch some soccer," Schohl explained.
But for all the excitement around Maine’s newest pro franchise, one key ingredient is missing: a team.
"We haven’t even really begun that process yet," Brian Wold, the vice president of marketing and communications for the Hearts of Pine, said Friday.
Wold said around 400 people have already reached out to inquire about tryouts.
Fortunately, time is on the side of the Hearts of Pine— the season doesn’t begin until March. Until then, the front office is confident the club will continue developing a fan base rooted in the community.
"I think Mainers are people. … They will love you if you love them back," club founder Gabe Hoffman-Johnson said.