Matt Valentine: Signing Chicharito, Buying Dallas Trinity FC, and Two Clubs in One Stadium

Atletico Dallas chairman Matt Valentine reveals the signing of Javier Hernandez and explains why he now owns two professional clubs sharing the Cotton Bowl. Valentine is chairman and founder of Atletico Dallas, which acquired Dallas Trinity FC from the league in June and now runs both clubs under USL Dallas LLC. He walks through why the operation will play 37 games in 38 weeks at the Cotton Bowl, and what he does and does not control in a stadium owned by the City of Dallas, where parking and food and beverage revenue largely stay with the city. He details the youth business underneath it: Renegades Soccer Club, rebranded Atletico Dallas Youth, now 180 teams, just under 3,000 players, and over seven million dollars in revenue at an eight to fifteen percent net margin. The conversation gets into the parts that are harder to sell. Valentine says there are almost no savings on the sporting side, that Garland walking away from the stadium project was a real setback, and that municipal negotiation looks nothing like buying pipeline right of way in the energy business. He argues that investors outside Texas misread the market, that Dallas County holds 2.7 million people with FC Dallas 38 miles away in Frisco, and that division level matters far less than community and ticket sales. He also breaks the news, 48 hours ahead of Fabrizio Romano's exclusive, that Javier Hernandez has signed as the club's first player. What we cover: Buying Dallas Trinity FC from the league rather than from the Neal family Why 14 player departures were expiring contracts and not a fire sale Where women's sponsorship could outperform the men's side in Dallas The Cotton Bowl tenancy, 37 games in 38 weeks, and the revenue the city keeps Garland's exit and the 15,000 seat Division One threshold Signing Javier Hernandez and what it does to jersey and ticket projections Matt Valentine is chairman and founder of Atletico Dallas, a USL Championship club kicking off in 2027, and built Rimrock Midstream in oil and gas infrastructure. ------------------------------------------------- 🔔 Subscribe for conversations with the executives, investors, and operators building the business of soccer. 👉 Interested in appearing on the podcast? Apply Here: https://onesoccernation.com/apply ------------------------------------------------- One Soccer Nation Info: Website: https://onesoccernation.com ------------------------------------------------- © 2026 One Soccer Nation, under exclusive license to One Soccer Nation LLC. ------------------------------------------------- DISCLAIMER: Kareem Rae runs One Soccer Nation (OSN) all views expressed by him and the guests on his podcast are solely their opinions and do not reflect the views of One Soccer Nation. You should not treat any opinion expressed by Kareem or his guests as a specific inducement to make a particular investment or follow a particular strategy, but only as an expression of his personal opinion. This podcast is for informational purposes only. Investment opportunities are offered through One Soccer Nation LLC. The information contained herein is provided for informational and discussion purposes only and is not intended to be a recommendation for any investment, service, product, or other advice of any kind, and shall not constitute or imply an offer of any kind. Any investment opportunities and/or products or services shown here will only be completed pursuant to formal offering materials, a letter of intent, and/or any other agreements as determined by One Soccer Nation containing full details regarding risks, minimum investment, fees, and expenses of such transaction. The terms of any product, service, or particular investment opportunity, including size, costs, and other characteristics, are set forth in the applicable constituent documents for such product, service or particular investment opportunity and may differ materially from those presented in this presentation.