Maine’s Hearts of Pine (Part I): How a Vision Became a Professional Soccer Club

In this episode of Elegant Maine Living, I sit down with Gabe Hoffman-Johnson, founder of Hearts of Pine, Maine’s first professional soccer club. Gabe shares the remarkable five-year journey—part vision, part endurance, and part community movement—that brought professional soccer to Portland.

From a childhood shaped by both the game of soccer and a deep commitment to social impact, Gabe describes how his upbringing, professional experience, and connection to Maine converged to create the conditions for Hearts of Pine. He reflects on the spark that came in 2018 when the United Soccer League announced plans for a new professional division and how he realized that Portland was, in his view, “the best untapped market for pro soccer in the country.”

Gabe walks through the entrepreneurial path: capitalizing the company, navigating franchise negotiations, securing stadium agreements, raising capital, and building a grassroots community long before a single match was played. He also shares candid insight into the most challenging moments, the personal toll of the work, and the moments of encouragement that kept the project alive.

We discuss how Hearts of Pine has become much more than a sports team—it is a cultural connector, a place where Mainers of every age and background see themselves reflected on and off the field. And we explore why players from around the world now view Portland as a top destination within the league and what this means for the future of the club and the state.

💬 Key Themes

• The origins of Hearts of Pine: how soccer and social impact shaped Gabe’s worldview and guided the creation of the club
• Portland as a soccer market: why Maine’s identity, culture, and community pride made Portland the ideal city for a professional team
• The five-year startup journey: raising capital, working with city officials, negotiating with the League, and engaging thousands of supporters
• Building community from the inside out: the watch parties, youth programs, and public events that formed the club’s early foundation
• Team recruitment: how the club attracted top coaching and global players—and why Maine is now one of the most desirable markets in USL1
• What this means for Maine: the cultural, social, and economic ripple effects of a professional sports franchise in our state

If You’re New to Hearts of Pine

The club will continue its home matches at Fitzpatrick Stadium in 2026. If you haven’t yet attended a game, add it to your calendar—you will feel the energy, connection, and community that Gabe and his team have built.

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Transcript

Elise Kiely: [00:00:00] Hi friends, and welcome to Elegant Maine Living. I'm your host, Elise Kiely.  As a global real estate advisor with Legacy Properties Sotheby's International Realty, I'm fortunate not only to represent some of Maine's most beautiful homes, but to help people fall in love with this state, whether they're discovering it for the first time or seeing it with fresh eyes after generations of being here, Maine has so much to be proud of, and I love sharing the stories of the remarkable people, those quiet doers [00:01:00] and bold visionaries who make this part of the world so special. So, whether you are here for insight into Maine's real estate market, or simply to celebrate the way life should be, I am glad you are here.

And today I have an inspiring young visionary, Gabe Hoffman Johnson, who executed an ambitious and perhaps crazy idea creating from scratch Maine's first professional soccer club, Hearts of Pine. Wait till you hear how he got started and how he overcame some of the major obstacles he faced in bringing this idea to reality and the outstanding impact it has had on this community.

But before we get started, I have a question for listeners. Have you ever been part of something? It could be a sports team, it could be a theater cast, a neighborhood or a community where you felt an instant sense of belonging. What a gift that is. What if a simple game, a [00:02:00] ball rolling across a field, kicking it into a net, could bring a diverse group of people of all ages, backgrounds, and stories together?

That's the kind of connection that Gabe and Hearts of Pine are creating here in Maine. He has built something bigger than just soccer. It's about culture, community, and connection. Today we are going to dive into the story behind Hearts of Pine. The challenges of taking the idea to a reality and the overwhelming success and what it means for Maine's future.

Gabe, welcome. 

Gabe Hoffman-Johnson: Yeah, thank you for having me. 

Elise Kiely: It is so fun personally for me to have you in the studio. Gabe, I've known you I think over 20 years. Yeah, 

Gabe Hoffman-Johnson: I think that's probably right. Yeah. I think we, we moved to Maine and. 2002, something like that. You were in middle school? Yeah. 

Elise Kiely: And even in middle school in Falmouth, a community just north of Portland.

I got to know your, [00:03:00] both your parents and your sister and your brother and you have a beautiful family just. It's just an outstanding Maine family. And I think back to when you were in middle school and high school in Falmouth, and you were an obvious soccer standout from a very young age, and then we were so proud of you when you were recruited to Dartmouth.

And I think we are, you were captain of the Dartmouth soccer team. I 

Gabe Hoffman-Johnson: was, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Phenomenal school and community there as well. So yeah, I was fortunate to be captain there my last year. 

Elise Kiely: So soccer has been in your blood ever since you were a young boy, and we are going to get to the Hearts of Pine journey and the story, which is so interesting and we have got some great stories to share.

But would you mind giving us some background of your upbringing and your roots here in Maine? 

Gabe Hoffman-Johnson: Yeah, no, happy to. Yeah, was really raised by this game in some ways, my, my father grew up outside of Boston and, at a period of time when, youth soccer didn't really exist in this country, so the late sixties, early [00:04:00] seventies and he was able to play when he got to high school and fell in love with this game, and he played in college and his profession, his career was coaching coach collegically and was an athletic director. So I was born into. The soccer community and, in locker rooms and on the field with college players and around it.

Since, before I can remember really what 

Elise Kiely: an, what an inspiration and upbringing that must have been for you. Soccer was probably one of your first words. Yeah, I think it 

Gabe Hoffman-Johnson: might have been ball. 

Elise Kiely: Same with my son, actually. Yeah. That's funny. Yeah. Yeah. 

Gabe Hoffman-Johnson: That clearly had a big impact on me and but I think the part of the story that, probably sets the stage, as much for, for Hearts of Pine is my mother's work as well.

And her, she's an international peace builder and mostly focused on reconciliation and conflict resolution work predominantly in Sierra Leone. And so it was raised by. Basically raised by soccer and social impact.

Elise Kiely: Gabe, if I can stop you there I know both your parents incredible people and what an inspiration they must have been to you.

And I had the pleasure of reading your mother's book. She's now an award-winning [00:05:00] author and I'm going give a plug for her book. Yeah, please do. Because it is it's very inspirational. It's called, the Answers Are There by Libby Hoffman, and it's, the tagline is Building Peace from the Inside out and.

Message me, contact me, and I'm happy to lend you a book. Or give you a book. But it has been a, it's been a terrific read and I can only imagine having read that, seeing what you are doing through Hearts of Pine. I see the, the Venn diagram, the overlap there. 

Gabe Hoffman-Johnson: Yeah, no, a hundred percent. I think it's interesting too for me, as I like self-reflect, and certainly, when you met me and when I was a young kid, I think the, you are, you are like loosely aware of these things, but you are more focused on, the game you have on the weekend, what are you going do with your friends, all the, and found an incredible place to grow up and so much to be grateful for, but as it wasn't until.

You start to get older and the instinctual piece is just the way I see the world, molded by, two phenomenal individuals whose, you know, general, perspective is how can I contribute, right? How can I make the world a better place? How can I make the individuals whose lives I'm, involved with.

Better. [00:06:00] And yeah, there's certainly a lot of inspiration from both of 'em. And so this is I've always said, Hearts of Pine is the best way that I know how to make the most impact in the world. In the city and state that I love and this sort of combination of. Of soccer and community and a real interest in making an impact.

And it's just who I am, 

Elise Kiely: That's such an interesting background that you have. Did you feel this, you say when you came of age that it you realized it more and more, which I think is only natural and you look at the greater world, not just your world, and was it Hearts of Pine that really was the vehicle for your expressing that same sentiment?

Or did you have that even before? Hearts of Pine? 

Gabe Hoffman-Johnson: I think it, what it allowed it created I think the best outlet for it. I, as I was, I played professionally for one year out of college. And then I worked in finance in New York for two years and there was this desire and interest in contributing and being a part of a larger solution.

And I'm the type of person that my cup gets filled by supporting others, right? And but the outlet of starting a soccer club, it wasn't until, [00:07:00] it's still a long time ago now, probably, but it wasn't until 2018. Something along those lines where. There's these pieces outside of my control that have, put the ingredients that have allowed this to happen.

And part of that is, just the creation of this new league that, that allows for Portland to have a team and these sort of macro tailwinds behind soccer in this country. If this was 10 years ago, this wouldn't have been possible, right? The infrastructure wasn't in place, there weren't enough soccer fans to, to allow for these, lower division professional clubs to exist.

Elise Kiely: So it sounds like it was a perfect storm of of social impact efforts and this new league. And so the United Soccer League is USL one. Yeah. And that, I'm just learning that from the research I've done, so I'm don't have the soccer background that was just starting to really take traction around the same 2018, 2019.

Gabe Hoffman-Johnson: Yeah. I think it was announced in 2018 that they were going start the League and then their first year was 2019. 

Elise Kiely: Wow. Okay. And that's, I've heard that's when you had the light bulb moment. Of, maybe we could do this in Portland. Could you describe that for us? 

Gabe Hoffman-Johnson: [00:08:00] Yeah, no, a hundred percent. I think I, I remember like reading the article I was sitting in the office in New York and the League came out with their intentions of starting this team, and there was a follow up article in Portland Press Herald, not that long after, of, the USL sending executives to town to try to, scout Portland as a potential market to, to have a club. And that's when, those first thoughts started happening of you know what, this would be perfect.

And it's the right thing in the right place at the right time. I think for. For the growth of this game in this country and where we are going. 

Elise Kiely: Were you worried reading that article that somebody was going to beat you to it? 

Gabe Hoffman-Johnson: I don't know about worried as much as I think when I first read it, it was like, yeah, great that should happen. It took a little while for me to realize the role that I had to play in it. And then, I ended up moving home and started digging around a little bit. Meeting with the Maine Sports Commission and just having a few conversations around, what would this look like what steps have been taken, what's the interest level?

What would be needed to, push this forward? And as I was starting to have those conversations, it became pretty clear [00:09:00] the need was still there for someone to really grab this thing and be the steward and help make it happen in order for it to do

Elise Kiely: that's, it just seems like things really aligned beautifully between the formation of the League, your desire to move back home, and this idea that you could galvanize the powers that be in Maine for a greater good and soccer seems to be the vehicle for the greater good. 

Gabe Hoffman-Johnson: A hundred percent. Yeah. I'd, I like to refer to it, to me soccer is just a medium, right?

It's a common language, similar to music or art, and I think there's, it's really just this conduit for so much more if if you recognize that and if you can, use it. There's so much more that can come from, it can be so much more than just a game itself.

Elise Kiely: And we are going talk about that because that, I think that's such an important part of the success and the energy behind Hearts of Pine before we get there.

Because I think a lot of us are interested in entrepreneurs and startups and the energy and the creativity, the courage that it takes to start a business. And I think of [00:10:00] Hearts of Pine as being a startup. 

Gabe Hoffman-Johnson: Yeah. 

Elise Kiely: And people probably look at you and think, oh, overnight success, but it was a long path.

Gabe Hoffman-Johnson: Yeah. Five years of work. Yeah. 

Elise Kiely: Five years of work and that was. Probably taking up the vast majority of your time and resources. 

Gabe Hoffman-Johnson: Correct? Yeah, and I treated it like a startup. So there was probably a year of poking around and having conversations and ultimately in early 2020, which is ironic, we capitalized the company to take a run at this thing, to, to pay myself to work on it full time to, work with architects and engineers and work on stadium feasibility studies and, we brought on a consultant who'd worked with some other clubs and, the infant stages and, has a better understanding of, okay, how do you move, how do you navigate a franchise agreement, with the League?

And what are the key considerations that you are looking for in a stadium? And and some of those pieces. But yeah, it was four or five years of chasing down, the agreement with the League and the agreement with the city and the place to play. Raising cap the rest of the capital that we needed and then building the community along the way.

Elise Kiely: Was it hard to raise capital before you had the franchise agreement in place? It's a chicken and egg, I [00:11:00] imagine. 

Gabe Hoffman-Johnson: Yeah, a little bit. I think the, we, that first like friends and family round that we did in 2020 was myself and some family members and a local local developers, Jonathan and Catherine Coley, and great people.

Great people. And there was this, I think whether it was a belief in me or belief in the concept, there was this, this, I think collective belief that there, there should be pro soccer in Portland. And if there's any group that's going to, give it a go, this is the group and, and we were off and running and there was just, there was no way to know if it was going work or not.

But I think, the, for me it was always going happen. Yeah. I think the you have 

Elise Kiely: that entrepreneurial confidence. That someone needs to have as a founder? 

Gabe Hoffman-Johnson: Yeah. Or optimism or naivete or something along those lines, but yeah. Yeah. 

Elise Kiely: Gabe, let me ask you, because that's a long five years between capitalizing the company and having your first game were, I'm sure it was not a linear path.

And if you had known all of the obstacles then that you know now, would you still have done the enterprise? 

Gabe Hoffman-Johnson: Yeah, I think obviously seeing the success and being where we are now, I think [00:12:00] absolutely. It's definitely there aren't many people that know how challenging it was.

Both like physically, but mentally and just, some of those years were the hardest years of my life as there was, this belief and understanding of what it could do and the challenges that we had to go through to get other people on board that were necessary, that were the stakeholders, the decision makers to, to allow this to happen.

It wasn't easy, right? And we were fairly public with the process too, we were hosting events in public with our intentions and, the pro soccer coming to Portland and so there was this growing group of people that were aware and engaged and included in that process.

And I. It's interesting like that was a motivating factor too. All of a sudden there's thousands of people who are, bought in and think this is the coolest thing going on and want to support it and you don't want to let them down. 

Elise Kiely: It's a, you must have felt a tremendous responsibility Yeah.

For the opportunity and for this immediate fan base that you had even before the first kick. Yeah. On the pitch for most startups raising capital is [00:13:00] one of the most important things that you can do, especially early on, and investors look at returns in different way. They look for a financial return, they look or some, and some look for social impact.

Was social impact a large part of your pitch to investors? 

Gabe Hoffman-Johnson: Yeah I think the, especially in the early days. Yeah. I think the professional sports is an interesting asset class, right? There's, there's an asset appreciation play, but it's not the best business in the world.

Our year to year cash flow is like usually negative. And that's just, that's normal. That's part of the industry. That's part of the industry, right? So like for there's lots of different pieces, Malcolm Gladwell compares sports ownership to fine art, right? Where there's this sort of like scarcity and appreciation piece, but there's also this inherent, enjoyment of, having this, owning this unique piece of art. And so for people to, you don't even have to be a soccer fan, but I want to support Portland. I want to support Maine. I tend to think that this is a, this club is a direct investment in, the future vitality of Maine.

Both economically and community and culturally. 

Elise Kiely: I so see that [00:14:00] Gabe, I think, yeah, I, and my sense is on the outside looking in that a lot of the investors did this for the love of the state. Yeah. And what they saw this could do for the state. And not just Portland, but the entire state.

And I do want to talk about that. Not just Portland, but the entire state. Yeah. because I think that's a big, that's a big part of it. And I also find it interesting as we are seeing over the last several years, as I see it, a growing trend of social impact investing. And people are using DAFs and direct advisory funds and that kind of thing to invest in social causes some with a financial return, some without. I think your timing is really interesting to attract investors and participants. 

Gabe Hoffman-Johnson: Yeah. Yeah. No, and maybe some of those macro pieces. Were supportive. I think the, for me the, I'm a do well by doing good person.

And I think it's the kind of asset class where you know you are not going lose your shirt off your back and, you are, it's a long time horizon for any potential return, but you are going have a lot of fun along the way and you are [00:15:00] going to have a lot of impact in a lot of people's lives.

Elise Kiely: You definitely have provided fun and impact to the state and let's turn a little bit and talk about the negotiations with the League. Was, it sounds like they came, they discovered Portland before you introduced yourself to them. Was it a hard sell to convince them of Portland, Maine? 

Gabe Hoffman-Johnson: Not really.

And I think this is one of the beauties of Portland and Maine in general it just, it sells itself. And I was I've used this sort of before we started, but I, I generally thought of Portland as the best untapped market for pro soccer in the entire country, regardless.

Elise Kiely: And why is that? 

Gabe Hoffman-Johnson: Regardless level is, there's a lot of what the growth of this game is largely driven by, this younger, more diverse demographic who craves culture and connection and being a part of something larger than themselves. And there's a little bit of the.

There's a little bit of the soccer crowd that, tends to be maybe slightly left-leaning and have beards and tattoos and, like beards and beer is how the League refers to it. And you can just look at different markets around the US and what's been very successful, even at the MLS level, the Seattle's and the Portlands and the Nashvilles and the [00:16:00] Austins.

So a lot of what you know was changing Portland and the food and, beverage scene, indexes pretty highly for soccer fandom. And then. There's pieces about Mainers that I think are just outsized. There's like an outsized passion for things that are our own and our own sports teams.

And maybe that's a New England thing as well. I think 

Elise Kiely: it's definitely a Maine thing. Yeah. I can't speak to New England, but I sense it in Maine. we are very proud, 

Gabe Hoffman-Johnson: very proud, 

Elise Kiely: very hospitable, very welcoming. 

Yep. 

Very proud of our culture and our community. 

Gabe Hoffman-Johnson: Yeah. 

Elise Kiely: I had an interesting conversation with my friend Elizabeth Moss, who owns the art gallery in Falmouth and one in Portland.

And we were talking about the history of Monhegan Island and how post World War ii, the artists would come to what was then just a lobsterman fisherman community. And they were incredibly welcomed by that community because the artist respected the island and respected the culture and the community.

And I think that's a wonderful metaphor for how Maine is. 

Gabe Hoffman-Johnson: Yeah. Yeah. No, and as we are evolving too, it's this Yeah. Fusion [00:17:00] of, history and modernity with like almost this preservation is progress. As we continue into the future, at the very least, to honor and respect it.

Elise Kiely: So it sounds like the League was very open to Portland, had discovered Portland. How long did it take for you to be awarded the franchise? 

Gabe Hoffman-Johnson: Yeah, so I mean there's sort of two phases to it. There's an early expansion agreement, which is, you secure the rights to to move down the path and, secure the stadium. There's different key milestones that you need to reach along the way. There's financial pieces, there's, infrastructure pieces, mostly a stadium and that's, that was relatively easy. I think the, there was a lot about a former player and someone locally to, to be the face and to move this forward. And then the market itself that, the USL was quite excited about Portland and the potential here. And then the harder part to actually secure the franchise is, those key thresholds, like having a lease agreement.

Those are like, all the work with the city is the, that was the challenge that took, years. And part of that is. You are evaluating, different locations [00:18:00] and places to play and, but in addition to that, I guess the, the city of Portland and all the different, challenges and things that they have and how do get the attention that you need and help people understand the real benefit of this and get their buy-in to help move it forward. 

Elise Kiely: I can only imagine how instrumental Jonathan and Catherine Culley were as part of that process, as such well-respected developers in Portland and knowing the city and the interactions with the city.

Yeah. Was the Fitzpatrick Stadium the first choice for your stadium, or the only choice? 

Gabe Hoffman-Johnson: Yeah, I think initially it was clearly the front runner. Based on location, a lot of the infrastructure pieces like parking, to be so close to Hadlock where the Sea Dogs play. And so close to the expo where the Celtics play this sort of like sports hub and really only being the only existing sports facility that could fit soccer.

And there were some challenges around, the track and the field width and some pieces about it that weren't perfect. So we did spend some time looking at other alternatives and ultimately came back to, to [00:19:00] Fitzpatrick as the most viable. So 

Elise Kiely: Did you ever consider locating the team outside of Portland in a different community, maybe near Portland?

Gabe Hoffman-Johnson: Yeah, we certainly considered it and to me, I think the early phase diligence that we went through, and that was, lots of different pieces, but one of 'em was, talking with different franchises around the country and not just soccer, basketball and hockey and so the amount of conversations we had with individuals who had done this before, hey, we are, we are trying to start something. What are the key considerations? And, time and time again location, accessibility, visibility, walkability, downtown, urban, all those pieces are just super, super important.

And then, I think to be the communities club and there's so much I'm sure we'll get to it on the, on the brand side and the sort of like values piece of who we are. It, it should be downtown. 

Elise Kiely: Yeah. And you can be down, you can be driving down 2 95 or north on 2 95 and you are right off the highway and you are right there at the stadium.

Or you can be driving by and see the stadium full and the pink smoke going and [00:20:00] everything. Yeah. Yeah. Which is super fun. Let's turn a little bit to some of the highs and even some of the lows and the lessons learned. Thinking back on that five year journey, and I know the journey's not over, it's continuing, right?

Yeah. But the first segment, the first chapter, perhaps, what were some of the highlights for you? 

Gabe Hoffman-Johnson: Yeah. I think the, one of the things that was looking back, very beneficial for us. The, you know what? I've loved more support and be able to move some of the stadium pieces forward quicker, of course.

But what that allowed for us to do is really look to the community themselves. And it's interesting you or talked about my mom's book and building peace from the inside out I think. Part of what we did is we built this community, this around, this idea, this promise of a club from the inside out.

So over those, years of working to, solve for this stadium solution we were hosting watch parties at all the local soccer bars. We were hosting, welcome events with the immigrant welcome center on, using soccer as this sort of medium. We were, hosting town [00:21:00] halls and having conversations and the, it was.

Really this brick by brick bar by bar at times. To really grow the level of awareness, grow the level of input from Mainers themselves. I had this, firm belief in order for this to be the best possible version of itself, that it could be the, it has to be born of Mainers.

And I have my own thoughts and ideas, but the, built by Maine for Maine. And we did that, 

Elise Kiely: I remember Gabe Gabe seeing you one time it, and. I think it's important that listeners understand this was not all coat and tie cocktail parties trying to raise money.

I saw you with a big net of, I don't know, 15 soccer balls slung over your shoulder, going off to one of the pitches of soccer field Yeah. In, on the peninsula. And you were going as part of a community project to help young children and mostly immigrant children. Yeah. Throw around a soccer ball, kick around a soccer ball.

And I You were probably did that a hundred [00:22:00] times. Yeah. Of that's, and that's part of what you did as community building. Yeah. And in addition to the watch parties and the bars like Zoo or o other places. Yeah. So it is day by day. Yeah. So it's not just five years, it's five years times 365 days of all of that activity.

Yeah. Which, which takes a lot of commitment. So if you are willing to share, what were some of the real challenging times? 

Gabe Hoffman-Johnson: Yeah. I think mostly personal, honestly, I think the the I'm, I have this like high achiever gene and the, to me there was no question of this not happening.

It was when, not if. And there was always a light at the end of the tunnel. And looking back, there was every single time when I was starting to feel overwhelmed or, lost or, hopeless, something would happen. Somebody would re, there's whatever it was.

There would be like a glimmer or, it was as if there was just like some guardian who was like, no, this is going happen and we just need to, we need to continue to [00:23:00] help you along your way. 

Elise Kiely: I love that you share that, Gabe, because I think that is, in any endeavor like this, there's going to be challenging times, there's going to be low points, and you have to look for the good.

Yeah. You have to look for those points of light that shine in and give you some little bit more bit of hope Yeah. To let you continue on. 

Gabe Hoffman-Johnson: And I think that's, you mentioned the, the events in the community. I think that's part of the reason why I was doing that. It was like that was keeping me going.

The work with the kids and, to really show people part of the strategy was just to grow the game and grow the awareness of. The real power of the game. And that's the stuff that was fulfilling for me. So while, some of the, city conversation or whatever the case may be was challenging.

It was like, no, I can always and then that would be just the perfect reminder of I. There's so much potential good that can come from this actually happening. And it's, we saw that as a responsibility to go make that happen. 

Elise Kiely: It sounds like those interactions and those engagements you had with different parts of the community, little children, seven, eight years old [00:24:00] and people at the Zoo watching big soccer games.

Yeah. Aren't you proud of me that I know what the Zoo is? Very good. Yeah. You have that diverse group of people all pulling for you, all supporting. And I know you see it as a responsibility. And I think the way you've positioned Hearts of Pine is everybody feels like they are part of it. Yeah. They're an agent.

Yeah. They're all investors. Totally. They all have a piece of ownership of it. Totally. And I think that's such a important part of the. And why you have gotten such great fan support. And we are going get to that in a second. And if we could let's talk about the team and the fan support because that, this part of the story is so interesting.

Tell us about the team. How did, was it hard to recruit players? This is a new league. 

Gabe Hoffman-Johnson: Yeah. So the, yeah. the League, was in, started in 2019, but it was the largest year of expansion in the League. So we were joining with a number of other teams and, we hired our coach in November.

And, preseason started in January. Wow. So there's a short runway. 

Elise Kiely: So you had to recruit a coach to move to Maine? Yep. Or have a presence here? 

Gabe Hoffman-Johnson: Yep. 

Elise Kiely: Honestly, Gabe, weren't [00:25:00] you tempted to coach? 

Gabe Hoffman-Johnson: I have zero business coaching. Yeah. I mean there's, I love the game and maybe I have a little bit more soccer knowledge than some other, owners or, whatever.

But I think it's. It's a, it's not for me. 

Elise Kiely: Okay. Okay. I, if I were you, I would've been tempted, but yeah. So you recruited the coach and then his responsibility was to build the roster. Build the roster out, yeah. And was that hard to do in Maine? Yeah, 

Gabe Hoffman-Johnson: I think the, I would say it's not very hard to put together like a decent roster.

And one of the examples I use it's it's very hard to put together a very good roster. But the, you can think about minor league baseball, right? So every major league team has aaa, aa, and single A team. And just the sheer amount of roster spots that, that fit in that ecosystem and in soccer.

This lower division infrastructure is still growing. So there's this massive, disconnect between, the supply of good players in the US and around the world, and the availability of roster spots in lower division soccer in the US. So there's so many good players. The real challenge is the identification and the recruitment [00:26:00] and finding the right people, what are the things that matter to us? We obviously want to win, but there's a yes and and so the, being bought in to the project and the commitment to the community and, our, I want our players to be accessible and I want them to be out in the community and I want them to be, to want to be here.

And I want them to, be working with young players and, going on whatever sort of, public appearance and, whatever the additional work is that's an important piece of wanting to be here. And I think the, during the recruitment process, we had already built this pretty large following on social media, and I think there was this general buzz around.

Oh, this team in Portland looks like they're going be mm-hmm. Looks like they're going be well supported, so that, that's pretty interesting, I think, to, to some players. But yeah, it's very different, I think then to where we are now, where I think we are the number one destination in our league to, to play.

Elise Kiely: Is that right? 

Gabe Hoffman-Johnson: Yeah, absolutely. 

Elise Kiely: That's fantastic. Congratulations. And being in real estate, I have to ask, is it hard to house the players during the season? 

Gabe Hoffman-Johnson: Yeah, it's definitely, like the the real estate, market can be challenging in [00:27:00] downtown Portland for lower division soccer player to live.

So we have a good, we have a good partnership with Maine properties and most of our players are out in Westbrook. In a, in apartments. Jonathan and Catherine help from, time to time, whether it's like front office staff, and so there's a few of our players that live downtown.

But the general agreement would be, we pay the salary, we pay the housing. And some of our older players that have wives, we give a housing stipend and they, they can choose where they live, 

Elise Kiely: where they live. That's I love hearing that this is a very attractive destination for recruiting players.

Gabe Hoffman-Johnson: Yeah. 

Elise Kiely: Maine is so special for so many reasons. I love it when people come to Maine and they get it. 

Gabe Hoffman-Johnson: Yeah. And that's, that's been one of the better we have players from Trinidad and Australia and France and England, and. Texas and Michigan, and California, and Florida and they all showed up in January or February in Maine.

So there was this almost apprehension of okay guys it's going be better. But the way that the community has supported them and the, to see how much they've enjoyed their experience [00:28:00] and fallen in love with and like the place and the people. That's wonderful. It's been really special.

Elise Kiely: That's wonderful. Gabe, thank you for sharing in the first half of this two part episode, your story and your vision behind the Hearts of Pine. It is so inspiring to see you take your passion for soccer and turn it into a purpose-driven movement from Maine. Thank you for sharing the five-year journey of creating Hearts of Pine as a startup.

Everything from raising capital. From investors finding the stadium, dealing with the city and the franchise agreement. In our next episode, we are going to dive more deeply into the community aspect of Hearts of Pine and everything from the team dynamics to the incredibly enthusiastic support of the very diverse fan base.

And we are going to talk a little bit about your personal guiding stars, Gabe, as well. For our listeners, if you [00:29:00] have not yet been to our Hearts of Pine Game, please make sure you do. In 2026, you are going to feel the energy, the connection, and the community that Gabe and his team are building. If you enjoyed today's episode, please share it with a friend, neighbor, or coworker, and follow along for more conversations about not only real estate, but our community and the visionaries that make Maine such a special place to live, work, and play.

As always, if I can be of assistance in your real estate journey, please do not hesitate to send me an email at elise@eliseKiely.com or comment on this episode. As always, this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only, and does not create either a real estate advisory or attorney-client relationship.

This is elegant Maine living the way life should be, and until next time, keep living with [00:30:00] elegance.