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Armada FC’s Mark Frisch, New Chairman Of The Board, Is Ready To Chart A Bold Course

Frisch was elected to the position at the NASL's recent Board of Governors meeting
Jack Bell (@JackBell} | Oct 6, 2015

Jacksonville Armada FC is the most recent expansion team to take the field in the NASL and the team’s owner Mark Frisch is the newest Chairman of the league’s Board of Governors.

“I was extremely humbled to be selected and considered and voted in, especially now, at a time when the league is starting to catch some great momentum, adding teams and starting to look at some commercial opportunities,” Frisch said. “It’s a great time to be involved.”

Frisch was elected during league meetings this past week.

In Jacksonville, Frisch has overseen the successful launch of one of the league’s expansion teams. Though the Armada FC has struggled away from Community First Park, the club has lost only once at home and is averaging more than 8,000 fans a game, third in the league (the club played its inaugural match before more than 16,000 fans at EverBank Field).

“For me, I have to think big and bold,” Frisch said. “We have to talk about where we want this league to go and that’s why I’m really excited now. We’re kind of right there, getting to a critical mass of teams and now it starts to get really interesting. When we get to 16, 18, 20 teams it will make the league more exciting and interesting and we’ll be able to do some fun stuff. Let’s have some big, bold vision. Let’s look at any and every idea and see what can do to make the league the very best it can be. We need some bold and radical thoughts.”

Frisch is also the executive vice president of Beaver Street Fisheries, a leading importer, manufacturer, and distributor of frozen seafood products from the U.S. and around the world. For more than 60 years, the Jacksonville-based company has provided products to the food-service industry and retail market. He is the fourth generation of his family to lead the company, which was founded by his grandfather, Harry Frisch, and his great uncle Alfred in 1950. Mark Frisch joined the family business in 2003, after he graduated from the University of Florida.

“I’ll tell you that it’s a really competitive league on the field and the quality of play is great, the crowds have been excellent, we’ve done well at home, and a large part of it is the support that comes out for us,” he said. “We’ve seen a lot of close contests among athletes who want to win every game. That’s something you want to see. Our city has really embraced us through the year. We’re really happy to be in the league now with Miami and Puerto Rico and hopefully others joining soon. Everyone wants to reach out to us to see what we did. This year has been nothing but positives.”

As a forward-thinking young executive in the NASL, Frisch has definite ideas on how teams, particularly new clubs, should operate.

“I was talking with someone just the other day and he asked me what is the secret and I said there really is no secret,” Frisch said. “You can spend big money on players and that may not work. For me, the most important thing is to be very visible and relevant in the community. Not just you, as the owner, but also the team and the staff and everything. No matter where you go in Jacksonville, people know this team, who we are and what we do. People want to support us and they want us to succeed.”

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