Barcelona Dragons ready for ‘exciting’ new season after major off-season rebuild
Managing Director of American Football side says “shift of culture” was needed ahead of 2024 campaign
There is an air of righting wrongs in the Barcelona Dragons camp, as the team gears up for its fourth season in the European League of Football, which kicks off on May 25 with an away trip to the Helvetic Mercenaries.
“Accountability” was a word repeated by club Managing Director Jason Robinson at a presentation event with media at the Hard Rock Café in Plaça Catalunya in the center of Barcelona this week.
The team know things have been done poorly in the past – a record of two wins and ten losses last season left no illusions: a clean slate was needed. In came a new coaching staff, a new quarterback, while Robinson himself is barely a year in his role as Managing Director, a position roughly equivalent to General Manager. There was an exodus of players, staff, and sporting and business intelligence during this off-season: “It’s tough to lose ten games, sometimes people want to experience something else and test other waters,” the former Boise State special teams captain says.
“In six months, I had to find a general manager, a coach, and rebuild a roster.” During the off-season, Robinson points out that there were times where there were only two people working in the club, himself and club employee Carlotta Vallecoccia.
Robinson, founder and CEO of sports intelligence platform Playbook Five, is clear that the Dragons had to “become a work first, talk second franchise.” A “shift of culture” was needed, not just to become a winning team, but even just to keep the team afloat. It’s been a “tough” off-season with huge financial problems, after new owners came in last year taking over a team with a “sizeable amount of debt.” Robinson is part of the investors group Elite Sports Equity, which also includes former Super Bowl MVP Malcolm Smith.
Vallecoccia and Robinson got to work and found a coaching staff to guide the team, led by David Shelton, who brings 17 years of coaching experience with him, along with Shawn Cooper as offensive coordinator and Darion Simmons as defensive coordinator. Together, they bring more than football intelligence, they’re bringing a renewed energy and enthusiasm into the new season that can easily be felt in their presence.
New home, new rival
The team will even have a new home, having moved from Terrassa to Badalona, much closer to the Catalan capital of Barcelona and easily accessible by public transport. “Unfortunately, we didn’t sell a lot of tickets or merchandise last year, that’s a reality we’ve had to face,” Robinson tells Catalan News, hoping the move to Badalona will address this.
Further complications came at the announcement of a new franchise in the European League of Football: the Madrid Bravos. Robinson was taken by surprise at the establishment of a new team in his market which ended up taking some players and personnel from his team to the Spanish capital, making the off-season rebuild job even bigger. Yet, he sees it as an “opportunity” for both teams to commercially benefit from a gridiron equivalent to, what he calls, the “best rivalry in sports,” soccer’s clásico between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Despite all the off-season difficulties, the mood is one of palpable optimism heading into the new season. “It was tough but we got through it, not necessarily with money, but with honesty, truth, transparency, and good people.”
Fan initiatives
For the Dragons to be successful this year, they will have to find a way of engaging the public.
The move to Badalona will go a long way to that end, while Robinson is also particularly excited about the new ‘Dragon Pass’ option for fans, giving them behind-the-scenes access to practices, press conferences, and more. The Managing Director is also keen to embed his players more into the community, as some have done community work at the American School of Barcelona, as well as an upcoming ‘Run The Rambla’ campaign ahead of the first home game, engaging with supporters on a jog around the city.
“Our worst days are behind us and our best days are ahead of us, for sure.”
The Dragons open the new campaign away in Switzerland and then Madrid, before a home opener against Tirol Riders on June 8, followed by clashes against the Helvetic Mercenaries on June 15 and Seamen Milano one week later, on June 22. Tickets for all Barcelona Dragons games are available on Ticketmaster here.