Dan Feeney, who co-owns the Philadelphia Sport and Social Club with Tim Horan, knows that putting customers first is key to the success of their sports
leagues and social events, but he has also
experienced the work involved in getting a business to that point.
PSSC was started in 1993 by a woman in Chicago who wanted to offer intramural sports to recent college grads. However, after the dot com bubble burst in the early 2000’s, PSSC, along with so many other businesses, fell apart. “At that time, people were taking whatever scraps they could. When Tim started as Director in 2004, he was cleaning up a mess left by previous owners who had canceled leagues midseason, taken everyone’s money, and left town. So when Tim and I bought the business in August 2008, we did so with the goal of turning it around while making the organization more fun and social.”
Dan and Tim had to make many big changes to get PSSC back on track. “When Tim came on there were about 400 teams playing with us around the city, and there was a lot of time-wasting and delays in getting people information, simply because there was a lapse in communication between the head organizers in Chicago and the players here in Philly. So we really tried to trim the fat and make things more efficient.”
Dan says that organization and simplicity are hugely important when running leagues and events. “We’re very organized and pride ourselves on running quality leagues with solid, well-trained staff. We want people to be able to just show up and play, and we place league managers at games so that they can help people find fields or pickup their t-shirts, and just generally offer help to players.”
Dan says that customer feedback is critical for their business. “We’re always looking for feedback. If our staff members hear negative feedback, we want to know about it so that we can seek people out and find solutions. We don’t want to run PSSC like a dictatorship. If we have 10 teams in a league that all want to play according to a certain set of rules, that’s fine with us because we consider it their league, not ours.”
One feature that sets PSSC apart is their dual-focus on both sports and social events. “We host Phillies tailgate parties once a month in the summer, where people come out for beer, burgers, and hot dogs before the game. We run summer tournaments down the shore that are meant to be a day of competition and fun at the beach. All of our leagues also have sponsor bars for participants to go to for specials after games.”
PSSC was started in 1993 by a woman in Chicago who wanted to offer intramural sports to recent college grads. However, after the dot com bubble burst in the early 2000’s, PSSC, along with so many other businesses, fell apart. “At that time, people were taking whatever scraps they could. When Tim started as Director in 2004, he was cleaning up a mess left by previous owners who had canceled leagues midseason, taken everyone’s money, and left town. So when Tim and I bought the business in August 2008, we did so with the goal of turning it around while making the organization more fun and social.”
Dan and Tim had to make many big changes to get PSSC back on track. “When Tim came on there were about 400 teams playing with us around the city, and there was a lot of time-wasting and delays in getting people information, simply because there was a lapse in communication between the head organizers in Chicago and the players here in Philly. So we really tried to trim the fat and make things more efficient.”
Dan says that organization and simplicity are hugely important when running leagues and events. “We’re very organized and pride ourselves on running quality leagues with solid, well-trained staff. We want people to be able to just show up and play, and we place league managers at games so that they can help people find fields or pickup their t-shirts, and just generally offer help to players.”
Dan says that customer feedback is critical for their business. “We’re always looking for feedback. If our staff members hear negative feedback, we want to know about it so that we can seek people out and find solutions. We don’t want to run PSSC like a dictatorship. If we have 10 teams in a league that all want to play according to a certain set of rules, that’s fine with us because we consider it their league, not ours.”
One feature that sets PSSC apart is their dual-focus on both sports and social events. “We host Phillies tailgate parties once a month in the summer, where people come out for beer, burgers, and hot dogs before the game. We run summer tournaments down the shore that are meant to be a day of competition and fun at the beach. All of our leagues also have sponsor bars for participants to go to for specials after games.”
Running a business that’s all about creating fun experiences for people, Dan and Tim naturally find themselves improving their city and helping nonprofits. “We donate money to parks and recreation centers to show our appreciation for using their fields, because that really is the life of our business. Without a place to play, we couldn’t operate. We also try to help with improving the fields. At times that has meant chopping down trees and raking infields, but it helps everyone—us, the youth programs, rec centers, and all those using the space.” In addition to sponsoring Empowerment Group’s Inaugural Dodgeball Tournament Fundraiser for our Youth Entrepreneurship Program, PSSC also partners with the Philadelphia Soul, the American Cancer Society, and other groups looking to use sports tournaments to raise money and awareness. For the near future, Dan says that PSSC would like to increase from their current 1,600 teams to 2,000. “We have 15,000 people play in our leagues each year, and we’ve expanded to South Jersey and West Chester, but we want to grow and reach across the whole Delaware Valley.” Dan, Tim, and all those at PSSC know that their goals are reachable, as long as they continue their tradition of putting customer satisfaction first.
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