Chicago FC United

Tax status: for-profit (3STEP Sports portfolio club)

Overview

Chicago FC United is an elite youth soccer organization headquartered in Glenview, IL (administrative office at 3090 N Lake Terrace), with its primary competition venue at the Vernon Hills Athletic Complex. The club was founded in 2003 and has grown through merger and acquisition into a full-pathway organization spanning U4 recreational through semi-professional men’s play. In 2016, FC United merged with Chicago Magic Soccer Club (founded 1989), consolidating coaching staff, facilities, and competitive teams. The combined organization also operates Trevians Soccer Club and runs tournament operations through Soccer Events Group (including the Labor Day weekend Chicago Cup).

Legal & Ownership Structure

FC United is owned by 3STEP Sports, the largest PE-backed youth-sports platform in the United States. The acquisition occurred on June 15, 2022, when 3STEP acquired SMP Holdings (Sports Made Personal) — the parent company of FC United, founded by Chad Gruen. SMP brought soccer and lacrosse clubs, leagues, events, and technology assets to 3STEP. Gruen subsequently became CEO of 3STEP Sports in 2024.

3STEP itself is backed by Juggernaut Capital Partners, with co-investment from Ares Management and Fiume Capital. As of April 2026, 3STEP has retained Goldman Sachs to explore a sale of the platform (per Sportico reporting), creating near-term uncertainty about long-term ownership of FC United.

Because the club operates inside a for-profit corporate structure, no Form 990 is filed; club-level financials are not publicly disclosed.

Teams & Players

Boys and girls programs span U4 through U19, with semi-professional men’s play extending to U23+. Total player count is not publicly disclosed, but SoccerWire ranked FC United #30 boys club (June 2021) and #31 girls club (September 2022) nationally, placing it among the top tier of Midwest clubs by competitive output.

The U19 Boys Pre-Academy Red team won the 2021 USYS National Championship, the most recent of several national-level competitive results.

League Affiliations

• MLS NEXT — founding member; competes in the Homegrown Division
• Girls Academy — founding member; Mid-America Conference
• ECNL-RL (operated under the Chicago Magic brand for boys)
• USL League Two — semi-professional men’s team (added 2017; replaced the Chicago Fire Premier slot in the PDL); divisional titles in 2018 (PDL Central), 2019 (Great Lakes), and 2022 (Heartland)

The club holds franchise rights across three national platforms simultaneously — an unusual configuration in U.S. youth soccer, particularly for a single metro market.

Facilities

• Vernon Hills Athletic Complex (primary outdoor home) — FC United co-invested with the Vernon Hills Park District in 2019 to install synthetic turf on three soccer fields. This co-investment structure creates a quasi-tenancy with shared capital exposure rather than pure rental.
• Bridgeview Sports Dome — USL League Two home venue
• Administrative office in Glenview

Leadership

• Chad Gruen — founder of SMP/FC United; now CEO of 3STEP Sports (since 2024)
• Greg Waldbaum — President
• Paul Jameson — CFO
• Tari Haro — Chief Growth Officer
• Jeff DeGroot — Boys Youth Director and MLS NEXT Academy Director
• Logan Pause — Head coach, USL League Two team

Competitive Position

FC United is the leading PE-backed youth club in the Chicago metro and one of the few clubs in the country holding both MLS NEXT and Girls Academy founding-member status alongside USL League Two. Its primary local competition for elite boys talent is the Chicago Fire FC Academy (the MLS first-team’s pre-professional pathway, free to players); for girls, it competes with regional ECNL clubs and the broader Midwest GA conference. The club’s facility co-investment at Vernon Hills is a meaningful differentiator against tenant-only peers.

Industry Context

FC United exemplifies the PE-backed platform model in youth soccer: a long-tenured local club (FC United/Magic, combined operating history dating to 1989) absorbed into a national operator with cross-portfolio scale in coaching, technology, events, and back-office services. The pending 3STEP sale process is the most-watched transaction in U.S. youth sports as of mid-2026 and could reshape ownership of FC United and the broader 3STEP soccer portfolio (which also includes several other clubs). For the local Chicago landscape, FC United’s combination of MLS NEXT + GA + USL2 franchise rights creates a competitive moat that would be difficult for any independent club to replicate without league-slot acquisition.

Open Questions

• Combined FC United + Chicago Magic + Trevians player count and team count
• Club-level revenue contribution within the 3STEP portfolio
• Long-term lease terms at Vernon Hills Athletic Complex following the 2019 turf co-investment
• Whether 3STEP’s sale process will result in individual club spin-outs or a whole-platform transaction
• Trevians Soccer Club’s operating role within the combined org