Armada introduce Robert Palmer as new owner

R.P. Funding boss has Jacksonville connections

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After being run by the North American Soccer League since winter, the Jacksonville Armada have a new owner, Robert Palmer.

Palmer, president and CEO of R.P. Funding, Listing Power Tools and HomeValue.com, purchased the team from the NASL, which had been operating the team since the winter.

In 2015, Palmer tried to purchase a Southern Professional Hockey League team to move to Lakeland, but the deal fell through.

“While sports ownership has been a dream of mine since I was young, the business opportunity with Armada FC and the NASL was simply too good to pass up,” Palmer said. “I care deeply about the Jacksonville market and have both personal and professional interests in the area. My team at Robert Palmer Companies and I look forward to bringing our proven marketing and business strategies to this outstanding organization.” 

Palmer has Jacksonville connections. His companies first office was in Jacksonville and he has a home in Neptune Beach. His wife is from Jacksonville Beach and Palmer said that Jacksonville is an important city to him. 

“He has tremendous entrepreneurial savvy as a businessman and a strong belief in the growth potential of both the sport of soccer and the city of Jacksonville," said Rishi Sehgal, NASL interim commissioner. "Under Robert’s guidance and leadership, Armada FC fans and the soccer community in Jacksonville will have exciting times ahead.”

The club was founded with Mark Frisch as the owner, but Frisch sold the team to the NASL after the 2016 season. With Minnesota United leaving for MLS, the Tampa Bay Rowdies and Ottawa Fury joining the USL, and two more clubs, Rayo OKC and the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers ceasing operations, the league, and the Armada appeared to be in jeopardy late in 2016. 

The NASL was granted provisional Division 2 status by U.S. Soccer, providing some stability. With the addition of teams in San Francisco, who began playing this season, and teams announced in San Diego and Orange County, California, the league appears to be growing in the right directions once again. 

As for the Armada, a new owner promises the possibility of more resources. The club has the smallest roster in the NASL this season, is operating with only one assistant coach while most teams have at least two. The front office staff was also greatly reduced from the beginning of 2016 as Frisch and then the league began running a more austere operation.

Even with the leaner approach, the Armada managed to finish the Spring season in fourth place in the NASL, putting them in position to make a run at a post-season spot in the Fall Season, which opens July 30 with the Armada hosting the San Francisco Deltas at UNF's Hodges Stadium.

The club opened their existence to great fanfare, drawing big crowds to their first preseason match, a 3-1 victory over the Philadelphia Union of the MLS, then setting a league attendance record with 16,164 attending a 3-1 victory over FC Edmonton at EverBank Field on April 4, 2015. But the team failed to capitalize on the hot start, fading in the 2015 Spring Season, then collapsing at the end of the Fall, leading to the firing of head coach Guillermo Hoyos. 

Hoyos was replaced by U.S. soccer legend Tony Meola for 2016, but the club spent most of the year near the bottom of the table, promoting Meola to be fired and Mark Lowry to be moved into the head coaching role. Lowry stabilized the club at the end of the season and had the interim title taken off his title. During the Spring Season, Lowry has led the team to a fourth place record of 6W-6D-4L.

Palmer also announced that the club had signed general manager Nathan Walter and head coach Mark Lowry to long term deals through 2021.

As part of Tuesday's announcement, the club will also be moving the television broadcasts from THIS TV, channel 4.2, to WCWJ-CW-17 and WJXT Channel 4 during the Fall Season.

The fall opener on July 30 against San Francisco will kickoff at 6:15 p.m. and be aired on WJXT Channel 4. The rest of the fall season television schedule:

Date Home/Away Opponent Time Station
July 30 Home SF Deltas 6:15 PM WJXT
Aug. 5 Away Puerto Rico FC 7:30 PM WJXT
Aug. 12 Away North Carolina 7:30 PM WCWJ
Aug. 16 Home Puerto Rico FC 7:00 PM WJXT
Aug. 20 Home Miami FC  6:00 PM WCWJ
Aug. 26 Away Indy Eleven 7:30 PM WCWJ
Sept. 3 Away NY Cosmos 7:30 PM WCWJ
Sept. 9 Home Indy Eleven 7:00 PM WCWJ
Sept. 17 Away NY Cosmos 5:00 PM WCWJ
Sept. 24 Home Miami FC 4:00 PM WCWJ
Oct. 1 Away Miami FC 6:00 PM WCWJ
Oct. 6 Away FC Edmonton 9:00 PM WCWJ
Oct. 13 Home North Carolina 7:30 PM WJXT
Oct. 18 Home FC Edmonton 7:00 PM WJXT
Oct. 22 Home NY Cosmos 4:00 PM WCWJ
Oct. 28 Away SF Deltas 10:00 PM WCWJ