Detroit Wheels were a United States soccer team based in
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
,
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
, that played in the
USISL
United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues currently organized are the ...
for two seasons. Owned by Antonio Soave and Greg Reynolds, the team was established in 1994. At the time the ownership intended to move up to the
American Professional Soccer League
The American Professional Soccer League (APSL) was a professional men's soccer league with teams from the United States and later Canada. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the third American Soccer League with the Western Soccer League. It ...
for the 1995 season. However, mounting debts and a smaller than expected fan base saw them remain in the USISL. Wheels played the 1994 season in
Wisner Stadium
Wisner Memorial Stadium is an athletic facility located in Pontiac, Michigan.
History
Wisner Memorial Stadium was built in 1941 and named for Moses Wisner, the 12th Governor of the State of Michigan. Wisner, a resident of Pontiac, was a lawyer w ...
and were coached first by Mark Christenson and then by Mike Francis. The team was captained by Steve Burns, the current men's head soccer coach of the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
. The team was replaced in the USISL in 1996 by Detroit Dynamite.
Year-by-year
References
Defunct soccer clubs in Michigan
W
USISL teams
Soccer clubs in Michigan
1994 establishments in Michigan
1995 disestablishments in Michigan
Association football clubs established in 1994
Association football clubs disestablished in 1995
{{Michigan-footyclub-stub