Dana Stumpf, 34, looks out on a soccer field at the Pan-American Stadium at City Park in New Orleans, La. Stumpf, owner of the New Orleans Jesters, hopes to develop the team into a Major League Soccer club. (Taylar Barrington/ NYT Institute)

Dana Stumpf waits her turn. She checks her iPhone and looks at the people ahead of her. She wonders how many have showed up. The single-file line inches forward – body by body, one step at a time and into Pan American Stadium in City Park.

Inside, the New Orleans Jesters, the city’s minor league soccer team from the USL Premier Development League, are 20 minutes away from playing their second home match of the season, and Stumpf – the owner of the team – is here to watch. As she reaches the front, she sticks her hand inside her large purse to find her ticket. She hands it to a ticket-taker, who seems slightly surprised.

Unlike many sports owners, Stumpf doesn’t enter an event with much pomp or slip through a back door. She stands in line with fans. But once inside, Stumpf has two strides – one with elegance when she meets fans and the other with power when she’s inside the black VIP tent alongside business partners and family.

“Hello!” she says with a big smile.

For the next 2½ hours, she will talk to guests and friends, and watch the Jesters develop her dream. Stumpf, 35, believes her hometown can become passionate enough about soccer to build the Jesters into a Major League Soccer club – even if the Saints and LSU are the teams that fans in Louisiana care most about now. Stumpf hopes to model the Jesters after the Seattle Sounders, a team that was in the minor leagues for more than 10 years before becoming a MLS club in 2009.

She knows it won’t be easy. Then again, Stumpf might have the background and personality to build the Jesters a larger fan base. She’s one of the city’s most successful businesswomen and a world champion equestrian. She has a background in construction working at Durr Heavy Construction with her father, Stephen Stumpf Sr., and has also managed Gentilly Landfill, the city’s only one, since Hurricane Katrina. She can be southern nice, and southern demanding.

Stumpf also knows what makes her rare, too: She is one of the few women who own a sports franchise.

Just four years ago, Stumpf knew nothing about soccer. Yet in April 2008, she decided to buy the franchise, which was on life support.

“I bought the team because I didn’t want to see it fizzle,” said Stumpf, who is friends with previous owners Gary Ostroske and Kenneth Farrell. “I didn’t want to see it end up in the wrong hands.”

The first time Stumpf was exposed to soccer came in 2007, when she was invited by Farrell to the MLS All-Star Game in Colorado. There, she was impressed by the buzz around the sport. She talked with some of the top business people in the league and met coaches and players, including David Beckham, arguably the world’s most recognized player at the time.

“I just saw that the sport isn’t going away in the U.S.,” Stumpf said. “We’re starting to catch up with the rest of the world, and that was fascinating to me.”

From that experience, Stumpf grew an appreciation for soccer by studying the positions of the players and the rules of the game.

One of her best friends, Ron St. Pierre, who owns a marketing and advertising consulting company, introduced her to the New Orleans team, then named the Shell Shockers. After Hurricane Katrina, the team struggled for survival. Shell Oil Co., the corporate sponsor, withdrew before the 2008 season and took with it much of the team’s financial stability.

So Stumpf, her appreciation for the sport growing, had a decision to make: Buy the team or not.

Her decision came at a Metairie Road intersection, she recalled. Stopped at a red light in her silver SUV, she closed her eyes and asked God for guidance.

Bang.

From the park by the road, a soccer ball hit Stumpf’s car, she said. Stumpf looked at the kids playing on the field. Her answer had come.

“I always knew God has some crazy plans for me,” Stumpf said. “I wanted to get the focus back on the family.”

Stumpf has refocused the franchise to provide affordable family entertainment. Tickets for adults are $10 and $5 for kids – a far distance from buying a sold-out Saints ticket online, if you can even get one at the $100 minimum.

Stumpf also changed the team’s name to the Jesters, a Mardi Gras connection that fans could relate to. She hired a public relations firm and her friend St. Pierre’s consulting company to brand the team’s identity, from merchandise to ad spots.

“She is an extremely intelligent businesswoman,” said St. Pierre, who lived next door to Stumpf when they were kids in Destrehan, a rural community west of New Orleans. “She works every spare moment, and every weekend she’s doing something. This is why her business will be successful.”

The second half at Pan American Stadium has just started. The Jesters have evenly played the Houston Regals FC in a scoreless first half. Stumpf, who is just outside the VIP tent and behind the net Houston is defending, watches every movement of the soccer ball. Just as any avid fan does, she gets upset when her team misses an opportunity to score – like at this moment, when midfielder Andy Drummond’s kick on goal in the 70th minute is saved by Houston goalkeeper Marcos Sanchez.

“Dang that goalkeeper!” Stumpf yells. “He can let one go behind him. That’s OK. Good job, Andy!”

A few minutes later, Stumpf whips out her iPhone. She’s received a text from her friend Rita Benson LeBlanc – the granddaughter of Tom Benson, who bought the Saints in 1985 – about horseback riding. The text reads: “just saw your billboard!!! do you want to ride in the am???”

LeBlanc’s text was prompted by one of the Jesters’ seven billboards in the city. And the riding part, well, the two became friends five years ago and are part of a business peer group in the city. LeBlanc, who is part owner and executive vice president of the Saints, understands what Stumpf is going through with the Jesters.

LeBlanc is one of the few female owners in the NFL.

“I deeply value her opinion and insight,” LeBlanc said in an e-mail interview. “We share ideas and discuss ways of making our teams fresh and relevant. We are very independent people who are making our own marks within our prospective leagues.”

LeBlanc has helped Stumpf understand the sports landscape in New Orleans. After Katrina, LeBlanc was instrumental in having the Saints reach out to the community, an effort that has grown since the team won the Super Bowl in February. Stumpf has done similar work with the Jesters.

“She is very hands-on, which is very important in our city,” LeBlanc said of Stumpf. “I know that her team is one of the most soundly run, and New Orleans is an exciting market to grow soccer.”

Still, Stumpf has faced challenges. She’s had to deal with criticism from fans who felt jilted by the former team’s failures. And as a woman who owns a team, she’s had to earn respect.

Her success has outweighed the struggles.

Last year, the Jesters advanced to the postseason for the first time since 2003. Attendance has increased to about 2,500 per match, according to the team, which has made the team profitable. Even if the progress hasn’t come overnight, Stumpf says she knows soccer is growing each year. The fact that ESPN has bought the rights to this year’s World Cup is a sign of the sport’s growth, she said.

“Her vision is incredible,” said Farrell, who is the coach of the Jesters. “I’m positive to think where the franchise will be in 5 to 10 years if she stays running it the way she is.”

The clock is ticking down. There are just 5 minutes left in the match.

The Jesters need a win – not just for the young season, but also, Stumpf says, because she knows the Jesters have to win for New Orleans to support the team. The Jesters have already missed two more chances to score when the ball bounced off the right post and the crossbar. Stumpf is anxious, now standing as close to the field as she can.

Then, the play happens. In the 86th minute, midfielder Ederson Lopez kicks the match-winning goal into the back of the net.

Stumpf screams. The crowd screams.

“Yes!” Stumpf shouts. “I knew we would get one before the 90 minutes.”

During the celebration, Stumpf points to Drummond, who she said has that New Orleans flavor. The only player wearing bright, yellow cleats, Drummond is rejoicing with the fans, waving his hands up and down. It’s exactly what Stumpf wants from her players.

“We try to let the community know we care about them,” said Drummond, whose family moved from Honduras to New Orleans.

Once the final whistle blows and the Jesters are 1-0 winners on this Saturday night in May, Stumpf focuses her eyes on the stands. She can see all the families – all the kids, too. They are cheering.

In a small moment like this, Stumpf doesn’t have to worry about building the Jesters into a MLS club, or focusing on the next promotion to draw fans to see the team. She can just be silent for 10 seconds, listen to the applause over jazz music, look at the fans and smile.

“This is my community,” she says. “I just want to see it work.”

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