Meet Justin Jacobs of Come Play Detroit

Today we’d like to introduce you to Justin Jacobs

Hi Justin, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Justin is the founder of ComePlayDetroit (CPD), Detroit’s largest sports and social club, an organization that hosts intramural leagues and social events with the focus of engaging and providing young adults with opportunities to live a dynamic lifestyle. CPD has engaged over 200,000 people since being founded in 2010.

Justin has always been able to organize people, socially and professionally. While attending DePaul University in Chicago, Justin hosted parties with 200-2500 people at local bars and clubs, leading him to start his own promotional company, Solar Entertainment. Upon graduation in 2006, he returned home to Detroit for a job opportunity with ePrize, the national leader in digital marketing and interactive promotions.

Bored by the lack of opportunities to meet new people and have the type of social life he was accustomed to in Chicago, Justin started organizing intramural leagues for his friends. Within a couple of months, he had over 1,000 participants playing in a variety of sports, and after three years at ePrize, he decided to begin focusing full-time on strengthening his community through creating social offerings for young adults… that was the birth of Come Play Detroit!

15 years later, CPD has grown to over 10,000 participants annually in adult intramural sports leagues, and has expanded their offerings to include community based activations, including the Monroe Midway, an urban park in Downtown Detroit created by Bedrock Detroit. From 2020-2024 the Monroe Midway offered free play on outdoor basketball courts and putt-putt in the Summer, and a 20ft high slide and “puck-puck”, a hockey themed putt-putt, during the Winter. Thousands of Detroit youth were provided free buses to come and experience the Monroe Midway every Summer! In addition, CPD partnered with the Detroit Pistons and the Detroit Parks Coalition to work on the Detroit Pistons Neighbors Program, which activates public parks around Detroit with free access to equipment and programming, including sports clinics, arts and crafts, yoga and more!

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Overall things have been pretty smooth. The community was very supportive in the early years, as there was an understanding that if we want to attract and retain young talent in Detroit, there needs to be opportunities for an active and social lifestyle. Companies began promoting our offerings to their workforces, and local parks and venues either donated or offered subsidizes for their spaces to help ensure low costs for the participants.

Over the years we have run into some challenges, specifically the lack of indoor spaces to provide programming in the city of Detroit. In 2022, as part of the Amazon development, the Joe Dumars Fieldhouse closed down. It was the only venue in Detroit with more than one indoor basketball court available to the public, so we were forced to move our basketball programs to the suburbs. We are committed to being a part of a development to build a new facility that can be a hub for recreation in Detroit, for our adult programs as well as for the many youth based programmers that lack access to indoor spaces during the Fall/Winter.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Come Play Detroit is best known for our adult intramural sports leagues. Over the years we have been able to expand our offerings to include corporate and private events. From fundraisers to workforce activations, we are a full service agency that can help with all aspects of event planning. What sets us a part from others is our experience, culture, and access to unique venues. We are hosting multiple events daily with our leagues, and our focus is on creating the best experience for our participants. We put the PLAY in Live, Work & Play!

Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
For those just starting out, my advice is to ask questions, don’t be shy to admit you don’t know things, and be genuine. You’ll be pleasantly surprised by how many people will offer to provide their time and energy to help when they see you are doing something that can have a positive benefit on people and places. Also, try to surround yourself with people that aren’t always agreeing with you. Getting other perspectives allows you to see and hear ways you can improve your products, brands and/or services.

Pricing:

• Rec Sports Leagues – Individual fees range between $80-$240 per league
• Corporate Events- start at $2,500
• Having fun and making new friends- Priceless!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://comeplaydetroit.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/comeplaydetroit
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/comeplay
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/comeplaydetroit
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@comeplaydetroit