Two things: 1) When looking at turnover it needs to be put into industry context - is the gross yearly turnover rate or timing of turnover at or near the typical for a team? It's one thing when like 50% of the office just quits in a week vs. a normal gradual turnover. At the same time, some organizations use a high-turnover low-pay model and try to extract as much out of the employees in the short term. I don't know if we have ticket reps or we have sales guys on one side and customer service folks on the other or they are all the same but everyone I have dealt with has taken care of whatever I needed. 2) On Holden, I think Celt has it wrong. Holden went into the final year intending to play it out and see what happens. If the FO is to blame for anything, it was waiting too long for him that offseason thinking he was going to sign when it became clear he was jerking them around.
Holden's inclination from every Glenn Davis interview was to return to the EPL. His stock was high after the Bejing Olympics and inclusion on Bradley's 30 man pool for WCQ and eventual slot for South Africa'10. Knowing all this as it pans out, and the model of other nation's in our Americas like Colombia on South...SELL! Sell your crops when they are there for the picking. Again, he was on MLS's pay structure of peasant ticket sales staff, him and Marcus Storey were the two local pick ups by Dom. To end up selling either of them for PROFIT, at anytime, is business 101. I hear you guys, any of us fans has to know it is a corporation printing literature claiming to be a club. To this I am not nieve. As well any pro player must understand it is business. So you might get sold or traded at any time. Being still with AEG means we are the bastard child to the Galaxy. If that is the business model some of y'all are content with than that is on you. I would want an owner of our own that is full joy for Dynamo bossing all of MLS at all aspects of the sport. Attendance, scouting, youth products and TV numbers with a squad that is consistantly in the hunt for silverware both domestically and regionally. To which we have most of that list DESPITE our owners constant complaining of costs related to owning two teams in our league. Sigh.
So now you and I are on the same page. Or at least, talking about topics that AEG has control as examples of their aptitude is more appropriate. That being said, the Holden deal was odd. I am not sure AT THE TIME we could have sold him. Remember, he didn't even get a contract offer until he went on trial. Sure their were plenty of rumors about offers, but in hindsight there wasn't anything there. So, I am not so sure they made a mistake in his case. The better example might be Rico; for whom we did have an offer. I was under the impression that was Dom's call, but may be not. The other item alluded to often is their lack of work on signing us bigger name players as they do in LA. This, above all else, is what causes me heartburn. LA wasn't making marketing money and TV money until after Becks (nope not before). They could take the same approach in Houston as another large market; however they have not. This is where I would want a more local owner, so I am in agreement with you Celt. But, I also caution to be careful what we wish for. Buyers of an MLS team are not knocking down the door and AEG will probably take the first solid offer. I am fearful we end up with a rich owner who is clueless and is more concerned with ROI than AEG is now. At least AEG lets Dom run the team, with or without money. I would hate for an owner to be like Mark Cuban but without the spending.
This makes sense. I also know that, speaking for myself, I looked into some other sports related jobs but most require work on holidays/weekends/nights/etc. I'd bet that for all the perks the schedule itself can get to be a grind.
When I look around MLS at teams with engaged local owners I see owners that are messing up success. I don't see one that is bossing the league. How can we assume that we will be different?
Kansas City has gone from relocation bait to kick ass stadium, packed ground and recent National Champions specifically because the people up there got new owners. Men that enjoy the sport, have deep pockets and want to be the best. Jeez, how closely do you follow MLS! Or the people that repped you for being so out of touch. Wow.
"It was pretty easy to identify the problems," Nelsen said. "They were major, and in all areas. I think there's been a real leadership void here. You can have all the money in the world, but sometimes money makes you lazy. You recruit lazy, and you don't work as hard because you expect that the money will solve all the problems. You need a culture, an identity and a work ethic as a foundation. When that's in place, the financial resources can be used to build the house. You can't do it the opposite way." - Ryan Nelsen in regards to TFC's local, deep-pocketed ownership group.
I repped him for knowing that teams like Montreal, Toronto, Portland and NY have been ruined by meddlesome owners. KC is a good example on the other side. Don has been to several games there and knows that too.
I need Nordi to supply the first hand account, as he was there, but what I learned was that when our city hosted the ASG in 2010 versus Man U, our owners held a very private dinner for big hitters in town and visitors. The talk for many in attendance was I got 500 million dollars and I am looking at buying an MLS team. So in reality there are indeed buyers looking to buy into MLS. It just isn't reported. On top of that, our Rockets owner just bidded for our MLS team.
Yeah don't misunderstand me; there are indeed buyers out there else we would have a problem with expansion. But it isn't like every rich guy in Houston wants a part of a sports team, much less footie. You are more likely to see another corporate entity end up buying the Dynamo which frankly may not be any better. Conversely, of the rich guys that do want a piece, how many will be hands off and write the checks versus pulling a Tony Soprano like in Montreal?
Isn't that were a Dom Kinnear fits in! To steer the boat. With a highly educated Wade Barret in there, Ralston also. Then Eddie and Ching in the FO to keep it real. And it keeps getting left out, under AEG, Houston will always be play second fiddle.
Sh** .... an owner like Montreal and Dom will be on the first bus out of here. For all the complaining we do, I think he likes not having to hear a peep from ownership.
Or relocate the franchise. Yes, got that. But it most likely is not going to happen. Besides, Dom might leave us for the National Team position. So please don't be so worried about that. Again, Ralston and Wade are not paper weights on the bench! They are being groomed for their future role as a head coach. Somewhere, here, over in San Antonio, who knows but it is way to Debbie Downer to worry if or when we lose Dom.
So, your absolutely right about SKC. But they are the only example I can think of. And yet the Dynamo are more successful than they are. What about PHU? TFC? POT? COL? FCD? NER? The list goes on and on. Even SEA is not as good a situation and success as we have. Jury still out on MTL and VCW, but both teams have already changed coaches which is just admitting that they messed up the original hires. You and I might have different opinions but I don't think either one of us is out-of-touch on MLS.
From the gist we've gotten from Donnie G, that isn't enough money to get a MLS franchise. At least not on your own. It looks like the collective worth has to be over the $1B mark, or pretty close. That's the perception from here, at least.
That's way too high for an MLS franchise. Maybe for the NFL and MLB you need to be near those levels know (or your group). A few hundred million maybe, but not all billionaires. Understand that usually a high percentage of the price is funded by debt secured by the franchise or investor/operator rights. Some of these owners, while very rich, still leverage themselves heavily to buy teams. The Dynamo stadium lease agreement says that any buyer of the team must have a net worth over $100M, I imagine that was set as the benchmark for what you need to be able to buy and fund an MLS team.
That's funny considering some of the suitors MLS has flirted with over the years. Definitely closer to the big B than not. Why is everything involving MLS so much guess work? I don't think they have that in the sense of making sure someone can afford a MLS team so much as making sure the owner won't go out of business for non-soccer reasons.
There's no way an MLS team will sell for a billion, I don't think anywhere near that. I'd be surprised at 500 million. Anyone know how much the jaguars sold for? Didn't the dodgers go for 1 billion? And the dodgers have to be worth way more than any MLS team. Wasn't the cubs going for 1 billion?
I'm not saying an MLS team will sell for that much, just that MLS prefers to have owners who have a net worth of BigB.
If you look at the lessons learned from Ken Horrowitz, you can understand why. Also the St Louis group had a few hundred million, but that wasn't enough for the BoG. I really think that if you want to be an I/O in MLS/SUM, you have to be worth somewhere around $1B (either individually or collectively). Guess it eases their minds that you won't go bankrupt all of a sudden and not be able to make your cash calls. At least that is the way it seems from sitting in front of a computer...
Guys he is talking net worth not cost of a franchise. And I think he is right. You figure an ownership group has to be prepared to drop 350 million up front between franchise fee, stadium, start up fees, and operating costs until generating revenue. An owner worth a few hundred million is not likely to get a BOG OK at this point. Sure you can finance certain aspects like the stadium but you have to have the net worth to get a bank on board.