Serious question: Since financial weakness was the reason why Cooper's bid failed, did those names back out or do you think that Cooper was just pulling them out of his ass?
I think it was two-fold. (NB - I was never told this) I think some of the names ran into economic difficulties with other investments and had to back-out. I think the main money guy had plenty of money but was unwilling to leverage the amount MLS wanted guaranteed to maintain the team. In all, I think Cooper was blind-sided. While I think Cooper was a bit naive and made some mistakes, I don't think he was dishonest. I know he spent a substantial amount of money and wouldn't have done that unless he believed it was actually going to work. Remember, this was more than simply a bid. In addition to the costs of creating the bid, logo, getting commitments for the shops surrounding the complex, etc. Cooper merged multiple youth clubs into one as part of this. He was overly ambitious. He was bidding for a team, building a 400 acre retail, commerce, residential district and merging soccer clubs. It required substantial legal fees, research fees, marketing fees and land transfers.
That certainly makes sense from what I know from my (distant) perspective. Cooper did seem sincere, and did spend a lot of his own money. It's just sad that he, and you guys, were hung out to dry.
That being said, I'm certain had Philly not gotten the State money, Cooper would have gotten a team then. MLS wanted to expand badly. Finances were not so important at the time. Things changed quickly shortly thereafter. I don't think many fans realize how close Philly were to losing their team before it ever began. Jay Sugarman lost his ass when the market took a hit. MLS was scrambling to save them -- thats why they waited to start building for so long. Philly was awarded the team on Feb 28, 08. iStar Financial - Sugarman's company was trading at: Oct 31, 07 -- $30.51 Jan 31, 08 -- $26.73 Feb 29, 08 -- $19.71 Oct 31, 08 -- $1.08 Jan 30, 09 -- $1.05 That is a ton of loss. In the end, it's probably good that we didn't get the team at that time. I fear that the same financial forces that nearly wiped out Sugarman would have wiped out a St. Louis team.
I know most people say that Cooper didn't have the money for MLS.....I've heard differently from a few people who worked closely with Cooper and/or have ties to MLS. They say the 2 biggest reasons were: 1) Garber & MLS did not want a stadium in Illinois. It was downtown or bust! and 2) They did not like Cooper!!! I'm sure some of you won't believe that, and that's fine, that's what I was told...but, it's time to move on. Yes, Kroenke does have to sell his majority interest in his Colorado teams if he is to remain majority owner of the Rams, per NFL rules. In 2010 he gave operational control to his son, but he still has to sell his majority interest by December of 2014. If Kroenke wants to continue owning other sports teams, and remain majority owner of the Rams, he would have to do it in the city that the Rams play. That could be STL or LA, if he does move the Rams. It's confirmed that there was indeed a MLS Site Study done by ICON and that LHM/THF did in fact contact MLS. But here's the kicker....we know that Stan will probably only keep the Rams in STL if the stadium is renovated to his liking. So far that's not going so well. What if Stan is using the MLS idea as a leveraging tool to get what he wants? Renovate the stadium to his liking and he'll "give" the city another sports team? But, if he doesn't get what he wants, he packs up the Rams for LA, and since the Galaxy are for sale (AEG), he could swoop them up and own them as well. Win, Win for Stan. One other note.....this couldn't be better timing. Stan buys out his partner in THF, the ones involved in renovating Union Station. Hmmmmmmmm........... http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2012/oct/25/kroenke-to-buy-out-thf-realty-partner/
I disagree. If 1 is true, why didn't they change their minds when Cooper got the soccer park? As to 2, "like" has nothing to do with business. No way would MLS not go to STL (assuming everything else was in line) simply because they didn't like Cooper. Now, that being said, there was objection by MLS owners, most of which were business owners, to allowing an attorney, who made his money suing business owners, into their club. So, while there may have been objection to Cooper because of his previous career, it had nothing to do with liking him personally. NFL does not require the sale of the MLS team. The NBA and NHL, yes, but not MLS.
Again, just what I was told about Cooper... Ah, I did not realize that this didn't include the Rapids. thanks
but it still leaves the question to why there was a MLS Site Study and a confirmed call to MLS from LHM and/or THF? and why now is Kroenke buying out his THF partner?
if there's not a link, it didn't happen? jk The call was confirmed by a member of the St.Louis Soccer Alliance, who contacted MLS. They couldn't give him information of the phone call, but did confirm that they did reach out. The authenticity of the MLS Site Study can still be contested, however the STLSA did email the person who broke the story. In response, he guaranteed that it was authentic BUT strongly pointed out that it is in fact a MLS Site Study and not a guarantee.
I'm not questioning it, but I had never heard of the MLS contact. Likewise, I was unsure if the stadium mentioned in the plan was simply that -- a possibility they could look in to. I did not realize that an actual site plan had been done. That steps this up a notch, thanks.
Perhaps Kroenke is acting as a fixer of sorts? If he can set up the deal for a stadium to built, maybe using his MLS links he can guarantee an expansion franchise. Then he just needs to find someone to buy the franchise and stadium proposal, he'll have a nice new anchor on his land and probably a great big consultant fee for having put the deal in place, simply from levering his existing connections. MLS are not gonna let him own a second club, they're already trying to get the Hunts out of Columbus, neither is he going to indulge in some kind of crazy franchise swapping game to meet NFL rules and still retain an MLS team. So setting up a deal for a future investment group, on his land, using his past expertise and using his links within MLS makes sense.
I hate fake Euro names and I despise Arsenal, but that is not half bad. Especially in the Rams' colors. The fact that there is local significance to the name makes it work. Not sold on the ball/star, but otherwise there is real potential. This makes sense. It wouldn't be the first time such a thing happened. That is the speculation on the AEG sale as a whole. AEG is using their name/reputation/connections to make the NFL stadium happen in LA for the new owner. Hell, AEG set everything up for RBA and got all of the groundwork done before Red Bull (the company) was even in the picture.
I just hope this isn't a ploy from Kroenke's group to get help with the Edward Jones dome. I wonder if they think they can dangle another big stadium in front of the city in order to get the renovations they want the state and city to take care. [MOD EDIT]