Ever dreamed of owning a Bay Area Pro Soccer team?

[supersport]

Check out, www.savethevictory.org

[Tifoso]

Check out, www.savethevictory.org (http://www.savethevictory.org)


Wow, that's pretty cool.

Please keep us updated :)

[proud smurf]

Please keep us updated :)
Here is something that, personally ,I think is worth to take a look.

The Objective: To Save the California Victory and preserve professional soccer in San Francisco

The Goal: To have the California Victory become the first fan-owned team in professional soccer in America

The Archetype: The Green Bay Packers in the NFL are a non-profit publicly owned company. They have been successful in keeping
their team in Green Bay for almost 90 years.

The Plan: To raise 2 million dollars through the sale of 20,000 shares in a publicly owned non-profit company. Each share
will be priced at $100/each. No shareholder will be allowed to buy more than 1000 shares of the company as a safeguard to
ensure that no individual can assume control of the club. To run the corporation, a board of directors will be elected by the
stockholders. The board of directors in turn will elect an Executive Committee to run the California Victory.

Reasons to be Positive:

1) The Victory will be on sale for cheap (maybe as cheap as $1)
2) Huge fan-base because of huge owner base. The merchandise, sponsorship and shirt sponsorship will be good.
3) Media coverage because of this novel idea of ownership.
4) With the right marketing, the team can average 3000-4000 to break even.
5) Soccer fans around San Francisco would be more involved if they also own part this team.
6) Kezar stadium (10,000 capacity) is great for soccer



I just hope some organization like SSV get behind the whole idea and
at least "endorse" the project.

GO QUAKES !!

LA LUCHA CONTINUA !! :cool:

[sj_oldtimer]

Here is something that, personally ,I think is worth to take a look.



I just hope some organization like SSV get behind the whole idea and
at least "endorse" the project.

GO QUAKES !!

LA LUCHA CONTINUA !! :cool:

I would not be surprised to see the Victory sold to new owners, perhaps in the central valley. There is already an ownership group in Fresno who have been making news about wanting to get into USL-1. They currently own the Fuego (PDL), playing in Chukchansi Stadium. The group also own the Fresno Grizzlies AAA baseball club, the Fresno Falcons ECHL franchise, and I believe also the Central Valley Coyotes Arena-2 indoor football club. They have been very public about wanting to bring pro soccer to Fresno. The Fuego drew some very respectable crowds for exhibitions and for league games (over 7,000 for one league match). Purchasing a USL-1 franchise is likely the shortest route.

I don't mean to rain on anyone's parade, but the fate of the Victory is likely to be a strictly business decision.

[evade6317]

IF I won the $320 million Mega Millions lottery, I was going to attempt to buy into the Earthquakes.:D

For real though, I had it all planned out. But I didn't win.:mad:

[futgod]

This is a great idea and I think it would work. Theres nothing better than to support a team owned by their fans, just like in Argentina.

[Schwalker]

This is a great idea and I think it would work. Theres nothing better than to support a team owned by their fans, just like in Argentina.

Like all German clubs and a fair number of the Spanish ones as well....;)

[deedougie]

I would not be surprised to see the Victory sold to new owners, perhaps in the central valley. There is already an ownership group in Fresno who have been making news about wanting to get into USL-1. They currently own the Fuego (PDL), playing in Chukchansi Stadium.

The Victory ownership actually talked with the Fresno people about selling to them but it became clear quickly they we not serious buyers.

If your interested in becoming an owner make sure to sign up on the website: http://savethevictory.org!

[Earthshaker]

The Victory ownership actually talked with the Fresno people about selling to them but it became clear quickly they we not serious buyers.



I don't get it. Were the Victory owners hoping the Fuego would run a team in SF, or in Fresno? If they wanted a team in SF they could just wait until the Vics fold and move in. If they want a USL-1 team in Fresno they could start one up on their own, why bother to buy whatever is left of the Vics, which probably isn't much.

[Delle Alpi]

I don't get it. Were the Victory owners hoping the Fuego would run a team in SF, or in Fresno? If they wanted a team in SF they could just wait until the Vics fold and move in. If they want a USL-1 team in Fresno they could start one up on their own, why bother to buy whatever is left of the Vics, which probably isn't much.

The most likely scenario for Fresno is that they will move the Fuego up to USL1. They were up here more to look at the operating costs involved with USL1 which are substantially greater than PDL. They were never really interested. There are still a couple of interested parties that are involved in talks with the Vics. The Vics being back in SF is still a strong possibility as the fan base grew throughout the year with no promotion and a bare bones squad. So to those who have been trying to move them to Sacramento since day one you still may end up disappointed and I hope you do. This year was magical from a supporters stand point something that was never achieved with the Quakes. This team and my fellow 1906ers were more of a family throughout this year. The 1906 with the help of the Ultras will try to bring that feeling to the Quakes next year, but in my opinion the bond between players, coaches, staff, and supporters will never be equal to what we have achieved with the Vics. For that I thanks all my fellow 1906ers and everyone involved wit the Vics (well almost everyone :mad:) and hope to be supporting to teams next year (if my liver can take it :D). Saving this team is a worth the effort and to those of you who didn't come out this year it was you loss.

[Tifoso]

It is not my intention to steal your team, amico mio ;)

I haven't heard that they were moving to Sacramento. Is this a "for sure" thing?

[Delle Alpi]

It is not my intention to steal your team, amico mio ;)

I haven't heard that they were moving to Sacramento. Is this a "for sure" thing?

No its not but it has been brought up numerous times in other threads since at least the announcement of the Quakes return. I personally have no idea whats gonna happen nor does anyone else on this board. I just hope we are back, I have come to really enjoy USL D1 and hope to be able to go next year.

[Tifoso]

I hope so, too. Hopefully I can actually make a match...

[sjsuvc2]

ok so say this plan fails and they end up selling the team to new owners in the bay but want to move them the perfect place would be salinas. seriously they havea huge soccer fan base down there and from what i have heard they for years have been trying to get a soccer team (they have the npsl salinas samba but come on whos gonna support a bottom of the soccer triangle team) they have a huge sports complex that seast 17,000 and it looks perfect for soccer. so if they must move the team move them to salinas and the fuego can move up when the mls expands to the northwest, because when the timbers or sounders move up they'll need a team to take the place of one of those teams in the west coast and freno could then make the jump

http://www.salinassportscomplex.com/

[Delle Alpi]

Well I hope that doesn't happen on so many levels. Mainly I hate driving to San Jose for games but with USL scheduling many games on weeknights they might as well move to Houston with Dynoscums.

[sjsuvc2]

i cant wait till they open it up to buying. me and my da and bros and uncle and cousin are ready to buy. thats a totall of 600 dollars already ok so it aint no 20 mill but still its a start. heack i may buy 2 shares. any ways im just happy and cant wait til lthey open it up because i think it'll be cool to say hey im 17 and i own a peice of a soccer team. =)

[billward]

Shareholders in a non-profit organization? These guys need to talk to a lawyer before they take this plan too far...

[Earthquake FC]

Check out, www.savethevictory.org

Hey Eddie Debartalo, buy the Vics. Spend the bigtime $$$$$ (no salary cap in USL). Show Wolff how to build a franchise. Build the stadium in SF like you wanted to do with the Niners. Hold your hand up and flash the "V" sign for victory. Triumphant return!!! :D

[SL Benfiquista]

Shareholders in a non-profit organization? These guys need to talk to a lawyer before they take this plan too far...

Bill not sure why you believe this can't happen. There are a number of non-profit entities in sports around the country, with the most famous being the Green Bay Packers. Unfortunately all the major sports leagues now ban public ownership of their franchises, so Green Bay will remain an anomaly in the big leagues. However, a number of minor league franchises have public ownership, a couple with the same setup as the Packers where shareholders own 'commemorative' stock. This stock only has worth to those who cherish their local team as no single individual is allowed to buy enough shares to come remotely close to gaining a controlling interest in the team.

In the USL both Montreal and Cleveland are setup as non-profits, but I'm not sure if either actually has shareholders.

With all that being said, California law may prohibit such a structure for non-profit entities. In addition a bigger question is has this organization applied for Section 501(c)3 tax exempt status from the IRS? What types of programs are the supporters planning to implement in order to qualify as a non-profit? I don't believe saving a professional soccer team, would in itself, qualify this group for non-profit status.

So Bill's question is quite valid, along with many others. I love the idea and have looked into similar structures at the PDL level, but honestly I couldn't find enough information to confirm how to proceed with it. So I'm wondering how much research has been done into this ownership structure? I wasn't able to find much info out on the website in terms of this, hopefully someone from the organization can shed more light on this.

Or maybe Don G. can share a legal perspective on this with us?

[don gagliardi]

. . . Or maybe Don G. can share a legal perspective on this with us?

I'm happy to speak with Delle Alpi about the subject further offline, but during the darkest days immediately following the loss of the Earthquakes and before Lew Wolff purchased his option on an expansion Quakes team, SSV explored the possibility of fan ownership of the team. We consulted with a number of securities law attorneys, and there are serious, and some said insurmountable, securities law impediments involving ordinary "unsophisticated" fan investors.

A Quakes fan corporate attorney had latched onto a particular vehicle limited to California residents which should have solved the legal issue, and he was prepared (and indeed took preliminary steps) to launch it, pro bono. He's a hero who will go nameless online because I'm not sure we should expect the same dedication from him here.

Raising sufficient capital would have been a larger hurdle, so it would have been a struggle even after surmounting the legal obstacles. Less capital would likely be necessary to purchase and operate the Victory, but then there are probably fewer potential fan investors, especially if the vehicle is a non-profit, which suggests no possibility (however remote) of return on investment.