So how much money do you need to start a NPSL team for 2015? According to the article, Ann Arbor raised $11,130 and it wasn't enough. This article states it was 10,400 in 2007. And this is from 2013: Which would seem to say that you'd only need 9,500 for the first year if you do the two year financing membership fee.
I believe the costs have gone up since the figures you provided. I know one issue the league had with Grand Rapids was long-term financial stability. That could be the same thing here. While they were able to raise $11,000 through crowd funding, the owners may not have had a business plan in place that the league found acceptable.
The rejection is smart. Can't have ones and dones anymore. Need more long-term sustainability. Unfortunately, it does come with footing some $$$ upfront. Need some deep pockets or a lot of little pockets ready to keep things afloat.
And their solution to getting a rejection letter? Create their own league! As I've said, seems weird that everybody's answer to a perceived soccer problem is "more leagues!" If only everybody else could follow the way we think things should be run! Doesn't matter that we couldn't raise jack-squat in a major college town... we've got the answer!
It seems to be just a money issue: "The group used an online Indiegogo campaign during the summer to raise funds to help cover application and start-up costs, collecting $11,130 in donations. Unfortunately the club's funding came up short." How much does it take to run a team? Here's what I have so far: Entry fee: $6,000 (for 2 years) League fee: $3,500 Player fees: $600 ($20*30) Ref fees: $1,650 ($275*6) Field rent: $3,000 ($500*6) Travel expenses: $1,800 ($300*6) Player equipment: $4,500 ($150*30) Emergency fund: $2,550 That's $23,600. And then, I'm presuming that you also have to, at the very least, pay the head coach, which pushes the sum into $40k land. So I can see why the league was skeptical of $11k, unless I'm missing something and/or over-budgeting on something else. That said, the fee structure's kind of weird. Unlike a pro team, a semi-pro team doesn't have inherent value, at least not until it plays for a few seasons. IMHO the smarter way would be to allow teams to defer their entry fees to a third or fourth year of playing, when they have a developed fan base.
I'm not sure about waiving (or deferring) entry fees (to join an established league). [The Canadain "League1 Onatario" did waive first-year entry fees, but it was also the first year of their league.] Also, if you have to have the internet equivalent of a bake sale to get your first-year fees, then you probably don't have enough to sustain a team, anyway.
I agree with that. However, it costs about $25,000-$50,000 to operate an NPSL team, and my guess is that the average is around $40,000. That means that the initial fees, at $6,000, account for 15% of first year operations. That is high for an amateur team and might discourage some members from joining, since you also need to get the word out and advertise. My issue with the internet bake sale is that it wasn't supplemented, as well as it could've been. I think that season tickets are the key to success, and Ann Arbor sold 130 season tickets. The question is - is that enough? NPSL didn't think so, which raises the question - how much is enough? Another thing is advertisement. For instance if you look at the fundraising for the Quails, http://www.gofundme.com/b9ocqw, you can see that supporters include Yucaipa Premier League and Luke's on Front Street who raised $1,000 for the team. What about Ann Arbor's sponsorship? I agree with the NPSL in that you need to be able to raise enough to run a team, not just enough to fund the entry fee.
Teams in the GLPL: AFC Ann Arbor, Croatian Eagles (Milwaukee), Grand Rapids FC, Oakland United FC, RWB Adria (Chicago) Croatia and Adria have pretty good heritages. I would be interested in knowing if their teams in this league would be their "A" team or "B" or lower.
http://afca2.com/ Drop-down the "Follow AFC Ann Arbor" tag and it gives the rather strange statement: "AFC Ann Arbor: Sports + Entertainment Marketing Firm. Every team has a mascot- we are the Pandas. #TeamPakmode @pakmodemm" Go Pandas! Sometimes I wonder if teams / companies know that these things are on their web sites.
this should clarify things a bit: http://www.wisconsinsoccercentral.com/news_article/show/476389?referrer_id=811630
Great Lakes Premier League The United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA), at their annual general meeting on Friday, February 13th, granted provisional approval to the Great Lakes Premier League for affiliation within Region II of the USASA. Affiliation with this organization provides insurance coverage for players, assures the highest level of referee assignments for games and provides a track into the US National Cups such as the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup and the US Amateur Cup. The USASA Board has expressed great interest in a regional league in the Great Lakes area to elevate the quality of men's amateur soccer beyond the state league level. The organization believes there is great demand for additional options at the level of the National Premier Soccer League and the Premier Development League, which are also affiliated with the USASA. The USASA includes over 250,000 members nationwide and is the largest division of organized adult soccer in the United States.
Toledo United, 2016, making it seven teams currently: http://www.greatlakespremierleague.com/news/?id=45 http://www.toledounited.com/ which also means; two more teams will result in.... divisions! http://www.greatlakespremierleague.com/expansion/ "Expansion of the League beyond 8 teams will result in the establishment of divisions for the convenience of scheduling and to reduce excessive travel for clubs at the extremes of the League region."
somebody in the NPSL front office should get fired...Grand Rapids overall average attendance of 4,151... http://www.mlive.com/sports/grand-r..._fc_alr_big_plans.html#incart_related_stories and sounds like Ann Arbor had a fairly decent campaign: http://www.mlive.com/sports/ann-arb..._calls_debut_seas.html#incart_related_stories
The attendance average was increased by the final home game of the season, a 6,651 crowd for the visit of the independent Muskegon Risers. Final season average was 4,509. AFCAA are a solid club too. We enjoyed our league and are looking forward to expansion next season.
http://www.greatlakespremierleague.com/news/?id=51 League Response to Departures The Great Lakes Premier League is saddened to see the departure of two clubs that played a large part in the formation of our league, AFC Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids FC. The entire league membership wishes them the best on their future endeavors. ... The GLPL has already announced that the Milwaukee Bavarians and Toledo United FC will begin play in the league for the 2016 season. Expecting these moves, the Great Lakes Premier League is also in the process of announcing the addition of several more teams for next season.