They had to sign those two because they amassed so much expiring Garber Bucks/Funny Money. It's why the Fire have no depth.
I realize that sale price includes their brand new stadium, but it's still a significant number which is consistent with the $500 million valuation Orlando recently received. As a comparison, the average value of a NHL franchise as of 1 year ago was $505 million. Just sayin'.
Goff had a piece up that said the cost of the stadium was now around $400 million. Plus $50 for the training facility. Minus the $150 million DC put in in public $$, and you have $300 million worth of stadia/real estate + $200 million franchise = $500 million.
The Forbes valuations are fairly worthless. Someone already spoke to this point, but the Clippers were valued by Forbes at $575 million, just as the POS Sterling was getting shown the door as owner. Ballmer then ended up buying the team for $2 BILLION (not $1 billion), just months later, in a climate that should have been favorable for a buyer. Forget Forbes valuations.
It varies from team to team and sport to sport, and in some cases, the team owner has an ownership stake in the stadium but doesn't own it entirely. So, owning the stadium is more prevalent in among MLS owners than other sports as it has been a point of emphasis among the league. Tenants in a leased facility have to share the revenue. So, MLS has put a huge emphasis on stadium ownership in awarding expansion teams as it's a key success factor in their business model which relies heavily on ticket sales, concessions, merchandise, etc. rather than TV deals and other sponsorhips, at leas for now.
I feel like (and I'm not researching this, so someone feel free to correct me) more MLS teams own their grounds than do teams in other sports. Like, just randomly clicking on 8 NBA arenas, only 1 of them was owned by the team.
If he lives in Potomac he can just stay west and take Point of Rocks or White's Ferry. Barely any time on VA roads and he can buy his cigarettes tax free before heading back to MD.
The NBA is not a valid benchmark because their valuations have exploded in recent years, thanks to massive new TV deals and opening of foreign markets for the league, including China. However, the NHL is a useful benchmark as that is the league MLS could realistically catch and pass in the foreseeable future. So, it's notable that the Carolina Hurricanes just sold for $420 million whereas DC United is about to sell a share of the club, placing it's total value at $500 million. Same goes for Orlando. Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Penguins, one of the league's premier teams, was demanding $750 million from potential buyers just 2 years ago, yet the price was deemed too high and they got no offers. One key difference is that MLS valuations include the stadium whereas a team like the Carolina Hurricanes merely leases it's stadium from the city. So they are the operator but not the owner. Therefore, one franchise comes with far more valuable physical assets than the other. As a side note, I'd argue that MLS's insistence on stadium ownership is not only smart, but it will actually help anchor teams to their cities and make situations like the Columbus Crew potential relocation an extreme rare exception, at least in comparison to other leagues.
P.S. I don't know if the stadium deal included any additional development, but that parcel is being surrounded by other residential and retail development. That might help in someone's calculus.
Yes, it seems that in about 90% of the time when we see a team threaten to move, it's because of not having an "adequate" stadium/arena. In cases wher ethe team owns their building, the quickest way to stop that kind of bitching is to say, "go ahead and spend some (of your own) money and make improvements if you don't like your current place." But usually they are looking for the local taxpayers to bail them out.
I think NBA and NHL franchises will go up in value as they start building their own training facilities that they own, with NBA teams choosing more trendy spots. The Blackhawks recently opened a training center / community center a few blocks away from the united center. The Vegas Knights have a nice one as well. NBA teams are opening ones with mixed retail/office space at a pretty fast clip.
Yes, but the stadium comes with Debt, and taking on Debt Obligations are part of the price, they city paid for about 200 million of the Stadium right. Say the previous owner financed the other 200, then the tights to operate the franchise value is probably around 300 million (obviously just guessing here).
Legally speaking, the MLS teams do not usually own the stadiums, thanks to the shell company games the Franchise operators play, some no tax paying company in the Cayman Islands probably own all the Stadiums in MLS (huge exaggeration on my part).
Close but not exactly right, still that is almost even with the NHL, I would not have guessed that 10 years ago.
I must not understand how money works (arguably the case)... If I have a dohicky worth $100 and decide that I want to add to that $100 dohicky a whatnot that costs $50, I'll grant that the new value is $150. But, it has to also be noted that I took on a debt of $50 to add the whatnot. So, my net value is still only $100. What don't I understand?
The first phase of the construction does include a 2-level non-stadium building in the southeast corner that is rarely mentioned. I don't believe it has been determined what will be built on the rest of the site controlled by the team other than that it will be mixed use. Some old renderings showed a couple of buildings including a hotel and an office building or condos. The more significant thing about the valuation is that it hides United's debt. $500 million can easily be explained with development alone (Buzzard Point and Loudoun training facility).
You got that right! You know ahead of your upgrade purchase of the specific "cost" of what you will spend to add to your original dohicky. Then, down the line, when you look to sell said dohicky you can out of shear capitalistic mindset place your own price tag or "value" on what you think this dohicky post upgrade is now worth. The consumer is looking from the outside in on the dohicky's value. Forbes is as well looking from the outside in on what DCU is in their mind valued at.