I'd have to do some research home... If I had to guess.... I would think this teams are community owned (again, it's just a guess) Athletic Bilbao (Spain) & St. Pauli (Germany).
I'll save you some time. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fan-owned_sports_teams Also, all German teams have the community as majority owners.
Wimbledon keeps coming up. I wasn't familiar with this, but I'm now informed: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afc_wimbledon "The club was founded by supporters of Wimbledon Football Club, led by Kris Stewart, in June 2002. Days earlier, the Football Association had agreed to allow Wimbledon F.C. to relocate 56 miles north to the new town of Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire. The distance involved in this relocation was unprecedented in English football; by moving in such a way Wimbledon F.C. were cutting all ties with the area of Wimbledon." (56 miles away!!! It's 1100 miles to Orlando.)
I say NPSL if you guys still want a team and not go broke. Based on financials from both league, it is more reasonable than PDL. But either way I hope you guys get a team soon. It's unfortunate cause we never got to come to a game and had wanted to next season.
OK, to clear some stuff up, lets go down the soccer pyramid, and look at all the different leagues and figure out how Austin fits in. Unless someone has a very, very rich friend, we're approaching this from a community-owned club perspective. To worry about the other approach (single rich owner), is a bit of a waste of time. MLS - $40M franchise fee, ~$2.5M annual salary cap. Its out. (Duh.) Div 2 - $20M worth single owner required. Its out. (Duh.) USL-Pro - $500k franchise fee, $600k-$1M annual operating expenses. Its out. (Duh.) United Soccer League-Premier Development League (USL-PDL) - $75k franchise fee, $100k-$200k annual operating expenses. We're getting warmer, but still quite a bit of start up cost. National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) - There are no teams anywhere near us. Closest current team (Tulsa) is 450 miles away. Not sure that league is interested in adding a team located in the middle of nowhere. Its out. Southern Premier Soccer League (SPSL) - $4k franchise fee, $70k-$90k annual operating expenses. Teams are nearly all in Texas. This sounds most doable. National Star Soccer League (NSSL) - Supposedly an Austin team is being formed for next year, the Austin Millennium. Honestly, looks like we've got a team, and maybe should consider getting behind these people. USL Super Y or Super 20 - No teams in the South/Southwest at all. Closest teams are in Georgia. Other alternatives - UT Women's soccer (NCAA Div I) UT Men's soccer (Club level) St. Edward's Men's/Women's Soccer (NCAA Div II) Concordia Men's/Women's soccer (NCAA Div III) So... while Austin as a metropolitan area SHOULD be able to support a Division 2 level team, we did not do that to our previous owner's satisfaction. If we want high level soccer paid for by a large private ownership group, the best we could probably hope for next go around, whenever that is, is USL-Pro. On the other hand, at lower levels it is not wholly inconceivable that the fans/community can take the reins and start their own team. I'm just trying to support a conversation about that concept. I know that I have learned a ton about low level soccer in America through this experience. I just want to engage other people in that dialogue as well.
There is one other that you missed here, one that actually had a one-year relationship with the Aztex, and carries the name of the previous pro team. They play in the US Soccer Development Academy: Lonestar SC. Their next home game is Sunday against Texas Rush AJ Auxerre at St. Stephens.
I think the operational estimates for PDL are on the high side. A lot of it depends on the team's location and the amount of travel involved. I would say most PDL teams operate in the range of $30K to $50K per season. Obviously some clubs may have much larger operational budgets, but most clubs are going to be on a shoestring budget. Like I said before, a $75K franchise fee for a PDL club is way overpriced for the value that you receive. I would definitely lean towards the NPSL if there are teams in the area (maybe not the case for Austin). Budgets for NPSL are going to be even lower since they only play 5 home games. You could easily operate on $30K per season (again dependent on travel). The SPSL budgeted numbers are much higher because of the total number of games.
Yep. That's a lot of it, but the nice thing is that you get the home games back for the revenue. Also, your one time costs get amortized out over the games. I actually think that the season is entirely too long, and I'm not sure its even at the right time. For instance, I don't think you'd want to overlap the college season.
Not sure if its vapor-club, but the NSSL (NPSL wannabe league) announce a new team in Austin for 2011. I don't get their website but if you scroll down, you'll see the new team is called the Austin Millenium FC. They will be coached by Jose Bartolo and owned by Luis Galvan. They aren't sure of the home stadium but for more information about Austin Millenium FC visit www.millenniumsoccerkids.org or call (512) 825-2896. http://www.nationalstarsoccerleague.com/news.htm#6 EDIT: sorry guys, just realized you were talking about this a page back. Oh well.
FYI Central FL Kraze own the PDL rights to Orlando and are partners with Rawlins in the new Orlando USLP team.
Revenue for home games at the amateur level? Really? Most PDL level teams (in whatever league) lose money. Not nearly at the level that D3/D2 teams do, but it's not a profit making venture, and the more games you play, the more money you lose. There are a few exceptions, but they're pretty rare. And the 3K that come to see Austin play D2 soccer aren't all going to show up for so-called D4 games. The local sponsorship dollars are also going to be far less. The nice thing about a longer season is that there are more games for the fans that actually go to games. Let's not kid ourselves about the finances, though.
Operating costs in SPSL would be much lower than PDL teams. PDL charges $75,000 for membership (I am told), while SPSL charges $4000. Also, the PDL season only has about 8 home games, while SPSL has many more.
Club America has fully backed the SPSL Club America Academy team based at USA Park in South Houston. We knew it was going to happen, and the documentation came through this morning. The team is the first semi-pro club in the United States authorized by the big club in Mexico. The Academy roster is being built with a mix of young prospects and a few veterans. Look for the team to continue the tradition that is Club America. http://www.clubamericaacademy.com/
Good article in today's NY Times about the Red Bull worldwide club model. If MLS is going to ignore us, maybe we can get major Mexican club to staff a lower division club team here with its juniors or reserves. Or maybe a mix of theirs and Lonestars top players.
One of the reasons I was excited about moving to Austin was for the Aztex. I come from a state with out any pro teams. I was upset when I heard the news. What ever is done, we form a new team or we support the Millennium FC I will be there support soccer in Austin. I am a little worried about Millennium as they have nothing on there website about the new team. Also I am little jaded about a youth organization running a senior team. All the senior teams were I grow up where run by youth organizations and when things got tough they ditched the senior teams. I hope Millennium FC would prove me wrong in this. Does any one no more on Millennium FC?
We have talked with Millennium, there does seam to be a bit of interest there. But is that something you guys want to see? My position is that a supporters group operated team would never be under the control of a single person. The collective group would be able to manage the team properly and bring an element of diversity to the table. All aspects of club management and operation would not fall onto the hands of a single entity. At this point, I have to believe that the supporters group would be the best entity to operate a Austin team. The Santos SC ownership is exploring options in San Antonio and San Marcos, so that is going to be a nice rival for Austin. Heck, we all will for that matter.
Things designed/run by committees never turn out well. It's all fine and good to have a team owned by a community but you still need to appoint executives/management to run things.
Agreed. You have to have a final decision maker(s). For example, an executive or a board of some kind. In my experience committees take too long to make decisions.
Beyond having enough support and $$$ to start/sustain a club, strong leadership is going to be critical -- make or break.
You are right, an elected or appointed executive is always important. But he is not going to have the power to say...move the team from Austin to Disneyworld.
I think a strictly supporter run team is a bad idea. You can't do good soccer by committee. There are too many players (pardon the pun) involved. The GM needs to know that she/he can do her job and go out to get players. The Coach needs to know that she/he can make game decisions without the wrath of an angry supporter coming down on them in committee. If you want to do this, look up some good models for supporters trusts abroad. Check out their bylaws and their charters to get an idea of how you might set up your own to be the most successful it can be.
Have both........... Manager managing, (BoDs) Board of Directors directing, but all responsible to the committe or shareholders etc