The Los Angeles Sol of Women's Professional Soccer have folded after one season, and a lineup that includes world player of the year Marta will be dispersed through a special draft next week. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/soccer/wires/01/28/2050.ap.soc.wps.sol.folds.0227/index.html#ixzz0dwskuuqZ
I am very unhappy about this. This totally blows! What happened to the ownership group that was negotiating to by the Sol? WPS officials, you need to explain this to the fans of the league. What happened?
Hard to find investors in something relatively new during a bad economy I would guess; however "negotiations ... fell apart" could mean anything.
I realize they probably were trying to make a deal until the very last minute, but this is just terrible timing for the players, especially those who were just drafted. How different would the draft have been if the Sol had bowed out prior? How are they going to work the dispersal draft? The article indicates those with guaranteed contracts will be dispersed and Marta will go to the highest bidder (along with her sponsorship deal). What happens to those just drafted (who presumably don't have guaranteed contracts yet)? Did this factor into Wagner's retirement? And international players' rights? I suspect we won't get a lot of these questions answered since the League seems to make stuff up as it goes along, sigh.
A bit of new info: "We've been in several weeks of negotiations with an ownership group and unfortunately it fell through at the last minute," Antonucci told The Associated Press. "In terms of the viability of Los Angeles as a WPS market, we don't think that's in question. Suspending operations doesn't mean we won't be trying to find new ownership for 2011."
Interesting article: http://www.potomacsoccerwire.com/news/460/9576 This gets me. According to this article, AEG has lost much more with MLS teams.
Always be suspicious of ownership groups that say they are only in it for the short run. It rarely works out.
Yeah this really lies on the sponsor, I would not have signed with AEG. Having said that i'm curious to see how this special draft will work, especially concerning internationals as some already have 5 and others have the rights to some internationals, but their at least doing it fairly and giving the girls a new home which is good.
Yes. WPS better update their website or get on the media NOW and explain what happened. The news is out. If they do not make a statement soon, then doubt in the league will start growing and they need to control that right now.
I feel really bad for the players and the staff. It also means there will be 18 less full roster spots around the league. It will be harder for some of the younger players to make a roster. Not to mention how it hurts the league prestige wise.
This news sucks. LA had the largest attendance of all 7 teams. But ownership committed for the long term is the most important part. And not that someone else's troubles makes a sucky situation less sucky but this seems to have gone "better" (and with more information out there--no really) than the WNBA Monarchs shutting down.
I second and third the extreme displeasure you and Cville have shown. WPS should've been financially prepared to run a team for at least a year in case of an emergency. Big failure on their part especially when it results in losing a team like LA. I had no idea this was even coming since I didn't even know the Sol were in such danger. Since the draft has already passed I thought the team was ok till at least next year. I'm serious when I say WHY didn't people like Beckham or Kobe step up since they both have a connection to soccer and $3 or $4 million is NOTHING to those 2. You think either of those 2 were even asked??
I believe Boxx and Marta...maybe more, but those are the two I know of via the equalizer: http://equalizersoccer.com/WebPages/news/newsDetails.aspx?nId=428aa467-6e8b-4d0d-ac6d-040f9a0b5150
They're planning on having a Press Release tonight at 9pm ET...they need the times to word it juuuuust right...I wouldn't hold my breath for much info on the real goings-on, though. Keep an eye out on Twitter for that...
The league and the individual teams have seemed really reluctant to say who has what kind of contracts, etc. I imagine, since she was one of the allocated players, that Cox also has a multi-year contract, but it's all speculation. I still don't really get how the draft will work--if someone drafts a player with a contract, are they guaranteed a roster spot? Will they get paid if they don't make a team?
This is truly sad news and as a long-time supporter of the women's game here in the US it is also inevitable. There is no viable business plan (light at the end of the tunnel) for professional women's soccer playing in venues like the HDC or Toyota Park. The numbers will never be there. They should have left a SoCal team in San Diego playing at USD where 6000 fans every week could have paid the rent. 6000 fans will never cover your nut at these larger stadia. AEG could afford to lose money in MLS for five years because there was a plan to be profitable (and the Galaxy is profitable) down the road. There is no plan to be profitable and Tonya Antonucci is kidding herself if she thinks there is. WPS is the WNBA. It will always need to be subsidized. The only way to come close to being profitable is to control your venue and all the revenue streams your club generates. The Sol needed to get 100% of the parking, concessions and ticket revenue to have a chance. And they needed to be rent-free too. Wasn't going to happen. What's really sad is that these young ladies now have fewer opportunities. I sat in a soccer bar yesterday with an old friend talking about sitting at UCSB in 1989 watching the US women's team play their send-off games to the newly created FIFA Women's World Championship. They didn't even get to call it the World Cup back then. I had taken a group of U-14 girls from San Diego up to watch Akers, Heinrichs, Jennings and Co play a college team and club all-star team to prepare them for the greatest tournament on the planet, and we sat there dreaming of a day when pro soccer might come back to the US for men and women, wondering if it ever would. We've come a long way from those days but we still have a long way to go. Groups like AEG have made it possible, but if AEG will pull out of the WPS that has to tell you a lot about what they think of Tonya Antonucci's plans for the future. I have two young daughters of my own. I hope that in the next 10 years there is something like this league for them to aim for but I am less hopeful after this.
I doubt if anyone really know the answers to that at the moment...hopefully it will be worked out by the time they release any news tonight
I am disappointed to hear the news...I was looking forward to watching a few games at the Home Depot Center this year...Now, all I could do is watch some games on FSC...I am not willing to go up to the SF Bay Area to watch FCGP...That's too much for me... About Marta...Would her old Sweden team take her back? Which WPS team could afford to pay her? I wish Sol could still exist...But, I need to accept this as the example of the free enterprise in action... I heard that, in 2011, some people want to set up women's indoor volleyball league in US...Good luck with that...I would watch those volleyball games but I don't know if other people will... I guess Coach Naimo is out of a job...But, he's available if any of 8 coaches is fired during the season... What would happen to the Sol forum on BigSoccer? Will it disappear as well? After all, the team no longer exists...
I have to agree...WPS has to be subsidized like WNBA...Otherwise, how long will it last? A good analysis... The problem is MLS would not subsidize WPS...MLS is not rich like NBA...
But the Sol could be back in 2011 so they can still leave the forum up there. I find it very hard to believe that there won't be a team in LA. It's the 2nd biggest market in the country plus it has a large hispanic population.