With the team sitting out this season, the CP Baltimore threads have quite properly become dormant. There is the announcement and speculation that the team will come back in 2012, but history suggests the track record is not good. So.... what's next for men's professional outdoor soccer in Baltimore? It seems to me that a great many options are on the table, but clearly some new thinking is needed. We've tried things that haven't worked, so what not to do should be obvious. It's time to consider what will work.
Timely post as you can see by the court case today. Obviously there will be no soccer in Baltimore with the Medd's involved anymore. What kind of idiots are they to mess around with the coaches that sued them. But man do I hope someone can put a team in Baltimore sometime soon - and one that does it right. Any rumors?
Somebody will eventually decide to take another try. Unfortunately they will neither look at past attempts or listen to the experience of those involved in past attempts. Since 1967 (44 seasons not counting 2011) the Baltimore area has had professional teams for 22 of those seasons. Bays(3) 67-69, Stars(1) 72, Bays II(2) 72-73, Comets(2) 74-75, Maryland Bays(4) 88-91, Bays III(5) 93-97, Mania(1) 99, Crystal Palace(4) 07-10.
Surely by now a set of "successful" business models have emerged. Granted, "successful" is a relative term. For D2 professional soccer, it might well mean "not an abject failure". On the other hand, look at Rochester. I guess my point is that even if someone doesn't choose to examine local experience, by now there must be a "formula" they can try. I think it all starts with a stadium. The team has to have a stable location in order to build a brand identity and a following. I also think that some prior experience in sports marketing is important. It probably doesn't matter where that experience came from -- even NASCAR would help, but it looks like you don't do well coming into professional soccer cold from another sector of the economy.
If longevity is a measure of a successful club, you will see three different models with three of the longest running clubs in the US. Charlotte Eagles, Charleston Battery and Richmond Kickers. Charlotte is a non-profit that does a lot of missionary work via soccer. Charleston owns their own stadium (privately owned) and has built a strong tie with the community. Richmond has youth teams and more of a tiered club. The one consistent is that they run camps but I think that they have all decided on a realistic budget based on realistic numbers and facts and haven't tried to live "beyond their means" There are several factors that play into it that are different from area to area but I find it somewhat surprising that three of the longest lasting clubs are in the South, not a place that you would first think of as a hot bed of soccer. I think for a team in Baltimore you have to get it right from the start. Give the average fan a good experience at the stadium, put a good product on the field and a location that people know and can get to. okay enough rambling it still early.....
CPB WON'T be back! I doubt if NASL would even let them come back with same ownership. Someone else could buy the rights to the market, but it will take a significant $ commitment to start a new team there from the ground up. Too bad because B'more is a good soccer town. The USL would probably like to have a team there, but the market has already proven to be tough, especially with Real Maryland 20 miles down the road, Harrisburgh 90 miles to the north and DC United 35 miles to the south.
I agree that CPB coming back doesn't look likely. I'd love to see the Medds apply the lessons from their previous seasons and come back with a strong team -- in both the operational and financial sense. Realistically, I'm quite skeptical about that happening. So....what approach will work? What has worked from previous teams and what needs to be done differently to make outdoor men's pro soccer succeed in Baltimore? Frankly, I think settling on a home stadium will go a long way. Next, I think one needs patient money -- the team will be a financial nightmare for several years until brand loyalty takes hold. An operational infrastructure needs to be in place as well. It wouldn't hurt to consider a partnership with the Blast or some other sports venture -- at least one could share the infrastructure costs (trainers, gym, medical staff, etc.). The fan base exists, it just hasn't been properly tapped.
I think it would be interesting to see if the Baltimore Bays could partner with a professional club in the city. With preexisting ties to Chelsea, maybe a small investment in facilities could be coaxed out of Abramovich. Maybe PDL would be the right level at this point.
There is a lot to be said for PDL teams. Given a well-run and consistently performing PDL team, would a fan base sufficient to move up build soon enough? It's quite possible if the team made that strategy part of its marketing campaign. Setting a consistent home field that has the proper character and sense of place is a real challenge on a PDL budget, though.
See: Chattanooga FC. An amateur level team (first USL PDL, now NPSL) that pulls D2-level attendance. Then again, it's not like they have much competition, just the AA Chattanooga Lookouts. Chattanooga is one of those markets that looks puny, but could easily be the next Green Bay for one sport. It all depends on getting serious, competent ownership who know about marketing, or are connected to somebody who does.
wondering = did CP ever draw consistent good crowds over the years (real crowds - not what they would announce).
Which provides a great segue into something I've been pondering. Suppose someone with pro soccer team ambitions for Baltimore, and real soccer team operations expertise, partnered with an entity already successful in pro sports/entertainment in the area? It occurs to me that one can (mostly) separate the concerns of soccer operations -- managing the players, coaching the team -- from those of sports/entertainment management -- marketing, facilities, salaries, other assorted business issues. Pro soccer is a "sports product" after all, just like baseball, tennis, hockey, (gridiron), etc. With the functions separate under a corporate holding company, there might be the proper balance to see the team sustain itself. There is also the possibility of sharing assets with the "other" sports operation. One hand could wash the other; so to speak.
The Kraft model is not advertising your soccer team and bragging about your Super Bowl rings to said soccer team's season ticket holders. What Sherman Peabody's describing is somewhat akin to the relationship between the Seahawks and Sounders here in Seattle. The Sounders share some staff with the Seahawks on the business side of things (marketting and ticket sales, for example), but the soccer stuff is handled solely by the Sounders.
Just curious, how much cachet does the Bays name have in Baltimore? I see that the name's been brought back a couple of times, with varying degrees of success.
A pro soccer team in B'more can be successful! No doubt. The city has great roots in ethnic neighborhoods and national champion youth (B'more Bays) and adult soccer league teams. Area college and junior college soccer is strong and nationally competitive (Loyola, Hopkins, UMBC, Towson, U MD). However, the only way a new team emerges is if a new ownership group comes along with an investment backing (e.g., disposable net worth) of $15-$20 million (a figure NASL kicks around) to operate 4-5 years assuming 1-3 will be financial losses. The make or break it period is year 4-5 when brand loyalty, community service, goodwill and successful camps come to fruition. The big problem is that there is so much territoriality in B'more, no one will hook up with another to form a partnership. And, the Medds/Cherneski burned every bridge possible in 4 years setting pro soccer back years. Also, it will take a suitable stadium in years 1-3 with a new soccer stadium built by year 4. With the economy as it is, a stadium is almost impossible without a private investor backing. And the politics! - despite approval after several years of political jockeying, B'more can't even get a casino built with private money that will guarantee millions in tax and revenue money. More politics. Operating at the ULS level is not cheap and payrolls are growing as competition improves (Richmond, Charleston, Rochester and Orlando). Previously successful teams like Harrisburg, Charlotte and Wilmington could be left in the economic dust. Also, USL is not strong enough competition to win fans in B'more who have high expectations for pro sports teams. MLS is virtually impossible so NASL is the best bet and a more costly model. Payroll and travel are killers as Crystal Palace will attest. Seats in the seats need to increase from 2-5k in short order to generate revenue and a "big" corporate sponsor is truly needed. And, a spring-summer soccer season in B'more has added pressure of competing with lacrosse and baseball - youth and MLB, as well as the Bay and Ocean and family vacations for attention and fan support. T Any body want to partner up! Ugh!
I agree that the Medds/Cherneski probably poisoned the well, but the demand for pro soccer in Baltimore has been and remains strong. That potential will not lie untapped for very long. I'm not sure about the "territoriality" you speak of. We're talking about unplowed ground here. This is a chance to define new market space. I think we just have to hope that new money comes ahuntin'. Granted, that could be a long wait in this economy. Not sure you should equate the downtown casino with a 3K-seat soccer stadium. They are very different products -- that generate very different responses from the community. Mayor Dickson is gone now -- a new crowd is in charge. Speaking to the stadium question; the recently completed study argues powerfully for capitalizing on an existing venue. That, in turn argues for some kind of partnership with an existing sports enterprise. Ravens? Orioles?
With several good soccer clubs in Baltimore I'd like to see a new team not have an academy system. Instead using camps as an extra revenue source. That way you could minimize costs by using players and assistants for camps and not having to pay travel, outfitting and coaching costs for an entire academy system. It would also keep you from taking players away from existing clubs thus raising their ire. As far as a stadium goes there are several college ones, the rent becomes the question. As far as a permanent stadium site I still like the Port Covington one by the Sunpaper plant. Currently it has an underperforming Walmart and closed Sam's club. There are other parcels contiguous that could be available. It would provide the possibility of a nice water backdrop and the National Aquarium is opening a park just across the way. I would stage the stadium to be built in phases. Start with a 2.5k-3k one sided facility. Use the opposing side for picnic and entertainment area. As attendance improves (hopefully) add an end section that could house a supporters group as well. That would increase capacity to around 5k. Eventually, if necessary add another 2.5k-3k on the open side switching the picnic area to teh remaining open end. This way you could start in USL Pro then move up as interest grows. Who really knows if NASL will get sanctioned in the future. Partnering with another group could go in varied directions. Under Armour is creating the sensor uniforms for Tottenham. By partnering with Under Armour you could use their promotion people as well as being a test group for their products. Depending on league status Under Armour could also work their way into outfitting all the teams as well as their academy teams. This expansion into the soccer apparel industry could be attractive to UA stockholders. Another option is US Lacrosse. They are looking for a bigger facility and a a stadium to use. The down side is they are competing for the same fans. The oddball in the bunch would be Baltimore Catholic Schools. They are appraently looking into a stadium to host major events for their athletics. While this isn't as diect a correlation it would give you a facility, access to putting it at the Cardinal Gibbons school site, as well as access to the well-organized and well-funded alumni associations of the aforementioned schools. A key to running the team would be to realistically research the Baltimore soccer market. We all know there is a market here but just putting a team in place won't draw soccer-oriented individuals. An ownership group would really need to look into what soccer people here want then determine how best to provide it. One of the problems that has always been present in Baltimore is it is a large city but has traditionally been divided up by neighborhood interests. A model would have to be created to appease as many groups as possible without alienating others.
of course any consideration of returning pro outdoor soccer to Baltimor eis moot until DC United gives a thumbs up or thumbs down to the proposal to build a stadium here. a thumbs down would then open up the possibility of a smaller facility at the Westport site to accomodate a NASL or USL Pro team.
What is the popular consensus there regarding pro outdoor soccer? Do people want their own team or are they content supporting DCU? Or do they want DCU to relocate to Baltimore?
I personally would love to see a new MLS team start in Baltimore. A rivalry would quickly develop with DC based on most of the country lumping Baltimore into the DC suburbs as it is, and people from Baltimore wanting to prove Baltimore is a completely different city capable of standing on its own. Going off of this sentiment if DC United were to relocate to Baltimore I do not think they could continue to be DC United. A team named DC United in Baltimore would become a laughing stock for the rest of the league, and alienate potential fans from Baltimore at the same time. If MLS does not setup a team in Baltimore I do not think the city would get behind a team in a lower division because the Stadium Study stated that only an MLS soccer specific stadium would be worth the investment. I desperately want a pro team in Baltimore or close by, but without a viable investment group the relocation of DC might be the only hope for the foreseeable future.
I don't like either of those alternatives. The finances to support a Baltimore MLS team simply aren't there. Moving DC United to Baltimore would be the MLS equivalent of moving the Colts to Indy. It would "kill" a founding franchise and icon of the league -- creating bad blood that would last for years. There was a time when Baltimore was large and rich enough to support an MLS team of its own, and that time may come again very soon. The current reality though is that we're better suited to a D2 team. I would rather see Baltimore field a competitive, well-financed D2 (or even D3 if we must) team than struggle to support an MLS franchise.
with limited corporate presence left in Baltimore, at least as far as Fortune 500 type headquaters are concerned, i think financing and supporting any other top level team, MLS, NBA, or NHL would be tough. The Orioles and Ravens eat-up a lot of sponsorship dollars before any other team would even get a sniff. I guess the real question is what would be considered a "successful" franchise? If a team were in USL Pro or NASL and drew around 5k would that be a success? The Blast have found a way to make money indoors with a constantly changing stable of opponents and around 6.5k average attendance. If we could put a team in D-2 or D-3 that would be self-sustaining and give me live soccer to watch over the course of the summer that'd be fine by me. A side note, with the USL and MISL coming to an agreement to work together indoors could the Blast now consider generating an outdoor team as well? It would have to help in recruiting players as then players could have year-long contracts instead of half-year and they could also maintain one residence for the year. I know Ed Hale is out at First Mariner Bank but his trucking interests are where most of his money came from in the first place. Build a mini Camden Yards on the east side or at Westport with an appropritaely sized arena and a 5-8K stadium and we're in business! Course i also still leave teeth under my pillow and believe bunnies bring eggs so read the stadium and Blast talk with that in mind