Here is a interesting article about the failure of buying Mutiny and the future of soccer in Tampa: Manchester team isn't Glazer's first soccer opportunity Carl Cronan, Senior Staff Writer Tampa bay Business Journal, (From the May 20, 2005 print edition) TAMPA -- Long before Malcolm Glazer set his sights on buying Manchester United, another soccer franchise was in the picture. Major League Soccer approached Glazer in 2001 about buying the Tampa Bay Mutiny, which played in the same stadium as Glazer's Tampa Bay Buccaneers, for a fraction of the $1.5-billion record price he looks to pay for Man U, the world's most financially successful sports franchise. The MLS never disclosed the asking price, but it might have represented a bargain to Glazer, whose sons are said to be huge soccer fans. Yet the fledgling American league was viewed, as it still is, as a long-term investment that would operate in the red for years before turning profits. The Mutiny folded in 2002. "It would have made the most sense for them to buy the team. I just don't think it made sense to them," said Tom Veit, the Mutiny's former senior VP of sales and marketing. The Mutiny was among the original franchises when MLS kicked its first ball in 1996. It remained under league ownership throughout the its six-year existence. Teams in other cities were sold to sports investors such as Lamar Hunt and Robert Kraft -- who, like Glazer, own National Football League franchises. Most MLS teams still play in NFL stadiums. The Mutiny started in and closed old Tampa Stadium in 1998 before moving over to Raymond James Stadium the following season. Glazer, whose Bucs were the primary tenant of the new stadium and had its logo stamped throughout, were entitled to revenue from concession stands and parking -- money that might have helped the Mutiny break even, or so it was thought at the time. Veit, who spent two years with the Mutiny and is now assistant athletic director in charge of marketing at the University of South Florida, said the Mutiny generated $2.5 million revenue in its best year in 1999, primarily through corporate sponsorships and ticket sales. Yet expenses far exceeded that amount to the point that concession and parking, which generated less than $1 million per season, would have helped only to make up an annual shortfall. Lack of attendance hindered the Mutiny despite its front office's best marketing efforts, including discount game tickets, free post-game concerts and Fourth of July fireworks displays. The Mutiny averaged around 13,000 fans for each game in a market where its predecessors, the Tampa Bay Rowdies, achieved sellout crowds at Tampa Stadium during the late 1970s. The Mutiny briefly considered building its own smaller stadium, comparable to one built for the MLS franchise in Columbus, Ohio. Coincidentally, Mutiny executives visited Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, to get promotional ideas from Man U, Veit said. Around that time, MLS officials began talking to Glazer about the prospect of taking ownership of the Mutiny with the idea of linking the team's marketing with the Bucs. Glazer's sons, Joel and Bryan, who are both Bucs executive VPs, appeared interested in the idea. Veit recalled the younger Glazers attended Mutiny games, even buying their own tickets in the stadium's lower-level seats rather than sitting in the air-conditioned comfort of the owner's box. "They're soccer fans, but they're businessmen first," he said. When negotiations broke down between MLS and the elder Glazer, observers considered it the beginning of the end for the Mutiny. Team GM Nick Sakiewicz already had been transferred to lead the New York/New Jersey MetroStars, while Veit left to take a marketing position with the Orlando Rage of the now-defunct Xtreme Football League. The death knell for the Mutiny sounded Jan. 8, 2002, when the team ceased operations following a unanimous vote by the MLS board of governors. League officials termed the move as a financial decision. "This is not a reflection on the fans or the market," MLS COO Mark Abbott said at the time. Nevertheless, some Mutiny fans still hold a grudge against Glazer for being in the perceived position of being able to bail out the team and declining to do so. Those hard feelings have resurfaced now that Glazer has acquired at least 75 percent of Man U, a storied soccer franchise with a 127-year history, returning it to private ownership for the first time since 1991. Man U fans are protesting Glazer's purchase of their team, largely based on his perceived mistreatment of Tampa sports fans. Even though the Bucs won the Super Bowl in January 2003, local soccer fans say those across the Atlantic Ocean have the right to be suspicious of Glazer's motives. "He's only in it for himself," said Paul Catala, a Tampa musician and freelance writer who cheered on both the Rowdies and Mutiny. "It's ironic that he's going after the richest soccer team in the world when he wouldn't even help the Mutiny. He's a jerk as far as I'm concerned." While Tampa Bay area sports fans express mostly amusement at Man U fan antics while wondering how Glazer's acquisition will affect the Bucs, Veit puts those emotions in perspective. "People here don't understand what English soccer is like," he said. "The NFL pales in comparison to the grip soccer has on England." While Glazer himself isn't known to be a soccer fan, let alone a sports enthusiast of any sort, he has demonstrated a reputation for finding value in investments, ranging from trailer parks to the Bucs themselves. When he paid a record $192 million for Tampa's losing NFL franchise in January 1995, observers thought he was less than astute. The team is now estimated to be worth nearly $800 million, putting it on par with the record price Daniel Snyder paid for the Washington Redskins in 1999. Rumors of a pending Bucs sale still crop up from time to time, with three Tampa prospects mentioned most often -- Chris Sullivan and Bob Basham, co-chairmen of Outback Steakhouse Inc., and real estate developer Eddie DeBartolo Jr., former owner of the San Francisco 49ers. DeBartolo confirmed he was once interested in joining other investors on a bid for the Bucs though the team wasn't for sale, and is vague on his current interest in rejoining the NFL's elite group of owners. An Outback spokeswoman declined comment on the latest speculation. Although Glazer, whose net worth is estimated at $1.1 billion, would be required to carry $620 million in debt to finance his acquisition of Man U, sports investors in North America say they believe the risk could reap huge rewards. Sal Galatioto, a New York sports banker who arranged Snyder's Redskins purchase, said England's prestigious Premier League, to which Man U now belongs, needs a broader marketing plan given the worldwide appeal of its best-known team. "There's no question there's value in English soccer right now," Galatioto told the Toronto Star earlier this week. Here's one more thing for Bay area sports fans to consider: Sales of team jerseys tracked by SportScan Info show that fans in the United States have bought about 2,500 Man U jerseys so far this year -- more than all MLS teams combined, and even outselling baseball's Tampa Bay Devil Rays.