Questions For Peter Wilt - M1

Discussion in 'Milwaukee' started by olderandwiser, Apr 16, 2007.

  1. Peter Wilt

    Peter Wilt Member

    Jun 11, 1999
    Whitefish Bay, WI
    Unfortunately, the Milwaukee Pro Soccer Stadium is not a go as of now. The stadium in question is likely an upgrade of Marquette's current stadium. It is not associated with the Milwaukee MLS stadium efforts, though at one time we did discuss a shared stadium near the Valley Fields with MU.

    peter
     
  2. Sachsen

    Sachsen Member+

    Aug 8, 2003
    Broken Arrow, Okla.
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Peter,

    Garber continues to occasionally mention the fact that MLS would like to have 16 teams for the 2010 season.

    As we have seen the success that Toronto have had coming into the league (stadium and tickets and buzz, obviously NOT on the field ;) ), and with conventional wisdom obviously dictating that you want to bring a new team into the league with a stadium ready to go... two questions come to mind.

    1) With less than three years until the start of the 2010 season, what do you think the deadline would be for any new expansion group to have their ducks in a row in order to make it in by that time?

    2) Do you honestly believe we really will be at 16 teams in 2010?

    (I know these are hypothetical, opinionated questions which relate directly to the work you're doing in Milwaukee. I apologize and appreciate reading your comments on these boards.)
     
  3. Peter Wilt

    Peter Wilt Member

    Jun 11, 1999
    Whitefish Bay, WI
    most of the new stadia have been built in 18 to 20 months...though BMO took 15 months and C-bus was built in only 9 months!

    Working backwords, groundbreaking needs to occur on three stadiums in new markets by about October to January, 2008/2009. I feel pretty confident that at least two will take place by then. Three may be a stretch.

    peter
     
  4. Peter Wilt

    Peter Wilt Member

    Jun 11, 1999
    Whitefish Bay, WI
    Steve is more than a classy guy. He is also one of the best and most respected sports marketers in this country. He is smart, humble, balanced, hard working, well liked and has a way of making others feel like they are truly partners with the team. If this is true, it is a real loss for RSL. i hope he finds his way back into the League, else it will be a loss for MLS as well.

    It never made sense to me that over time, RSL had him focus more on soccer (the area where he was less experienced) and less on the business end (the area where he has proven to be successful with great launches in both Chicago and Salt Lake).

    To this day, i don't believe the coaching choice was originally his and i don't believe "staying the course" was his as well.

    Though i love Salt Lake and have some very good friends there, out of respect for Steve, i would not follow him in that situation (nor have i been asked - except by you :) to be fair).

    peter
     
  5. Kayak

    Kayak Member+

    Feb 16, 2007
    Columbus
    Peter,

    This is off topic, but some rapids supporters went to Salt Lake and want to thank Steve Pastarino for his hospitality. Due to the current events concerning the Real Salt Lake organization I was wondering if you had contact information so that he may still be thanked. If you would want to PM the information to chilistrider the chairman of centennial firm instead of posting it here for all to read it would be greatly appreciated.

    Thank You
    [FONT=&quot]Scott[/FONT]
     
  6. cdin

    cdin Member

    Aug 23, 2004
    Waukesha, WI
    I am sure you have seen the player salaries released by the player's association. As I looked it over I thought of a few questions.

    Player Salaries

    1. As a former executive of an MLS team, what do think about the player's association releasing the salary information?

    2. Which 2 or 3 players do you think are the biggest steal in MLS?
     
  7. Peter Wilt

    Peter Wilt Member

    Jun 11, 1999
    Whitefish Bay, WI
    1. i think transparency is healthy for the Lague, so i'm glad the figures are public. i agree with Deputy Commissioner Ivan Gazidis' statement that having the union criticize the salaries is disingenuous as they negotiated them in context with the overall bargaining agreement.

    2. David Beckham and any of the following:

    Jonathan Bornstein, Thiago, Bouna Condoul, Adam Cristman, Andy Dorman, Herculez Gomez, Maykel Galindo, Michael Harrington, Shalrie Joseph, Dane Richards, Dasan Robinson, Chris Rolfe, Gonzalo Segares, Khano Smith and Claudio Suarez....should i feel bad that i was involved in signing four of them to their first MLS contracts?

    Seven of the above are first or second year players. Among the veterans, Shalrie Joseph, Chris Rolfe and Claudio Suarez are probably the best bargains, but they each had their own reasons for signing the contracts they did. i am sure that Chris and Shalrie will be rewarded well within the next year and Claudio is no longer playing for the money. i hope he stays in the League after he retires as a coach.

    peter
     
  8. MU88

    MU88 New Member

    Sep 19, 2005
    Its MU. The university just received a $1 million donation to jump start the project. Big announcements coming. Large influx of cash into the program.
     
  9. jbmindtrick

    jbmindtrick New Member

    Aug 30, 2006
    Milwaukee
    Impact of Brewers Current Success in Hunt a Milwaukee Team

    Given the current success that the Brewers are having does this have any positive or negative impact on the positioning or bargaining that you have within the community in getting a team?

    I also want to just reinforce that fact to keep up the good fight Peter. Being a Wisconsinite for life, everytime I have to go down to Chicago to see the Fire with my season tix, it leaves me a little sick to my stomach; after all we were bred to have an utter contempt for Chicagoans.
    ;)
     
  10. Peter Wilt

    Peter Wilt Member

    Jun 11, 1999
    Whitefish Bay, WI
    Re: Impact of Brewers Current Success in Hunt a Milwaukee Team

    In general, i believe the success of one sports team in a market helps all teams as it broadens the range of people paying attention to sports in general. i don't believe the Brewers success will have a significant impact on our efforts to secure a site, stadium and team, however.

    i've lived 18 years as a FIB, 18 years as a Cheesehead and 11 years as both....i'm still riding that fence.

    :)

    peter
     
  11. Patrick Geiger

    Patrick Geiger New Member

    Jun 3, 2005
    When you formed the roster for the inaugural season of the Chicago Fire, you successfully tapped into some ethnic groups of the city by signing Nowak, Campos, and Kubik (among others). This tactic seems to be still used by the Fire, evidenced by the signing of Blanco.

    If Milwaukee is able to successfully get a team, do you believe that you will use a similar tactic to generate a buzz in some local communities? If so, what do you see as the ethnic groups that you will target in Milwaukee?
     
  12. Peter Wilt

    Peter Wilt Member

    Jun 11, 1999
    Whitefish Bay, WI
    The ethnicity of the player was always secondary to his ability to help us win. That being said, if a player can help us win and sell tickets, we'd be foolish to ignore him.

    Milwaukee doesn't have as many first generation Europeans as it did a generation or two ago or as many as Chicago does now. Many 2nd, 3rd and 4th generation Germans, Italians, Poles and Irish in Milwaukee still feel connected to tjeir roots though and i think that's somewhat attributable to the strong ethnic festivals and ethnic social clubs in Milwaukee, so players from those countries may have some commercial appeal, but they would have to be very good soccer players first and foremost. I'd rather sign a great player from Iceland than an average player from Germany just to appease the German community.

    The Mexican community is SE Wisconsin is strong, growing and primarily first generation.

    A good Mexican player, while very expensive, could both help the team win and sell tickets.

    peter
     
  13. wolfp10

    wolfp10 Member

    Sep 25, 2005
    Peter,

    I admire your willingness to embrace fan support in MLS, which includes coming to these boards and "rubbing elbows" with the fans. I wish the Revs FO were as generous.

    Anyways, in response to which MLS players are a steal, you replied...

    In your opinion, how much is David Beckham worth to the Galaxy, MLS, and U.S. Soccer?
     
  14. Peter Wilt

    Peter Wilt Member

    Jun 11, 1999
    Whitefish Bay, WI
    i don't think you can put a figure on it, but certainly much more than $32.5M over five years....and frankly, he's worth more than the bloated $250M figure that included endorsements and his share of new revenue streams. The numbers below are educated guesses and some may be shared with the player, but it will give you a general idea of the types and amounts of revenue an icon like David Beckham can generate.

    The value is direct and indirect and includes, among other things:

    * Increased ticket revenue for LAG ($5M/Year)
    * Increased ticket revenue for rest of League ($5M/Year)
    * Increased sponsorship revenue for LAG and League ($5M+/Year)
    * Increased broadcast revenue for LAG and League ($5M+/Year)
    * Increased value of HDC sponsorship, suites and club seats leading to renewals ($10M+/Year)
    * Increased ancillary stadium revenues (parking, concessions, merchandise) ($2M+/Year)
    * Significant exhibition tour fees ($5M+/Year)
    * LAG jersey sponsorship ($3M/Year)
    * Increased value in teams (???)
    * Increased interest in the League by investors (???)
    * Increased interest in the League by players (???)
    * Increased credibility in the product (???)

    peter
     
  15. the rodg

    the rodg New Member

    Dec 16, 2006
    Peter,
    "* Increased interest in the League by investors (???)"
    Well since you brought it up peter(lol), hows the "beckham affect"
    done for investors in the Milwaukee area as of late ?
    Any news you could offer up without revealing more than you want?
    Im just tryin' to keep hope alive!!!!!!
     
  16. Peter Wilt

    Peter Wilt Member

    Jun 11, 1999
    Whitefish Bay, WI
    :)

    Within days of the Beckham signing we received inquiries from English investors through intermediaries. Nothing has come of it since however. We have also recently gotten serious interest from investor candidates in NYC, California and Milwaukee. i think it's fair to say that none or maybe one of them would have shown interest prior to Beckham's signing.

    The ball's in our court right now, however. We are reworking the proforma based on the new site and preparing the financial information for the new leads.

    Still a long shot, but it's very much alive.

    peter
     
  17. ButlerBob

    ButlerBob Moderator
    Staff Member

    Nov 13, 2001
    Evanston, IL
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Glad to hear that things are moving ahead. I'm not surprised about possible UK investment. With the current exchange rate between dollar and pound, it's probably cheaper to buy into MLS. It doesn't have the glamor of a EPL team, but entry point is lower and there is probably more long term growth potential.
     
  18. SixKick

    SixKick Moderator
    Staff Member

    Nov 13, 2000
    Club:
    Club América
    Nat'l Team:
    Mexico
    Is this above or below the previously mentioned 30% likelyhood?


    Side question: Who drives Brian Hall around since he's legally blind?
     
  19. Peter Wilt

    Peter Wilt Member

    Jun 11, 1999
    Whitefish Bay, WI
    same.

    re: Brian, my guess is that he possesses an international drivers license. His visual impairment, for some reason only seems to manifest domestically....and is exacerbated in Chicago.

    peter
     
  20. Prazan

    Prazan New Member

    Aug 28, 2006
    Prague
    Peter,

    I have a question regarding the 16 teams by 2010 (or slightly later) issue. There has been a general assumption that MLS would pause at that point, possibly for a couple of years, before allowing further expansion. I don't recall anyone on the record saying that, however, though it seems logical both for scheduling (perfect for a balanced 30 game schedule) and fear of quality dilution due to overexpansion.

    Has anyone from MLS ever told you this explicitly? If it is the case, it would seem to change the expansion dynamic considerably. Up to now, the issue has been whether it was possible to find investors in possible expansion cities who have definite stadium plans. And if only three expansion groups meet the required criteria, the situation would not change. But if there is a limit and more than three groups meet the criteria, then we could see MLS choosing between the groups based on other criteria such as market size, which would seem to put you at a disadvantage if, for example, you, San Jose, Philly, and Cleveland all had owners and stadiums lined up.

    Thanks.
     
  21. Peter Wilt

    Peter Wilt Member

    Jun 11, 1999
    Whitefish Bay, WI
    Yes, the 16 figure has been stated by MLS explicitly, but i think everyone recognizes that putting artificial limits on business decisions 3+ years away is pure fancy. When MLS gets to 16, it will likely lessen the need for further expansion, however, the right owner, in the right market, with the right stadium and the right check can easily change artificial limits imposed years previously.

    peter
     
  22. L.L.Henry

    L.L.Henry New Member

    Aug 6, 2006
    "Racine's Leipold selling NHL's Predators"

    You gotta be talking to this guy - especially with all of his new found disposable income - plus his kids play soccer!
     
  23. Peter Wilt

    Peter Wilt Member

    Jun 11, 1999
    Whitefish Bay, WI
    He's turned it down before, but maybe with the sale of the Preds, he may change his mind.

    Thx for the update.

    peter
     
  24. USRufnex

    USRufnex Red Card

    Tulsa Athletic / Sheffield United
    United States
    Jul 15, 2000
    Tulsa, OK
    Club:
    --other--
    Kinda curious.

    What would be the annual operating expenses for Toyota Park or a proposed Milwaukee SSS?

    How much less (I'm assuming it's less) are those operating expenses compared to the United Center or Soldier Field or Wrigley or Comisk----er uh, US Cellular Park?!?

    And what would be the differences in operating expenses for a grass field versus field turf?
     

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