In with the New: The Great Ownership Search

Discussion in 'Real Salt Lake' started by SenordrummeR2, Aug 30, 2020.

  1. SenordrummeR2

    SenordrummeR2 Member+

    Jul 21, 2008
    Layton, UT
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
  2. KendaReal

    KendaReal Member+

    May 3, 2010
    Taylorsville, UT
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    This is the way.
     
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  3. wrennywren

    wrennywren Member

    Jul 15, 2004
    San Antonio TX
    Gonna be tough man. There are tons of groups out there ready to pounce on a team for their community. Landon Donovan's group on San Diego has to be salivating.

    If the team had to move, selfishly, I'd want San Antonio, but I think the team in Austin killed any chance there.
     
  4. RSLer

    RSLer Member+

    Sep 24, 2008
    Stansbury Park, UT
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I really think any larger market willing to build the owner a brand new stadium will be attractive, especially a stadium much larger than The RioT. But this sort of competition was probably going to arise eventually anyway.
     
  5. SenordrummeR2

    SenordrummeR2 Member+

    Jul 21, 2008
    Layton, UT
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
  6. KendaReal

    KendaReal Member+

    May 3, 2010
    Taylorsville, UT
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Pretty sure he was at one when then Dash were in town. Fun fact, my sister used to play against Kealia Ohai.
     
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  7. kirsoccer

    kirsoccer BigSoccer Supporter

    Jun 29, 2007
    I think the fact that DLH is doing this willingly instead of kicking and screaming means it's much more likely that the team will stay in Utah. He will want to avoid the appearance of his actions driving the club out of state. For him, he's now in damage control mode, and will want to make this happen as swiftly and smoothly as possible to minimize the negative impact on his other business holdings. The sooner this story is in the distant past, the better off for him. In addition, there are a lot of positives in this state surrounding soccer despite the small-ish market. It'd be foolish for a buyer to uproot the team and abandon all of that (including huge stadium and training facility infrastructure costs).
     
  8. BalanceUT

    BalanceUT RSL and THFC!

    Oct 8, 2006
    Appalachia
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Pittsburgh would make me happy. That way, I wouldn't need to choose between DC, Philadelphia or Columbus (the three closest teams, ranging from 2 to 5 hours away). Pittsburgh is also 2 hours away but would have the history of previously being RSL and/or be 'new' with no history of rivalry against RSL.

    With that selfish thing said. I don't want my friends in Salt Lake to lose our team. There's something special about a team that was launched when nobody thought that MLS was going to survive. That is an important core of RSL: the team that started what we see now as the clamor of potential suitors for the league.
     
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  9. Ismitje

    Ismitje Super Moderator

    Dec 30, 2000
    The Palouse
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    United States

    Agreed. It's rather remarkable that we're in this spot on Sunday the 30th when on Thursday the 27th things were so bleak. We have a team fighting for each other, a pending ownership change, and in Utah Soccer LLC, an attractive package to offer potential buyers. In a real way, the expansion into the NWSL and the Herriman (and Logan, and ?) development under DLH makes it more likely RSL stays than without it.

    Suddenly, it's hopeful around here.

    And I know it could go sour if the new owners are lousy - just look around all leagues and you'll see lousy owners/ownership groups are pretty common. But right now, it's hopeful.
     
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  10. BalanceUT

    BalanceUT RSL and THFC!

    Oct 8, 2006
    Appalachia
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Him doing it willingly means he knew that an investigation was going to tarnish him horribly in the public eye. Best to leave with a contrite expression of regret compared to a hundreds of bound pages of testimony for reporters to leaf through.
     
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  11. BalanceUT

    BalanceUT RSL and THFC!

    Oct 8, 2006
    Appalachia
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    One of the reasons Checketts knew that Salt Lake was a good market was knowing the high percentage of the state who have lengthy stays in other nations where soccer is life. That exposure to soccer builds a unique marketing possibility and greater interest than the mere population numbers would suggest. Anyone who investigates will quickly learn that there's not many other markets in the nation as built-in and built-up for soccer as Salt Lake.
     
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  12. goobx1

    goobx1 Member+

    Jul 9, 2007
    Salt Lake
    If Dell Loy sells the team to owners that move the team that can not be good for his image and businesses in the state.

    He really needs to do damage control because I’m pretty sure there is a lot more dirt on his racist actions and misogyny that is still yet to surface.

    Moving the team would only exacerbate negative thoughts about him and how he has offended people. It took about 72 hours for what we do know about what he has said and done for him to decide to sell the team.

    Moving the team, employees losing jobs, fans losing their teams, that is just asking for the stuff we don’t know to be exposed.

    He needs the team to stay here. Because we know what he really cares about.
     
  13. RoyalNonesuch

    RoyalNonesuch Member+

    May 10, 2009
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The fact that its being sold as an entire bundle should be comforting for the Oh No crowd. Why pay for all of it if you intend to move it, that's a significant premium to pay and if one were to VC and sell the other assets...do they have the same value sans the MLS TEAM? I'd argue that they lose value.
     
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  14. BalanceUT

    BalanceUT RSL and THFC!

    Oct 8, 2006
    Appalachia
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I'm pretty sure that will not matter to him, nor affect his image much. He's trying to get away from the image bash he would suffer under a full and formal investigation bound into a 100 page volume distributed to reporters near and far.

     
  15. DrownedElf

    DrownedElf Member+

    Jul 5, 2010
    Ogden
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    DLH doesn't seem like the type to roll over easily. For this to have happened so quickly, there has to be a lot more than the few things we've heard over the last few days.
     
  16. Ismitje

    Ismitje Super Moderator

    Dec 30, 2000
    The Palouse
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    That certainly seems to be part of it. He might also ken that he's not interested in fighting for it any longer - which is the gist of his comments the other day. The combination of what has already come out, the pretty much unified vilification from all circles (certainly including his business partners and other owners), the advertisers pulling out . . . you wouldn't necessarily need anything more than that, particularly since this may be the high point in the valuation for several years to come.
     
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  17. 15 to 32

    15 to 32 Straw Hog

    Jul 1, 2008
    Salt Lake
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I will say, given everything else the man has said, that apology he published was very well written. It didn't make excuses. It didn't mention money. It didn't apologize for causing offense. It said he was wrong, he was sorry, and he'll work to do better. For all the shit we've given him, I have to say I hope that letter was true and is his path to fixing a lot of the known negative about him.

    I believe in people... mostly. And think he can be a better man
     
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  18. 15 to 32

    15 to 32 Straw Hog

    Jul 1, 2008
    Salt Lake
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Like many have said, I think one of the best things DLH did for this club was make it as big as it is. You could maybe argue that the Royals or Monarchs don't need to be part of it, but a new owner would need to really manage that being left out in order to not instantly have a bad reputation.

    I'm hopeful the club stays here

    All that said, what is the dream list of characteristics for new ownership? And what of those are realistic?
     
  19. KendaReal

    KendaReal Member+

    May 3, 2010
    Taylorsville, UT
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    DLH's letter to the players and coaches offers more humility.

    I hope this is as genuine as it seems.
     
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  20. kirsoccer

    kirsoccer BigSoccer Supporter

    Jun 29, 2007
    This part is super easy.

    1) Some soccer/sports business acumen
    2) The financial capacity and willingness to continue to build infrastructure
    3) The financial capacity and willingness to make personnel decisions to enhance the on the field product and set this team up to win
    4) Emotional intelligence to stay out of the way of those that run the soccer operations
    5) A decent human being
     
  21. georg

    georg Member+

    May 25, 2009
    Parowan, Utah
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Las Vegas may also be looking at RSL
     
  22. wrennywren

    wrennywren Member

    Jul 15, 2004
    San Antonio TX
    Shoot me now.
     
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  23. Lizzie Bee

    Lizzie Bee Member+

    Jul 27, 2004
    Utah
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I'm just catching up on all this today since I was house shopping last week, and I have a new phone that didn't pop up BS notifications.

    Holy shit.

    I've tried to give DLH the benefit of the doubt many times, but that ended instantly last week when I read about his tone-deaf interview. Turns out that being tone deaf was just the tip of the iceberg.

    Holy hell.

    I hope the apology letters are sincere, but (a) there's no way they weren't heavily influenced (and likely written) by someone on his marketing or legal team; and (b) they may have been required by MLS as terms of dropping the investigation. (Sell the team, apologize, etc)

    I hope the team stays here under amazing new ownership (especially since I just put in an offer for a house closer to Sandy/Herriman) but I'm with the others who have said it's better to lose the team than keep it with a racist cheapskate running it.
     
  24. 15 to 32

    15 to 32 Straw Hog

    Jul 1, 2008
    Salt Lake
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    One of the weird things with DLH is that he isn't a cheapskate, per say. I mean, the dude has put hundreds of millions of dollars into the training facilities/academy/USL/Royals. NONE of that was required to be an owner of RSL. The USL thing could have done wayyyyyyy cheaper. It's so strange for him to be so cheap once he installs all of this infrastructure. I've always struggled with that, but it's especially strange now.
     
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  25. georg

    georg Member+

    May 25, 2009
    Parowan, Utah
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    As long as his team was somewhat competitive, and his stadium full, why spend any more on players?
     
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