Peter Wilt is currently president, CEO and governor of the Chicago Red Stars, a member of the Women's Professional Soccer League. Wilt also was the founding general manager and president of the Chicago Fire of Major League Soccer, and led the efforts to build Toyota Park, the first publicly funded stadium in MLS. Wilt, in fact, worked for the Wave in 1987 before moving to become the general manager of the Chicago Power in 1990. In 1994, he moved outdoors to become team, president, general manager and co-owner of the A-League Minnesota Thunder. In 1998, Wilt was named MLS's Executive of the Year
now that you are CEO and president of this fab team....can you persuade some trades or send freebie players toward Rockford?!? also, any way you can put a section that is designated for visiting supporters...i mean its always just me and hand full of people.
Mr. Wilt, I'm am really curious, as I'm sure many others are, as to what made you take this position. I grew up in Milwaukee and used to be a fan of the Wave. For the past several years, the Wave, and indoor pro soccer as a whole, has seemed to be living on life support, yet you yourself have helped grow the outdoor game in trememdous fashion. With talk of you possibly going to NYRB, this announcement couldn't have been any bigger of a surprise. Is this possibly a way for you to try to revive an MLS-bid in Brew City, or do you honestly envision indoor soccer having a revival in this country and Wave in this city? I personally do not see that happening, especially with the growth of fandom of the outdoor game (not just MLS, but soccer in a broader context). Just curious; and thank you sir, for your time today and your continued passion of this great sport.
Pretty much. i'll remain a co-owner of the red stars and will continue to serve on the team, league and foundation boards of directors. More info here: http://tinyurl.com/yh7yb7s
I hear angels singing! Peter Wilt, the new president and CEO of the Milwaukee Wave, wants the franchise to reach out beyond the local soccer community to find and attract new fans. "Indoor soccer, unlike outdoor soccer, appeals to a broader range of people and we need to emotionally connect with them," Wilt said Wednesday at a news conference at the U.S. Cellular Arena held to announce his official hiring.
new ownership, new management, maybe now’s the time to startup outdoor soccer in Milwaukee again??? i hear there might be a new ‘TOA’ league that needs teams…
btw - that's no slam on Peter. He knows what it takes to be successful in indoor and outdoor. I just don't think building them both at the same time makes any sense.
i agree that the same organization shouldn't be trying to do both. The Wave tried it for a few years and they were always in operational mode and never in sales mode....bad idea.
Peter, did you have temporary insanity or a lapse in judgment when you took this job? Having been on the job for a few days you see the NISL is a total mess. How do you promote a team when the league is a mess? Also why are you signing players when no other teams are? From my sources all other teams are greatly reducing payroll and going 100% with local players.
Well, the long explanation is here: http://pitchinvasion.net/blog/2009/10/14/career-decision-full-circle-with-the-milwaukee-wave/ i had my first NISL conference call today. One of the few benefits of having only five teams is that those calls are short...i'm on one now for WPS Board of Governors and it's at 75 minutes and gaining steam! The five NISL teams are all experienced and understand their challenge. i'll likely be more team oriented and less league focused than i was with WPS. My sources must be different than yours as my understanding is that our team salary budget is in the middle of the League, so i don't care if the players are local (which we have plenty of) or international (which we also have plenty of).
So is this team salary order correct? Baltimore Monterrey Milwaukee Philadelphia Rockford Not sure how you covert Monterrey's pay to the other teams.
i don't know the other teams' salary budgets for certain and it's not my position to reveal them anyway. Sorry.
Your explanation in Pitch Invasion for accepting the Wave offer over a potential Red Bulls offer leaves me puzzled. Your new position with the Wave became public knowledge on October 13. You claim that you were on the Red Bulls' short list for GM, but the team would not speak to you about the position until after the season ended. But the Red Bulls' season ends this Friday so I don't see why that would have been such a big problem. Your explanation sounds like a baseball executive with major league experience accepting a position with the Schaumburg Flyers even though he was on the New York Mets short list because he didn't want to wait another month or two for the Mets to make up their mind.
A bird in hand is worth two in the bush. I respect the urge to tackle a challenge. I always wish someone like Phil Jackson would coach the Clippers or Grizzlies if he's such a coaching mastermind.
Skip - don't forget the Milw area is home for Peter. I would not leave my hometown if you doubled my salary (and I don't work for chopped liver). Syd - what, and have two more cities deal w/ Phil's Zen crap? And don't forget, in Chicago he had Jordan, and in LA he has Kobe and the owners daughter.... Peter - I see your comments getting chopped up and debated all over the board, and you having to deal w/ questions dealing w/ way more than you have to and/or should reveal. But speaking for the vast majority of us, we really do appreciate your input and thanks for communicating w/ the fans the way you do. Man it has gotta be painful sometimes....