Antigua Barracuda FC to play all home matches in Florida?

They played a couple "home" games in Florida last season so the precedent is there.

It will be interesting if this does happen to see where they are going to play and if they have any fan base.

 

Since this is a cost cutting move by the club, I seriously can't see them investing money into selling tickets or promoting the club. Remember, this IS the most professional and well organized league outside of MLS in America. Guess they didn't want the NASL to corner the market on going to any length to keep a club in the league.

 

Actually I am hearing that the move is coming from the teams in the league, not Antigua. Most clubs would not be upset if they left the league.

 

I just returned from Jamaica and was looking forward to a trip to Antigua this summer. I was the only paid attendant at the first LA vs Antigua game last year. The Bradenton Herald sent a reporter and did give it front page (sports section) space for three days but the IMG students were the only fans. The Pirates get 500 a game for their grapefruit league games and USL Pro could do as well if the team made an effort. The mutual support of IMG and a pro team in residence with their PDL side would be a win for IMG and a cost cutter for all league teams. Also, the Ruckus can easily travel to Tampa and Bradenton.

 

Don't Antigua pay for the visiting club's travel to the island? Basing the club in Florida would save their federation money I would suppose. As a side effect, the US based clubs have a shorter trip and the league office still gets to cash their membership check.

 

no, I remember the Blues saying that in an interviews prior to their first season but was rebutted by the league. Ill see if I can find it

 

Interesting that it's cheaper to house and feed the team in Florida than to cover air fare to Antigua.

 

I'd like to see the numbers on it as well. I do know the number I heard for a typical trip to Antigua was about $15-$20K per trip

I guess it just depends on what the Antigua government and their FA (via FIFA money) are willing to pay for their experiment.

 

Roundtrip from Phoenix to Antigua runs about $711 per player. I picked Phoenix, because it's a fairly large airport, and thus might have flights to Antigua, and it is a bit farther away than most USLPro teams. Let's assume that teams get a discount because they are buying a bunch of tickets all at once. Also, I choose to fly out on a Thursday and back on a Tuesday because that's less expensive, and I'm assuming that the visitors play two matches in Antigua.

The same flights from Wilmington, NC, would set you back about $891 per passenger. Ouch!

Rochester to Wilmington is about $275 per passenger, so way cheaper.

So even assuming that clubs get a good discount on airline tickets, we can still see that flying to Antigua is expensive. Flying into Tampa or Orlando has to be much less expensive, as those are larger airports.

So depending on where your team is located, your travel costs will vary. But going to Antigua is freaking expensive, and time consuming as hell. "Moving" the Antigua team to Florida will save big bucks and time for every team in the league. We can imagine Phoenix or el-lay flying out to Florida and playing Tampa, Orlando, and Antigua all on the same trip. Way more economical, though it's a strain on your roster depth.

We'll have to see how this pans out, but it could be good for the league, though not necessarily for Antigua Barracuda.

- Mark

 

Interesting that going through all this trouble makes more sense than just cutting the team.

 

I agree, the only thing I can think of a potential court case because Antigua have some sort contract with the league.

The head of the Antigua FA, Gordon Derrick, took over for Jack Warner as the head of the Caribbean Football Union.

 

Assuming you are paying players, there is a certain point where you have to deal with visa and labor laws. You can't have a "US based employer" who limits employment to players eligible for the A&B national team.

 

This is the A&B National Team development program. They are willing to go through a lot of trouble. While it makes sense on OUR end to "cut the team." It does not make sense to them and it is not in their interest to do so. Therefore, they won't.

The legal issue of them allowing only A&B eligible players might be an angle that would kill these plans, but I expect this to go forward, whether it makes a lot of sense to us or not.

- Mark

 

They probably could do it as a development team, set up with the right training visas, but there are always obstacles when it comes to work visas. Would hate for ICE to have to raid the locker room. That's why the lawyers always get their cut.

 

With all due respect, the health of the A&B national team shouldn't trump the huge pain in the ass this kind of situation could become for a U.S. lower division.

It'd be nice for them if it works out, sure. But bending over backwards for them seems like stretch.

Maybe I'm over thinking it. At least they will play the entire season, amirite?

 

Oh wow, you got the joke! Bravo, old chap.

 

I'm surprised the team is still around. I wouldn't think the FA and local government would want to fund the team once the national team was eliminated from World Cup qualifying. This move was probably made by the other teams. I'm sure the teams aren't happy about going to a island that is expensive to get to by plane.

 

From the A-B comments, they are pumped about their progress and look forward to continuing their team. If I had to bet, I would bet that the move to Florida was prompted by the other owners, rather than A-B. At this point, we should expect their team to carry on for years. Ideally, they'd find, found, join, a Caribbean League, which would solve USLPro's travel issues, and probably reduce their own travel costs. But that might be a few years away.

- Mark