In with the New: The Great Ownership Search

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

  1. goobx1

    goobx1 Member+

    Jul 9, 2007
    Salt Lake
    If our club folds and moves then RSL fans better be ready to make the ************************ Dell Loy Hansen pay for bringing this on for being a racist, misogynistic piece of shit.

    No violence but his life should be made miserable for us losing such a great part of our community.

    I'm ready to be creative if the worst happens. Knock on wood.
     
  2. 2nd Mouse

    2nd Mouse Member+

    Apr 11, 2012
    Salt Lake City, UT
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Maybe we need to take a deep breath and keep in mind that this is just a game. Soccer. Dell Loy might be an asshole and have made some horrendous decisions, but I'm not sure we need to gather our pitchforks and torches and turn into a mob, "No violence" notwithstanding.

    Isn't this getting a little out of hand?
     
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  3. 15 to 32

    15 to 32 Straw Hog

    Jul 1, 2008
    Salt Lake
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    in a day of economy > people's lives, I'm not sure goob is far off.

    The problem with DLH is that he has put himself into businesses that aren't exactly easy to protest. You wanna go tell all these folks to stop paying rent? That'll go over well
     
  4. 15 to 32

    15 to 32 Straw Hog

    Jul 1, 2008
    Salt Lake
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    To get things back on track here. Is there a list of wealthiest folks in utah? My google searches are turning up some really weirdly small lists of actual names vs supposed numbers
     
  5. SenordrummeR2

    SenordrummeR2 Member+

    Jul 21, 2008
    Layton, UT
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I really don't see the club folding or getting moved. RSL has all of the infrastructure in place and has proven to be a club that turns a profit in the league, has a good fan base, and has good attendance. Add in the contract requirements with Sandy City, and relocating the club would be an expensive endeavor. MLS just needs to kick DLH to the curb for being a twat and start the ownership search process.
     
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  6. goobx1

    goobx1 Member+

    Jul 9, 2007
    Salt Lake
    I don't think so. At all. Not one bit. It's certainly a stretch that RSL will get moved but if they do move it will be totally on that piece of shit Dell Loy. If it does come to that he should be reminded all of the time that people know he is a dick.

    I think it would be good clean fun. Well deserved fun. That's all.
     
  7. 15 to 32

    15 to 32 Straw Hog

    Jul 1, 2008
    Salt Lake
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I've heard this infrastructure argument used a lot. I've used it.
    But, tell me, what ties does anyone outside of DLH/Utah Soccer Holdings have to said infrastructure? Does the league hold any ownership with the stadium? The training grounds? The academy buildings? etc. I honestly don't know. But I fear that, if the league doesn't lose anything except reputation in the market (which would be a big cost, don't get me wrong) then this club moving becomes less and less "impossible.

    Hell, wouldn't it be the most perfect way for DLH to get screwed in this? The league moves the MLS franchise from him, but everything else stays in DLH ownership. Without the first team (the only piece that turns a profit) he is ********ed.
     
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  8. 15 to 32

    15 to 32 Straw Hog

    Jul 1, 2008
    Salt Lake
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Ownership idea: Get the Huntsman and/or Eccles family involved
     
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  9. evilradar

    evilradar Member

    Real Salt Lake
    United States
    Apr 4, 2019
    Things are not going so great in the world right now. Bread and circuses, my friend.

    This. When MLS takes over (and I'm pretty sure MLS is going to have to take over before DLH sells) they are not selling the stadium or any other infrastructure or teams. They are selling DLH's share in MLS and that alone. That frees up all the baggage (read: infrastructure) tying RSL to Utah.
     
  10. 15 to 32

    15 to 32 Straw Hog

    Jul 1, 2008
    Salt Lake
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Ultimately the question will be if MLS is willing to sell the rights to the franchise without all of the infrastructure attached? When Precourt became owner of the Crew he didn't just buy the rights, he bought the stadium and everything with it. When Chivas owners sold out, they were squatters at the Home Depot Center with nothing tied to them from an infrastructure perspective.

    We're in a really weird spot. I think the best chance this club has to stay in SLC is for the price to be lowered, but I don't know how you lower it. What if DLH maintains ownership in the Monarchs and/or the Royals but sells out from RSL? That's... oh boy, just a massive headache.
     
  11. the cup

    the cup Member

    Jul 10, 2002
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    I’d like to blame the way MLS is set up for making this mess more complicated than it has to be, although I don’t know if that blame would be correct.

    The whole set up where the League owns the teams and DLH really isn’t an owner but more of an “investor” is still confusing to me.

    But, it is what it is I guess. Do you think soccer fans in SLC would fill up Rio Tinto stadium for a minor league team if RSL leaves and someone brings in a minor league team a couple of years down the road to take their place?
     
  12. 15 to 32

    15 to 32 Straw Hog

    Jul 1, 2008
    Salt Lake
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Do you think DLH is going to part ways with that piece of land for anything short of a boat load of cash? From what I remember, he had bought up most everything within a pretty good radius of the stadium, as well.

    Further, the Blitzz were a damn fun team to watch and never really found a setting that was consistent viewership. I remember watching them at Franklin Covey (or whatever it's called now) back in the day. About as much fun as you could have watching soccer in a baseball park...
     
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  13. Lizzie Bee

    Lizzie Bee Member+

    Jul 27, 2004
    Utah
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    @boris9678 and I decided that all of us on BS need to pull our resources and put in an offer for a sweet sweet million dollars. Who's in?

    Also, as a backup plan, I'm pretty sure I still have some Blitzz gear so I'm set either way.
     
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  14. PumaJohnny

    PumaJohnny Member

    Nov 30, 2001
    Draper
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I always see ads for the New Amsterdam Football Club advertising shares of the team. The Green Bay Packers are owned by their fans. Per this Wikipedia link, these are US soccer teams, all lower-tier, that are partially or wholly owned by fans. As far as premier level teams, it looks like Swansea Supports club owns 20% of Swansea City, Barca and Real Madrid are owned by Socios, or fans that pay an annual membership due. In Scotland, Rangers is 10% fan-owned. In Germany, shares of Borussia Dortmund are traded on the German stock market and help by fans. It seems like most Scandanavian teams have some ownership.

    If we really want to get creative, I'd love to see some RSL Socios.
     
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  15. boris9678

    boris9678 Member+

    RSL
    United States
    Apr 30, 2007
    Singapore
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Yes. I can send you all my bank account number here in Bangkok and you can start wiring money right away. That sounds legit right?

    It would be super fun though if a partial stake or portion could be owned by fans as it is done in a few other places. I don't know if my wife would let me invest in a team halfway around the world while I'm in between jobs and we could be moving just about anywhere else in the world 7 months from now. But I would try.

    I am hoping for a miracle. Was DLH on anyone's map as a buyer before he stepped in? My memory of that is that it all happened quite quickly. But that is only my memory.....
     
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  16. 15 to 32

    15 to 32 Straw Hog

    Jul 1, 2008
    Salt Lake
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    DLH was in the room when Checketts was pitching to Michael Eisner (yes, THAT Eisner) and, in very DLH fashion, essentially moved the conversation to himself.

    There is an alternative timeline where Eisner owns RSL and not Portsmouth.
     
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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
    the single entity nature of MLS makes fan owned teams seem like an impossibility. Maybe thats wrong of me to think, but I see an already slim chance prospect (enough fans coming together with enough capital to buy the team) even more hindered by the nature of the league itself.

    I do, however, think that an ownership group should be more of what we hope for. 20-30 individuals with the combined net worth to buy the club (and hopefully everything else in the RSL umbrella) and revitalize it. The pros/cons of single person ownership and multi person is really interesting to explore. It largely depends on who composes each of those two parties.

    I said it more tongue in cheek before, but I'd be really curious if the Eccles or Hunstman families would be interested in purchasing the team. It doesn't fit their current investment portfolio, but you have to wonder if it could be a more advantageous way of tax write-offs than putting their names on every other building
     
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  18. BalanceUT

    BalanceUT RSL and THFC!

    Oct 8, 2006
    Appalachia
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Shunning is very effective. It's non-confrontational, non-violent... and just crushes the soul of the other person. They put out their hand to shake and you turn to greet someone else and walk away with that person. Not a word, just a shun.
     
  19. SenordrummeR2

    SenordrummeR2 Member+

    Jul 21, 2008
    Layton, UT
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    You're leaving out the best part. DLH was interested not because of the team, but because of the chicken platter he was eating. (Really wish I could find the article that referenced that quote)
     
  20. SenordrummeR2

    SenordrummeR2 Member+

    Jul 21, 2008
    Layton, UT
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I agree. I can see DLH wanting to develop the land, but he also has said he wants the team to be his legacy similar to Larry Miller and the Jazz. I don't think he wants to go full Bob Irsay on the team, regardless of the scorched earth situation we're in.

    Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought Sandy City's contract required RSL to play in the stadium for a ridiculous number of years. Moving RSL from the stadium would default the contract and the team would owe the taxes and infrastructure costs that the city helped with/has forgone to date.
     
  21. DrownedElf

    DrownedElf Member+

    Jul 5, 2010
    Ogden
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I have no idea how it's structured, but maybe with a team moving it eliminates/reduces the fee on all that?

    As far as DLH goes, you'd think he would've sold it quick just to move along the negative press, but instead he's going all out on trying to maximize value, which just give more time to air out any dirty laundry.

    If I was a shitty businessman, I'd probably try and offload this all on a minor profit and hope the bad press goes away. I'd think that dragging it all along could make it all worse.

    But hey, I'm not a billionaire that has more money than I could ever spend, so I guess trying to be realistic is probably off the table.
     
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  22. 15 to 32

    15 to 32 Straw Hog

    Jul 1, 2008
    Salt Lake
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    according to this recent KUTV article (one I am happy to have stumbled on):

    "The city of Sandy took out an $11 million bond to help build the stadium back in 2005. In an email, the city said to date Real Salt Lake still owes them $5.5 million. They said there is a provision in the agreement that says the owners of RSL would have to pay off the bond in full if they leave the city before 25 years."

    That doesn't sound like much in terms of blocking a new owner from moving the team. Paying Sandy City roughly $5.5 million, after spending at least ~$325 million to the league for the franchise rights, is a drop in the bucket.
     
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  23. goobx1

    goobx1 Member+

    Jul 9, 2007
    Salt Lake
    I am really surprised that this has fallen so far off the front burner, at least for sports.

    Out of sight out of mind I guess.

    I wonder if interested parties are just waiting for the League to take over the sale considering how DLH dissed Ryan from Qualtrics. I think that it would be better for all of the teams as a whole if DLH can find a buyer. I would imagine as has been speculated here that when the league steps in what's best for the Royals, Monarchs, and Academy might just take second fiddle to RSL.

    DLH could just be waiting until Jan. 7 to announce the deal. Seems like something he would do. I hear he's kind of a dick.
     
  24. 15 to 32

    15 to 32 Straw Hog

    Jul 1, 2008
    Salt Lake
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    For MLS, there isn't a big push to get this sorted during the season/playoffs. It would be a distraction from their own product. Further, the league can't do a whole lot before that deadline of January 8 - at least not publicly.

    The strange thing, like you said, is how this is next to non-existent in terms of coverage. In July, when DLH outed himself in public, it was national news. Folks from across the region were hammering him. The push to make changes was really strong. The problem was that RSL was still playing games. This whole thing still was happening. DLH said he'd do it before next season. So everyone just went null on it, figuring it would just solve itself.

    The hope, like you said, is that potential suitors simply do not want to negotiate with DLH and have/are going to contact the league for purchase after that deadline passes. The fear, though, is that nothing is moving and the league is going to have to call the bluff of DLH and remove the franchise from him. In that scenario, RSL is an MLS ran team in 2021 with a deadline of the end of the season to find a new owner or we relocate/retract. I don't want to go down this path, but if I'm a betting man I'd say it's the more likely one.
     
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  25. 15 to 32

    15 to 32 Straw Hog

    Jul 1, 2008
    Salt Lake
    Club:
    Real Salt Lake
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    To take this a step further, I'm really unimpressed with the lack of coverage for the issue locally. Again, in July/August it was a hot thing to discuss. But as the suitors slowly stopped getting rumored and, the one that really dealt a blow, Ryan Smith purchased the Jazz, things seem to have gone radio silent.

    There should be a lot more on the Trib and Deseret News. Heck, even The Athletic hasn't done much of anything on it lately, and they arguably pushed this thing into motion. But what really irks me is that the SoapBox guys haven't done much of anything to cover this in any form of consistency.

    It's probably unreasonable to think the soapbox should be pushing this, but those guys were ADAMANT the club change things in the Summer. They have only posted flashback articles or game/season specific articles for the past month or two. I check that site daily hoping to find a good piece on any movement, and am met with the same picture of Nedum Onuhoa and Christen Press... that's not foreboding, at all. In fact, the site has a specific folder, if you will, dedicated to the ownership change stories and it's... well it's not recently updated, lets say that.

    I dunno, it's a weird time when you feel like there should be a hell of a lot more news than what we're getting. So, really, it feels like a typical RSL offseason for the past 3 years
     
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