aeg has sold the fire. houston is being actively marketed for sale... i wonder when we are the sole soccer interest of aeg and have their undivided attention: do we get better, or do we get worse? http://www.mlsnet.com/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20070906&content_id=115581&vkey=news_mls&fext=.jsp
I think we could get worse. AEG has sort of called the shots in the league up until this point. Once AEG owns strickly the Galaxy, what weight will they really carry? We wouldnt be able to say, sway the league on the DP rule, especially when other owners that have equal stake in the league, but not a lot of money would surely object.
No, it'll be good for us. If we don't get any special treatment we might actually have to build a team and get a good GM.
Whew. I thought the title of this thread was referring to this week's injury report and telling us how many healthy players we had available for the game this Saturday...
REP to TrickHog for the humor . . . I don't know how to use rep in the new Becks-era big soccer. First they changed our logo, and now I can't find rep. I agree with Shirt that this takes a little more leverage out of AEG's hands, and ultimately it doesn't suit us. But the days are gone when they propped up the league and held all the cards. I believe that AEG is mostly interested in owning or operating the league's VENUES and not the clubs. As a business model, it's probably a no-brainer . . . spending all year trying to manage and field a winner VS plopping down your available cash for real estate that is sure to appreciate, sell the naming rights, then charging $8 for a ************ hot dog. I think AEG will probably keep Houston long enough to get a stadium deal there, then sign the club to a long-term lease and sell the team off.
I always used to think that too. But the Chicago Tribune article about the Fire sale ("Fire sale" - get it? ) says that Andell bought not only the team, but also the stadium management rights.
I didn't read that, I thought that AEG kept those stadium operating duties, and I also thought they made some money selling the lease to the new owners (?)
Just out of interest is there no conflict of interest rule in MLS? How can the same people own different clubs? I'd laugh at Trickhogs humour if I wasn't thinking the same thing!
At one point, they owned 5 (NY, DC, LA, CHI, SJ/Hou). They did it because everone else was bailing. AEG's (and Hunt's) interest is for the league to succeed so that their investment is worth more. MLS has a single-entity structure - MLS "owns" the clubs. The individual investors own something like 49% (I think?) and have operating rights. When the MLS was painfully close to going under in 2000-ish, almost all of the investors in the league jumped ship. AEG, Hunt, and (to a smaller degree) Kraft in New England agreed to keep the league going and assume control of the remaining teams. In the end AEG has had the last laugh. This league has done an amazing turnaround in about 4 short years.
Here's the link: http://chicagosports.chicagotribune...05fire,1,7404532.story?coll=cs-fire-headlines Last line: "As part of the agreement, Andell also acquired the Toyota Park management contract." I think that means AEG sold the rights to manage the venue.
Unfortunately, even if we were their only MLS team, you would not get AEG's attention as they still have the LA Kings, all of those European hockey teams, a theater chain, an entertainment development around staples, a lacross team, half of Hammarby of Sweeden, Champions on Ice figure skaiting, an interest in the Lakers and the Sparks, a stadium in Hartford, an arean in Vegas, etc.... I wish they would sell us to someone who would actually care about the results of the LA Galaxy that appear in standings, not in the financials.
Mixed feeling here. I agree that AEG might not be in as strong a bargaining position as it was when they owned the Fire, but I'm also glad to see that someone is else is interested in buying a franchise. Let's face it, historically soccer franchises in this country, haven't been a way to make money, quite the opposite in fact. Besides, Chicago has so many pro sports teams, its hard to try to compete. AEG should hold on to LA and open shop in Omaha or somewhere in New Mexico (Roswell UFO's... YES!), somewhere where there are lots of sports fans, but no pro sports. Divide and conquer.
An excellent and accurate summary in 100-words-or-less, good job. I'll add that the Hunts did their share of heavy lifting, keeping the notion of American pro soccer alive and maintaining the possibility for MLS.
There is. But MLS has been granted "infant league" status until it becomes fully established in FIFA's eyes.
Cheers for the info. I just remember the furore in FIFA over Roman Abramovich owning Chelscum and a Moscow team, playing in the Champions League.
And, rightly so. Even when you have this "infant league" status, moves by owners who control two or more teams can look crooked as hell. Just ask any of us San Jose fans. Both the Kraps and the Anti-Earthquakes Group (AEG) pulled off some real crap on us.