Article: Earthquakes to Houston closer to done deal?

Best of luck to KC and SJ. I think both markets deserve a team, although the coaches they have don't have a liking for foreign players developed outside the US college system. I would think SJ's attendance problems would be fixed by signing a quality Mex. As for KC, I don't know if there is an ethnic fan base there but it would be nice if they had a star signing.

 

Trying to find a quality Mexican player was a bit of a roller coaster that San Jose went on in their early seasons. Not sure they would want to do that again.

 

The Astrodome Redevelopment Corporation is considering turning it into a hotel. I don't know whether you could fit both. I doubt the question has been asked yet. First they need to know whether the ARC is really serious.

 

Yes, but it's a sign of some interest. Rich guys didn't get rich by spending money on nothing.

 

Unless its tax deductable and shown as an operating loss.

 

True, but it'll be a little easier to do when you already own three teams in the Mexican first division.

Also, if America acquires the Quakes, I doubt they'd do some massive house-cleaning. That team has players on the US and Canadian national team pools. America has no ethnic or nationalistic player policy. Quite the opposite, they pull in players from all over and are well-known for splashy foreign signings (although they also develop youth). Their fans won't expect them to stock the team with Mexicans.

 

I hate to say it SJ fans but where theres smoke theres usually fire. This rumor doesnt seem to be going away and when you combine that with Lalas leaving it doesnt look good. I hope it works out for you but I think you guys are starting to run out of time.

 

In hindsight, perhaps a CA would have done better than Chivas because it wouldn't have come along with such a nationalistic/ethnocentric hiring strategy. One nice thing for CA, is that they will likely come in much less arrogant than Chivas did... they'll either house clean correctly (i.e. replace with better talent) or not at all (with salary cap rules, etc. this is more likely).

 

There is no agreement between CA and AEG to buy the team. Seriously.

 

There is an investor group. If the Quakes move, it will be because AEG chooses not to sell to them.

 

Or because they recieved a better offer from someone else....that is possible isn't it?

 

Yes, that would be one possible reason that AEG would choose not to sell to the local investors.

 

So its not so much "choosing not to sell" to local investors then it is sound business.

 

The thing is, has there EVER been a potential investor who's gotten so much press for doing NOTHING. These guys have been "news stories" for the last 3 plus years. They've gone around and shilled in Houston, San Antonio, Chicago, San Jose and even San Diego. With Televisa, they have more then enough money to get a deal done. So why haven't they?

To me, it's turned into a joke. Wow, another America article. BFD.....

 

You're saying that there's no agreement in principle - as distinguished from a formal letter of intent, memorandum of understanding, or similar sort of memorialization of an agreement?

Just asking for clarification, but how would anyone other than Televisa or AEG know?

 

There is more to the business decision than just getting a nickel more from some outside buyer. Not that there's any reason to assume that the local investors are getting outbid.

 

Just a couple of thoughts:

Since AEG operates Galaxy, it has some interest in seeing SJE stay where is is - to serve as a rival and foil for Galaxy. There is no natural rivalry with Houston and Los Angeles and it would take time to build one up. Right now, SJE is worth two sell-outs per season at HDC. Lots of people travel from San Jose to see their club perform in a real stadium (sorry - I couldn't resist). How many people would travel from Houston? How many non-season ticket holders would care about the Houston Eagles?

Secondly, as a continuing investor in the league, AEG has an interest in having the league project a an image as a stable viable operation. Moving or folding franchises, while not a killer, does not help that image - and the image adds value.

That's not to say that the "right" bid from CA wouldn't do the trick as AEG wants out of San Jose. But those things factor into the price and do give a local investor group some value to AEG. They might not have to match CA dollar for dollar for AEG to think that local support is better for AEG and the league.

The hang up may have more to do with the depth of resources of the local investors. We know CA has the resources to build a club and following in Houston if it wants to. Any local investor group in SJ must not only pony up the asking price, but must be able to withstand a period of red ink while that ship is being righted.

 

Kind of what I meant by a better offer. Everyone interpreted that as meaning more money on the purchase price, but that's not what I meant. Who knows how deep the pockets are of this "mystery" local investor. Who knows the level of commitment they are willing to make. Who knows how different the bids are.....Televisa could easily be bidding way more then the local guys are. Being that this local investor group has been discussed for quite some time now, and the deal isn't done, it would appear that AEG isn't exactly jumping at their offer.

 

Regardless of if they buy SJ/KC or start an expansion team, Club America and Televisa in MLS is a great thing.

Where Chivas has a culture of xenophobia, Club America has a culture of winning with the best players available to them. Instead of talking about Mexicans vs Gringos the way Cue and Chivas USA have, they'll talk about winning period. And instead of setting themselves up just for the Mexican community for attendance, CA Houston will set themselves up for the WHOLE community.

CA is a positive for MLS.

 

I concluded the exact opposite of everything you've just said. They've been doing homework, negotiating with the league, engaging the politicians, checking out venues, etc etc etc. Why haven't they invested yet? Why would they before the homework is done? For Chivas, you walk into someone else's stadium, and it's a relative layup (and even they publicly toured San Diego and Houston first, and must have taken at least a year to make up their mind).

 

Stan makes a lot of solid points. Read the articles....they are talking about investing in improvements to the Astrodome. They are meeting with the mayor. These aren't things you bother doing just for publicity or fun. The folks that run Televisa have better things to do with their time then mess around with MLS.

 

Some very good points, but there won't be much work to "righting the ship". Since SSV has formed, season tickets have been on a steady climb. With ANY effort at all, a new front office can easily build an acceptible fan base.

The only thing that's holding up a local investor announcement is stadium issues. Spartan Stadium isn't cutting it (too expensive). I don't think that AEG would sell to someone local unless they are assured that the new owners have a stadium plan for the future.

The thing is, Houston's in the same boat. Why in the world would MLS go to another town that has no viable SSS plans other then "wouldn't it be nice if we could find someone to build us one"?

MLS should have learned their lesson from the San Antonio situation. What if they agree to give CA a team in Houston, and then the political situation changes and no one wants to foot the bill for a SSS? How long would CA be happy in the dome? Would they get enough revenue from concessions and parking?

 

Since there is currently no one using the Astrodome I don't see why they can't make themselves a sweet deal. The difference between this situation and San Antonio is night and day. SA didn't have an ownership group pushing the issue along. There was no public face to the cause. Not only do you have that here, but its a face that many of the city's residents know very well, being familar with both Club America and Televisa's diversified businesses in Mexico.