http://www.jsonline.com/sports/socc/jan03/112707.asp Wave United different owner, different coach, retain rights to rampage players, and going back to the old place the rampage use to play at (before 2002) -jim
Very confusing. Why didn't the Rampage owners sell their franchise for $300,000 rather than just folding. Krause saves $50k and gets the Rampage name recognition. The A-League looks more professional by not having their champions fold. The current Rampage owners get cash. Everyone's a winner.
YES the Crew and th Crew,Rochester, or just about any team owned by Anschultz, or owning their own stadium , or with strong support- Chareston, or favorable lease terms -Colorado Seattle , New England, LA, Pittsburg, and many other. usually the better run (manged and competitive) A league teams and most of MLS
congrats to milwaukee soccer fans for keeping a team alive. great rivalry, down the years, between the rampage and the MN thunder. i hope that'll continue with the wave. all the best, neighbors!
If you haven't already read it, track down Offside: Soccer and American Exceptionalism by Andrei Markovits and Steven Hellerman. The first chapter is pretty dull, but once they get into the historical chapters, they pick up. You won't find precise answers to your questions, but you'll see that, in the light of American soccer history, and the types of decisions usually made by those administering the sport, this one is probably pretty smart. Why? Because Milwaukee still has a team. That's a better outcome than what usually happens, regardless of how baffling this prospect looks in retrospect.
The biggest reason that I can see for doing it this way is that the new owner is not bound by any of the obligations of the old team. I have heard that playing in the new stadium didn't work out as well as they thought because they didn't draw near as well. If Krause had bought the team from the old owner, then he'd still have that lease to deal with. Also, notice that it says the Wave has the RIGHTS to negotiate with the Rampage player -- not that they own them. So they can take a completely new look at the player situation -- some guys may have signed contracts that paid better than they wound up performing and some undoubtedly are getting less. So they have an opportunity to address that situation. The main thing to me is I hope that the Fire wind up with a good relationship with these guys like they've had in the past with the Rampage.
To me, the most important thing is that Krause is starting from the ground up basically. Consideirng he has shown an interest in MLS, I see this as an audition of sorts. I wonder if he didn't do the deal only if he had a new name, etc., so he could create his own animal instead of taking over the Rampage. If he's still thinking of spending several million to get into MLS, saving $50K would be a drop in the bucket.
I think this is fantastic. Not only we do we still have a team, but we're back at Uhlein. Better park than Franklin, and on public transit lines for those of us without a car. And I never cared for the name "Rampage" I just hope they keep that all-you-can drink ticket package
Someone else was spot on when they mentioned that Krause doesn't have to deal with the old lease and contracts. The lease alone saves him $18,000 a month! He already has the structure in place as far as marketing and promotion goes, in dropping the Rampage moniker he's able to use his current contracts with those companies to promote his new team. If the Rampage would have remained he would have to had to deal with a second marketing/promotions firm. The Wave already have name recognition and are seen as a top notch organization already. Kind of surprising but overall a very smart move!
To be honest, the Wave are a more recognized commodity in Milwaukee than the Rampage. It's good for both the indoor game and outdoor game in Milwaukee. And marketing the sport in Milwaukee, which could help in the long run in getting a soccer-specific stadium and attract an MLS team to the great city of Milwaukee.
if they carry anything over i hope its the all you can drink ticket. as far as names could have called em the miltown milkmen for all i care. cant wait to see you at some games. i will do my best to get the band together d
I got this from the Rampage in an email today: ---------------- January 23, 2003 Dear Milwaukee Rampage Fans, All of all us with the Milwaukee Rampage organization would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support of our team for the past ten years. Although we had our financial difficulties, we certainly never felt that we were an unsuccessful organization. In fact, we were the most successful Wisconsin pro sports team after nine seasons on the field and, just as important, we felt that we were fantastic corporate citizens. The money may be gone, but we’re proud to know the influence that our players and organization have had on this community will be realized for a long time to come. From day one, the cornerstone of our philosophy was to give local-based players a chance to play professional soccer at the highest level possible and deliver a championship product on and off the field. We have accomplished those goals. Last summer at the World Cup in Japan/Korea, two former Rampage players starred for the U.S. National Team. Brian McBride and Tony Sanneh, who began their careers with the Rampage in 1994, reached the highest level of soccer possible in the world. They were stars on a world-class stage. Many other local players and coaches began their careers with the Rampage and have played at the highest level of pro soccer possible. Most people recognize us for putting a winning product on the field. We certainly know that we helped put Milwaukee on the national soccer map forever by capturing the town’s first pro soccer title in 1997. Eight playoff appearances in nine seasons, four “Final Fours” and our second national championship last season capped off the tremendous efforts on the field. Equally important, our community outreach programs touched tens of thousands of people each year. Our ‘Reading with the Rampage’ literacy program taught school-children the importance of reading and education and, in 1999, it won a national award for the Best Ongoing Community Relations program in all of pro soccer. All of our youth programs were designed to give children a positive experience with the sport and were staffed so well by our players. There were many success stories over the years and many of them went unnoticed. But we felt these efforts in the community were our responsibility as role models. Our heartfelt thanks goes out to all of you, who were so supportive of our efforts at all of our games. We will never forget day one at snowy Hart Park in Wauwatosa in front of 200 hearty fans. Nor will we ever forget the last game in team history on a beautiful night last September, when a nationally-televised audience and thousands of people showed up for our second championship. The team may be gone, but as individuals we will continue to do whatever we can to help the game grow at all levels here in this great soccer state. The Rampage chapter has been closed, but another has opened. We hope and trust that those who are continuing to keep pro outdoor soccer alive and well in Milwaukee are as passionate as we are in our efforts. We wish Milwaukee Wave United the best of luck, and it is our hope that you, the fans, will continue to support the game at all levels for years to come. We’ll see you at the games! Sincerely, The Milwaukee Rampage Owners, Front Office Staff and Players
It sounds good. Hopefully they can continue their success in marketing the indoor game to the outdoors. With the overlap of seasons (mostly in the spring, with summer being the sales time for indoor) will they expand their staff at all? This season will be a delay for them, but they already have an experienced staff and contacts in the market. Hopefully they can be successfull where Montreal was not.
Uihlein Park What's Uihlein Soccer Park like? Does it have any character, or is it a glorified high school stadium? How does it compare with the facility in Franklin where the Rampage played the past few seasons? Best of luck to the Wave United. If the club is run anywhere near the level of the indoor Wave, they'll enjoy years of success.
Was just at www.a-league.com and read this intresting article on this topic. It says that the Wave indoor team average 8,000 people in attendance per game. If they can get that with their outdoor team they would almost rival Rochester in attendance and in financial income. It's really a great idea too because outdoor wave players could play for the indoor team in the offseason and vise versa. Teams normally only get marketing if any during the season so it also does wonders in marketing for both indoor and outdoor teams during their offseasons which most teams don't get much of. Will the Wave be given the title of defending A-League Champs if they retain a good deal of Rampage players which I think they will. They took the Rampage's automatic spot in the US Open Cup.
And I look forward to seeing you and your band there!!! Let's make Uihlein "The Place Other Teams Don't Want To Play" (tm)
Uihlein is probably worse than many high school stadia, but still better than Franklin. It's just a bunch of bleachers on either end of a field, a step up from Frankilin which was bleachers along one end of the field, with grassy hills to sit on on the other three ends. Basically, no, there's no character. But it's ours!!!!!! I doubt that Wave United will get the crowds that the Wave draw anytime soon, but the crossover can't hurt. The Wave have a great tradition bringing in youth teams, which is why they get such good attendance, hopeully Krause & Co can bring them outdoors too. When it comes to players, even during the Rampage years there were alot of players who played for both the Wave (indoor) and Rampage, now that both teams are under one umbrella, it should make things much easier, which will be a big plus for both the Wave and Wave United. I for one am very excited about Milwaukee soccer future. And I think that Wave United should be considered the defending champions, it'll be pretty much the same players even if technically it's an "expansion" team. Though I'm disappointed we didn't stick with Boro... ...And I can't wait to welcome you Minnasotens come May 16th. Like I said it's technically a diffrent team, but it's the same, including the same rivalry!!
There are worse stadiums than Uihlein - the good news is that the seats (bleachers) are very close the field, but the fans aren't that loud (at least when I was there, a dozen Thunder fans out-shouted everyone from beer-ville). For the last few years, there's been no Milwaukee-Minnesota (in Milwuakee) games on Saturdays or Sundays; I think it's to keep the Thunder fans out.