I have done ZERO work today, scanning all the news sources for more information on what was discussed on the MLS conference call today. The first dish I got was from the USA Today soccer blog: MLS confirms Bay Area "option" Word emerged yesterday that MLS was planning to make some sort of announcement about expansion to the Bay Area. MLS has confirmed it, though it's not the literal ground-breaking announcement that will bring relief to the area's soccer fans. Lew Wolff and John Fisher, owners of the Oakland A's (for those in England: That's a baseball team), have a "three-year exclusive option to acquire a MLS team should the group be successful in developing a new soccer-specific stadium," MLS has announced. What does that mean? Basically, Wolff and Fisher are going to try to build a soccer-specific stadium, key to all future MLS plans, and MLS will help them. MLS is also making a simple promise: If you build it ... well, you know the rest. As the NFL did with the Cleveland Browns, MLS is preserving the history of the San Jose Earthquakes so that an "expansion" team will step right in as it never left. OK, here's the good stuff:---> UPDATE: Wolff and MLS commissioner Don Garber held a conference call this afternoon, with many of the questions dealing with specifics about locations in the Bay Area. Wolff admitted that he's not a lifelong soccer fanatic but is impressed with the "foothold" the game has gained in this country. Wolff and Garber both praised the efforts of Soccer Silicon Valley, a grassroots group formed to keep the Earthquakes in San Jose. (Can I get a Hallelulah from the chorus??--airblair) Garber called them a "professional and dedicated group working on a variety of different levels to bring this deal to fruition and keep the effort going publicly in fan groups as well as politically. We have nothing but good things to say about them." Garber also addressed last week's announcement that Spanish team Alaves intends to start a USL First Division team in the area. If MLS is at all concerned about the Alaves-USL deal, Garber didn't let on. "We don't view our leagues as competitors at all," Garber said.
"Wolff and Garber both praised the efforts of Soccer Silicon Valley, a grassroots group formed to keep the Earthquakes in San Jose. (Can I get a Hallelulah from the chorus??--airblair) Garber called them a "professional and dedicated group working on a variety of different levels to bring this deal to fruition and keep the effort going publicly in fan groups as well as politically. We have nothing but good things to say about them." Yay-ah, hallelulah! "Where we are as a league is we need more than just a passionate fan base. We need to have local ownership that can manage the growth of that fan base and help expand its commitment to the team to being active members of the soccer community, which means watching games on television, buying tickets, buying luxury boxes, buying club seats ... In San Jose with the Earthquakes, we had none of that," Garber said. We didn't watch games on TV and buy tickets? Is it all just about the luxury and box seats? "So while the fan base existed, it didn't exist to the point where we were able to support that team financially." - Garber Woohoo!! We "existed"! Garber also addressed last week's announcement that Spanish team Alaves intends to start a USL First Division team in the area. If MLS is at all concerned about the Alaves-USL deal, Garber didn't let on. "We don't view our leagues as competitors at all," Garber said. Tacitly implied: we view them (USL) as our minor league.
looks like great news, but how committed are the A's owners to supporting a soccer team? i mean, if you look at the track record with the A's, they always put together good teams, but on really a shoestring budget compared to most of the rest of the league (obviously a sign of good scouting and player development... but i guess my real question is will the monetary support be there?). and will they advertise the team? the A's draw terribly (worse than certain mls teams) (look at the home games here-- http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/teams/schedule?team=oak ). for a baseball game, 14-16k (and there are a fair number of those) is a piddling number. just curious... i'd love to see mls back in sj-- of all teams to get yanked, it should have been kc. but is this the right ownership?
The A's will draw much better (like any team, anywhere) with a new stadium closer to San Jose, and Wolff/Fisher are right to identify soccer as a sport with a big upside right now and for the forseeable future in this country, so much so that in this area, a new SSS makes perfect sense. They have been talking with SSV about the potential of an MLS side returned here, and obviously are confident that enough fans can be brought on board (brought back, really) that they can make it happen. Some other owner-conglomerate back in the day could have done the same and have made soccer work here too.
a good point-- i didn't realize they had a new ownership group (as of a year, it looks like... http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/03/31/MNGRKC13PJ1.DTL ). in that case, hope it works out (and too many fans haven't been permanently alienated by the move to houston)-- the sj-la rivalry was always the best in the mls (i'd want to say dc-ny, but that's pretty one-sided).
the a's actually do GREAT advertising, in my opinoin. their TV spots are clever and funny. I see print ads, billboards. I'm not a baseball fan, but I usually watch the A's commericial's just because they're so well done. they don't seem to be shy about spending the money in that regards.
I haven't been able to be online most of the day, so I don't know if this has been brought up or not, but one of the keys to buying the rights at this point in time... is that the writing is on the wall: There are several markets and owners that are starting to get lined up to join the league: Milwaukee Cleveland Philly The following have made less noticeable progress, or are set to join a bit after the decade, or have boldly stated their intention to join MLS: St. Louis Vancouver Atlanta Throw in a 2nd team in NYC w/in 5 years of Harrison opening up (obviously, speculation, but it has been mentioned by the league), and that's 7 teams right there that are serious contenders for a limited number of slots. W/ higher demand, the higher the price of a franchise. Throw in Rochester, that's 8. In short, by "purchasing" now, Wolfe locks in a low-ball value for the franchise. W/in a few short years, the value of that franchise will increase quite a bit. So in answer to your question, I think Wolfe sees the money making opportunity in managing a facility and a team in an area that is ripe for soccer (high Latino population, popular w/ Mexican clubs and national team, 2 natural rivals, etc. One other thing about the above list: notice that almost all of the franchises except for Atlanta would have a natural rival, either in-state or nearby. Thanks to SJE fans, LAG fans and Chivas USA fans for making this patently obvious to investors.
He definitely felt it was time to reserve himself a place at the table before all the seats were taken!