Yeah, it doesn't really make sense for a new investor to buy the team, and move it unless they are paying significantly less than the expansion fee. If the team moves it only makes sense to move it while it is league owned in order to attract investors in a new city.
I don't think risking the losses of moving to a new city while under league control is the best idea. If you have a potential owner interested in a different city - sell him a new team and help him as you would another new team.
One thing the NASL will accomplish by keeping the SBs bleeding is to not concede to MLS. If they do let the Backs dissolve then it will prove to future investors that our product is inferior and if MLS wants to come in your toast. I think one reason the NASL is keeping Backs alive is fight that loser mentality. It's a flawed plan that has all the strapping of failure but I really do think this is a factor for the NASL.
It is the type of divorced from reality thinking we have seen from this league. Fighting wars they cannot win. Never making the smart choice. But given the rumor that only 4 teams want to keep the Silverbacks afloat next year, we might be seeing some NASL owners wanting to restore some sanity to the league. Maybe some have had enough of the Peterson/Cosmos kool-aide and pixie dust.
http://sbisoccer.com/2015/11/nasl-still-undecided-on-future-of-silverbacks Commissioner Bill Peterson told SBI that the league is still undecided on the future of the team, which has been under league ownership since last December. Ahead of Sunday’s season finale, Peterson says that there are still a variety of options on the table, including the potential choice of running the team under league ownership for an additional season.
If I had to guess, $. If an ownership group wants a new team in NASL, they have to pay X amount of $. Or they could buy the Silverbacks for Y (probably much less than X) and move them wherever. The NASL would lose out on franchising fees.
If true, that is a very short sighted approach by the NASL, in my opinion. I feel it would be more imperative to get good ownership in open markets, than worry about a little extra cash this season.
talk of new ownership: http://www.twiceacosmo.com/2015/11/...ilverbacks-president-confirms-ownership-talks
Re: Atlanta Silverbacks. Is no news good news? Or bad news? https://t.co/Iqwdudcx8l— Fifty Five One (@FiftyFiveOne) December 9, 2015
I would have to imagine we would have heard by now if they were not playing this season. The schedule is due out soon, I doubt they will just release it without Atlanta and let it be a shock. My guess is status quo, league operated. With any luck, they are working on a new deal with an ownership group and they think it may be finished soon! It's a nice club with a good venue, I wish they could survive at least as a USL affiliate to United. I still think they can continue to draw 4-6k regularly which would be a solid lower league club. Perhaps the ceiling will be too low for the NASL's ambitions, but I hope they manage to keep the club around.
Thanks for your intellectual contribution to this thread, it's appreciated! And yes, I do still think the club can draw well. They were still drawing pretty much in that range last season despite being a bare-bones organization on auto-pilot with crappy players. The venue is there, a decent core of supporters are there, bring in an ownership group and a quality organization and this club can exist as a viable 2nd division club.
No, they weren't. The only time they drew anywhere near that was the one year they won some games. Outside that, 3k was a good night, 1.5-2k was more normal. Hell, for what could have been the last Silverbacks game ever, you'd think people would show up just to see that last game? Nah, weren't even 2k. Nice club? What does that even mean? It's been poorly run forever. Good venue? It's falling apart at the seems and Boris never spends a dime on upkeep. Come back to reality.
Last season their average was 4,012. The final game was 3,841. Granted this is tickets sold, but both of those numbers are on par with what they did in 2014 where they averaged 4,052. I don't have a lot of faith in their ability to stay alive with MLS in town, but at least get your facts straight before trying to make a point.
http://www.nasl.com/news/2016/01/11/nasl-suspends-operation-of-atlanta-silverbacks No Silverbacks in 2016.
Saw it coming, sadly. I wasn't a ST holder and will be devoting myself to AtlUtd when they kick off, but I was hoping the 'Backs would stick around one more year. I'm sure they would've seen at least the same attendance levels as last year. After all, the Legion encouraged support when they could and would routinely have a 100+ there.
Yeah, I thought they'd last at least one more season until United arrived. Apparently, the rest of the owners didn't want to prop it up any longer. Makes you wonder what happened with all of the rumored potential ownership groups. I guess we'll never know.
Most of us in Westside 109 saw this coming. Still hurts when the official word comes out. I wish the local media had given the team some exposure over the years. Too bad it took years for the TL guys to start supporting the team. I know the MLS coming to town is likely the final nail in the coffin, but I like to think more people supporting the team might have helped a new ownership group to come on board. As for supporting The new MLS team, I don't think I can get behind it. Not looking forward to games in that huge stadium. I hate getting there, prices for everything are way too much for my taste, and they killed my team.