It is just more evidence that teams have to control their own venue. Galaxy may not be turning a profit, but what about HDC? Until the league gets big corporate sponsorships and TV money they will need the revenue a multi-purpose stadium can provide.
AEG paid for the stadium for the Galaxy. AEG is paying for the stadium for the Metros. If AEG paid for stadium for the Quakes in SJ, don't you think things might be different? You always make it sound like AEG is investing in the Galaxy because LA provided the stadium. They didn't...AEG simply invested in a stadium which they're not willing to do in SJ.
You're exactly right. This is a business decision. MLS with this decision has lost MY BUSINESS. I'm done w/ this crap. And no worries, I have plenty of other teams to follow.... Jorge
It's all a shell game. They arrange things so that it looks like they're losing money. I bet AEG has the Gals paying rent to the HDC which keeps them in the red, for example.
LA provided the land for the stadium, which was worth a lot. SJ apparently didn't even want a corner of their baseball (proposed) property going to the Quakes. The success of the Galaxy franchise gave AEG huge leverage for local sponsorships, like Home Depot. That paid off a nice chunk of the stadium. Most of all, the high attendance gave AEG assurance that once the stadium was built, it would make money. It's not just, AEG wouldn't invest in SJ. It's that they had few reasons and a financial disincentive to do so.
We know that the Commish actually wrote this email because...?? We should be happy because the MLS puppet says they hope to be back in SJ when an owner and stadium come in line but ******** the current fan base? This is one ex-MLS fan and I'm not alone.
You're high if you think the team with the highest attendance in the league isn't actually making money. If they aren't then MLS as a whole should fold, because a profit is a hopeless cause then. The Galaxy are the only franchise making money right now. Every other AEG team is getting a stadium. Why should they keep SJ? It sucks for the fans, but to say it's some vendetta against them and not a solid business call is wrong.
I believe the same land offer was made here early on...and the land would be worth just as much. San Jose could get the same naming rights sponsorship. And I don't have any doubt had we avoided the Krafts and what they did to our team, the initial high attendence would have stayed pretty high despite the economic slump in the silicon valley. And furthermore, it's just stupid to try to tell us about great LA attendence when we see your half empty HDC on TV being labelled a 'sell out.' Use your own eyes and see that lie. If there were an appropriate stadium here the Quakes would make money too. Even AEG knows that...but the rub is AEG wants to control their venue for concerts and all that money and they never believed SJ was a market where they could achieve that goal.
No way to know positively, but it is a reply to an email I sent to him at his MLS addy. I think it's real.
In the least, it was somebody who took the time to respond to a despondent fan. I address the "pipe dream" here
EXACTLY..... if they hadnt... SJ wouldve contracted back when florida contracted... i wanted SJ to succeed just like yall did.. but without a vested interest (see also local I/O)... AEG was stop gap at best..... so you got the quakes for a few years more.. my gut tells me they will be back.. as soon as yall find an O/I with a SSS plan in the works... slam dunk
The numbers don't lie, and that's the number of tickets sold. Whether the LA fans are lounging with their kiddies on the concourse, stuck in traffic, or just not there, the fans are still supporting the league with their money. Show me where the land offer was made. San Jose wouldn't even commit the small part of the baseball property the Quakes wanted.
You left out Chicago, I wonder why? I'm going to go find if Peter Wilt has said anything about SSS profitability and break even point.
but they ALL had an owner that was 100% behind the team.. AEG has ALWAYS said they were a stop gap measure.. dont blame AEG.. they were there, for the good of the league, when SVS'E stepped out AND to a lesser extent when the (oh sh!t, forgot the name of the Pat's owners" stepped out. i think SJ is a shoe in for expansion once a I/O is identified AND a SSS is a done deal
Tell, em, Bill. Big corporations run by billionaires like Unkle Phil Anshitz don't lose money; they gain what is known as a "tax write-off." They are apparent losses only to the people who post here, including the trolls.
I guess the next best thing is LA Galaxy for the former Quake fans. They used to hate them, now they can love them.
I e-mailed Garber as well and thought I would share with everyone... --------------------------------------------------------------- Commissioner Garber, As you can most likely surmise from the volumes of hate mail I'm sure you've received today, Quakes fans - speaking collectively, of course - have lost what little faith and trust we had in MLS and in you, in particular, as its leader. This is clearly understandable as the League appeared to do little to prevent the relocation of the Quakes. In fact, on the contrary, it seems that you instead assisted and encouraged AEG to relocate the team. Realistically, you had little choice: without content owners, you have no viable league. However, you have to keep in mind that from the perspective of loyal Quakes fans - who, for the past two years, have gone far above and beyond the expectations of your typical MLS fan in supporting their franchise - you facilitated the relocation of our beloved team to a location with strikingly similar circumstances to those identified as reasons for leaving. We all understand why MLS felt that the move was necessary: 1) AEG wants control of a stadium 2) MLS wants soccer-specific stadiums to help legitimatize and root itself(not to mention the very sport of soccer) in the US 3) MLS wants happy owners While I am encouraged by your repeated commitment to replace the Quakes, I have no tangible reason to believe that your words will be met with action next year. This should not be taken personally; rather, as I mentioned previously, there is no precedent upon which I can base the establishment of trust. You were conspicuously absent during the past two years' struggle with AEG(you probably had your reasons, so I'm not going to focus too much on this point) and fans feel abandoned, betrayed, and, most importantly, unappreciated. It might do you some good to gain some perspective by reading through some of the Quakes boards on BigSoccer.com. There are some truly heartfelt stories from dedicated fans who feel completely neglected as a result of this transaction. Consequently, many have pledged to discontinue their support of the MLS. I would very much like to believe that you are going to make a genuine effort to replace the Quakes, but I - as do many others in my position - need your help to do so. In the interest of rebuilding this trust with the Quakes' strong fan base, I have listed several proposals below that I feel would be in both the League's and your best interests as we proceed to the 2007 expansion. You need to show skeptical Quakes fans that you are serious this time about preserving professional soccer in the SJ/SF Bay Area: 1) hold a press conference at some point in the Bay Area - perhaps with civic officials 2) keep fans updated with progress toward a 2007 expansion franchise; don't keep us in the dark - let us know that you're taking action 3) host a couple pre-season/exhibition games at Spartan Stadium - or ANY stadium in the Bay Area 4) have the Houston franchise(it still pains me to say that) hold a game or two in the Bay Area - this would be a fantastic opportunity to provide grieving Quakes fans with a chance to thank/show their appreciation/say goodbye to their beloved players. 5) agree, in the event that the Bay Area wins a 2007 expansion team - to return a handful of original SJ Quakes players from Houston back to the Bay Area. You have to understand, that a team is not simply a group of players all wearing the same uniform; instead, a team is comprised of familiar personalities and characters. By returning several Quakes players, you would be showing both that you care about the fans and that you believe in the increasingly rare team-community relationship. This would go a long way in rebuilding your relationship with Quakes fans - we will miss our players the most. If you're taking notes, I'll miss DeResario the most and would love to have him back. The situation may appear differently to you, but from our side of the proverbial fence, we feel that we have been wronged. We could not have petitioned, protested, or hoped more than we have over the past two years. From a purely financial perspective, the move may make sense over the long-term - though, to be honest, I'm not seeing it yet. However, you have to keep in mind that while professional soccer is a business, it is first and foremost, a game. A game played, observed, taught, and learned out of pure enjoyment. While you may have helped AEG and the League meet their financial objectives today, you also took away a beloved source of such enjoyment. Thousands attended, watched, learned, and, most importantly, derived pleasure from our relationship with OUR soccer team. For the next year, at least, we will have no team. Please keep your word and return our Quakes to us. Thank you, Ryan Friedman ---------------------------------------------------------------
Numbers lie all the time to the naive. We had years here of fake attendence numbers when the Krafts ran the team. We're experts at just how much numbers can lie if you just write down whatever the hell number you want.
It's tickets sold. If you believe the league lies about everything, then you can justify any position you take because no one can counter with any information from the league. Fine. But know that as long as SJ fans angrily reject the league, vilify the owner who tried to make a profit, and don't look coldly and objectively at all the factors involved in the teams loss, they actually step further and further away from ever getting the team back like Cleveland did the Brown. Wallowing in hate towards AEG instead of going proactive dooms you all to nothing.