If MLS went public would you buy?

Discussion in 'MLS: General' started by CaptJackHarkness, Aug 27, 2007.

  1. CaptJackHarkness

    CaptJackHarkness New Member

    Feb 22, 2007
    Lately, I have been very frustrated with the fact that I cannot have a direct impact on the growth and prosperity of Major League Soccer. I live beyond a five-hour drive to the closest team and I don’t live in a large television market, so I am not even reflected in the TV ratings—I am only a fractional guess based on a larger TV market hundreds of miles away. I want the league to succeed, but I can’t help.

    I proposing the thought—if individual teams in MLS went public having stock, would you buy? The stock, I propose, would go more towards infastructure, rather than a player pool. This means stadiums, training facilities, and youth development. We will never have any say/control over salary cap issues, or DP/ DPs(?), the league always will, but the fact that DC United can’t get a stadium built or Toronto can’t have real grass (even Norway has grass on their fields—don’t give me the weather excuse again!) is just a crying shame. But if I could invest in the league, maybe I could make a difference?

    Note: Please, don’t suggest that I can buy AEG stock-- I am talking about the possiblity of FC Dallas or Houston Dynamo shares.


    Thoughts?
     
  2. st ryma 7

    st ryma 7 Member

    Dec 23, 2004
    the south bay
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    if MLS went public, i would definatly try to get in at an IPO price, depending on what it was, but this league will grow, making it a reasonable cheap stock at pretty much whatever price it came out at. it may take a long time, but i see this league becoming a stable mid level league in american sports. it will only continue to get bigger, and i dont see it folding anytime in the near future
     
  3. nlsanand

    nlsanand Member+

    May 31, 2007
    Toronto
    Club:
    Toronto FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Canada
    multiplier of 4
     
  4. Revolt

    Revolt Member+

    Jun 16, 1999
    Davis, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I would only want to buy into specific clubs - The Earthquakes in particular.
     
  5. ritsoccer86

    ritsoccer86 Member

    Jul 18, 2005
    You bet I will but I'm in the same situation as you. I am a 9 or 10 hours drive from the closest MLS team. MLS in Atlanta would not do well since the entertainment and sports market is pretty much football. College Football on Saterday is like heaven for some folks down here. Or maybe it's the beer talking..
     
  6. ryebreadraz

    ryebreadraz Member

    Apr 18, 2007
    Los Angeles
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    While it would be a nice way to get people like yourslelf into the league and have a direct impact, it would cripple the league at this point.
     
  7. Taoism

    Taoism Member

    Apr 13, 2007
    Winnipeg, MB, Canada
    I think MLSE (the owners of TFC) are publicly traded. The Ontario Teachers Pension Fund owns majority shares in MLSE if I recall correctly.

    Actually, Wikipedia shows the majority shareholders, but doesn't mention MLSE being publicly traded. So I would guess it isn't possible to buy shares in MLSE at the moment.

    Cheers!
     
  8. nlsanand

    nlsanand Member+

    May 31, 2007
    Toronto
    Club:
    Toronto FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Canada
    No, it's a private investment of the OTPPB.
     
  9. DoctorD

    DoctorD Member+

    Sep 29, 2002
    MidAtlantic
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The OP could buy home and away NYRB jerseys for every member of his family if he wants to financially show his support.
     
  10. BerlinKopKid

    BerlinKopKid New Member

    Jun 9, 2007
    Berlin, Germany
    Sports clubs as public limited companies on the stock market? To my knowledge only one ever made that work; Manchester United. They were the only Plc to actually make a profit and constantly increase their share price...to the point someone bought them out and took them OFF the stock market.

    Borussia Dortmund went public, nearly bankrupt. Millwall and Spurs also nearly faced the same fat.

    Stay. Well. Clear.
     
  11. leg_breaker

    leg_breaker Member

    Dec 23, 2005
    I wouldn't recommend football shares as an investment.
     
  12. TFCSteve

    TFCSteve Member

    Apr 16, 2007
    Toronto
    Don't kid yourself, even if it went public, people like you would never own a percentage of the shares that would make a difference. No, granted, I don't know you, and you could be a multi-millionaire who invests heavily in the market already, but I would guess that probably isn't true. Soccer fans at the grass roots will never come up with the kind of capitol to invest heavily enough to make a difference.

    Sure, your shares might give you a few votes (feel free to excercise them) but the big boy investors will always have the last word.
     
  13. st ryma 7

    st ryma 7 Member

    Dec 23, 2004
    the south bay
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    i would invest in the league, not a team. the only way i would invest in a team is by buying and owning one, which for me right now is inconcievable, i just have too much on my schedule right now
     
  14. Matt in the Hat

    Matt in the Hat Moderator
    Staff Member

    Sep 21, 2002
    Brooklyn
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    x2. The league is set up as a single entity and we should have to invest in it as such. Investing in individual teams is a nightmare.
     
  15. Schwalker

    Schwalker New Member

    Apr 15, 2007
    Gelsenkirchen/Finja
    Club:
    FC Schalke 04
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    What about the German/Spanish model where members of the club pay a sum to the club?..The members also own the club I might add.

    Like the around $75 annual fee I pay to Schalke 04 for what is basically just a right to vote at the annual meeting, the right to order tickets and some club magazines...Multiply the fee by 65.000 (current memberships) and you get a nice sum.
    Other German clubs and the big "Socios" of say Barcelona or Real Madrid works in a similar way.

    To me it´s a stable and beneficient way to "have an impact and support my team"...I mean, what happens if Abramovich gets an heartattack tomorrow?
     
  16. kikkoman1231

    kikkoman1231 New Member

    Jun 2, 2005
    Comiskey Park
    A.C. Milan is also a publically-traded club. They are in the Italian stock market.
     
  17. st ryma 7

    st ryma 7 Member

    Dec 23, 2004
    the south bay
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    who cares, the italians dont care about money, thats why the church is still the richest institution in all of italy. all they care about is coffee and mopeds
     

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