Numbers I've heard thrown around for the sale of RSL have been in the $325 - $350 mil range. According to this Sportico article, Houston sold for $400 mil, and Orlando is rumored to be in the same range. The sale reportedly includes the team, the Dash, and the business relationship the team has with BBVA Stadium (stadium is owned by the local stadium authority). Granted, Houston is a much larger area, but I'd think RSL has gotta be in the $400+ range is the sale includes RSL, the Monarchs, Rio Tinto Stadium, the ZBRA, and whatever other assets are part of the Utah Soccer Holdings sale.
Sounds like you have a closet similar to mine. here are the 5 or so shirts I wear that aren't soccer and then here are 30 milan/rsl/usa/royals/[insert randome team] kits
I'm pretty sure you've been wearing soccer gear 100% of the times that I have seen you IRL. So that checks out
I hadn't heard any numbers recently, but initially the number was thought to be in the $400 - $500 mil range, but that was when the Royals were still in the mix. Not sure if that is a significant discount or not, since everyone feels they'll be back in a couple of years. I think somewhere along the way Dunny mentioned that the Charlotte expansion fee was $325M and that he'd expect a significant premium on top of that based on the infrastructure and built-in fan base in SL. Just pure guess from me - I'd think $500M is highly unrealistic, but I'd expect the number to be somewhere around $400M or slightly higher.
even my not soccer clothes somehow are soccer clothes. At some point, you just have to accept who you are
JJ Watt responded to a recent Tweet asking him to purchase RSL that the price should come down. Didn't inspire me, even if the sentiment is correct (since we don't know what is being asked).
If memory serves and reading about that conversation MLS is sticking to a 400 million dollar ask and JJ was asking for 250. Which is ludicrously low.
Don't know what I'm missing, but I don't see why RSL wouldn't be worth $400m, especially compared with the teams similarly valued. Not sure MLS will sell it at much less than that when Charlotte just paid $325-350m just for the right to join MLS. The academy, stadium and other infrastructure has to be worth something. I'm wondering if the DLH business entanglement is just too much to deal with for anything approaching $350-400m.
Supply and Demand would suggest that, while a comparable might justify an initial pricing of 400m, the demand just isn't there at that price point. Think of it like housing prices in Utah right now. While a house in Salt Lake county might look the exact same as one in say Piute county, heck the Piute county one could be better, most (if not all) buyers want to be in SL
I don't have access to the original article as its behind a paywall, however, what I'm reading about it is that it's only a "brand valuation" and does not take into account specifics of hard assets if a club was up for sale. Since RSL is heavy in this arena, you'd think it's "actual valuation" would be higher than whatever methodology was used for the purpose of this valuation. And let's be clear, this type of thing is primarily click bait to drive audiences to their paid publication. It's interesting but I take very little stock in how this translates to what RSL is really worth on the open market. That will prove itself out (hopefully in the short run). No way MLS let's this sit through another offseason, but hopefully a deal is done sooner. With an MLS TV contract looming and the US a few short years from co-hosting a World Cup, hard to believe a prospective owner will not want to close a deal here pretty soon. Even Sportico is clear that this shouldn't be taken as what an investor should pay for a club. Here is a quote from Sportico about these valuations: "But there is little doubt any owner who wants to exit at their Sportico’s valuation would “get it, and it wouldn’t take a long time,” said one MLS club executive."
Despite the increase in billionaires over the pandemic, I feel like the potential population of buyers is ever shrinking for RSL. A group of investors has sounded like the most likely route for awhile, but I'm not sure who exactly that entails. RSL has the hard assets, which is a good reason to keep the club here. And it gives that "turnkey" feel to the club, for sure. However, lets not pretend these potential owners necessarily want that. If they're willing to dump that much money into buying a team, they're not going to want a mediocre stadium for the league. They're not going to want stuff that DLH's name is SUPER associated with. This level of wealth rarely comes without arrogance and pride. One angle on that is that we could be in store for a sweet stadium update and the training facility expanded to actually have 15+ fields around it like LAG or cRapids do, to make it a soccer destination. Another is that a buyer looks at everything they're paying for and wonders why they don't just pay the extra fee to start from scratch. Like buying a nice 5 year old BMW with everything in it, but really wanting a brand new ferrari.
The organization is trying to land a couple 2026 World Cup teams to make this their base. Maybe additional fields will come with that.
2026 is the joint tournament with the US, Mexico, and Canada. 48 teams, up from 36, so there will be a big need for training bases across the country.
Correct, but all of the "in the know" folks around RSL talk about the academy hosting one if not two nations as a training ground running up to/and possibly through the tournament. That would be cool
Is the Delta Variant to blame for this area just not having any real news? Should we start being concerned? Think of how cool the costco could be using the academy building (half kidding) Whats the reasoning for an ownership not taking over now? Is it still asking price from MLS? When does that change? Does it change? Is it better for the league to close this club and open another? Is it worthwhile to lower the price to a point where people actually pony up? Could I ask more questions that the answer is a shrug emoji? Does anyone deserve to keep their job right now at the club? I get the human factor and really want all these folks to not be saved just to be dumped, but the current environment just doesn't excite me. How much does the first team dictate this? How much should they?