Miami-Barcelona Expansion & Bid Discussion Part 3

Discussion in 'Inter Miami CF' started by Sport Billy, Feb 23, 2009.

  1. jasontoon

    jasontoon Member

    Jan 9, 2002
    Seattle, WA
    Club:
    Seattle Sounders
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Is the Miami Herald good enough for you?
    http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/story/881369.html

    Also, see here:
    https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=947027

    See - it's about FCB not wanting to piss off their sponsor.
     
  2. Sport Billy

    Sport Billy Moderator
    Staff Member

    May 25, 2006
    Link is fixed
     
  3. Sport Billy

    Sport Billy Moderator
    Staff Member

    May 25, 2006
    Miami situation is looking worse:

    http://www.eldeber.com.bo/vernotaahora.php?id=090302111105

    Translation (Google): http://translate.google.com/transla...p?id=090302111105&sl=es&tl=en&history_state0=

    Can some one offer a better translation for me please.


    This doesn't sound good:



     
  4. WhiteStar Warriors

    Mar 25, 2007
    St.Pete/Krakow
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Still no word on Miami's MLS bid

    Michelle Kaufman's Sunday column provides a good overview of the still-unsettled situation regarding Marcelo Claure's quest to bring Major League Soccer back to South Florida.
    Rumors were flying all over the soccer world that an announcement of some sort would come Friday, but it's now Monday and there's still no resolution.
    It will have to get wrapped up soon, however, as MLS executives intend to make their decision known by the season opener on March 19. The gut feeling here is that we'll know a lot more by the end of the week, but with as crazy as this situation has been to date, who knows?
     
  5. MLSinHD

    MLSinHD Member

    Apr 1, 2004
    Boston
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    If Barca decides to not go through with this project (still cannot figure why they would back out of a deal) then why not turn to Barca's arch rival Real Madrid? Real are backed by Adidas and so there should be no conflict of interest. Also with the possibility of Florentino Perez coming back to the club, he might be someone who would love the chance at cracking a new market.
     
  6. WhiteStar Warriors

    Mar 25, 2007
    St.Pete/Krakow
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
  7. Sport Billy

    Sport Billy Moderator
    Staff Member

    May 25, 2006

    Would you deal with someone who chose your biggest rival and is now coming to you because that rival turned them down? I wouldn't.
     
  8. drSoFlaFan

    drSoFlaFan DEFEND THE FORT!

    Feb 25, 2008
    Plantation, FL
    Club:
    Ft Lauderdale Strikers
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    If they were banking their success on Beckham coming to town 1 or maybe 2 times a season, they are fools, FCB and Claure both. This bid is looking shakier by the minute, and with Miami FC's troubles, South Florida is teetering on the pro soccer abyss again, and it just doesn't add up with all the soccer lovers here.

    Up until now Claure has been very optimistic and seemed to be very dedicated. Now it looks like he went over to Spain and over the weekend FCB convinced him that with the economy the way it is and no Beckham this MLS venture will fail. Then again, this has been such a wacky process, who knows, maybe later in the week he comes back out with a statement that they are very confident and then MLS gives us a team in the end. All we can do is hope for the best at this point.
     
  9. WhiteStar Warriors

    Mar 25, 2007
    St.Pete/Krakow
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    This is not related to soccer, but the Barca execs know what's going on not only in South Florida but everywhere else:

    Personal bankruptcies in South Florida up 42% from last year

    BY PATRICK DANNER

    pdanner@MiamiHerald.com

    The number of South Floridians filing for bankruptcy surged 42 percent in February to 1,662 from a year ago.
    South Florida business bankruptcy filings, meanwhile, climbed to 105 last month from 86 a year ago.
    Both personal and business bankruptcies, though, were down from January when 1,685 consumer filings and 111 business filings were recorded.
    The statistics cover 10 South Florida counties. In Miami-Dade, 49 companies filed for bankruptcy last month, all but six of them were Chapter 7 liquidations. Broward had 34 business filings; all but nine were Chapter 7 liquidations.


    http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking-news/story/928728.html
     
  10. Solid444

    Solid444 Member+

    Jun 21, 2003
    I don't think they were banking their success on Beckham coming to town. However, they are worried about Barcelona's marketability in a league that Beckham wants to run away from. I think that is is fair to say that some league sponsorship revenues depend on Beckham staying in the league. They probably want to lower the $40 million expansion fee because of changing economic times. And, I think it should be done. It's not much of an expansion race when the MLS ends choosing two teams because the others could not pay. From an economic standpoint, it is evident that, in today's economic climate, a $40 million expansion fee is too high
     
  11. MLSinHD

    MLSinHD Member

    Apr 1, 2004
    Boston
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    It doesn't make any sense that Barca would just back out of this deal. This also could be a negotiating tactic on Barca's end to drive the price down a bit.
     
  12. Solid444

    Solid444 Member+

    Jun 21, 2003
    Well it is, however, I don't think its a bluff. If the MLS does not make at least some economic adjustment, then it is unlikely that Barcelona will take part in this.
     
  13. WhiteStar Warriors

    Mar 25, 2007
    St.Pete/Krakow
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    But then they have to agree with the other expansion bids, isn't that what Montreal wanted?
     
  14. Nerazzuri

    Nerazzuri New Member

    Jan 23, 2006
    St Louis
    Your other analogies may have worked, but you're wrong on Owen.

    First off, Michael is an Umbro-sponsored player, and has been since he broke into the squad with Liverpool. In fact, if you go to his own sight, you will see him in an Umbro England uniform, kicking an adidas ball, but the adidas ball has been intentionally blurred out, and an umbro one has been added, much larger, as a background.

    Second, your all-adidas connection is also flawed in that, from 1996 to 2004, while Owen was with Liverpool, they did not wear adidas, but rather wore Reebok.

    Of course, Reebok is now owned by adidas, but were not at the time. Also, Nike has ownership of Umbro, but still allow their Umbro-sponsored athlete to play for adidas-branded teams.
     
  15. Solid444

    Solid444 Member+

    Jun 21, 2003
    Yea, they probably won't lower it for Barcelona and not lower it for a team like Montreal. The question is whether they will lower it enough for it to even matter.
     
  16. Nerazzuri

    Nerazzuri New Member

    Jan 23, 2006
    St Louis
    Except that, that isn't the case. We aren't at a situation where only two bids can pay the expansion fee.

    We started with seven bids this round. Of those, we have had no indication that Vancouver, Ottawa, Portland, or St. Louis are wavering on the expansion fee. Further, while Miami is wavering on their bid, Claure has not said that the money is too high for him, he's only said that this investment might be too much for his partners, who aren't supposed to be putting any money in, anyway. Even when Atlanta withdrew, it was not because Arthur Blank had money concerns, it was because he knew his bid wasn't good enough, largely due to the fact that it was going to take a while to get a stadium, so he withdrew, so that he can make a more serious bid at a later date.

    So, of the original seven, six are OK with the money. The only one who isn't is Joey Saputo, and that isn't because he "couldn't" pay, as you indicate, but rather because he felt he shouldn't have to. Say what you want about the poor economy, but it has not forced one bid to be withdrawn, nor has it forced any of them to state that they could not pay the expansion fee.
     
  17. drSoFlaFan

    drSoFlaFan DEFEND THE FORT!

    Feb 25, 2008
    Plantation, FL
    Club:
    Ft Lauderdale Strikers
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Whether or not it should be considered by the league as it relates to the expansion process, if both Beckham, one of the biggest players in the world, and FC Barcelona, one of the biggest clubs, shun MLS in the same year, the league's international credibility will take a pretty good hit.

    In the end, regardless of how much the global economy has dipped since this expansion process began, I don't see MLS lowering the $40 million fee so long as they have at least two groups willing to pay. All the remaining bids, and Montréal and Atlanta too, have the potential to easily be strong franchises and have good fan support(some better than others of course). I think the league will take any two that show they have the necessary financial muscle and a good stadium plan(temp with revenues or SSS). They'll have at least two that fit that description, guaranteed. Who that is at this point, however, is just as unclear as it was back in October.
     
  18. fcb1

    fcb1 New Member

    Dec 18, 2008
    Club:
    FC Barcelona
    Nat'l Team:
    --other--
    How fast this thread evolved, so I'm replying to something 2 pages ago:

    I stand corrected. If our vicepresident says there is an Nike/Adidas issue, then there must be one. Anyways, I share his opinion that this issue is something that is easy solvable.


    Regarding issue of "sport garment" (is that a word?) manufacturors and conflict of interests in relations players--clubs, that's not that serious as you make it, your examples sound very much "X-fileish". Messi for example is sponsored by Adidas, regardless of Nike/FCB partnership: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkHmV0s3PjE"]YouTube - IMPOSSIBLE IS NOTHING[/ame]
     
  19. Solid444

    Solid444 Member+

    Jun 21, 2003
    You cannot separate the economic investment that the league requires from all other factors. The economic investment is connected to almost all other decisions whether it is cited as a direct cause or not.And no, six of the seven are not OK with money. St. Louis is not OK with money. As I understand it (and correct me if I am wrong), St. Louis is willing to pay the $40 million fee however the MLS has concluded that they don't have enough financial capital for this bid not to be very risky. This is an economic situation that does have a significant connection to other economic factors, such as the expansion fee. Arthur Bank does have the money available (just like Claure) but to say that he had no money concerns does not really make sense. Would Arthur Bank have dropped out if there was no expansion fee and he could, as a result, invest that money into financing the stadium situation. So the expansion fee does have an affect on other decisions. To say that just because someone can afford it, then therefore, they have no money concerns is ridiculous (case in point: Miami).

    The economic climate is very different than what it was 6 months ago. With the current economic crisis, prices have had to fluctuate to increase demand and the MLS has failed to do so. So what do they get? Less demand. Now you are left with three cities that have not expressed economic reservations (that I know of). The MLS went from having 7 candidates willing to demand the product that they were offering, at the price they were offering, to having only 3 that are still doing so. Why not raise the price of the bid to $50 million in order to take the final 3 to 2? This is basically what the MLS is doing by not keeping up with economic trends and, in effect, raising the financial risk that they are asking for day by day, week by week. Its not long before the two teams that get it, do it because no one else demands to be. This makes you question whether its even a smart plan to accept two teams in the first place, or hell, even one of them.
     
  20. WhiteStar Warriors

    Mar 25, 2007
    St.Pete/Krakow
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I don't know if it's a good idea to expand to 2 cities for now, they should just leave it at 1 city and in 2011
     
  21. jasontoon

    jasontoon Member

    Jan 9, 2002
    Seattle, WA
    Club:
    Seattle Sounders
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    You're making enormous jumps to unwarranted conclusions.

    MLS has "concluded" no such thing about St. Louis or any of the remaining bids.

    You're using the term "money concerns" to conflate several totally different situations. Montreal said they would not be willing to pay the expansion fee. St. Louis may or may not have ownership capital that MLS deems sufficient. FCB is apparently worried that an MLS team in Miami would be a bad investment of their prestige because of concerns over the Miami market and the stability of MLS in this economy. When it comes to Atlanta, you're just making shit up. Money was not a big factor for Blank; time was. He knew he was behind the other bids and seems ready to move ahead for the next round.

    Yes, of course they're all related to money one way or another. If money wasn't a factor, MLS could have 50 teams and we could all be happy. But lowering the expansion fee would only help one of those examples, and not because Montreal necessarily needs the help.

    Again, there are still five active bids that have all expressed complete willingness to pay the expansion fee. I actually agree that it seems way too high, but it's hard to say that when there are apparently several willing buyers.
     
  22. Blustar

    Blustar Member

    May 30, 2006
    Club:
    Miami FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Oh well, if it doesn't happen it doesn't happen, I'll go back to rooting for the Yank Abroad players I'm a fan of and just watch MLS and hope the league improves and we get a team sometime in the future.

    I still think we have a chance but it's looking very shaky now but the fat lady hasn't started singing yet. But she seems to warming up off-stage.

    Maybe in a couple years the financial chaos will have leveled off and we can get a decent bid in.

    It hard to watch a league sometimes when I can't find a team to root for and they eliminated the team I was supporting. I did live in Seattle for 3 years so maybe I'll root for them in the meantime.
     
  23. Solid444

    Solid444 Member+

    Jun 21, 2003
    That is an excellent point. From an economic standpoint, it makes sense that the expansion fee be lowered. From an image and marketability standpoint, it also make sense that the expansion be lowered. And people will argue that it shouldn't matter if Beckham and Barcelona both drop out of the MLS. However, the people making this decision have shown that marketability and image abroad are very important to them. The question is, is it important enough in the long term to warrant a one time reduction in the expansion fee. I think that from their point of view, it is.
     
  24. Solid444

    Solid444 Member+

    Jun 21, 2003
    I didn't mean concluded in the definite way that they will conclude things by the 19th of March. I meant that they have expressed this concern that if it doesn't get taken care of, it is very hard for the MLS to accept the bid. Are you saying they haven't done this?

    I still think that saying money was not a concern in the Atlanta bid makes no sense. To say that even something such as time, cannot be overcome with financial capital is ridiculous. However, for the sake of this argument, lets just assume Atlanta "had no money concerns."

    Absolutely not. This would only be true if the expansion fee was insignificant compared to the investment required by the owners after it. This is certainly not the case. The expansion fee is very significant compared to what it costs to operate the team in the long term. Therefore, it does have a bearing on most economic situations, especially the ones that I talked about.

    Five? Out of the six bids currently in the running, three have expressed economic concerns. Because the expansion fee is very significant compared to the overall long term economic risk of this venture, then it is safe to conclude that lowering it can only have a positive affect for these three teams. So you are left with three teams that the MLS gets to chose from. No one will agree that only having to chose between these three teams is good for the MLS in the long term and all this simply because they failed to keep up with the economic short term trend.
     
  25. WhiteStar Warriors

    Mar 25, 2007
    St.Pete/Krakow
    Club:
    FC Tampa Bay Rowdies
    Nat'l Team:
    United States

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