If you have a championship team, a well-run organization, a very good GM, draw good numbers, have a history and a connection with the community, and control of your own facility, and you still can't make it work financially, that doesn't bode well for anybody.
I think it's control of it's own facility is the problem here. $18,000 a month??? I can't imagine an indoor soccer facility, about four bumpy outdoor fields, and a high-school type stadium bringing in $18,000 a month or anywhere close to that. The article isn't that alarming, it's just basically some free press to put out the word that they are looking for additional investors.
Reading between the lines in the article, it appears that the 75-year-old owner of the Rampage has fallen victim to a major health problem and may have a need to spend major dollars on health care rather than on the Rampage. If so, what is needed is new investors to take over the franchise.
What about the guy who was trying to bring MLS to Milwaukee? Refresh my memory, did the Wave force him out amid some cloud of shennanigans or something? Maybe that wouldn't be a good idea. I just can't figure out where they're going to find investors on such short notice.
"MLS to Milwaukee" Guy No, that was Tim Krause, who is also the owner of the Wave and would seem like a natural to take over the Rampage.
Then say goodbye to the Rampage. That guy is a snake oil salesman. He got no $$$, but pretended he did. NOt the kind of guys we need in the sport.
Oh, I think it was Ron Creten I was thinking of who got bounced. My bad. The Wave is going to save some jack moving to the old building across the street. Maybe that would make investing in the Rampage more attractive.
He never said he had his own cash. He represented a group of investors who were interested in bringing MLS to Milwaukee. Then came 9-11. Then came the turf battle between the Bradley Center and Wisconsin Center and city government's inability to help get that impasse solved. (You'll recall that Krause wanted to build his stadium in land the Bradley Center said it was interested in using to build a new performing arts space; the Milwaukee MLS bid got ground up in the BC/WC debate). Krause seems to me to be less than a stellar buinessman. And his timing sure stunk. But he never struck me as being a crook.
the Bradley Center is building crap in that space...Harley Davidson is putting a museum up or somethin
Tick....tick....tick....still no word. So, we muddle along & I guess we can expect teams to eventually publish schedules with a bunch of "TBA" dates and it will be a surprise who the opponent is or even if there is a game.
About a month ago there was an article in the paper saying that the Harley-Davidson museum couldn't get the funding it needed, so it won't be built now. I'm a bit fuzzy on the Bradley Center details, but as I recall (and feel free to correct any mistaken details here), they wanted that land to build a mid-sized theater there, and there was competition between them and the Arena (where the Wave will be moving to), who planned on renovating to create a theater of the same size, as there wasn't enough of a market to support two theaters of that size. But now, the Arena went ahead with their renovation plans, so it'd be pointless for the Bradley Center to build that theater they wanted. So the land they fought so hard to keep a soccer stadium off of will be sitting unused.
Re: Re: Money problems for Milwaukee? Seems that way. The Bradley Center proposal for development on that site never seemed like it was a serious one but, rather, a negotiating ploy in their PR battle with the Wisconsin Center district people.
It sounds like there should be some word either way by the end of this week. They are planning on releasing the schedule either thursday or friday of this week.
This 1/20 article seems rather encouraging. Maybe Milwaukee will still crawl out of the grave yet. http://www.jsonline.com/sports/socc/jan03/112224.asp
so far everybody i have talked to seems optimistic if not encouraging. hope things pan out. cant wait for the schedule either sorry for the hold up. cross your fingers. WB