I think one of the most important things about the article is its placement on page A1 of the Post. So its not just sports news but front page general news. Makes me think that the Post considers a soccer stadium a serious possibility and not just talk. The article confirms that Kevin Payne is Anschutz' point man on the stadium deal and leaves the impression that serious negotiations are taking place. Lots of interesting stuff about Anschutz, the growth of his business empire, and his conservative politics. One item that reassured me was that his the potential for legal problems (surrounding Qwest and its accounting practices) seems to be receding. The NY Attorney General, Spitzer, had been after Anschutz at one point but they've reached some sort of out of court settlement that left Uncle Phil more or less unblemished. (I thought that case was still pending) I thought MLS could be in serious jeopardy 2 years ago when Qwest was drawing some media comparisons to Enron and Uncle Phil was the main owner for half the league.
I also thought it was great that the article appeared in the front page and mentioned DC United. I was also a little nervous about MLS a few years ago because of Qwest.
While I am certainly not enamored of his politics, as long as he doesn't make James Dobson coach of DC United I'll remain grateful for everything he does for soccer in the US. Does anyone else think it's ironic that DC United changed hands from George Soros to Phil Anschutz?
I've pondered that many times. I bet he was jacked back in 98 when his Fire team beat Soros' United in MLS Cup!
I'm sure both George and Phil agree on at least one thing -- the first billion dollars is the hardest.
Here's what heartened me... " With a penchant for acting on a grand scale, Anschutz, 64, has a way of instantly becoming a major player in any scene and any city he enters. Now, the Denver investor is on the cusp of becoming a major presence in Washington with ambitious plans for soccer team D.C. United and his new ownership of the area's Journal Newspapers Inc. " Looks like entry has been made. One other indicator (maybe). I've never gotten an invoice for season tickets before, so maybe this is normal...but it was from Anschutz D.C. Soccer L.L.C., DBA D.C. United. Could be I'm reading too much into this, but it's reassuring to see the Anschutz label there.
Actually, I thought it quite funny. On some conservatvie message boards last summer, when Sorosmania was at its height, I noted that my objection to Soros was not connected as much to Move On as to his "moving on" from DC United!
I hopeful, but wouldn't read (pun) too much in to the newspaper angle. He already has a San Francisco paper and that hasn't sealed the deal for a Quakes SSS.
Am I the only one concerned that it looks as if AEG is bailing out of MLS. Selling Colorado, and trying to sell SJE and DCU. I guess I was misinformed before but I thought DC was making money, or at least breaking even. I though the league had reversed it's financial decline. Guess not. TS.
I think Placido Domingo, the world's premier tenor and head of the Washington and Los Angeles Opera companies, owned a piece of DC United at one time - perhaps with Soros. If we could get him back in as an owner, at least the National Anthem wouldn't be murdered before every match.
It's not healthy for the league to have just one owner. He's not bailing. He's ensuring its future. What if he took ill and his kids don't like soccer? What if some scandal took down all his money (read up on "Qwest"). Some people consider MLS a joke with guys owning multiple teams. I wasn't impressed a few years ago when it happened. It gives rise to suspicions of things being fixed. The ideal setup is one owner per team. But thankfully AEG seems set to only sell to credible owners that can support the league (billionaires Kroenke and LA rights to billionare Vergara). Checketts seems like the real deal. Amanpour doesn't so AEG is looking elsewhere. What makes you think this doesn't mean that the league is reversing its finances? The league isn't profitable yet and doesn't plan to be for some time. It'll reinvest any small profits into its growth. LA and Columbus are the only currently reported profitable teams, but I wouldn't be surprised if DC made a jump towards that this year with attendance up and a championship. Do you think AEG owning the whole league would be a good thing? Most sure don't. I think you're way off in your conclusion.
DC United never has been profitable due to their stadium situation. That's why you see a league-wide push to own and operate stadiums. That's where the money is. DC pays something like 60K per game, and gets maybe 10% of parking and consession revenue. Also, they do not get to hire stadium services and security staff. When there is no soccer game, MLS gets nothing. When MLS owns the stadium, they get all of the parking, all of the consessions, and they control the customer experience by hiring the staff. And the big part is that the rest of the year they can make money off of the stadium by staging other events. National team games, womens, games, American Football, soccer tournaments, concerts, rallies, whatever. And the parking for those. And the consessions. It could be that MLS will still 'lose' money, but AEG (or whoever is connected with the league and 'owns' the stadium) will be doing fine. Some corporate tax expert should chime in here with the best scenario.
I found the article quite interesting and just kept thinking, "Why couldn't it be me?" The Regal Cinema thing seems to have turned into quite the cash cow for him. There was mention that he invested 500 million, but last year received dividends of 700 million. Damn!
Steps for acquiring wealth - First, get a billion dollars Second, invest 1/2 where the return is 140% very quickly Third, invest in the perennial MLS cup champion
Yeah, I'm pretty sure he's right. I read it somewhere else on these boards recently. I think it was back in the early days of MLS.