Like many of you I've been trying to get a sense of what is preferable about Orlando -- what makes investors see a larger upside there. It's a bit closer to some of the USL opponents. It's a bigger city than Austin. And they ought to be winning right out of the gate, which should help (having built a good and exciting team, and perhaps dropping down a division). On the other hand, I don't sense that Orlando is any better of a soccer town than Austin. Football is king in FL just as it is here. They have no bigger of an Hispanic presence than we have. The field they will play on might be a slight improvement, but I doubt it will be a better "atmosphere" than House Park. I don't see the mainstream sports media or FL sports fan treating them any better than the Austin counterparts. So what is the big draw (for the other investors)? Donner lives there, so that's his draw. English and German tourists (for reasons that are lost on me) love to go to FL, so perhaps that's the appeal to the Burnley dude. But really, I just don't see the logic. Perhaps size is the main thing. Their metro area is about double the size of ours. So even if they succeed in drawing the same % of sports fans, they ought get a larger absolute number, all else equal. I'm just not sure all else is equal, though. Do others have insights into this?
Nope. Austin population = 786,386. Orlando = 235,860. Src: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_cities_by_population Not by population. Its only 22% larger. Austin Metro = 1,705,075. Orlando = 2,082421. Src: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_of_United_States_Metropolitan_Statistical_Areas Austin is actually a larger metro area by land area (though this probably doesn't matter/help).
As Rawlins said in a fit of honesty, Orlando is far more likely than Austin to get an MLS team. They're counting on getting bumped up to MLS within a few years, and I suspect MLS has essentially told them it will happen. I'm sure MLS wants to get back into Florida after the embarrassing early double contraction there, whereas Texas, with two strong teams, is probably at its MLS saturation point for the foreseeable future. As to why Florida is a good MLS market, I don't know. I guess, like Dallas, it's just a good sports market in general, and it has a decent soccer fan base due to the Hispanic population and the former Mutiny/Fusion supporters.
It's all about politics, and call me whatever you want, but I bet the Longhorns, Cowboys, etc, etc. played a roll in that. How? The more fans that move into other sports (soccer) the less revenue they make from that market. At the same time, there's another factor, that is "support from the city and it's media" that can make a HUGE difference on the profitability of a team.
I stand corrected on the population: we're only slightly smaller. On the media issue, I don't see Orlando media being any better than Austin media on this issue.
I don't think it is about size, lifestyle or potential in the sense you imagine. I think more it is about a stadium that can host events such as large-scale international friendlies, and in the meantime give the club control over concessions, allow alcohol sales, and provide luxury suite options. Then factor in winter soccer camps, lower travel costs to and from, and the larger European population of ex-pats and I think that probably played more of a factor than population and what not - on a pure "population" basis, Atlanta, Detroit and Phoenix are leaps and bounds larger markets not currently served by a soccer team.
I hate to say (write) it but a lot of people in Orlando have figured out that our gain has come at Austin's expense and the way it's fans were deceived up until the last minute isn't really sitting too well. We have to wonder if we might be next if things don't fall into line exactly at Phil Rawlins envisions it. Add to this the realization that USL Pro is largely a semi-pro league and the luster of this week's announcement is fading. We're all hoping it goes well because we've been pro soccer starved for a long time; that said, Orlando soccer fans are finicky. Orlando City needs to produce quickly both on the field and in the community and have a real professional organization without smoke and mirrors. We've inherited a winning team and it's dropping a division so I don't think success on the field will be an issue, but they'd best not try to deceive anyone here about winning at the D-3 level with a D-2 team. This better be the real deal and not just a bunch of press conference hype.
Thanks. I, for one, appreciate that. It's nice to get a little validation for what I think is a perfectly normal human reaction to events, but one which has been met by utter silence (or worse) from Phil. (A lot of us are still waiting to see what Matt has to say about his meeting with Phil. Perhaps he got some satisfaction. I hope so. He deserves it. But so do others.) You in Orlando will get a good, exciting team to watch. Very offensive minded and well coached. I think you ought to win if it's a D2 league, but certainly if it's D3. And the players seemed to me to be great guys -- very accessible to and appreciative of the fans. They'll probably be excellent ambassadors in the community. According to one account, we lost some of the Hispanic community support we saw in the first year because we lost a lot. It may also have been related to the long ball, English style of play, which predominated more that year than it did this past year. But if we had come out of the gate winning, presumably we would have upped the gate even more than we did (and we did grow the gate significantly -- just not enough, apparently). I don't know Orlando. But if you can get people out to games with this team, they'll see a good product and should want to come back. I'm really going to miss it here in Austin.
Hi Stefano, I appreciate what you've shared, above. I think that what happened to us may very well happen to you, but I think it is more likely that if they do no not meet their (lofty) goals, or at least seem to be heading that way, in the next couple of years, they'll just pack it in. The Aztex business model, as I understood it, was to attract and develop young talent, especially those who were eligible for play in the UK (international status, or UK citizens), and then to sell their contracts to UK or European clubs. I was under the impression that ticket sales were really just to help cover operating costs (but many of us did our part by paying extra for Founders Club and Alliance memberships). Now, it sounds like their business model is to make money from ticket sales and selling beer/alcohol at games, with the goal of purchasing an MLS franchise in a few years. If they don't get really high attendence (at least double or triple of what we were getting in Austin), it doesn't seem to me like it is going to last. An MLS franchise costs something like $30 mil, so they're likely going to need additional investors to get there, and that will probably be hard to find unless they can demonstrate numbers in their fan support (like Montreal or Portland numbers, of 10,000+ attendance every week). On the positive side, I think your side will start winning right away. You have a very strong squad who attacks constantly, a very good goalie, and a very good coach. Orlando, Rochester, and Charleston are probably going to dominate, and Orlando has a very good chance of winning the league. Your attendance will likely grow, as they do well throughout the season (as it did here). However, if, as I suspect, the reasons for the move weren't tied to the reasons they gave, but the instability (and uncertaintly of the future) in the 2nd division, then maybe they'll settle in for the long haul (for real, this time) in USL Pro. My main advice to you guys in Orlando is to enjoy the game, support the players, but don't buy-in to anything the ownership/front-office tells you, and don't participate in anything that purports to give you some sort of ownership in the team for a fee (it's just a gimmick).
Pleasure watching Stoke Sh@tty lose to Everton today playing their vintage brand of anti-football. Also great to see Good-Johnson sitting on the bench looking pretty after they poached him from the Hammers hotel room. Won't be needing a shower after the game again, will you Ice Man? Just another example of the general lack of scruples at that club. Maybe the new Mickey Mouse Club can get him next year on loan for their fledgling Div 3 team. Hey, one more body in the Citrus Bowl might make it look less desserted on game day. Perhaps glad-hand Phil can convince him to volunteer for the good of the city...