Okay. We have a great interim coach, with a good one lined up to take the reigns. We have dedicated, good hearted players who want to win. We have the second highest consistent attendance in the NASL, because the population of the largest city in the southeast is starved for soccer. We even have ownership with good intentions and a desire to win (I am back on the bus since they hired Wynalda. They are spending the Open Cup match pawning money wisely.). We have awesome supporters groups. We have our own stadium. What we don't have is deep pockets. The squad needs to be supplemented with some higher quality players. Higher quality players cost money. It's no secret that Blank is pushing an open air downtown stadium with a grass pitch, in good part because he is itching to get an MLS team up and running. He has even hired the Columbus Crew's former GM as one of his VPs in preparation. But that MLS team will need a dedicated following and good infrastructure (like maybe a nice 5,000 seat suburban stadium for their reserve and women's team to play in.) Current Atlanta fans want and deserve an NASL team that can at least play good mid-table football and make a playoff run most years. Arthur Blank's involvement could help him lay the foundation for MLS in a way that includes and encourages hardcore fans, and it could give us some decent NASL footy for a change. If you agree, email Arthur Blank and let know. The only contact info I could find was from the Falcons website: fans@falcons.nfl.com
Ideally yes. My question is, why do we focus our energy exclusively on Arthur Blank? Yes, he mentioned bringing in an MLS team as a way to sweeten the deal for a new Falcons stadium. But that was four years ago, and we haven't heard anything recently to suggest that's still in his plans. Atlanta is a city full of corporate money. There has to be another rich guy in the city who likes soccer and sees what an opportunity it could be. The Atlanta Soccer Cabinet was headed by Robin Loudermilk, CEO of Aaron's. Rubbermaid, Chik-Fil-A, as well as Blank were also on board. Most of this was an attempt to get Atlanta to be a WC host city for '18 and '22. But since that fell through, momentum has sort of halted. But the MLS is still out there. If we could get just one investor to buy the Silverbacks, I think we could get a lot of support from city leadership. When the Thrashers left, Kasim Reed mentioned "filling the void soon." What better way than with a professional first division soccer team? Who knows? Maybe Wynalda can attract those investors. Ideally I would love Blank, but I don't think we should put all our eggs in one basket.
When it comes down to it, I don't care who it is - as long as they have the resources to field a competitive squad. Hell, someone could partner with Boris and accomplish that. Maybe we should start a crowdsourcing campaign, lol!! Just tired of watching games and already knowing we're gonna lose. Would prefer something happen soon, so we don't have to wait until MLS to improve the team.
New ownership with deep pockets is exactly what this team needs. Boris either doesn't have the funds or wishes to keep the funds (I wouldn't blame him for that) to move this team forward. The involvement of Traffic is the best example of this. Blank is an obvious possible owner. I wonder if his heart would really be behind us though. He is a pointy ball guy, just like Kraft. That group turned around the Pats but the Revs have always been stepchildren. I also don't think the NFL guys see the NASL as a great stepping stone to MLS. Look at the Minn situation. The Vikes used the same MLS argument to move forward with their stadium and they could buy the NASL team for nothing but seem to have no interest. I'm not connected enough with the money of this town to know who is out there, but I really think something has to happen before next season for these attendance numbers to continue. The Atl fanbase has always been know to be a fickle group for any sport. Two wins a season is not going to keep them in the seats.
I would &$?@/ my pants if Blank bought our team. With that said there is a ton of money in this town. I would love any investor willing to support us in putting out a competitive team. Is Tyler Perry a soccer fan? Probably not. Will the Cosmos increase the profile of the league and perhaps improve the attractiveness of investing? Ideally you want an ego maniac that doesn't care about profits. A win at all costs guy. Roman Abromavich, Jerry Jones and Mark Cuban come to mind. Of course, not those guys specifically but that kind of guy. What would scare me is an Atlanta Spirit approach. A bunch of midlevel wealthy types pooling their money together with no single vision for the club. That's killed the Hawks.
If win $200 million in the powerball, I can assure you that the 'Backs will get some significant new investment.
Is the the venue upgradable to MLS standards? The various facility additions the club has mentioned in their long-term plans don't seem to fit that model. Getting a true MLS-sized park on that site looks like it would take a lot creative shoe-horning that hasn't been part of the early development phase. I can't help but think that if I wanted to build something that large I wouldn't want to be doing it on a site configured as Silverbacks Park currently is. It seems like the type of facility you'd build when your long-term expectations are for permanent lower division play. It looks like what you'd build when your goal is to be around but not in the top flight, like a Leyton Orient. It's easy to imagine a prospective Atlanta owner who'd rather start a club from scratch than buy the S-backs.
CShine, Good points. As I mentioned in my original post, if we moved to MLS under Blank, the current stadium would be used for reserve and women's team matches (like Seattle's 4,500 seat Starfire stadium). I started this thread out of frustration after our away loss to the Strikers last week. The main thing I want right now is a decent NASL team. After last night's home game smackdown, it may a moot point. Hopefully we've turned a corner and massive fundraising won't be necessary.