If we couldn't discuss moot points, there would be no posts on this board. Who will be our third DP? Will we win this week's game? Should we sign players from the academy? etc etc
"Austin FC planning for June 2021 Q2 Stadium opener, early spring completion" (MLSsoccer.com - Monday, 2/8/21) (Courtesy of Austin FC) GO SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES!!! -G
San Jose Earthquakes: Ex-employee admits to concessions ... San Jose: Ex-Earthquakes Stadium manager pleads guilty to ... .
https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/02...y-to-sabotaging-concessions-system-last-year/ (direct link) This article is very confusing, at first read suggesting that he'd been fired from another job in Philadelphia at the end of December. But I'd assume he was fired from his job serving the Earthquakes account then, wasn't working for the team in February, yet was able to log in and sabotage the system. Anyone here get the free concessions the article mentions? We were in line for at least a half hour and missed the first few minutes of what would prove to be our only in-person game in 2020!
The guy should be held fully liable for his actions, but there is ZERO excuse for the lack of controls the company had in place to allow this. Either they never got around to cutting off his access or there was a shared password. I could see this 20 years ago happening, but any legit company has strict policies in place for either situation because, well, you'd never want an ex-employee causing problems.
He is the only one who got caught that we know of but who knows how many others got away with it and no one ever knew about it?
I'm talking beyond individuals. If this were an individual sharing their password, then they'd know who that was (because the login was used for the crime.) My guess is that either nobody deactivated the terminated user or they had one shared admin password which wasn't reset (and shouldn't exist except for integration purposes) to access the system. Those last things put the company squarely at fault here for a lack of standard controls. It's just unacceptable these days.
Exactly, How many others have pulled similar stunts like this through the years and were never caught?
According to my sources they've changed the password from "password" to "password1", so they should be safe.
Being a PayPal employee who uses an image of the stadium from my seat in our Microsoft Teams meetings, I'd like to think I made this happen
I suppose beggars can't be choosers. I used PayPal for a few recurring monthly payments. I switched credit cards, changed the information on PayPal, and those payments bounced. I found out because I am part of the leadership of one of the groups so I saw the bounce notification emails from PayPal. Otherwise, I wouldn't have known. Customer support was beyond useless. The online communication is a little box that has room for one or two words that scroll horizontally as you type, ridiculous. Email/chat support seemed to be offshore and was for sure incompetent. Two or three agents couldn't solve my problem. All is well, don't worry. I figured it out, closed my account and made alternative arrangements with the organizations. That said, I hope to see a game at the stadium eventually. I have a ticket for the Chivas/Leon match that has been rescheduled three times, from March 2020 to October 2020 to March 2021 to October 2021. I'd say it's 50/50 for that date. March 2022 next?
First, I’m chuffed that we’re going to get a new stadium sponsor. Second, I’m extra chuffed that it’s PayPal, because I like them and have used them for years. But, I was shocked by this. We had to hire an outside firm to get this done?! Then why the f@#$ are we paying our front office staff? I mean, why couldn’t we swing this deal on our own? We needed hired guns to make this happen? Is that because we’re incompetent? Or is it the case that neither PayPal nor any other big tech company would talk to us directly? (I consider this vanishingly unlikely.) Go Quakesfans!! - Mark
Since that company exists there is obviously a market for their services. I would rather have real experts at corporate sponsorships working on this than someone who would be over there head.
OK, then why are we paying our executives? And also, why don’t we try to hire someone away from this consulting firm? One of the main reasons to hire consultants like this is so that if the project goes south, the consultants take the blame, rather than the permanent employees. We should have been able to do this on our own. But whatever, a new stadium sponsor is a step in the right direction. Go Quakesfans!! - Mark
The FO can likely handle the run of the mill sponsorships, but, multi-year/multi-million dollar deals like naming rights might be better in the hands of those with more expertise in that area.
I have not heard of other sports venues having their game day point of sales operations sabotaged like the Quakes did.
That would have made the news, don’t you think? Also, its a stupid crime to commit because you’re overwhelmingly likely to get caught, and there’s no chance that you can pay the ticket. This wanker is going to be on the hook for $270K, plus the discounts offers, so probably north of $300K? Maybe $325? What a dork. GO Quakesfans!! - Mark
Around the world in regards to stadiums and construction anyway or wherever there is potential for fraud and wrong doing, it happens all the time... Ex-St Petersburg official admits to stadium embezzlement ... It happens in other areas of the country too.... Charleston Man Indicted For Embezzlement At Stadium Grill ... Duckett Convicted Of Fraud, Conspiracy In Dillon Stadium ... Developer convicted of fraud in Hartford, CT soccer stadium ...