The Equalizer Karina LeBlanc has been named the General Manager of the Portland Thorns FC, most recently serving as Head of Women's Football with Concacaf. : https://bit.ly/3pZYlhB
FOX Soccer The Portland Timbers & Portland Thorns will face off tonight in a historic charity match to raise funds for victims affected by the war in Ukraine
The Equalizer Supporters of Portland Thorns FC are exploring the option of community ownership. Minnesota Aurora FC already showed how successful it can be. At minimum, these National Women's Soccer League playoffs have shown us that the fans are what make the game great. This week's column from Jeff Kassouf is unlocked and free to read: https://bit.ly/3z67b0P
It’s a nice thought, but there would have to be changes in both MLS and NWSL ownership rules to allow a purchase by any such community groups. NWSL ownership rules require an owner be worth at least $15 million and the ownership group be with at least $25 million. I’m guessing nobody in section 107 fits that criteria. The fan groups claim pledges so far of about $700K , far short of what would be required to buy the Timbers and Thorns, which are valued by Sportico at around $700 million. Just the Thorns are valued at between $35 and 100 million. For Comparison, Sportico values the LA franchise at $100 million with attendance of just over 19,000 this year. Even with the fan boycot Thorns attendance this year was over 15,000 and topped 20,000 precovid and pre fan boycott. the most promising group I see for the purchase of the Thorns is a group headed by former Nike Exec Melanie Strong, who rose through the ranks there before quitting in a promotion dispute. She is currently suing Nike. It was through Paulson that Nike became a major stakeholder in the league. it is unclear how Pergrine, Paulson’s ownership company, would equitably separate the Timbers and Thorns in the Stadium lease details. Another complication is that the Portland City council has veto on any ownership changes because of the binding stadium long term lease agreement. The only way Peregrine bails out of that is by paying off the stadium debt. As to the sale of the Timbers, the MLS ownership rules seem to preclude any shareholder type ownership in the Style of the Green Bay Packers. A single owner must have a controlling interest. And Paulson’s dad is still apparently on the MLS exec committee. https://www.oregonlive.com/sports/2...rns-from-embattled-owner-merritt-paulson.html
Official announcement that the Thorns are for sale. https://www.timbers.com/thornsfc/news/announcement-sale-portland-thorns-2022
season ticket holders got a similar letter from Paulson today that is similar. I’m getting the idea from local sources that the Strong group purchase is a done deal. One source says the fan group will be involved, which I think is good for Portland. I find that the statement in local news that the two teams will share about 1/3 of staff ( probably game day people) is interesting and means just details are left. remember in all this that the Portland city council gets veto on any Peregrine ownership changes per the Stadium agreement. If they are smart, they will insist on some transfer of stadium rights to the new Thorns ownership.
If there is a sharing of staff -- I hope there will -- I suspect it will be more than just game day staff. For example, it would make sense to share ticketing and account management staff. My suspicion is that where there will be economies of scale not related to those working directly with players, at least initially they will try to work out a system that takes avantage of those economies.
Yeah, you are probably right. They might even share medical and training costs. One other thing was a separate Thorns training venue. This year they talked about sharing the Timbers Tualatin training center, and the Thorns used the new Portland Pilots training fields occasionally (As did other pro and international teams) but the last I heard is that many Thorns preferred the stadium for practice rather than trudging out to Tualatin, and that’s where most of their practices are currently held. I bet they at least explore nearby alternate sites. They will need a grass field to prepare for away games on grass.
One other thing to think about is the condition of the Providence pitch. It’s about due for replacement, which has happened every 3-4 years since the Timbers joined MLS. Every time this happens there is talk about moving to a grass or more likely, a hybrid pitch. The cost of replacement currently comes out of the ticket tax, which is well above projected revenue. The city gave that revenue to Peregrine in exchange for not being responsible for the condition of the pitch, which was the previous agreement. The city called this a good deal. The stumbling block was alway that Portland state still had rights to play pointy ball there. That seems resolved, so the only impediment is cost of installation and maintenance, which will probably mean grow lights late in the year. The cost of that might get expensive.
I sat in on a session where I got to ask about grass. From the response, it seems unlikely to me. Having enough sunlight is a big issue. Another issue is that Tanner Creek runs under the field and apparently could present a problem (I am not sure why). Grass, which definitely would be a big improvement, would be what I would like to see, but there appear to be a lot more barriers (apart from the now gone Portland State football) than I had realized. Darn!
Karina Leblanc’s job just got harder. Coach Rhian Wilkinson just resigned over a relationship she had with a player ( unnamed) https://www.koin.com/sports/portland-thorns-head-coach-rhian-wilkinson-to-resign/ Apparently Emily Menges. https://justwomenssports.com/nwsl-portland-thorns-rhian-wilkinson-resignation-coach/
The prospective buyers for the Thorns have been revealed. https://www.oregonlive.com/portland...lusive-talks-to-purchase-portland-thorns.html
I wonder if they could move without permission from the league though. Portland is obviously a great market. Plus the diligence the league has put into expansion teams has focused on location.
Natalia Kuikka will not be returning for next season. Her contract expired at the end of the 2023 season. No details given. 1747754719542722895 is not a valid tweet id