Looks like it has been delayed until the first part of next week ... La compra del Alavés por el grupo de Ortiz de Zárate podría alargarse 5 días http://www.marca.com/edicion/marca/futbol/2a_division/alaves/es/desarrollo/1008921.html Looks like the sale will be for 3 million Euros. Still unclear of who exactly the owner is of Alaves. Either Piterman or Alaves ... Alaves is also promoting the Victory nicely on their website ... http://www.alaves.com/
Man o' man, this sale is turning into a circus. Piterman left the club in financial shambles. $23 million in debt and it doesn't look like the potential buyers can raise enough capital to satisfy the creditors. But now there is a second group of businessmen who might buy into the club as well which may get them the necessary capital if they were to combine the two groups. All in all, it looks like the club could be heading into bankruptcy, and then under bankruptcy protection a sale could be more likely to occur, as they would be able to restructure their debt. There is the danger that if they do end up filing for bankruptcy they could be relegated to Segunda 'B', the third level of Spanish soccer. Still no confirmation on who really owns the Vics but in looking at the Alaves website and researching all the press releases when the team was rolled out, everything seems to point to Alaves, and not Piterman, owning the Vics. The legal business name of the Vics, as registered with the CA Secretary of State, is: DEPORTIVO ALAVES FC USA, LLC Again, this would imply Alaves' ownership of the team. Link to article attached. http://www.as.com/articulo/futbol/Ortiz/Zarate/busca/banco/avale/dasftbB00/20070701dasdaiftb_51/Tes/
My boss does. But then he doesn't buy anything with his billion dollars. Still drives a 7 year old BMW X5.
It might but if you look up the listing on the CA Sec State website: http://kepler.sos.ca.gov/corpdata/ShowLpllcAllList?QueryLpllcNumber=200615210119 The Agent for Service of Process is listed as: Agent for Service of Process DMITRY PITERMAN BERKELEY, CA If this mean's Dmitry is the owner isn't exactly clear. The website defines the Agent for Service of Process as: So even from that def. its not clear if Piterman is just an agent or actually the owner of the Vics in CA
The owner of the Vics is Deportivo Alaves FC USA, LLC. Agent is really just a person in California who is chosen to represent the business in dealings with the state. A lot of corps pay an outside business or attorney to act as their agent. It means nothing in terms of ownership. But what we don't know is who is the majority shareholder of the LLC. Again, everything points to Alaves being the owner, but the LLC could have been setup in a way where Piterman has controlling interest. However, some of our friends in Alaves have posted in the past that Piterman used their club's money to fund the Vics. Knowing how Piterman operates, that scenario sounds more plausible. I just got back from the game today, and there were maybe 700 fans there (have no clue where the 1,298 official figure came from). Abysmal for a holiday game. Concessions and merchandising are a joke, and once again there is zero promotion of the team. When you look at the situation in Spain, Alaves on the verge of filing for bankruptcy protection, then it makes sense that zero dollars are being spent on the Vics outside of the basic operational costs. Regardless of who owns the team, I'm becoming more convinced with each passing day that this will be a 'one and done' franchise.
I hate to agree but I am starting to feel the same, but I hope I am wrong. I have really enjoyed this season and hope that maybe they will give it a real go next year but only time will tell.
Looks like it's official, Piterman has filed the paperwork and Alaves is now in bankruptcy proceedings. He can still sell the team, but from here out, all transactions would have to be approved by the courts. I wonder if certain assets, i.e. The Victory, could be auctioned/sold off in order to raise cash to pay off some of their creditors? Could Piterman buy the Vics from the club for a song? Could another American ownership group step in and snatch up the franchise? (am thinking Sacto on this one). Anyone know any rich Bay Area soccer fans?
Maybe Lew Wolffe could as a backup plan for in case MLS goes haywire and or put pressure on them or possibly as a minor league squad to keep the young horses fresh.
Looks like things may start moving in a more predictable manner this week. The reins of the club should be officially passed from Piterman to Ortiz de Zarate, with the club's debts being postponed in bankruptcy proceedings. The Alaves fans must be ecstatic now that their 'Dmitry Kanpora' dreams are becoming a reality. The article also mentions that the likelihood of them being relegated to the 3rd tier of Spanish soccer is slim since they are now under bankruptcy protection. http://www.as.com/articulo/futbol/Ortiz/Zarate/tomara/riendas/semana/dasftbB00/20070709dasdaiftb_56/Tes/
What does postponement mean in terms of the Victory? Was the team owned by Alaves or did he buy with his own money? I am curious. Good investigative work Sherlock Benfiquista.
This deal is turning into quite a piece of entertainment. The prospective owners were supposed to meet with Piterman's reps yesterday and hand over the first payment of $1 million euros (the deal is for $3 million total). However, no one from the new ownership group showed up! Apparently, five partners were supposed to come up with $200k each and one of them didn't pony up, thus they didn't have the full payment. The deal is supposed to have them handing over an additional $500k to Piterman (who will be back from vacation) on July 21st, with the remaining balance ($1.5M) being paid at a later date. So it sounds as if July 21st will be the big date in terms of transferring the ownership. Wondering if Piterman will take the Vics as part of the payment? How much do ya think the Vics are worth?
What money bags is going to buy a team that is barely functioning when they know an MLS team is going to be moving in, though? I am truly saddened for you guys.
Actually they may be worth SOMETHING. I can see them being moderately successful in SF. I can see them being even more successful in either the north bay or Sacto. And they'd not even have to change the name of the team.
I agree with Sacramento. It would be a natural fit. They can play where the Knights do.....unless that would cause too much confusion. Problem is, who is going to pony up any real money for them, knowing that they get 300 people at matches?
Someone with vision, the money, a love of soccer or sports in general, and ANY marketing skill. A chimpanzee with a credit card could market this team better than the current owners do. That's why they only get 300 to a game.
I am glad to see the South bay is so interested in moving our team. As for 300 a game they do better than that but since none of you attend you wouldn't know.
Amico mio: I know you are a die hard fan. None of us meant any disrespect--honestly. We are brainstorming possible ways that the Vics are here next season. I honestly hope that they are. If you had to choose between the Quakes returning and the Vics staying (and I honestly and sadly think that that is the choice), which would you pick? Again: I value our friendship, and hope that you understand our motives.
Dude I got to second you Tony I wish people who actually attended Vics games would be commenting on the future of the franchise. If you care so much about the Vics why don't you come out and show your support. Also, NO game this year has had 300 fans. I think the smallest crowd was around 700 and we have been averaging around 1000 fans.
Can't speak for Tony but I actually would rather have the Vics stay then the Quakes return. Where have all these real "futbol" fans from the South Bay been all this season? Ask for a little support, maybe check out a game or two have some brews and some fun, and the response has been: "Well we will just wait for the REAL bay area team to return." Dude screw all those years I trecked down to crappy Spartan stadium to support that team. The fans and vibe at Kezar is first class. Maybe if a couple of you guys turned out you would experience that. Now if we could just get the Victory to actually win a game at home I'd be in a much happier mood
YOU TELL'M DOUGIE (YEAH, I'M SCREAMING)..And another thing...If you can't say anything positive about the Victory, then just don't say anything at all...I get so sick of people trashing the Victory!!!