My partners and I are still doing research on PDL operational costs, (still hoping that we can figure out how to make a PDL franchise work in "the desert Southwest"!?) Our biggest problem is the venue cost - grass isn't cheap around here, and throw in lights, stadium seating and all the other ameneties that PDL requires, and we just don't have many options!! High school options are few because all the public high schools use 1 of 2 "district" football stadiums, and both of those are astro-turf fields!, (not allowed by PDL and they stink as a soccer pitch!) There is one local college with a relatively nice soccer pitch (meets all the PDL requirements), *BUT* they want ~$3000 to $4000 per game to use their facility, ($1500 for the facility, and the remainder is security, cleaning crew, ticket takers, and box office.) AND, (as if that wasn't enough), the venue takes an additional $2/ticket on the gate proceeds. At 8 home games, with ~500 paid admission, and assuming you could keep the fee to the lower end of the scale ($3k/game) - that's $32,000 in venue fees for a single season!!! But - what we're seeing/hearing from other PDL teams is that they are paying around $300 to $1000 per game!? Which keeps their operational costs an order of magnitude lower than ours would be!! Are PDL teams *really* getting away with fees that low? Are they getting "deals" from local high schools or colleges? If we could get some of the other PDL owners/GMs to sound off on this, we'd appreciate the insight.... Thanks in advance....
I think you might have a better chance of getting information by contacting the various teams. Where do most of the youth clubs in your area play? Have you talked to them? Also, teams in the past have gotten a one year waivers on some of the stadium requirements (lights, surface, # of seating). But it's a case to case review by the league.
Almost all of the youth and high school teams in the area play in open flat space....no lights, no bleachers or stadium seating, no gated entry. The outlook is currently kinda bleak.....we thought about asking the league for the provisional waivers, but then again - without the gated entry, ticketing is problematic - without lights, we (and the visiting teams) would be facing some "warm" afternoon games - without seating, fans aren't very likely to pay to watch even *good* men's teams play....?? Like I said - that's why we're looking at the local college venue, but they want a relative "arm & leg".....chances are they know they are the only real venue in town....
You might see if any of the youth clubs / leagues would like to partner with you on developing a venue. Or maybe some type of combination of clubs and school districts. There are grants available from the US Soccer Fondation for these types of things, but those would only cover part of the expense. I don't think that it's just you, I think alot of other groups around the country have a hard time finding not only a good venue, but also affordable. Below is a link to the US Soccer Foundation web site. http://www.ussoccerfoundation.org/site/c.gpLPJQOpHkE/b.865557/k.CC35/Home.htm
Doesn't really matter whether it's "Fieldturf" or "astroturf".....USL/PDL standards call for natural surfaces for play....
So does Cascade Surge... on a college field used for gridiron football. Did you look at any football stadia among the high schools in your area? Most PDL teams I've ever seen seem to "suck it up" and play in such places.
http://www.williamsburglegacy.com/stadium.htm Williamsburg Legacy of the PDL play on Astroturf. I've run around on the field and it is a pure carpet. Nothing even resembling grass.
Set up something where people can by "shares" or something similar. I've read on here where posters have posted about getting so many posters to get together and start a team. example - 200 posters pay $100, there is $20,000. The posters could own 25% of the team, or whatever it would come out to. Just an idea.
You sure you're not located in San Jose? Seriously though, look at the makeup of the Board of Regents of the College. Is there someone on their who might be an ally, maybe even a potential investor? Talk to the local city and county government. Maybe there can be some economic development leverage brought to bear. Maybe the city can provide off duty police for security and parking control. Look at the stadium in El Paso. They put it smack dab in the middle of a warehouse district. Worse come to worse, incorporate, apply for every local state and federal economic development grant you can find and build your own stadium and if it fails have the corporation declare bankruptcy! Good luck
This just a guese probably to play in the pdl the league would get anywhere from 10,000 a season to 20,000