I'd buy an MLS franchise and a desolate, decrepit piece of land along the banks of the East River in Queens (fronting the part of the river between Roosevelt Island and Astoria/Long Island City known as Hell Gate) and build an SSS - To be dubbed as Hellgate. It would be a proper, old-fashioned Euro ground, complete with rooves and terraces, capacity about 35,000 give or take. Also, I'd make the Rapids go back to green so Astorians FC (or Inter Astoria, hmmm...) can wear black & blue vertical stripes and have an old-school color war worthy of South Central LA (or the San Siro!)
Where do you get your powerball ticket?? CT? hell I have a 126 million dollar Mega Millions ticket, and i know it wont afford me what you wanted. after taxes, and the structured annuity, it comes to a 46 milion dollar lump payment. I would start up a couple of PDL teams on long Island. put an A-league team somewhere like buffalo or OKC Tulsa. maybe florida, who knows and start working on my business dreams so one day i would have enough money to really get into soccer.
i'll form an investment group to build a modern-design SSS on the hilsborough river directly across from downtown tampa and bring back the rowdies.
I'd take a professional course in option trading so I can double my x million every year, eventually acquiring enough cash to be taken seriously as an ownership entity. In the interim, i'd follow KC around MLS and spend my winters somewhere without icy roads and with bikinis and a fast 'net hookup among other niceities.
I'd consider starting up a youth development center out in California. Mine the talent rich state for prospects then represent them as agents when they become professionals. In the end I will probably lose the money I invested but this is fictional anyway so I come out in the positive.
I'd put contracts out on a bunch of people I can't stand. As far as helping the league; I'd buy season tickets...for the next 200 years.
I would invest my money in solid realestate and other investments and wait 5 years then when I have increased my winnings five fold I may build a stadium for the fire
Easy. Since winning the jackpot won't be enough to play in the MLS poker game with the big boys. I will invest in the A-league instead, making it stabilize. My model will be Charleston Battery and its stadium. Find a city that is suitable for soccer, build a $7 millions soccer specific stadium. Find another city that is suitable for soccer, build another $7 million soccer specific stadium. That would be an investment of about $30 million dollars. I won't be profitable but at least I give my two cities a chance to experience soccer in a soccer atmosphere. I also help stabilizing the A-league. Because I believe they are the backbone of American Soccer.
I would fund one or more of the clubs mentioned here... A Suggested Blueprint for National Youth Soccer: The Next 10 Years
Kev, did you find that in a thread here? I've got a friend who was involved in the mess that is USA Junior Hockey, and what's being proposed here is little more than the Major Junior level there. That actually draws crowds at about A-League averages, but the politics haven't stopped, and it hasn't necessarily pulled, say, all the top-flight Minnesota kids out of their high school programs. It bears watching to see how it evolves, but I have the bad feeling in my gut that it's not going the direction it should go (needless to say, my buddy is really turned off to hockey right now). In the end, even the USHL is still a college feeder, and this article is slyly trying to keep that as the prime directive for the youth top tier. I think the leading edge of the current evidence suggests that college is a drag on overall men's soccer opportunities, or at least is an "un-development" system that happened to attract what good players they get just by being the generally accepted American career path. I'd rather be a secondary MLS investor at the club level, and buy up as many youth clubs in my metro area as possible. Even if marketing to the kids shouldn't be the prime focus of seat sales, it's the single best way to reach kids to have them "branded" by the time they start working for a living.
I'd invest for a couple of years and follow DC United to every game in the meantime. I'd support La Norte with whatever money we need. Hopefully by the time I'm done investing a stadium plan would be in place but if not then I would put my money into a SSS for DC United. Otherwise I would just continue to invest and eventually buy DC United.
I'd buy DC United and a decrepit piece of land along the west banks of the Anacostia in DC and build an SSS - To be dubbed as Bruce Arena Field. It would be a proper, old-fashioned Euro ground, complete with rooves and terraces, capacity about 35,000 give or take.
I'd buy a private jet, and follow DC and the USA everywhere. Then I'd buy DC United and build us a nice 30,000 seat stadium.
I'd build a SSS in the KC area, name it the Lamar Hunt Stadium, insist on natural grass forever and give it gratis to Lamar Hunt.
First I would purchase the most expensive season ticket plan for me and my family. Then I would purchase about 50 season tickets on the east side of RFK (bodies to be seen on TV) and set up a plan to distribute the tix to the DC boys & girls club so that those 50 seats would be full every home match. The tix would go to people would not otherwise purchase tix, and perhaps develop a real love for the game of soccer.
Ok so I didnt with the 46 million after tax from Mega Millions on Friday. but my next ticket is worth 54 million after taxes. with this My A-league team will have a decent little stadium that can be expanded. room for no more that 15k at first. Kind of like Rochester is getting. I think Hartford would be the city now that I think about it. But I would be open. I would honestly put together a list of places and then aproach the cities to see what kind of land options they would have and what they could offer me. after all i would be building a 20 million dollar stadium in their city. Maybe Sacramento? A-league needs more western teams.
Buy a team, of course! If I had enough money, Id start a team down here in Tampa (or St. Louis where I was born if things fell through) and aim to get them a soccer-only stadium. My wife has said that if we win the lottery or somehow get a bunch of money, we would have to split the cash so that when the "inevitable" (according to her) happens and my team folds, we still have some money.
Forget American soccer, I would use my newly acquired wealth to free up time to volunteer for the 'Models Without Clothes' foundation. Ok, maybe I would arrange for a "Power Shot" contest with Jime Rome as the target...er...judge.
I understand. However, when the NASL folded, Lamar Hunt paid a lot of debts, not only his, but others that the league incurred. He also paid for Crew Stadium out of his own pocket. I think he's entitled to a free stadium from a powerball winning ticket for all that he has done for American soccer.
he would say thankyou and then turn his back and say what an idiot!!! he also got to write all of that off on future earnings. He did just fine don't you worry. Last time I checked we still use an awful lot of oil in this country!
Would he? Do you know the man personally? I seriously doubt that he'd turn his back on someone who gave him such a gift in his honor. Also, he's rich, but not that rich.
we need players convince MLS to raise salary caps and donate enough to give Freddy and a handfull of Euros lucrative contracts to play in the US. that would help fill the seats, earn some $$$, and franchises would be able to build SSS's for themselves.