A new (canadian) owner for Cleveland City Stars ?

[Bxl Boy]

Three groups are intereted in buying the Cleveland City Stars, including one from Canada

One of the groups (they don't say which one) could also relocate the team

http://www.cleveland.com/sports/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/sports-12/1251880396243420.xml&coll=2

[Cyrus]

Relocation? This is USL-1, and I don't think that there's a huge line around the door for bidders to replace Vancouver and Portland. If you have a half-decent stadium, and ownership that is willing to spend (or lose) dollars, it should be no probelm to get yourself a team. Edmonton and Calgary didn't relocate existing franchises, and if Victoria, or Halifax, or El Paso, had owners willing to stump up some cash, I wouldn't see a problem with them getting teams. Similarly, if Bermuda Hogges suddenly felt the urge to spend some money and jump up from USL-2, and develop a local rivalry with Puerto Rico (The Bermuda Triangle Derby), I don't think they would have to take Cleveland's franchise away in order to do it.

However, with the ongoing tensions between the new ownership of USL and some of the team owners, the league seems to be in a more than usual state of flux.

[Grizzly]

^It might be cheaper to buy an existing team, especially from a group trying to cut its losses, than pay the fee for a new franchise. It also allows the league to maintain its current franchise fee while still allowing a badly needed stable ownership group to get in the league at reduced cost.

[Cyrus]

quote:Originally posted by Grizzly

^It might be cheaper to buy an existing team, especially from a group trying to cut its losses, than pay the fee for a new franchise. It also allows the league to maintain its current franchise fee while still allowing a badly needed stable ownership group to get in the league at reduced cost.

Yeah, but isn't USL-1's franchise fee only $750,000?

http://www.uslsoccer.com/aboutusl/franchise/123541.html

The real costs of USL-1 are stadium, salary, and travel. If you can afford those, you're laughing. If your ownership group is going to nickel and dime a less than a million franchise fee, then you probably shouldn't be getting into USL-1.

[Grizzly]

^ If any ownership group is not going to get the best deal they can possibly get they are poor businessmen. The USL is in a tough spot right now and needs strong ownership groups. If I were getting a franchise I would try and get it as cheap as possible and put the savings into running the team. If you could pay $300 000 for a franchise the saving would cover close to half of your player budget for one year.

[brettinhalifax]

Buying an existing franchise might be cheaper, but you get more than the rights to operate a franchise. The team would also come with coaching staff, players and office staff.

Easier than starting from scratch and you don't have to re-invent the wheel when it comes to front office matters.

[Trillium]

quote:Originally posted by Cyrus

Relocation? This is USL-1, and I don't think that there's a huge line around the door for bidders to replace Vancouver and Portland. If you have a half-decent stadium, and ownership that is willing to spend (or lose) dollars, it should be no probelm to get yourself a team. Edmonton and Calgary didn't relocate existing franchises, and if Victoria, or Halifax, or El Paso, had owners willing to stump up some cash, I wouldn't see a problem with them getting teams. Similarly, if Bermuda Hogges suddenly felt the urge to spend some money and jump up from USL-2, and develop a local rivalry with Puerto Rico (The Bermuda Triangle Derby), I don't think they would have to take Cleveland's franchise away in order to do it.

However, with the ongoing tensions between the new ownership of USL and some of the team owners, the league seems to be in a more than usual state of flux.

The real issue can you find a stadium with five to ten thousand seats that you can control ?

Go looking they are a very rare commodity, the existing stadiums are owned by School Boards or Colleges, both wont let you have the freedom you need for dates and ancillary revenue streams.

So buy a franchise for 300k or 750k the real issue is can you have your own stadium and afford the roughly 20 million cost to put it up and finance it over a thirty year period at 5%. Thats a 100,000 thousand dollars a month .. with perhaps 20 home games.

Each home game needs to contribute 60,000 dollars to the mortgage debt... so at a ten k stadia with ten k people in attendace at and average of 12.00 dollars a ticket ...you can make a break even operation if your team budget is under 1.2 million a year.

Now if you can sell beer at six bucks a glass and sell ten thousand glasses a game .. your beer revenue will give you probably 40,000 a game net... or 800.000 a year, now your team budget climbs to 2 million a year.

Every one dollar per seat increase for tickets adds 200k per year if your attendance remains at ten k people per game.

Every one dollar increase in beer price give you 200k per year if your beer sales remain the same.

So as a business proposition you might want to put your money elsewhere unless you have a love of soccer or have the ability to play more home games, i.e. CCL or to move into a bigger stadia when you can sell it out for specific games.

Thats where Saputo has built a very very viable model running a USL franchise, its also why a USL franchise in a 25k stadium in Ottawa could have a big upside if they can sell out three games a year, i.e. those Voyageur Cup games against MLS sides TFC, Whitecaps and Impact.

That 75,000 fans X 12 equals 900,000 dollars plus beer sales puts you in the 1.2 million range, not counting hot dogs etc and parking revenues.

So .. USL Ottawa can be very profitable, probably more so then the CFL franchise.

Interestng times ..