MLS possibly in Portland

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I don't live in Portland anymore, but that would be sooooo awesome. Besides an NBA team the only sports team I'd want in my city is a soccer team. I could care less about any other sports.
 
I've never been a soccer fan myself, but i would definitely be willing to give it a try to tide us over til we get an mlb team lol
 
I don't have any pre-teen daughters, so no.
 
MLS would thrive in Portland
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I tried to get into the LA Galaxy, but never could....just wasn't fun. Portland Timbers looks fun.
 
Love the Timbers, but would love a move to MLS. We've definitely got the fanbase in town to support an MLS team. Hopefully the city can get the financing worked out.
 
This question reveals just how closely I follow soccer, but...

which months does the MLS play?

barfo
 
Rodolfo said:
Mid-March to November.
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Wow, long season. How many games (or matches, or offings, or bobs or whatever you call them) do they have?

barfo
 
I'm old enough to remember the NASL. I freaking loved the Timbers growing up, and would love to see MLS make a move back to Portland.
 
It seems just like Portland to push for a team in a league that will be out of business or dramatically restructured in a few years.
 
PapaG said:
It seems just like Portland to push for a team in a league that will be out of business or dramatically restructured in a few years.
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I usually agree with you and think you are pretty level headed about the Blazers... But the above is a pretty uninformed opinion to be fair.
 
PapaG said:
It seems just like Portland to push for a team in a league that will be out of business or dramatically restructured in a few years.
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In MLS's 14th year, prospective owners are lining up to pay 40 million dollars to join the league. The only restructuring over the next few years will be adding new teams and increasing the salary cap. Seattle has sold 20,000 season tickets and Toronto is sold out for a third consecutive season with a 10,000 strong waiting list. Most teams are on their way to having it's own soccer specific stadium.

Where you coming from Spiderman?
 
I'm a huge soccer fan, and I've been following this process pretty closely since the bid was announced. This would be a great success in Portland, and the Timbers Army would quickly become the darling of the MLS in terms of talking about fan support. They've been talking up Toronto, but let's be honest ... they wouldn't even touch Portland in terms of atmosphere and support.

Anyone who's ever been to a Portland Timbers match (which is a USL-1 team, a notch below MLS) in the past several years and witnessed the Army in action would agree with this sentiment.

As for MLB ... I wouldn't get your hopes up any time soon. Just not enough corporate support. Selling the rights to those luxury boxes and premium allotments is how you stay in business in sports. Portland doesn't have the critical mass of huge companies here who would shell out the bucks and fill the premium seats 81 dates a year.

We'd have a much better shot at success with a NFL team (only 8 home games), but that isn't happening any time soon.

-Pop
 
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SodaPopinski said:
I'm a huge soccer fan, and I've been following this process pretty closely since the bid was announced. This would be a great success in Portland, and the Timbers Army would quickly become the darling of the MLS in terms of talking about fan support. They've been talking up Toronto, but let's be honest ... they wouldn't even touch Portland in terms of atmosphere and support.

Anyone who's ever been to a Portland Timbers match (which is a USL-1 team, a notch below MLS) in the past several years and witnessed the Army in action would agree with this sentiment.

As for MLB ... I wouldn't get your hopes up any time soon. Just not enough corporate support. Selling the rights to those luxury boxes and premium allotments is how you stay in business in sports. Portland doesn't have the criticall mass of huge companies here who would shell out the bucks and fill the premium seats 81 dates a year.

We'd have a much better shot at success with a NFL team (only 8 home games), but that isn't happening any time soon.

-Pop
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Fuck, I totally agree with you.

What a let down.


:grin:
 
Lookz like thiz iz veree klose tu goyn down

Task forze voted a younanamus YES tu tha PGE Park MLS refubush tuday.

New clubz announzed on tha 18th er 19th

(lookz lyke Vankouver and Pourtlund)

Away machez tu Seeapple will b ace!

GET IN!!!!!!

:cool:
 
OddEnormous said:
Lookz like thiz iz veree klose tu goyn down

Task forze voted a younanamus YES tu tha PGE Park MLS refubush tuday.

New clubz announzed on tha 18th er 19th

(lookz lyke Vankouver and Pourtlund)

Away machez tu Seeapple will b ace!

GET IN!!!!!!

:cool:
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Are you telling me that we could once again have the Whitecaps/Sounders/Timbers Troika? I'm not much of a soccer fan, but I loved the rivalry!
 
I've been to a Galaxy game, and Soccer is much better in person than on TV. I'd probably see a game or two, but overall I don't think a MLS team would really get me that excited.
 
Rozza5 said:
I usually agree with you and think you are pretty level headed about the Blazers... But the above is a pretty uninformed opinion to be fair.
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It's an opinion, and TV ratings for MLS are down to barely perceptible levels. Even ESPN is giving up on the league.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/soccerinsider/2009/01/espn_dumps_mls_thursday.html

"After two years of anemic ratings that started low and finished lower, ESPN executives decided to cancel the league's regular Thursday night telecast on ESPN2 this season. In its place, ESPN2 will carry an MLS game of the week, which will air on four different nights during the season. The weekly matches will occur on Thursdays (10 times), Saturdays (eight times), Wednesdays (six times) and Fridays (three times)."
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Soccer has a niche audience, and at ~$25/ticket, it's asking a lot of Portlanders to sustain a franchise in a league that will soon have no major TV contract that showcases the league. I'm looking at it from a business perspective, I admit, but to say that people are lining up to get in the league, as another poster said, requires some proof.

Here is the take from Forbes. As you can see, finding local corporate sponsorships is key to franchise viability since TV revenue is sure to go down, and with our local economy, I just don't see companies lining up to sponsor a team with no consistent national TV audience.

http://www.soccerticketsonline.com/mls-team-valuations/

As expected, Forbes estimates that MLS is not yet profitable, with its 13 teams posting an operating loss (in the sense of earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation) of $20 million on revenue of $165 million. In 2007, the three teams that were in the black–Los Angeles Galaxy, Toronto FC and FC Dallas–had a combined operating profit of $6.7 million.
Interestingly, Soccer United Marketing, a separate business owned by investors in the league, runs the league’s national television deals ($23 million last season from ESPN, Fox, HDNet and Univision), as well as the commercial rights to a bevy of soccer properties (such as the U.S. rights to the FIFA World Cup) distributed less than $1 million to each team last season. That means that to be successful in MLS, a team has to generate a lot of cash from its stadium and local television and sponsorship deals. That is easier for some teams to do than others.

One team that is making money is the Los Angeles Galaxy, who are worth $100 million according to Forbes. David Beckham is responsible for a lot of the corporate money flowing to the Galaxy. Two months after his arrival last year, weight loss firm Herbalife agreed to a $4 million-a-year jersey sponsorship deal, twice what any other team commands.

The Galaxy also generates substantial revenue at the gate. The team’s stadium, Home Depot Center, has 48 suites that lease for as much as $150,000 a season. The 1,500 club seats cost an average of $4,500 per season. Sponsors like American Express, Delta Air Lines and Valero Energy bring in another $6 million annually for the team. Think all these corporations would be associating themselves with the Galaxy if Beckham was not playing? Not al these levels.

Surprisingly number two on the list is Toronto FC. Forbes estimates Toronto is worth $44 million, up four-fold in just three years. The team turned a profit of $2.1 million in its inaugural season last year, when it sold every ticket at 20,500-seat BMO Field.

The value of playing in a soccer specific stadium cannot be overstated. Real Salt Lake is moving into a new soccer only stadium and RSL forecasts that revenues will increase from $7.6 million to $20.3 million in 2009, its first full year in its new stadium. The team will control the stadium and get more money from sponsorships, concessions and non-soccer events. That is a huge revenue increase.

A soccer only stadium is however not helping the Columbus Crew who cannot find sponsors and only generated just $6 million in revenue. Chivas USA only had $10 million in revenue because they are tenants of the Galaxy at Home Depot Center.
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So anyhow, that's where I based my opinion. Please deconstruct it if you want to have a serious conversation about soccer's long-term viability for both the MLS and a Portland expansion franchise. I just don't see it, and I feel that yet again renovating PGE Park for an MLS team is money spent foolishly. Now, if some private owner wants to pay for everything, great, but as I understand it, Sam Adams wants some public dollars to go toward moving the Portland Beavers and subsequently making PGE Park soccer-only. That's a bad idea, IMO.
 
PapaG said:
but as I understand it, Sam Adams wants some public dollars to go toward moving the Portland Beavers and subsequently making PGE Park soccer-only. That's a bad idea, IMO.
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You'd be wrong. The Paulson family has personally guaranteed to back the bonds to protect the taxpayers should the team or the league go south.

-Pop
 
SodaPopinski said:
You'd be wrong. The Paulson family has personally guaranteed to back the bonds to protect the taxpayers should the team or the league go south.

-Pop
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So it does use taxpayer money in the form of bonds, as I said. What happens if the Paulsons can't back the bonds?
 
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