Happy New Year, folks. Hopefully you all had a wonderful time over the holidays and enjoyed at least a few hours away from the daily grind. Speaking of which it is now time to get back to it especially with some of the latest news rumbling around the world of soccer. Once again Florida has become a place where controversy abounds in the earliest moments of a new year. Unfortunately for a pair of MLS clubs there will be no recount.
With the folding of Tampa Bay and Miami in MLS the specter of small crowds for pro sports has reared its ugly head once again in Florida. Fans of the former A-League club, the Jacksonville Cyclones among others, can attest to the fact that for some reason, outside of the Dolphins and Buccaneers, not enough Florida sports fans get to the pro parks to watch their teams play. Despite the disappointment of the hardcore support of the Mutiny fans and the Afusionados around the Miami area they need to recognize that what has happened in Florida is largely down to poor all around business decisions.
There have been allegations, assumptions, and rumors thrown in the direction of Doug Hamilton and Ken Horowitz that these gentlemen were responsible for the club's downfall. Reported alienation of the ethnic community along with a supposed unwillingness to improve the amenities around Lockhart Stadium after initial renovations are reasons cited for lackluster attendance. None of this has been substantiated but you can be positive that there will be several people who will not be shy at all about airing any unsavory stories about the former Fusion.
Meanwhile, across the state, in Tampa there's hardly been much of an uproar from former Mutiny fans that seem a more resigned bunch. After all, the Mutiny barely outdrew the Vancouver Whitecaps last year. It seems that there's not much finger pointing going on there either unless it's in the direction of the MLS officials who reportedly raised the asking price when the Buccaneers' owners, the Glazer family, showed interest in investing in Bill Manning's former club.
This brings us to the aftermath of contraction and what might happen to the forty or more former Mutiny and Fusion players along with their collective front offices. Today there are a lot of good, hard working soccer people without jobs but if some have their way they will be back at work as soon as possible. A-League Manager, Tim Holt, believes that the sudden availability of front office personnel the likes of which worked in Tampa and Miami will ultimately help many a front office around the USL. The experience gained by these front office staffers at the MLS level should help give some perspective to the jobs that need doing at the USL level. Mr. Holt stated as much when he said, "there will be many very capable front-office staff and coaches available, which will allow any USL clubs that are looking to fill off-the-field positions with some particularly attractive options."
There should also be many former MLS players coming available in the run up towards a new USL season. With this influx of playing talent from the upper division many speculate that the quality of play in the American second division should improve. Tim Holt also commented on this issue in saying, "From an A-League standpoint, there will be about 30 players that were in MLS last season that will be looking for clubs not to mention many top college prospects & international players that will be new to the scene. This can only put our franchises in position to enhance their on-field product without overextending themselves financially." The implications here are that there will indeed be more higher level talent coming into the USL and A-League this year while also creating a more competitive environment in terms of salary dollars.
The other major issue present now is whether or not there will be an A-League presence in either of these former MLS markets in the near future. It is safe to say that the A-League will be looking for, in Mr. Holt's words, a "committed and financially capable ownership group, along with a viable stadium option. Without both of these elements, it is very difficult for a franchise to succeed in [the] short-term or the long-term." Cities like Tampa and Miami can be seductive to potential team owners but the stumbling blocks that were present for Don Garber and company should be a constant reminder of what could happen in the wilds of Florida.
Tim Holt talked about the difficulties faced in the Sunshine state when he said that "the Florida sports markets can be tricky as there are so many different entertainment alternatives (sports and otherwise) with which consumers can spend their disposable income." To that end he maintains that any new soccer ventures in South Florida will have to work hard at the grass-roots level to promote the game to all possible fans. He says, "It is very important that rather than focusing on just the youth or a particular ethnic group in any given area that a new franchise be as "all-inclusive" as possible, ensuring that they do not put all of their eggs in one basket at the risk of neglecting any particular segment of the market."
Obviously, there's no perfect solution to soothe the souls of the Afusionados and their kindred in Tampa or the balm to cure the burn on MLS wallets after losing money on a team with no owner and, well, another team with no owner. It became painfully obvious after a short time that Ken Horowitz wasn't going to have the money to hang in there with the Lamar Hunt/Phil Anschutz boys' club. Unfortunately for the South Florida MLS fans, Saint Phil, as Anschutz has been dubbed by the media of late, was unable to buy out Horowitz the same way he was able to buy out Kluge and Subotnik with the Metrostars. Let's hope the USL learns from the MLS experience and begins the rebuilding the process amongst the South Florida professional soccer scene.
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