Open Letter: November 4, 2016
November 4, 2016
Hello All. This is another in a series of open letters
urging Miami Beckham United (MBU), David Beckham’s project to launch an MLS
club in Miami, to consider talking to Bill Edwards and the other owners of the
Tampa Bay Rowdies, as an alternate backup plan if the Miami situation does not
work out. As I mentioned in my last letter I am documenting some of this letter
writing campaign in my blog (“support
your local football club dot blogspot dot com”).
This is my sixth letter; the first letter was September 7,
2015. This project of mine is a bit quixotic; no doubt few of these letters are
read by those they were sent to; but interesting things are happening now so I decided
to write another letter. Things are really starting to heat up in the Tampa Bay
area (for instance we recently had the official announcement that the Rowdies
were moving from the NASL to the USL last month); Miami however remains silent.
Events may overtake this letter as I will explain shortly; for instance in my
last letter I mentioned England manager Sam Allardyce’s connection to the Tampa
Bay Rowdies and the next day he was resigning in disgrace after a newspaper
scandal. If I am overtaken by events in future I am hopeful that they will be
positive developments and not negative.
On October 26, the NFL's Tod Leiweke and MLS's Don Garber
gave lectures at the University of South Florida in Tampa. Officials from the
USL and the Rowdies were in attendance, including Rowdies owner Bill Edwards.
Some comments about Garber’s talk, from a Mobster (Ralph’s Mob) on Facebook:
Summary of Garber's
comments about Tampa Bay pro soccer (Reminder: NFL, MLS represented at USF
lecture series):
1. Garber said that MLS recognizes that the Tampa Bay region is the
largest market without a team in MLS, in the country.
2. Markets with two teams are incredibly successful. Garber pointed to
LA and NYC; he was implying that Tampa and Orlando are so close that it would
encourage an intense rivalry.
3. Garber was skeptical of Miami making it happen (Garber DID NOT
mention Beckham).
4. MLS will probably not grow beyond 28 teams in the foreseeable
future.
5. Garber implied that Orlando City ownership group would not stop MLS
from expanding to Tampa Bay.
Also, some comments about Garber’s talk from Mobsters on
reddit, which are along similar lines:
Soundbites from Don
Garber at Tampa Bay Sports Business Event at USF (self.TampaBayRowdies)
1. Don Garber was extremely complimentary regarding the Tampa Bay
market and Al Lang stadium. Garber did go out of his way to mention the beauty
of Al Lang's waterfront view.
2. Garber mentioned MLS looking to expand to 28 teams. Sacramento, Las
Vegas, San Antonio, and many others were mentioned. Miami didn't sound
definite.
3. Audience question was asked about Orlando having a hold of this
market. Garber said Tampa Bay is doing great things and is a prime market.
4. Don Garber also mentioned that it is pivotal that the St. Pete Mayor
(Kriseman) and the other governmental bodies get behind bringing MLS to St
Pete.
5. Garber mentioned Bill Edwards by name a couple of times during the
discussion. As soon as the discussion finished and everyone began to mingle,
Edwards was the first person Garber spoke to. Garber acknowledged the large
media market we have here in Tampa Bay. He also mentioned that if Tampa had an
MLS team that Orlando City's TV rights could be changed.
This would refute the claims being made in fandom and in the
media that Orlando will block the Rowdies from getting into MLS. It also
refutes the claim by some that MLS would oppose a stadium in St. Pete (preferring
Tampa) – the Al Lang waterfront location is excellent, and most MLS games are
on weekends, when traffic is very light. The situation for soccer and MLS in
St. Pete is not comparable to baseball and MLB in St. Pete, with its many
weeknight games and traffic problems crossing the bridge from Tampa to St. Pete
on weeknights. It is also revealing that the Tampa Bay area is, as of January 1st,
now the biggest TV market without an MLS team. Tampa Bay area (up two spots) is
11th, Phoenix is 12th, Detroit is 13th, Miami
is 16th, Orlando is 19th, Las Vegas is 40th,
etc.
The significant changes in Garber’s comments (which do not
seem to have been noticed and picked up yet by the soccer news media and
commentariat) is that he no longer seems confident in Miami launching an MLS
team, and that Garber is also indicating that there is nothing stopping a
successful MLS bid by the Tampa Bay Rowdies, provided the St. Pete city
officials get on board with and support the project. Al Lang expansion or
replacement would be a necessary step for Bill Edwards in getting the Rowdies
into MLS. And presumably Bill Edwards would want to take on additional
investors to fund the team in MLS.
Back in March there was going to be a St. Pete public vote
in November to allow the Rowdies an extended lease of the Al Lang site; current
city law only allows a five year lease of waterfront property, and a public
vote would be required for longer leases. The extended lease would encourage
Rowdies ownership to pay for Al Lang Stadium expansion or replacement prior to
joining MLS. Shortly after this was announced, Orlando City claimed full MLS
territorial rights over the Tampa Bay area and this was interpreted by media
commentators to mean that the Rowdies could not go to MLS. Bill Edwards then
stated that Al Lang expansion was not aimed at MLS and he was not then
currently taking the Rowdies to MLS – but crucially he said it was premature
and not part of present plans; he did not deny that plans might later mature, as
they now appear to have done with his move of the Rowdies to USL and with
Garber’s recent comments.
Sometime after these events, St. Pete Mayor Rick Kriseman
cancelled the November vote on the lease; speculation at the time was that he
had another plan for the Rowdies at Al Lang which did not risk being voted down
by the electorate; if this is so, it will probably be announced after the
elections are over this November (ie, very soon). I can think of one way at
least that the city can arrange things so that the Rowdies effectively have a
long term lease (technically renewed every five years) which would give Bill
Edwards and the other Rowdies owners the confidence to spend their own money to
build a new SSS (soccer specific stadium) on the Al Lang site. As Garber notes,
cooperation of St. Pete officials is vital for the Rowdies if the Al Lang site
is going to become an MLS SSS. But we shall see what actually happens; possibly
very soon, as November elections are days away as I write this.
Supposing St. Pete and the Rowdies can come to a long term
arrangement for Al Lang Stadium, and that Bill Edwards can form a large enough
ownership consortium to satisfy Don Garber and to pay for a new SSS and for the
MLS expansion fee. Supposing that Bill Edwards can put all of this together in
the next six months or so. Could the Tampa Bay Rowdies replace Miami Beckham
United to become the 24th team in MLS in 2018? Nothing has been
heard out of the MBU group in many months, and no real encouraging news has
been heard in almost a year; the MBU project has been ongoing for almost three
years, and with four different possible SSS sites, with no stadium deal yet,
and with no additional deep pocketed owners yet, who are needed to help pay for
it all. As noted, Tampa Bay is a bigger TV market than Miami, and the biggest
TV market not yet in MLS.
Changing the 24th team from Miami, if MBU are
unsuccessful in Miami, to the Tampa Bay Rowdies in 2018 makes sense as Tampa
Bay is the largest market not in MLS, and would be, like Miami, the second
Florida team along with Orlando in MLS, and the third team in MLS in the Southeast,
with Atlanta joining MLS in 2017. Indeed the entire Southeast was without an
MLS team after the 2001 contraction and before Orlando joined MLS in 2015; a
fourteen year absence of any MLS teams in the Southeast. MLS wants to fill out
their national footprint with another team in Florida, and if that team can’t
be Miami, then the Tampa Bay Rowdies are the next logical choice.
As I am writing this, Grant Wahl has announced some
additional news; Miami Beckham United has passed its 1,000 day mark (with its
three year anniversary coming up in February), and now appears unready to make
it to MLS in time for 2018:
After 1,000 days,
where do things stand with David Beckham, MLS in Miami?
This week, David Beckham’s planned Miami MLS team marked 1,000 days
since the announcement that Beckham planned to put his team in South Florida,
yet there is still no team in place. So what’s the latest?
Well, even though MLS says officially that Beckham’s Miami team could
start play in 2018, a source in Beckham’s camp says it would be much smarter to
start in 2019. They’re still trying to acquire more land in Miami’s Overtown
neighborhood for the stadium site, in addition to nailing down a flagship
investor in the team. Even though MLS would prefer to have two teams come into
the league in 2018, it now looks almost certain that only one will come in that
year: LAFC.
A league source says there is zero chance that Sacramento–tabbed by MLS
commissioner Don Garber in January on the Planet Fútbol Podcast as one of the
leaders of the pack along with St. Louis for teams 25-28–would come into MLS in
2018.
Minnesota United and Atlanta United FC will enter MLS in 2017.
My purpose in writing these letters is to get the Tampa Bay
Rowdies into MLS, and the addition of David Beckham to the Rowdies ownership
group would increase the odds of that happening; however if Bill Edwards can
get the Rowdies into MLS without Beckham I am fine with that as well. What
Miami Beckham United decides to do is ultimately up to MBU. I will continue to
write these letters as long as a possibility remains open for MBU to move its
efforts from Miami, to taking the Tampa Bay Rowdies to MLS. Although it is a
long shot it is worth considering. MBU could continue to try to get a deal done
in Miami next year or the year after that and get into MLS in 2019, but their
entry into MLS is already very delayed as is. I suspect that the nature of the
Overtown location is not helping MBU attract additional investors. Stadiums can
be good additions to already attractive locations; they almost never rescue
economically depressed areas on their own.
Las Vegas has been offered as an alternative to Miami, with
Beckham appearing there earlier this year. The idea would be to partner with
the Raiders and their new NFL stadium, when and if it ever gets built in Las
Vegas. Las Vegas is a small market (40th), however, and the
population demographics are not good for MLS, being a city with a single
industry (gambling), a lower wage service economy, which doesn’t support either
the soccer moms and dads demographic, nor the hipster/urban millennial
demographic, that MLS relies on. Sharing a large NFL stadium in an urban
downtown location works in Seattle and looks like it will work in Atlanta,
because the demographics are good for MLS in those cities. Arguably, the
demographics may very well not be good for MLS in Las Vegas.
So we return to Tampa Bay, which as has been pointed out is
the largest market without an MLS team. Could Bill Edwards put together a
proposal in time to get into MLS in 2018? I believe he could. The Rowdies would
need somewhere to play in 2018-19 while Al Lang Stadium was being rebuilt into
a proper SSS. There are two possibilities: Tropicana Field in St. Pete, and
Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. This would be a comparable situation to Orlando
City playing in the Citrus Bowl (Camping World Stadium) these past two years
while their new SSS was being built in downtown Orlando.
Tropicana Field, being a baseball field, is not well set up
for soccer sightlines, and games would have to be played on artificial turf.
Also, MLS games would have to be scheduled for nights when the Rays would be
out of town, and there is almost complete 100% overlap between MLS and MLB
seasons. On the plus side the Rowdies would not have to worry about rain or
lightning delaying or cancelling games if they played at Tropicana Field, due
to the dome. Raymond James Stadium would be a better solution, as the field is
well set up for soccer sightlines, is natural grass, and there is very little
conflict or overlap between MLS and NFL season schedules. In any case, Bill
Edwards would need one or the other to act as a temporary home for a Rowdies
team in MLS for the first year or two while the SSS at Al Lang was being built.
We have been noticing comments coming from second hand
sources that Bill Edwards intended to take the Rowdies to MLS, ever since he
bought the team. His recent comments about the Rowdies move from NASL to USL
would seem to confirm that MLS is his ultimate goal:
Tampa Bay Rowdies
Announce Move to United Soccer League
http://www.rowdiessoccer.com/news/2016/10/25/tampa-bay-rowdies-announce-move-to-united-soccer-league
“We are excited to join the United Soccer League in 2017,” said Rowdies
Chairman and CEO Bill Edwards. “I have said from the day I acquired controlling
interest in this club that I wanted to make it one of the most successful teams
in North America. The USL is a vibrant league, and this move is a necessary and
positive step toward reaching the long-term goals and objectives of the club.”
So now it is just a question of waiting to see if St. Pete
Mayor Rick Kriseman announces some kind of long term deal for the Rowdies to
play at Al Lang, and for Bill Edwards to put together an MLS Rowdies ownership
group, and for Don Garber to decide if it is good enough for MLS (and if it is
in time for the 2018 season). If that all happens in the next 6-10 months,
things could get interesting. What Miami Beckham United decides to do at that
point is hard to say, but I send these letters out until then.
I have been sending letters to anyone connected with the
Rowdies or with David Beckham who might prove influential: people currently or
formerly involved with the Tampa Bay Rowdies/Rowdies ownership/etc; Miami Beckham
United and people associated with David Beckham; people at USL, MLS, and USSF;
Mayors of St. Pete, Tampa, Clearwater; Rowdies sponsors and people involved
with marketing events in St. Pete; St. Pete art museums; owners of the other
Tampa Bay area sports teams; hosts on Sirius XM Channel 85, other soccer
journalists, etc.
To change subject slightly before concluding: here's another article
highlighting the usefulness of ETFE roof technology. Something to keep in mind
when the Tampa Bay Rowdies finally start to plan to build their SSS, presumably
on the Al Lang site. You can protect players and fans from rain, lightning,
etc., while still keeping the outdoors feel, without huge expense:
New roof will help
save jungle exhibit at Sedgwick County Zoo
The jungle is getting a roof made from a new product developed in
Germany called ETFE, short for ethylene tetrafluoroethylene. The fluorine-based
plastic film is popular in Europe, Wright said. The Sedgwick County Zoo will be
the second in North America to use the product.
“Big zoos in Europe have huge structures of it,” Wright said.
On a sunny day, the new roof should provide a candle power level of
5,000 to the jungle’s plants, Wright said. In general, tropical plants need a
minimum level of 200, and high-light plants such as cacti need 1,000.
The new roof, scheduled to be put on the first week of October, will be
a three-layer system inflated with air.
“The outer layer will have reflective dots on it, because we’ll
actually have too much sun,” Wright said.
So, in conclusion, things are finally starting to happen.
Bill Edwards has moved the Rowdies from NASL to USL; Don Garber has acknowledged
the importance of the Tampa Bay market and the beauty of Al Lang's waterfront
view and the importance of St. Pete Mayor Kriseman and other St. Pete officials
getting behind bringing MLS to St. Petersburg.
Tampa Bay Rowdies: USL 2017, MLS 2018? COYR!
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