A few thoughts on Atlanta soccer
So, about an hour ago, a couple of folks I know posted a link to a blog-post/article suggesting that David Beckham might try and start up a new MLS soccer team based in Atlanta, GA. It will likely come as no surprise to anyone that I have a few opinions about this, but they wouldn't fit into 140 characters.
Here's the post in question: bloggingwhileblue.blogspot.com/2011/05/beckham-bringing-mls-to-atlanta.html
Some background: There are currently 18 teams in the U.S./Canada top-tier 2011 league. Seattle joined in 2009, Philadelphia in 2010, and Portland and Vancouver in 2011. Montreal will be joining for the 2012 season bringing us up to 19 teams. Miami and Tampa Bay both *had* teams but ceased operations in 2001. Here's a good map of the distribution of the teams http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Major_League_Soccer_club_locations_2011.png
A quick glance shows that the SE suffers from a real lack of presence (as does the upper-midwest and large chunks of Canada). For soccer fans in Atlanta, the nearest top-level teams to support are either in Texas, in Ohio or up in the D.C. area.
So back to the Beckham-factor.
His contract *does* include an option for him that, at the end of his time as a player here, he may buy into the ownership of a new expansion team (though not necessarily the specific "20th team" as hinted at in the article; he could opt for the 21st team if it made more sense).
There's been a LOT of discussion in various forums about where the 20th team would end up. But there are a variety of factors that have to be balanced. Does the market have enough fan-support to fill the stadium? Is there a suitable stadium (FIFA won't let you play just anywhere in the top-tier)? Is there are good investment/ownership team ready to support a new team? Can the league handle another team? Etc, etc.
Atlanta regularly does come up on the radar and Beckham isn't the first foreigner that's looked at the option of starting a new MLS franchise. Atlanta does have some attractive factors - it's a large media market, and is the largest media market in the U.S. that doesn't have a team right now. There is a second-tier team that's managed to be fairly popular (and even a little profitable), the Atlanta Silverbacks. Atlanta was also one of a handful of finalist cities as part of the U.S. World Cup 2018/2022 bid. And most recently, it was announced that their pro-hockey team would be leaving for greener(icier?) pastures leaving a gap - a similar situation that allowed the Seattle Sounders FC to step in to the Seattle sports scene successfully.
On the otherhand, there's a much stronger level of support for south Florida and, sadly, for a second New York team. There's a lot of push to bring up the NY Cosmos to the big leagues - they've got a long history, a significant level of fan and investment support and gets the benefit of a build-in cross-town rivalry with the existing NY Red Bulls. Also, while soccer does enjoy some popularity in Atlanta (and surrounding areas), it faces a lot of local competition for sporting-attention - let's face it, especially in the SE, tackle football is THE sport, with basketball not being too far behind. It's not enough to want a team to exist - the franchise needs to be at least potentially profitable. I'm not saying an ATL team couldn't be, I'm just saying that it would have some challenges. Most sources list New York as the front-runner for a new team.
Other big questions - where would they play? There isn't a really suitable pre-existing venue, so one would need to be built from scratch or an existing structure would need to be seriously modified. Both are expensive prospects. Require time, resources and support of local government. Who's paying for all of this? Beckham is stupid....rich. But is he prepared to float the costs of a team all on his own? Unlikely. Even if it could, it just doesn't make good sense. So who else is going in on it with him? Are there sponsors lined up to fill the ad space? Can they put something together and keep it together?
So, tl;dr version: Atlanta is possible, and is on the 'short list', but is unlikely. I certaily HOPE they get a franschise soon though.
Other stuff: "atlanta" is a stupid name for a child. There. I said it and I stand by it. And, might I add, beckham sucks. He's an overpriced, underskilled and way too full of himself.
Here's the post in question: bloggingwhileblue.blogspot.com/2011/05/beckham-bringing-mls-to-atlanta.html
Some background: There are currently 18 teams in the U.S./Canada top-tier 2011 league. Seattle joined in 2009, Philadelphia in 2010, and Portland and Vancouver in 2011. Montreal will be joining for the 2012 season bringing us up to 19 teams. Miami and Tampa Bay both *had* teams but ceased operations in 2001. Here's a good map of the distribution of the teams http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Major_League_Soccer_club_locations_2011.png
A quick glance shows that the SE suffers from a real lack of presence (as does the upper-midwest and large chunks of Canada). For soccer fans in Atlanta, the nearest top-level teams to support are either in Texas, in Ohio or up in the D.C. area.
So back to the Beckham-factor.
His contract *does* include an option for him that, at the end of his time as a player here, he may buy into the ownership of a new expansion team (though not necessarily the specific "20th team" as hinted at in the article; he could opt for the 21st team if it made more sense).
There's been a LOT of discussion in various forums about where the 20th team would end up. But there are a variety of factors that have to be balanced. Does the market have enough fan-support to fill the stadium? Is there a suitable stadium (FIFA won't let you play just anywhere in the top-tier)? Is there are good investment/ownership team ready to support a new team? Can the league handle another team? Etc, etc.
Atlanta regularly does come up on the radar and Beckham isn't the first foreigner that's looked at the option of starting a new MLS franchise. Atlanta does have some attractive factors - it's a large media market, and is the largest media market in the U.S. that doesn't have a team right now. There is a second-tier team that's managed to be fairly popular (and even a little profitable), the Atlanta Silverbacks. Atlanta was also one of a handful of finalist cities as part of the U.S. World Cup 2018/2022 bid. And most recently, it was announced that their pro-hockey team would be leaving for greener(icier?) pastures leaving a gap - a similar situation that allowed the Seattle Sounders FC to step in to the Seattle sports scene successfully.
On the otherhand, there's a much stronger level of support for south Florida and, sadly, for a second New York team. There's a lot of push to bring up the NY Cosmos to the big leagues - they've got a long history, a significant level of fan and investment support and gets the benefit of a build-in cross-town rivalry with the existing NY Red Bulls. Also, while soccer does enjoy some popularity in Atlanta (and surrounding areas), it faces a lot of local competition for sporting-attention - let's face it, especially in the SE, tackle football is THE sport, with basketball not being too far behind. It's not enough to want a team to exist - the franchise needs to be at least potentially profitable. I'm not saying an ATL team couldn't be, I'm just saying that it would have some challenges. Most sources list New York as the front-runner for a new team.
Other big questions - where would they play? There isn't a really suitable pre-existing venue, so one would need to be built from scratch or an existing structure would need to be seriously modified. Both are expensive prospects. Require time, resources and support of local government. Who's paying for all of this? Beckham is stupid....rich. But is he prepared to float the costs of a team all on his own? Unlikely. Even if it could, it just doesn't make good sense. So who else is going in on it with him? Are there sponsors lined up to fill the ad space? Can they put something together and keep it together?
So, tl;dr version: Atlanta is possible, and is on the 'short list', but is unlikely. I certaily HOPE they get a franschise soon though.
Other stuff: "atlanta" is a stupid name for a child. There. I said it and I stand by it. And, might I add, beckham sucks. He's an overpriced, underskilled and way too full of himself.