New USL-1 Franchise to Replace Minnesota Thunder – Team Owners Association/USL Update
Inside M
innesota Soccer learned this evening from several reliable sources, who wished to remain anonymous, that there will be a USL-1 First division team playing in Minnesota in the summer of 2010.
One source close to the Team Owners Association (TOA) and United Soccer League (USL) impasse did not want to expound on who the owners of the team would be but did indicate that it would not be the current ownership group of the Thunder. That same anonymous source said an announcement could be made as soon as Monday.
IMS spoke to USL President Tim Holt this evening from his office in Tampa, Florida. Holt would not confirm the IMS sources but he was willing to make a statement concerning the league’s interest in Minnesota and his belief that the Thunder are no longer part of the USL. “We strongly believe in the Twin Cities as a USL-1 market and despite the Thunder’s departure from the league we remain committed to identifying an ownership group with the proven ability to operate a team at this level,” said Holt. “It’s premature for us to comment on what may be ongoing with any prospective groups.”
Thunder President Manny Lagos was contacted by phone but did not return the call.
The second source from Minnesota confided that the new owners would be National Sports Center (NSC) in Blaine, MN, home of the Minnesota Thunder. That same source also confirmed the Thunder still owe the NSC a 6-figure amount.
According to the source, the NSC is very interested in keeping high level soccer in Minnesota.
As previously reported here, the current Thunder ownership have financial problems and also reportedly owe the USL a 6-figure amount. The ownership group of WingField, fronted by St. Paul native Dean Johnson, still owe Twin Cities vendors from last season as well as current and former employees’ past wages.
Thunder General Manager Djorn Buchholz recently left the cash-strapped organization to become CEO of the Austin Aztex, another USL-1 team. Last week the team’s coach Donny Gramenz resigned his position and took a job teaching after not receiving a paycheck for 10 weeks.
On November 3, the Thunder released all players from their contracts citing a letter from the USL and Holt. That letter released players from their contracts because of non-payment of USL franchise renewal fees for 2010. The Thunder are currently down to a 3-person staff.
The TOA released a press statement this week regarding their desire to move forward with the breakaway league and stated they applied with the USSF for a new Division II league. The press release stated an application for sanctioning as a Division I League will be submitted to the Canadian Soccer Association shortly and applications to other sanctioning bodies in the region will be submitted as needed.
If this rumor is true, it could set off an interesting scenario for the TOA as IMS and partner site The Kartik Report believe USSF would require the TOA to have 7 committed teams for the first year of operation with at least one more entering in the 2011 season to make 8. FIFA requires 8 teams to start a league although a variance of 7 teams is sometimes allowed with the guarantee of more teams joining in following years. The Women’s Professional Soccer started their inaugural season with 7 teams and will add two more to bring the total to 9 next season.
Currently, the TOA has 7 teams. Five of those teams played in USL-1 last season. They would include Vancouver, Montreal, Carolina, Miami FC, and Minnesota. The other two teams are Atlanta, a former USL-1 team known as the Silverbacks, owned by Boris Jerkunica and John Latham, and St. Louis, with an ownership group led by Jeff Cooper who had formerly attempted to purchase an MLS franchise. The former Silverbacks owners dropped out of USL-1 before the 2009 season.
With the Minnesota Thunder on shaky financial ground they could be considered a lame duck unless they can produce financing for the team in quick order. USL awarding a franchise to another group in the Twin Cities with the proper finances could severely damage the chances of the TOA. The breakaway league would need a strong 7th team to get up and off the ground in order to get approval from the USSF to start a new league.
The NSC stadium went through major renovations in 2008 and is now one of the finer venues in the USL. NSC is a privately run organization overseen by the Minnesota Amateur Sports Commission, which is a government agency. The NSC’s facility is a multi-sport complex including an 8-sheet indoor ice rink, 50 soccer fields, a golf course, velodrome, temporary student housing and an indoor soccer facility.
One source says the NSC is looking at all options and would be open to looking at bringing in other investors as well as possibly selling shares to supporters of the team.
IMS will continue to follow this breaking story.
Comments are closed.
This is craziness! I am speechless right now.
I just hope NSC gets a real scoreboard.
This is a fantastic soap opera!
It is amazing drama. It’s like a chess game.
increible … el dios mio … an answer to our ‘good thoughts’ … count me in as an investor … blood, sweat and tears have been shed for this team.
WOW… Just WOW!
I have a VERY heavy hear for the history of our club, 1999 A-League Champions, it seems as though the Thunder as we knew it, have been run into the ground, and will rise, like a Phoenix, from the ashes.
Please let the new ownership, reach out to those players who will come back and grow this new club … what ever name it may be.
My heart goes out to Buzz Lagos, and his son, Manny, who in their hearts wanted the best for the Minnesota Thunder.
Peace and futbol.
So. Stoked!
This may be the fresh air soccer in this area needed.
Clean slate for this team will only help.
I am very pleased by this development.
USL is the legitimate league in this country and the attempts by a rogue group of malcontent owners to start a new league must be thwarted.
Dean Johnson, as this site has reported is virtually a con artist. Birds of the same feather flock together and the TOA is filled with cheats, liars and simple thugs. They have been dishonest about USL, which is the one league run on a traditional model in the United States. If you want to truly control your affairs like soccer teams do around the world, USL not MLS or this rogue league are where you need to invest.
I am hopeful that now we can get back to the business of continuing to build USL into the premier development and viewer experience in American soccer. The TOA leaders need to be dealt with swiftly and harshly by the USSF.
They have tried to create a fraudulent league based on false premises. Given the track record of the men involved, the TOA could be funded the way Bernie Madoff funded his ponzi scheme. They could be simple thieves.
I would prose a ban for five years on any TOA owner from American Soccer unless the group withdraws its petition for a new league. By destroying and damaging the existing structure and doing so by lying about FIFA mandates and lying about USL’s future plans, they have brought the game into total disrepute.
Thankfully for those of you in the Twin Cities, you have escaped this circus act. But for those in Montreal, Raleigh/Durham, Miami, Atlanta, etc you are trapped and have to plan for a year or two without professional soccer. It is all very sad.
One of your sources must have only incomplete knowledge of the ownership situation. The NSC cannot own a professional sports team. The NSC is only property, facilities and equipment which are owned by the state, who put the NSC under the auspices of the Minnesota Amateur Sports Commission, who’s members are appointed by the state government. The MASC, in turn, created the National Sports Center Foundation (a non-profit corporation) to operate and manage the NSC. The above was gleaned from an audit of the MASC performed by the Office of the Legislative Auditor and published in 2002:
http://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/Fad/access/02-54.htm
Neither the NSCF nor the MASC mission statements…
http://www.nscsports.org/news-info/about_nscf/index.htm
http://www.mnsports.org/index.htm
… mention anything close to actually OWNING a professional sports franchise.
So, since it is unlikely that the MASL could legally buy the rights to a franchise, the likeliest possibility is that the NSCF is expanding it’s business model and, probably in conjunction with private investors, will be the owners of the new franchise.
The USL step could be interim – the NHL, MLB (Montreal for two or three seasons)) and even the NFL have histories of the “rescue” of a market. Not a bad scenario for MN Soccer.
As for NSC: The NSC “Foundation” (non profit tax status) is an off shoot of the old/original NSC which is overseen by the MASC (Mn Am Sports Com). – a state agency (tax payers fund a small portion). Has anybody contacted Erickson at the MASC? Like the Schwanns rink and all other major financial goings there, there has to be a decision maker at the state … Read Morelevel (unless things have changed) meaning legislative approval. Big diff between running a NPSL Amt. team (program) and “ownership” involving a state agency. Interesting, but a bit more complex than I bet we know.
Joseph, my only issue with your comment would suggest the comp would not make an org like the USL better. Thats to say the USL doesent make the MLS better or honest. Plus Bob Lenerduzze at Van BC is a good soccer man – is he not part of teh TOA?
There would be no American League Baseball, or AFC football or the NBA would not be what it is under your reasoning. Owners ought to be able to do with their $ and risk what they want.(However, the Thunder look to escape the bill collector).
It’s a chess game for sure!
Looks like USL will do anything to make the TOA fail and sadly at the expense of the Thunder. I hope the TOA teams can come together and help Minnesota out. I hope the TOA league succeeds. The TOA want their league to be owned by the teams to benefit the teams, to ensure they are successful and profitable. The USL is only interested in receiving yearly fees from new teams as the old ones go bankrupt, they don’t care about the teams success or not.
I think its sad that USL didn’t try to make peace with the TOA from the beggining, its obvious they wanted Miami, Minnesota and Carolina out from the start. They fought off Traffic’s bid to buy the league and that of St Louis who had the highest bid and they sold it to Nurock… a hand picked group that would keep the status quo.
This isn’t over folks, more teams will join the TOA once they get approved by the federation. MLS is ready to work with them too. So lets sit back and enjoy the battle of the Soccer Leagues.
I only think the USL is acting in their own self-interest, which I see nothing wrong with doing that. In a sense, I think the TOA has made some bad moves. How do you grow a league when you know at least two franchises will move on to the MSL in a year or two?
I also think that Dean Johnson should be taken to the woodshed. He appearentlyt owes a lot of people a lot of money, and has burned a lot of bridges.
If I was NSC, I would want to get rid of him and the MN Thunder too! It sounds like the Thunder (Johnson), owe NSC a lot of money. Assuming arguendo, that the Thunder do NSC over $100K, then if I was them, I would want to get rid of the thunder. That is money they have probably already written off–and are merely cutting their loses. Personally, I would do the same no matter how much I love a team.
My only hope is that the new team playing at NSC does not have a cheesy name.
I’m assuming then that even if the Thunder did get their act together to compete in the TOA they are unwelcome to do so at NSC. The TOA have made their move and I doubt they’ll simply roll over now. If they need seven they’ll all pitch in and try to get seven. Is it possible that we could have a scenario where a USL team is playing at NSC and the Thunder are playing in the TOA at another venue in the Twin Cites? That would be a disaster.
While a new team provides a clean slate of sorts you are foregoing the name, brand recognition, and history which have been built up over the last 15 years. The effects of this should not be taken for granted.
@ jOSEPH
(ROLLS EYES)
Joseph, why do you give the USL a pass when sooo many teams have failed while within it? How is consistent and constant failure better for soccer in America?
Remember, the Thunder themselves failed as a USL franchise. MN sees the TOA as a chance at rescue, something that the USL would never help them do.
I would agree with Steven. Come on Joseph. Get off your righteous high horse. Even Chris Economides on the Kick This show with Jeff Di Veronica said today that the truth falls somewhere in the middle. Not everyone on one side is pure and right and not everyone on the other is wrong and evil. I hate it when people look at things as black and white because it’s just not how the world is.
Uncle is Ed is correct in what I have heard that MLS is in support of the TOA. As well, the TOA could have it’s own trump card for USL. We will have to wait and see. Again, it would be best if all sides could come to some agreement here. That’s what would most likely be best for soccer in the US.
Spencer, I hate to say it and you will most likely disagree with me, but over the last number of years the Thunder name has not meant what it did 10 years ago and in talking to people in the community, sometimes I wonder if it doesn’t carry a stigma with it. It also does with club soccer people as there is a lot of animosity over the Thunder starting MTA. I know it does in the business community from years of different ownership groups with unpaid or late bills.
Uhclem: “One of your sources must have only incomplete knowledge of the ownership situation. The NSC cannot own a professional sports team.”
Wrong! Details to come on Monday. Stay tuned.
Coming from “club soccer”— what does this mean for the MTA? How connected are they? Will Bangu just revert to Bangu?
I have heard that MTA as well has not payed or has been late paying bills for indoor soccer venues for training.
Mark, Please read carefully this article paying close attention to the part about MTA: http://bit.ly/wULaW
MTA DOES NOT owe late money to vendors. This has always been a MN Thunder issue. As you can see in the article, most likely they would revert to Bangu and to Wings.
I read the article. Thanks for doing so much reporting.
But I have heard that Augsburg was paid late or (maybe) still waiting for payment from MTA for space rental.
I don’t think the Thunder practice there, do they, only the MTA, so who would be paying late?
Mark, 100% untrue. MTA has not been and is not delinquent on any payments. The Club is completly financially stable this year and was last year as well.
Anonymous is not a very creative name . . . but I digress.
The MTA (formerly known as Bangu and Wings), for better or worse, married the Thunder to get branded under their umbrella as the top soccer in Minnesota. It was a calculated decision at the time to give up their independent clubs and “go corporate.” Basically this whole fiasco is a marketing problem for MTA because their brand, the Thunder, and its value has plummeted.
Not the MTA’s fault, but they have some talkin’ to do with their spouse.
Good luck.
Chris,
MTA and MN Thunder Pro team are completely seperate. Yes, Bangu and the Wings were sold by the current Thunder owners on how they were going to build this great organization. However MTA/Bangu/Wings will continue to exist. They do not need the pro team to continue as a youth club. I am sure if you asked the wings directors and the bangu directors, they would agree that this has been a good relationship, regardless of MN Thunders involvement. MTA does not owe anyone money, the pro team does. MTA will continue to exist, whether it is MTA or something else, it does not matter. They will move forward and continue to offer kids the option to play for their club. The youth club believes in what they are doing and will continue to move forward, regardless of the status of the pro team. MTA can only hope that MN Thunder gets its act together and finds a way to make it through their financial issues. If they do not MTA will still be around, they may not be MTA but they will exist and they will still be a factor in MY youth soccer.
Seriously.
Think about the new ownership group. They almost have all they need in a successful franchise (stadium, marketing department – a rather successful one, operations, or staff with skills – seen any info bout the usage cup or superrink lately?, community relationships etc…)
Save for a few specific pieces the Necessary Foundation has the pieces to make this one of the more successful franchises. Sure, it is a a start up team, but this isnt FC New York or Tampa.
This will prove to be an amazing business decision. The leaders of the nsc foundation are smart. They wouldn’t have just walked into this deal without thinking about the entire thing first.
Bravo to our new owner for SAVING pro soccer in Minnesota.
At one point, MTA was supposedly chasing the opportunity to be a USSF Academy for youth soccer. Being under the umbrella of the Thunder and Lightning was an integral part of that effort. The absence of that is not going to help MTA’s chances of getting academy status. That was supposed to be one of the primary goals of the merger.
OK, enough about MTA, this thread should not be about them, but thanks for the insight.
I feel bad for the Thunder players. What are those guys going to do. I am assuming they utilize the fact that they were players on a USL 1 team to get street cred to get the good $ as trainers and coaches themselves.
Would they want to go to some Div II thing, or would TOA just roster a whole new field?
Brian, have you talked to any players?
I have to admit, I did not make it out to a single Thunder game this season. Blaine is just 15+ min further than I want to drive from South MPLS. Went to a lot of gopher games though!
Jon,
Yes that was part of the reason for the Wings/Bangu merger. So what?
If the Thunder pro team disappears what can the youth club do about it? From what I hear the Wings and Bangu board members get along well and are pleased with the improved quality of the teams, especially the boys teams, and will stay together no matter if the pro team no longer exists.
As far as USSF Academy most of the USSF Academy teams aren’t affiliated with a pro club so that doesn’t stop Wings/Bangu from that pursuit. If they keep winning State Cups championships at the pace they have been it’s inevitable that they’ll be the 1st Minnesota club accepted into the Academy.
This club will continue to be successful because they have strong leaders, a long term vision and excellent trainers and coaches. Their model is much like the other top Nike clubs all across the USA.
If you’re hoping that the pro team troubles will somehow weaken the Wings/Bangu/MTA youth program I think you’re going to be hoping for a long time.
Sad to hear all of this negative news about the Thunder. I have been a fan for many years. However, it does explain why the USL cancelled their franchise. The problems USL has had with Miami is also well documented. But I have always wondered as to why the USL went after Carolina? Carolina was one of the top teams in USL this year who play in one of the best soccer venues in the U.S., and their owners are financially very sound. But two days ago I got the answer. It turns out that Chris Economides who is the USL-1 Director of Operations, and best buddies with Holt and Marcos, was fired by the Carolina owners when he was the GM of the Railhawks. A very reliable source told me that Economides had embezzled company funds. So it looks like the battle between USL and TOA is far more detailed than just a disagreement over league control.
Jane, I appreciate your comments but embezzlement is a strong charge and if it had been true then why wouldn’t have Carolina charged him with such. I will leave your comment up for now, but I want everyone to understand that I’ve been following this debate between the USL and TOA for over a year now with contacts within the TOA and USL. I have heard reasons why Economides left Carolina and your charge was not one of them.
I was fortunate to meet Chris this past summer for the first time and he’s a really great guy. He may not have been the exact fit for Carolina in their marketing and strategic planning and they may have had differences. But everywhere Chris has gone there has been nothing but kind words spoken about him and the work he’s done. That goes for right here in MN as well. Manny Lagos and Djorn Buchholz have also told me that Chris is a quality person.
Let’s stick to the issues of TOA v USL here. Also, I understand the debate on the MTA/Thunder. Even though they are separate organizations there are ties and I understand with the Thunders financial problems and if they can even survive as a team it will effect MTA but most likely it will not effect them that adversely.
don’t have the asnwers to your questions but my source was a really good one. I am not one to put out bad information/rumors, but if it is true it does seem to have some bearing on the issue. How else would you explain Carolina being tossed out of USL? As I understand it Miami, Minnesota, and Carolina were the only TOA teams who had their player contracts cancelled by USL. Why did Vancouver and Montreal not have their player contracts cancelled? why just these three?
Jane said, “I am not one to put out bad information/rumors”
Yes you are! Someone may have reported it to you, but they didn’t to the media or wish to go on record with it. You are going on record by posting it here. This is the last time I’ll allow that to be mentioned without a verified source. Malicious rumors can ruin people’s lives even without proof. If you want to present a source who is willing to stand behind that, than so be it. Otherwise enough of the slander.
As reported here over and over, the reason those 3-teams have been kicked out is their refusal to pay their renewal fee’s for 2010 and their long time involvement with the TOA. This seems to be fine with those three teams as they have stated they no longer want to be part of the USL. They believe they can create a better league for North America.
USL is still wooing Montreal and Vancouver because they have been very successful franchises and they are still willing to have them back. I would be willing to bet, if Vancouver and Montreal agreed to come back to USL, they could with a stipulation that the other 3 teams also come back.
NSC operating their own team is pretty smart. Look at the NHL- the model for ownership in the NHL has always been 1. build an arena and 2. fill it with people as often as you can… indoor soccer, indoor lacrosse, musical acts, political conventions…
Obviously the NSC wasn’t happy about the prospect of having a professional venue sitting empty without a professional team around to fill the stands.
What is the TOA’s next move?
drama drama drama
Brian, you have not done your homework. Vancouver and Montreal withdrew from the USL at the exact same time as Minnesota, Miami, and Carolina. All five did not pay their 2010 fees and all five have been equally active in the TOA. So once again, why did the USL single out Minnesota, Miami, and Carolina? There has to be other reasons otherwise how can USL treat those 3 teams different from Vancouver and Montreal while still proclaiming they are on correct legal grounds to cancel player contracts?
Wow, they all withdrew and didn’t pay at exactly the same time. What time was that when they withdrew at the same time?
I think most everyone knows that those 5 teams did not pay their renewal fees. That’s why we are where we are today. But you seem to need credit for knowing more than anyone else so we will give you credit for knowing that all 5 teams didn’t pay at exactly the same time.
So once again, as stated previously without spelling it out word for word: Vancouver and Montreal obviously hold more value to the USL then the other three teams. I am not saying this is my opinion, but I will state that USL was trying to spread info to media or to those that could influence media that Carolina were malcontents, Minnesota was broke and owed them money and Miami couldn’t figure out how to draw fans and they weren’t much interested in any of those three teams.
On the other hand, Montreal and Vancouver played in the finals this year. Vancouver played in the final last year. Montreal went a long way in the CONCACAF Champions league last year and has the highest drawing attendance of any team in USL, around 12,000. Do you need any other reasons than that. Those teams are valuable to the USL. The other 3 … not so much. I’m not saying that is right. In fact by fairness it’s wrong. From a business perspective it makes lots of sense. But perhaps I haven’t done my homework.
I hate auto-spell check on my mobile device.
1) I am stoked for the press release this Monday.
2) I am excited that the NSC is saving pro soccer in Minnesota.
Brian, you hit it on the head. Business is supposed to also be fair to all. The USL obviously doesn’t follow this principle. When will all of this end according to what you are hearing?
Well, I would say you would hope business should be fair, but I’ve rarely found the business place to be fair and I’d say it’s not more often than is. However, I do agree with you that as a league that sells soccer franchises you would certainly hope they would be fair and put the growth of the game in the US before petty arguing or disagreements. I’m sure their have been grains of truth in both camps. As Chris Ecomomides said on the Kick This show on Saturday, the truth usually falls someplace in between. I couldn’t agree with that statement more.
Folks, no one knows what goes on behind closed doors (there was a country-western song of this name). Business is not fair, Brian, that is the way it goes in the real world.
USL did not terminate these teams, they chose to terminate their relationship with USL, so I don’t see why all the cutting remarks at USL on this stage.
As for USL taking down those three specific teams, it appears they were poor candidates for success, even in spite of the Railhawks season. Low or non-existent attendance and no business plan to cure that valid reasons for USL not wanting to open up a relationship that had been terminated by the individual teams.
I feel like I’m sparing here and I really don’t want to be. Bart, PLEASE read my last post again. I said you would HOPE business would be fair but it seldom is. I don’t see my remarks as cutting towards USL nor towards TOA. As I just stated, there is never just black and white and I totally agree with you, we will never know exactly who said what, when and where. Quite frankly I think in general this whole argument is wearing thin on everyone. As I stated above, usually the truth is somewhere in between.
There is no need for an argument here.
The NSC is saving pro soccer in Minnesota.
It doesn’t matter who said what. The fact is simple, at this time:
1) The Thunder have no players.
2) The Thunder don’t have a place to play.
3) The Thunder don’t have a coach.
4) The Thunder don’t have a general manager.
5) The Thunder owe lots of money to people all over town.
6) The Thunder don’t have a league to play in.
So, in short, who cares what the USL may have done?
We now will have a team acting on a clean slate that is going to play in Minnesota and without the NSC stepping to the plate we wouldn’t.
“Birds of the same feather flock together and the TOA is filled with cheats, liars and simple thugs. They have been dishonest about USL…
-Joseph
Bro–I am far from a TOA supporter (I personally think that they are making a HUGE mistake, especially Carolina which has more to lose in some ways than the franchises than Vancouver and Montreal which are headed to MLS and still hoping to make it to MLS, respectively)–but your language is harsh. Really harsh. Your rehtoric in posts on the subeject crosses the line of abusive.
I love your passsion but your choice of words is incredibly personal and detracts from the insights that you share.
I am not trying to “put you down” in any way, just an observation.
Maximum Respect.
Jay
(“Yanki”)
I am not trying to spar with anyone, but if you peel the onion skin back far enough, you will find that the story you start out with is not the story you end up with.
The TOA is primarily claiming that they need better national advertising/marketing to control their “destiny”. USL charges an annual fee of about $13,000 per USL-1 team t0 play a season. If you do the math, this does not even cover basic administration.
So the TOA is going to form a new league to control their destiny…… this means they need to dramatically up the annual ante if they want a “commissioner” and national marketing. They can’t do this on $13,000 per year per team.
Further, if they had upped the ante with USL, and given the longevity USL has in the marketplace, they might get a bigger bang for their buck.
But… the bottom line is….. Minnesota Thunder would never have benefited with national marketing, it needed a more financially sound ownership group and it required more local brand management and marketing to get the seats filled.
This concept of team owners owning the league is fine, but only if you have committed, and financially sound owners that will foot the bill. A lot of the TOA folks will not want to ultimately foot the bill, and it will be an expensive one.
Have been lurking and following this discussion, as a transplanted Minnesotan currently living in Illinois. I went to the USL website, and I noticed that the Thunder (along with Carolina & Miami) had been removed from their list of USL teams.
Interestingly, both Montreal & Vancouver are listed, with active links. It does look like USL wants to lure them back, while jettisoning the other three.
Thanks for writing Steve. Ya, they were removed shortly after October 1st when they were 30 days + past their renewal date. That’s when the Holt letter flew claiming they were releasing player and the USSF started to get involved with a meeting in NY. It’s all documented here if you click the USL at a Crossroads logo. That will take you to a list of the articles about this subject.
I think anything less than an MLS team in this market just won’t cut it. If you count both cities there is a large enough population to support it. The kids are interested in MLS, EPL and Serie A. That’s what they follow. They haven’t shown much interest in the Thunder thus far and the Thunder as an organization didn’t do near enough to promote soccer in Minnesota. Very little coverage in the local media. That’s pretty bad PR if you ask me. Another thing is they need to get rid of that announcer. He’s really annoying. Sorry if anyone knows him personally.
Paul, I think the annoucer is great. I do wish they would play a different song when the players walk out onto the pitch. In my opinion it is dull, borning and not exciting.
I would encourage everyone to read the prior stories. I think IMS has done an excellent job “telling the full story,” that is spot on in my book–”just the facts ma’am.”
yeah,thunder General Manager Djorn Buchholz recently left the cash-strapped organization to become CEO of the Austin Aztex.
Mark,
You cant pretend the Thunder situation has not effect on the MTA. I hope Brian can address this, so here’s my gripe as a MTA parent. The MTA has sold a Club platform on it’s association with the Thunder. As a MTA member you get access to Thunder Camps, specialized MTA training involving Thunder players (Which my daughter has been involved in) and the USSF association. Now… How can MTA continue to demand the monthly tuition we are paying which is double all other clubs in the metro, with out the swag they so heavily promoted. The attitude of MTA management is.. “Just be greatful you are a member of the Club, be quite and pay your tuition into our giant black whole. We know what’s best” giving no explaination as to how they are going to provide the services they promised at a premium price, or what the Club’s plan is since the change other than a generic letter:
November 9, 2009
To: MTA Members
From: MTA Executive Board
Re: MTA and Minnesota Thunder Relationship
In 2008, the Bangu-Tsunami FC & Wings SC merged to create the Minnesota Thunder Academy(MTA. MTA is now entering its second-year of existence and continues to grow and develop soccer players across all levels-of-play from recreational to elite. In addition, MTA continues to have a relationship with the Minnesota Thunder. The link with the professional team allows us to share resources and create the best situation for youth players to develop their soccer skills.
MTA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation and is legally a separate entity from the Minnesota Thunder, which is a for-profit organization. MTA has its own budget, separate from the Minnesota Thunder, and is financially stable. The Minnesota Thunder, like many companies
during this tough economic time, is in the process of resolving some financial issues. MTA believes in the ownership and leadership that the Minnesota Thunder possesses and we will keep working together to form Minnesota’s finest soccer club. MTA continues to support a shared vision of the Youth Academy with the Minnesota Thunder and will maintain our current offerings for all players. If the relationship between the two organizations (MTA & Minnesota Thunder) ceases to exist for any reason, MTA will continue to offer all of the high-level programs that MTA families have come to expect.
At least we have had coaches and places to practice with out a hitch when the season ended. So we are still ahead of most teams at this time of year.