WPS Releases Statement Concerning Demise of Athetica and Players Free Agency
The WPS has released a statement confirming what IMS had stated early today. All players from St. Louis Athletica will be released from their contracts and allowed to sign with other teams as free agents. However, the release did not state if salary caps from WPS teams would change to allow for teams to take on more players. The players will not be released or become free agents until next Tuesday, June 1.
The statement also said that a new schedule would be drawn up and released next week and all six league games teams have played against Saint Louis this season will count in the standings.
“It’s incredibly difficult to lose a team in mid-season like this,” said WPS Commissioner Tonya Antonucci. “We looked at a few options as a league together with our Board and U.S. Soccer, but the operational hurdles and finances just didn’t work out. In the face of a severe funding gap in St. Louis, the local ownership group is shutting down the team at this point.”
Click read more for the entire press release.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA (May 27, 2010) – The Saint Louis Athletica in Women’s Professional Soccer are shutting down their franchise as a funding crisis has left the team without the necessary funds to operate for the 2010 WPS Season. The Athletica players will be available as free agents to other WPS teams as of Tuesday, June 1.
Just two weeks ago, the league learned of a cash flow shortage at St. Louis Soccer United – which includes the owner of the Saint Louis Athletica and a St. Louis men’s team – that threatened the remainders of both teams’ seasons. After a thorough and extensive review of the situation together with interested parties, which involved the League covering the funding shortfall for the Athletica’s last two player payrolls, the Athletica have folded their franchise. WPS will re-make the remaining schedule for the 2010 WPS season as a seven-team league – the same number that took part during the WPS Inaugural Season.
“It’s incredibly difficult to lose a team in mid-season like this,” said WPS Commissioner Tonya Antonucci. “We looked at a few options as a league together with our Board and U.S. Soccer, but the operational hurdles and finances just didn’t work out. In the face of a severe funding gap in St. Louis, the local ownership group is shutting down the team at this point.”
The rest of the 2010 WPS Schedule without Saint Louis Athletica will be revised and released next week. The previously completed six league games against Saint Louis will count in the standings and the Athletica will not play in this weekend’s previously scheduled game.
“This is a setback, but it’s one individual franchise and the loss of a team is an unfortunate reality of pro sports,” said Antonucci. “We’ll continue to have great games and an exciting season for our fans. The solid foundation that we built in 2009 is there. We have the same number of teams that we had last year during a successful first season. We’ll get through this stronger and keep moving the league and business forward.”
Saint Louis Athletica players will still be eligible for the 2010 WPS All-Star Game presented by the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve if they are rostered on another WPS team by Friday, June 11. As of June 1, Athletica players are no longer under club contracts and can sign with any team as free agents.
Comments are closed.
This is not over. Cooper has AC St. Louis on a life line because of USSF. They cannot exist beyond this season. As the NASL Interim Commissioner, this is an incredible black eye on NASL and Cooper
Cooper has represented that he is worth $100,000,000. He should take less than 2% of this and fund each team through the season, IF he really is for the good of the game.
Cooper = NASL = disaster in the making.
I heard Hope Solo is/was making $250,000
How does that make any sense at all?
Do they even get 4,000 fans on a good night?
How is that a business model that makes any sense?
How did they (womens pro soccer people) get this wrong again?
S, From my understanding, Anelka, Luke Kreamalmeyer and Steve Ralston cost AC St. Louis more than the whole Athletica payroll. And there’s some people VERY unhappy that Athletica is going away and AC St. Louis staying.
There may be a lot of unhappy people, but they made the right choice. Sorry to be pollitically incorrect about this, but there is far more potential in making a men’s professional soccer team turn around financially than a women’s club…facts of life! Cooper only bought into WPS because he was spurned by MLS, and it didn’t look like he was going to be able to get into USL1. When the NASL started he saw his opening, and got stuck with Athletica.
Wow! What a huge mess of a situation this is. Such a detriment to the state of soccer in St. Louis and to NASL’s credibility (or lack thereof). Perhaps the only good thing Cooper has going for him now is that impressive goatee of his… <_<
When an entire league’s existence hinges on the character of one individual, only bad things can come of it.
The only reason AC St. Louis is around is the bond posted to USSF. The question then becomes what happens once that cash is exhausted.
BQ: I undertsnad that you are relaying what your sources told you but I would think that Hope Solo is making more than Ralston & Kreamalmeyer put together.
Anelka–wow. What can I say about that situation?
Find it hard to believe that Hope Solo has a contract from the club for that amount of money (that would be double her USWNT salary for an entire year). Marta’s original contract with the Sol was for less than that. Maybe like Marta (Puma) some money was also coming from sponsors. My understanding is the entire operating budget (for everything) of a WPS club is between $1M-$1.5M, so very doubtful they allocated that much for one player. If so, then it is not hard to see why LA and now STL both were short lived.
@Tom: Marta was making a boat load of ca$h (I think Andrea Canales dropped a figure of $500K in one of her articles–which I found to be utterly ridiculous amount). I would figure that Hope has to be getting about $75k. I still think that beats Ralston and Kreamelmeyer put together…
@yankiboy – agreed. What I’d read regarding Marta was $225K from AEG, $225K from Puma, plus other smaller perks. Even that is hard to believe for a women’s soccer player in a 5 month league (that’s top 2% in the MLS). I might bite on the Puma money since they are a major league sponsor.
@Tom: The way that i had heard it explained is that it was like you just stated it. a Beckham type deal (club ca$h and endorsement ca$h).
it was still utterly ridiculous (as was Canales statement that she was disapointed that another club didn’t just jump all over Marta during the dispersal draft due to the albatross that was/is her salary).
Man, Boxxy got shanked in the throat, again. I forget who the other bigname US Natette was who was signed by St. Louis after the Sol went under was. Talk about “rough”.