Gordon Hartman Says He’ll Evaluate Building a Stadium Without Public Funding
2011 March 15
Gordon Hartman, owner of the proposed NASL San Antonio Scorpions, talked to a local TV station this week and explained his plan now that the city has told him they will not support him with public money in building a soccer-specific stadium for his team. The Scorpions are proposed to take the Montreal Impact’s place in the North American Soccer League for the 2012 season.
“We will spend some time over the next 30 to 45 days evaluating what the potential is of being able to build a stadium without any public assistance,” says Hartman. “If that is feasible than we will aggressively move forward and bring about pro soccer.”
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I like this attitude. I think ALL pro teams, regardless of what sport, should have to pay for their stadiums without any public funding. What other privately held businesses have their buildings and property paid for by taxpayers?
While I’m not completely opposed to some public funding for major venues such as stadiums, I certainly think it’s best to move forward with privately funded ones. It’s better in the long term. Hartman is very optimistic, perhaps too much so, but I really like his attitude. Profitability is not out of the question. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens.
Gotta give him credit, most owners would complain, he his looking for another solution without using public funding.
I have also decided to take 30-40 days to evaluate if I’m going to build a stadium… Then I’m going to take a nap.
As Morgan’s Wonderland is the prime consideration in this equation, then the next thirty to forty days will be spent trying to figure out how much EXTRA profit a D-2 team would have to produce to pay for the team, the stadium and still have enough left over to help keep the park afloat.
If he has the secret to a profitable D-2 team (as he seems to think he has), he should hold a seminar and sell tickets to the other NASL and USL teams. Hell, invite the MLS too. Should be an easy way to pick up some quick cash.
“What other privately held businesses have their buildings and property paid for by taxpayers?”
Wells Fargo? Ford? AIG?
Sorry, you left that door open.
huh.
Well, I like his attitude.
I love the idea of a privately funded stadium.
So, I hate to say this, since he seems like a good person who is trying to do wonderful things in his community but I’m starting to think he might be a little off considering that he envisioned minor professional soccer as a vehicle for funding a nonprofit theme park. Privately funding a facility is really only going to put him deeper in the red and deeper in debt to whatever lenders might be propping him up.
A guy with absolutely no experience in soccer, whose internal reports already are at odds from those of a professional study conducted on behalf of the local municipality, which consulting group has enormous experience in the sports industry, is going to evaluate this again on his own?
Help! I’ve fallen and can’t get back up!!!
Time to call it a day and head back to the ranch.
This seems like the first steps in a “peace with honour” wind down of plans.
In which case, NASL needs another team. Hopefully Edmonton is rediculously successful, prompting a jealous Calgary population to demand a team of their own.
Which would of course mean there would then be too many Canadian teams in the league again. Rule is, 75% of the teams must be from the U.S.
@Bart: Although I agree that the deck is stacked against him (it has been from the start), I don’t think 45 more days is going to make so much of a difference.
No reason to throw in the towel just yet.
With regard to a time frame of getting a stadium completed and ready for use by next April, another 45 days makes a LOT of difference. However honorable his intentions may be, it’s obvious he’s in way over his head with this venture. Having now been given an excuse to bow out gracefully, he should take it and sell his franchise rights.
@Yankiboy
At some point, one stops throwing away good money after bad money. It could be 45 days or 10 years, the concept is the same.
@Bart: I understand the concept.
My question is “How much more money is he going to throw away in 45 days?”
He’s already invested some money into the project. Do you really think that the additional expense that he is going to incur in the next 45 days is anything other than “minimal” in the grand scheme of things.
I don’t. 45 days. A few more K. All a drop in the bucket. He can afford I whether he abandons the project or he goes forward with it.
It’s not like he’s going to hemmorhage dough in the next month and a half.
@Brian Quarstad: They could just get a waiver like the USL did this year. I’m sure the USSF would prefer the new D2 to have a stable base of teams (presuming the Calgary franchise would be stable – heh) with some of them foreign then no league at all. Well, 50% of the USSF would want this.
Also, I think there is little chance of the NASL becoming a “Canadian League” (what the 75% rule is presumably there to stop). There’ll be Edmonton, Ottawa and Hamilton. After that, Calgary, Winnipeg and Quebec City* could support teams. Then maybe a “Saskatchewan” team in Regina or Saskatoon, and an “Atlantic” team in Moncton or Halifax. But those are the only cities in all of Canada that could handle D2. So you’re looking at 8 teams maximum – probably much less serious contenders due to lack of investors. Maybe 5 teams.
So, in the early years of the NASL I think they’ll be more willing to grant a waiver. If the Canadian markets can prop up the league until more American ones come around, I think that can be beneficial to an American League.
*[I've been led to believe that Impact Montreal very much see themselves as the province of Quebec's team, apparently being instrumental in stopping the expansion of the CSL into Quebec beyond their own academy team. So, their "continued involvement" in the NASL might amount to keeping teams out of Quebec. On the other hand, I did see someone mention on the Voyageurs' board a rumour about Saputo being interested in a NASL team in QC. On the one hand, that seems totally unfounded. On the other, a number of the Edmonton V's are very good with insider stuff on FC Edmonton...]
After what happened this winter with the USSF and knowing they have a very watchful eye on the NASL, would you really want to test those waters? I’m pretty sure that they would not. Talking to my sources who know the situation better than I do that was one thing the USSF was concerned with. Not that issue alone but with all the other issues it just is a non-starter.
The USL was a fraction of a team off. Not a big deal and they have realistic plans to rectify that situation by next season.