Paulson and Wilkinson on the future
by almost awesome on Oct 16, 2011 8:44 AM PDT
Email
PrintVia a really well written Jason Quick piece. I wish he would write Timbers more often. In addition to this stuff, there's some quality stuff on Paulson himself. Great article. Juicy article.
There has been some fairly scary (to me, anyway) financial talk in the past, but Paulson sounds really ambitious in this article:
"We are already looking at three to four guys who will be big, big additions in this offseason."
"We think we are four players or so away from really improving and taking it to the next level, and two years away from really being on everyone's mind for a national championship."
Wilkinson dropped some hints (without even shielding them as hints) about where we can expect changes:
"We need another strong defender and more goals from our front players--you can interpret that how you'd like. We need our wide players to finish more... they are all fantastic players who will hopefully be with us for a long time, but ultimately we need them scoring goals. And we need our front two hitting 10 goals every year... each."
Quick says the players would be targeted in trade and from overseas.
Exciting stuff to think about after a tough loss and with our playoff chances dwindling. And personally, it is exactly what I want to hear. I'll be looking for rumors hungrily. Though in all honesty, I probably won't recognize the names of the international guys.
I wouldn't mind a couple starters coming in on defense--maybe one of those a CB to push our young guys back there, a high-caliber wing to do the same for our young, talented core outside, and an ace striker. And adding some toughness/enforcement.
Alright guys, I don't believe I have to say this but, just in case, please do not submit anything racist, homophobic, sexist or otherwise not appropriate for even the younger Timbers fans.
54 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Exactly,
I like that they’re going to be aggressive and that they’re being honest about it.
Mike Rice: "Camby nearly rejected that with his Armpit!"
Mike Barrett: "Now that would be a fragrant foul."
In that Article
There was a statement of the fact that MLS takes 33% of the ticket revenue and the City of Portland gets 8%.
Average ticket price for the Timbers is $33.65. So knowing that 320051 total fans watched a Timbers game you get total revenue for just the tickets at: $10,769,716.15. Of which the Timbers get 59% which would be $6,354,132.52. About three times the current Payroll.
Then you have the corporate sponsorship which is $5 Million+ per year. So the Timbers are making more than 11 Million in revenue for the first year if you take in concessions, retail sales of jerseys and other items.
Contributing editor to Stumptown Footy the Portland Timbers SBN blog.
In Other Words
Don’t worry about the Financials so much cause the Money is coming in.
Contributing editor to Stumptown Footy the Portland Timbers SBN blog.
There are other things to consider though.
Like staffing costs, recouping costs on stadium/rent, and the general will to be profitable.
Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately depending on your view) the Portland Timbers aren’t a side project like the Sounders, Galaxy and New York. This is a business that’s been set up to be profitable.
I’m not saying the Timbers should be be worried about the financials because they shouldn’t. I’m just saying I don’t think the team will ever be one of the big spenders in the league because they don’t have the luxury of spending $5 million on a player when they know that investment probably won’t come back.
RCTID - Stumptown Footy
Moderator of /r/MLS
by Geoff Gibson on Oct 16, 2011 8:48 AM PDT up reply actions
As much as it's cool to hate the Sounders on this blog calling them a "side project" is pretty much wrong
By that logic you can also call the Blazers a side project since Paul Allen owns a stake in both, right?
by pdb on Oct 16, 2011 9:00 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
A side project
Meaning the owners of the company have other more profitable ventures than their current team.
The Sounders are made up of:
Paul Allen – renowned billionaire
Adrian Hanauer – framing business
Joe Roth – Producer, director, founder of Morgan Creek productions, etc. etc.
Drew Carey – Actor/Game Show host
Each of these guys have jobs they do. Each of their jobs make them money.
For the Timbers Merritt Paulson’s job is the Timbers. Aside from getting the money from his father to buy the team, there’s nothing propping up the Timbers like there would be with
Seattle – 4 independently wealthy business men and soccer fans.
LA – AEG
New York – Red Bull
That’s what I mean by side project. I don’t mean anything about how seriously the owners take their team. In fact, I’d say LA, Seattle and NY’s owners have some of the best ownership groups in MLS, but they’re still side projects.
RCTID - Stumptown Footy
Moderator of /r/MLS
by Geoff Gibson on Oct 16, 2011 12:39 PM PDT up reply actions
I wonder if Paulson would ever take on (a) partner(s)
I’m not sure if his passion for this team would allow it (I don’t mean that in any negative way) whatsoever).
I want him to, and I want his partner to be Nike and their reported $4.5 bil in reserves. But I doubt Nike would be allowed to crash adidas’ party. It would be pretty funny if adidas was paying Nagbe to play for Nike.
Regardless, it would be nice if a big money partner came on board, and if they did Merritt would still be the face.
But in all fairness, the difference between payrolls for the Timbers and every team outside LA/NY doesn’t seem that significant (though I could be failing to consider some things there).
volatilelyle.com
by almost awesome on Oct 16, 2011 1:07 PM PDT up reply actions
Nike probably wouldn't be allowed...
But Phil Knight could certainly if he wanted to.
I think the Timbers are fine as is though.
RCTID - Stumptown Footy
Moderator of /r/MLS
by Geoff Gibson on Oct 16, 2011 7:30 PM PDT up reply actions
You also forgot to mention that Drew Carey is a successful comedian as well
I’ll hate him every time S**ttle takes the pitch, but for the other hundreds of days of the year I enjoy his comedy.
Blazers win!
Who's Line was one of the funniest shows around
I JUST WANT MY BASKETBALL BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
by Sean in Vancouver on Oct 17, 2011 9:24 AM PDT up reply actions
Yeah, but Clive Anderson was better
When I write, I write for the Timbers. Contributing Editor of Stumptown Footy
by Andrew Wheeler on Oct 17, 2011 2:02 PM PDT up reply actions
The English version got away with more stuff too
However, Wayne Brady made the US version what it was
Blazers win!
Yeah, Drew was pretty awful at improv
wayne brady and that tall dude from Drew’s sitcom and then 2 and 1/2 men made the american show. The british show had better improvers all the way around…
"What and how much had I lost by trying to do only what was expected of me instead of what I myself had wished to do?"
— Ralph Ellison (Invisible Man)
Collin Mochrie
And yes Stiles is correct. Those two and Wayne Brady were the absolute best of course those two were on the British version too.
Contributing editor to Stumptown Footy the Portland Timbers SBN blog.
I would disagree
For the sounders, Hanuaer is a part owner and a full time general manager. IT has pretty much been his full time job for quite some time (about a decade). Sure he made money elsewhere earlier in life (and it was more to do with software than the family furniture stores) but I would say for him the other things are his side projects and this is his life.
Paulson on a similar note has done other things to make money and I would also venture to guess his dad has helped him along the way.
As you said, both teams have management teams in place that are both passionate about the sport and there to make money. Those are the two things needed to be successful.
on the best refs money can buy, clearly
volatilelyle.com
by almost awesome on Oct 16, 2011 1:42 PM PDT up reply actions
Sending it to...
Columbus/Dallas/San Jose for the most part.
Also, pdb makes a good point. A good chunk probably goes to keeping the Don living in the style to which he is accustomed out at MLS headquarters.
Contributing Editor for Stumptown Footy
by William Conwell on Oct 16, 2011 3:50 PM PDT up reply actions
I was thinking more along the lines of paying the original MLS investors
But yeah, the thought of any of our 33% going to Nick Firchau and Simon Borg is scary. The Don I don’t mind. He has to wheel and deal for the league. He probably shouldn’t roll up to a meeting on a used Univega he bought on Craigslist.
by yepyou'reright on Oct 17, 2011 7:50 PM PDT up reply actions
player salaries
Only DPs are paid for by the teams. The rest of the players have their salaries paid for by the league.
that is what I thought
The league owns the players basically.
"What and how much had I lost by trying to do only what was expected of me instead of what I myself had wished to do?"
— Ralph Ellison (Invisible Man)
Yes
So if John from FC Dallas is sold to an EPL Team it isn’t Dallas’s choice. They could actually not want him to go and MLS just sells him and gets a $4-5 million transfer fee.
Contributing editor to Stumptown Footy the Portland Timbers SBN blog.
As said above, it's most likely going to pay general player salaries (which the league pays)
Also, sharing of the gate revenue is common among pro sports. It just depends on how it is done. In MLB, it used to be between the home and away teams which meant that teams like the Yankees and Red Sox benefitted from the large away crowds they drew. In on leagues the revenue sharing goes into a league pool to be distributed evenly.
1/3 of gate plus the national TV deals and sponsorships to pay for the league overhead as well as all player salaries (except for the portion of DP salaries above $335,000) is pretty reasonable.
question
Assuming revenue is $11 million or more and if it is true that MLS pays most player salaries from their 33% cut (see post below, I have no idea if this is true or not…is it?) then the Timbers should be quite profitable.
Question is in general how does the MLS signing/paying the salaries of players work? Does MLS take 33% from all teams gate revenue or does it change depending on the team? What if the 33% MLS take is more or less than the cost of the players’ salaries the league has to pay for for that team?
I guess I am just confused how this all works since the structure of MLS (players signing contracts with leagues and not teams) is so different?
Any info would be appreciated.
If I understand everything (big IF there)
MLS takes 33% of all Ticket Revenue from all teams and uses it to pay for the Players salaries and only the Players salaries for each team (of course all league personal and the refs are included in that).
All DP’s salaries above 350k are paid for by the club themselves.
Contributing editor to Stumptown Footy the Portland Timbers SBN blog.
So Columbus gets pretty heavily subsidized then?
Wow, I am surprised the league has not moved teams like the Crew…
"What and how much had I lost by trying to do only what was expected of me instead of what I myself had wished to do?"
— Ralph Ellison (Invisible Man)
I guess so
But remember the concessions and the rest of the money goes back to the team so all the other teams with great attendance get a heck of a lot more money than Columbus like teams. All Columbus gets is money for the salary cap while Portland and Seattle like teams get money for DP’s.
Contributing editor to Stumptown Footy the Portland Timbers SBN blog.
Also, is Allen a fairly active owner with the Sounders?
or is he around because of the stadium and city sports ties? Just curious.
As the owner of my Blazers he has been a great (if too active owner). People will argue with me about that, but the Blazers don’t have to be competitive or even in Portland. I think Allen is a great owner with some baggage.
volatilelyle.com
Depends on your definition of 'active'
I think we all need to remember that MLS is relatively small potatos (compared to NFL/NBA) and Paul Allen is a billionare, he isnt as active with the team as Hanauer or Carrey but he still plays a vital role. (meaning the guy has deep pockets and pull) But when it comes down to it, Allen is a sports fan and NW native who wants to see his teams do well.
Hes pretty much stepped back and let the guys who truly know the sport handle it. Considering how well Hanauer/Henderson have done I think its safe to say hes happy to sit back and enjoy the ride. Paul Allen has been vital is making all NW sports, sans baseball, relevant on a national stage, kudos to him.
Go banana!
Only around for the stadium. Period.
Sounders would’ve never happened without him because there would be no venue unless Hanauer and co wanted to pay rent for it. Not to mention access to all the professionals in the Seahawk organization [like email lists, and such].
Jag kom, jag såg, erövrade jag.
Esp. the e-mail lists
I get pissed every time I get Flounder ticket sales e-mails because I signed up for SEAHAWK e-mails… They go straight into the trash bin
Blazers win!
You cannot underestimate the advantage they had to tap the NFL resources.
They do go hand in hand up there, and people have already forgotten that.
Jag kom, jag såg, erövrade jag.
New England has that too
as do the Rapids and FC Dallas. Seattle’s just been way better at mobilizing their resources.
64,000 at their home finale this weekend. I want that.
64,000???
Holy wow, I thought they only had like 35k seats open
I JUST WANT MY BASKETBALL BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
by Sean in Vancouver on Oct 17, 2011 9:28 AM PDT up reply actions
*last regular season home game
When I write, I write for the Timbers. Contributing Editor of Stumptown Footy
by Andrew Wheeler on Oct 17, 2011 2:04 PM PDT up reply actions
It was opened up (as was the NYRB match) as part of a 3 ticket package that went with the Man United game
The whole stadium (other than the Hawks nest) was open for the game. While the NYRB game had around 46k, this time the team made a big push around Keller’s last regular season home game and had a nice fan & Keller appreciation event after the match.
thats an amazing crowd
for anything other than NFL or major college football.
I JUST WANT MY BASKETBALL BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
by Sean in Vancouver on Oct 19, 2011 10:48 AM PDT up reply actions
FCD and Rapids do not.
They have distinct separate entities from the NFL counterparts handling tickets, billing, management, etc. Chiefs are not connected to Hunts’ other MLS teams.
Jag kom, jag såg, erövrade jag.
Geographic disparity makes the email lists not relevant.
Statistical information on the demographics may be somewhat similar. But I hardly think they would share any nominal resources given where they are situated.
And I’ve never once heard from long-time MLS followers that what you suggested is the case. Same owner, yes, but same FO? Not at all.
Jag kom, jag såg, erövrade jag.
To PDBs original point...
There is no reason they could not do what the sounders have done. They have just chosen not to.
The Vulcans
"What and how much had I lost by trying to do only what was expected of me instead of what I myself had wished to do?"
— Ralph Ellison (Invisible Man)
Squeezed out Portland's baseball team and now looking to mess with the NBA negotiations
[See Blazer’s Edge for the rumors]
Jag kom, jag såg, erövrade jag.
Timbers do have some money to spend
But we probably won’t ever sign a Beckham/Henry type of DP and we really don’t need to. Those types of DPs don’t automatically lead to championships and we don’t need them to sell tickets. That said, if one can be had at a reasonable price I’m not automatically against it either. Realistically I think we’ll see more Chara type DPs for the Timbers and I’m fine with that.
Give us three DPs of the Chara quality (meaning they’re very good but aren’t hyper expensive Euro stars), build a squad, develop players, make smart trades, etc., and we’ll be winning games and financially healthy.
That said, glad to hear that GW sees the need for added depth in the back, on the wings, and up front.
Old news, but missed news for me from last week
Over at timbersinsider there is some audio from Gavin. They are going to Colimbia for one guy specifically. Also he says there will be trialists in early November, which is now.
http://www.timbersinsider.com/2011/10/spot-kick-gavin-wilkinson/
volatilelyle.com
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
