Major League Soccer

Anschutz takes control of MetroStars bringing AEG stable to five clubs.

(Wednesday, November 21, 2001) -- The MetroStars are the latest Major League Soccer club to fall under the control of the The Anschutz Entertainment Group, the Los Angeles-based sports and entertainment company belonging to Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz.

The AEG purchase of the operating rights to the team based in northern New Jersey from John Kluge, Stuart Subotnick and Metromedia, was announced today though the terms of the transaction were not released. Anschutz, through AEG Soccer, now runs five of the 12 MLS clubs, the others being the Chicago Fire, Los Angeles Galaxy, Colorado Rapids and Washington’s D.C. United.

Kluge is chairman, president and general partner, and Subotnick executive vice president, general partner and chief operating officer of Metromedia Company which became an initial investor in MLS through the limited partnership Empire Soccer Club, L.P.. Empire owned not only the operating rights to the MetroStars, but shares in the limited liability corporation that owns MLS as a whole. The partnership also owned an option to start and operate a second franchise, to be located either in the New York metropolitan area, or in a location to be mutually agreed upon between it and MLS..

All were sold to AEG Soccer, including the option on the second franchise with Kluge and Subotnick severing all ties with MLS.

"Clearly, New York\New Jersey is the most important and largest marketplace for our league and the resources AEG will bring to this organization will not only strengthen the team, but will have a very positive effect on the entire league," AEG president Timothy J. Leiweke said. "Now with teams in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Colorado and Washington D.C., we believe that we will continue to be leaders within MLS and play a significant role in the growth of the league."

According to league sources, AEG aggressively pursued the purchase because it badly wanted a foothold in the nation’s largest market. This was confirmed by MLS commissioner Don Garber, saying, "AEG is one of the preeminent sports and live-entertainment companies in the world, and adding a team in the metropolitan New York area is a logical next step for them. We have complete faith in AEG taking the MetroStars to the next level."

Garber said during in roundtable discussion with the Professional Soccer Reporters Association in Columbus, Ohio, on October 20, the day before MLS Cup 2001, he did not think the league could expand again until 2004 at the earliest. Chicago and the Miami Fusion were added to the original 10 teams for 1998, the league’s third season.

AEG also owns the National Hockey League’s Los Angeles Kings, a part of the National Basketball Association’s Los Angeles Lakers and the Women’s NBA Los Angeles Sparks and two arenas in L.A. -- the Great Western Forum and the Staples Center. AEG's worldwide holdings include ownership of Sweden's Hammarby Soccer Club, the London Arena and five European hockey teams.

It is building a $100 million national training academy in suburban Los Angeles that will include a 25,000-seat soccer-specific stadium for the Galaxy, as well as training facilities for soccer, tennis, track and field, cycling, basketball and other sports.

Today’s acquisition raises several immediate questions for MetroStars fans, foremost of which is whether the new ownership will aggressively pursue the construction of a new, 25,000-seat soccer stadium in Harrison, N.J., just northeast of Newark. Kevin Payne, the former president and general manager of D.C. United, and now newly-appointed senior vice president of AEG Soccer, says it will.

"We believe that this stadium project is critical to the successful operation of the franchise and soccer's existence in the region," he said.

Another question is whether MetroStars general manager Nick Sakiewicz will continue in that role and whether there might be other front office or on-field changes. For now, it would appear that current personnel will stay in place.

"I have great respect for the MetroStars management team," Payne said. "The leadership of the organization will remain in place and the direction they have set for the team will be continued and, where possible, accelerated. I am very much looking forward to working closely with Nick.

"The acquisition of the MetroStars is a great opportunity for AEG to further our strategic vision for the growth of soccer in America. While each of our teams operate independently and are fierce rivals on the field, the strength of our corporate presence can be a tremendous asset in the areas of sponsorship and back-office operations. The MetroStars are a perfect fit in the new sports-business paradigm we are creating."

Subotnick, who served as chairman of the MLS Board of Governors in recent years, expressed regrets about leaving. "This is a bittersweet day for us," he said. "John and I have been with MLS since its inception and we've fallen in love with the game of soccer and the MetroStars in particular. AEG is committed to take soccer in America to a higher level, and we decided to assist in their goal by transferring our interest to them at this time.

"While we will no longer operate the MetroStars, we will continue to be avid and supportive fans of the team and the league. This has been an exhilarating experience, providing us with memories we will always treasure. I feel good knowing the team is going forward in the best of hands."

Garber brushed aside any inference that one conglomerate operating five franchises was a negative for MLS. "The most important way to achieve credibility in any sport or league is raising the level of success in things like attendance, television ratings, stadium construction and the quality of play," Garber said. "I believe we're in a far better position with fewer investors who are fully committed to the long-term success of the sport than with a greater number who don't have that same commitment and are unable to get us to that goal.

"That being said, we will regularly meet with individuals and entities that are interested in participating in Major League Soccer and we hope to grow the number of investor-operators in the league. I don't believe in any way that having AEG, the most committed group to soccer in this country and perhaps in the world, have a greater interest in soccer could be anything but very, very good."

In recent months under Leiweke, AEG has aggressively branched into the entertainment industry, buying motion picture theater chains, production companies and other entertainment venues including the show rooms of Las Vegas hotels. AEG is currently overseeing the development of the L.A. Sports and Entertainment District, a proposed 4 million square foot development featuring LA Live, a 7,000-seat state-of-the-art live theater, a 1,200-room convention "headquarters" hotel along with entertainment, restaurant and office space, all adjacent to downtown’s Staples Center.

Senior correspondent Robert Wagman's "It Seems To Me . . . " appears regularly on SoccerTimes. He can be e-mailed at bobwagman@soccertimes.com..