Girls DA/ECNL in VA: who will survive?
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Anonymous
If I were TSJ, I would not be trying to build an entire youth system, I would concentrate on creating an elite DA club starting with a great core from FCV. I'd keep it small enough that I could house it in my own facility, and successful enough that it became the NOVA "destination" for the best of the best. I would not want to be messing with outdoor field space for U-littles, B-C-D teams, and all that. I don't think that sort of thing helps support your sports club profits. |
Anonymous
| Sounds great but kids/parents will also not want their kids playing just inside. That is not healthy. |
Anonymous
A club can't build a DA program without feeder programs. US Soccer requires that a club can demonstrate a viable player pool to draw from to even be in the DA. |
Anonymous
Considering these bios are covering many more sports and amenities than just soccer, this isn't surprising. What is the most obvious, however, is that the CEOs have probably done a deal or two like the FCV deal in their careers. So to the blowhards giving them M&A advice, I laugh. Yup, the former FCV dad knows more about M&A than guys that have been doing it for a living at the largest of companies and firms. I have another idea for former FCV dad...post your resume (you can leave out company names and your name for anonymity) and we can see how much credibility you have. Then maybe we can take you a little more seriously than some message board gorilla. |
Anonymous
US Soccer does not enforce their own rules in this and many other areas. WS VA had no feeder system. All boys MLS academies have no feeder systems. |
Anonymous
Lol, is this what FCV parents do during their sideline conversations, challenge each other to show their credentials? FWIW, the FCV deal was pretty trivial relative to their investment in the TSJ facility. |
Anonymous
Giving M&A advice or financing a real estate venture is not the same as operating a business. Anybody who has ever run a serious business knows that deals guys are not the same as operators. That being said, the business plan looks interesting. I still don't know how FCV fits. MY guess is that it gives them a captive market for the St. James (rental fees, summer camps, etc.). |
Anonymous
Never said they were "passionate" about soccer. That is not a pre-requisite for investing and owning a business, especially for capital investment types. However, what they are passionate about is getting more members and expanding the services to those members so that they get a good ROI. This will be inclusive of expensive training for youth players, and possibly IMG style academy / sports agent services. Their press release already talked about expanding in Fairfax and PW counties. The sports agent approach (if they pursue this) is a paid representative that helps your kid navigate and get 1) a college scholarship; and/or 2) a pro contract (only lucrative for boys, and mostly with foreign clubs more than MLS, but MLS too). By focusing in on DA and quality ECNL programs they would narrow their pool of players to those most likely to want, pay for, and deserve these type of agent services. In the meantime, they would have expanded their customer base (players and parents and referred friends) to whom they will sell their "sport entertainment and wellness" services too. They are going to expand, of that there is no doubt. Whether they buy some other assets in the elite "NOVA" soccer space or not, maybe, maybe not. |
Anonymous
Sports agents? They bought a girls soccer club. |
Anonymous
They built a facility that cost somewhere close to $200M - a slightly larger endeavor than buying a girls soccer club. That is why when the person critiqued the bios, they sounded like whiney child that cannot compile intelligent thoughts. The bios cover the entire facility and services not the FCV transaction. |
Anonymous
The point is they acquired an asset that they are hoping to receive a ROI from. A soccer club or youth soccer is not their primary focus, memberships are. Look at the disaster Spirit was when the DA player pool was looked at as nothing more than revenue. The St James was smart enough to recognize that DA affiliation will draw in players and thus potential membership. But how much of the bottom line will affect roster decisions down the road? At some point investor oversight will begin to rear its ugly head when it soon learns how thin the margins are with running a soccer club and that the only real money is found in volume which is certainly a lesson that Spirit taught the region. |
Anonymous
Lol. You know so little about business and even less about soccer. |
Anonymous
Well by all means please demonstrate the business model of this acquisition. |
Anonymous
Comparing this to the Spirit situation is where you come off as ignorant here. So little is known about what is happening with STJ and its soccer ambitions that any comparison like that is a fool's errand. Neither of us are a party to the transaction, so all you are doing (AGAIN) is guessing. There are multiple theories possible but as one previous poster said, this acquisition is a drop in the bucket for this facility. The smart money would be on a guess that this is a small piece of the soccer plan there and what that plan is can only be a guess unless you expect us to believe you are advising the STJ leadership. Either way, unless this all happens very quickly, it likely won't affect most of the children represented by the parents here. So again, why do you care? |
Anonymous
Or it is just the only piece of the soccer plan. It is a gym after all. This purchase may be nothing more than offering a smoothie bar and may garner no more attention than that and that is the concern. It is a small piece and not really a focus of the St James. |