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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]So in retrospect the rumors of FCV taking over Spirit have some validity but it was really a third party that was floating the balloon.

St. James was trying to get soccer moving in their facility and were generating zero interest on their own. So their choices then were to partner with a existing club or buy one. You can’t really buy a non-profit and the St James does not want to partner because they could only profit via concessions and halo memberships. This leaves buying a club as the only options and the only real clubs that they could buy were Barca, FCV and Spirit VA.

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Wrong.  FCV was never going to take over Spirit.  That comes from Christian himself.   It actually turns out that the rumors of FCV being taken over BY Spirit we’re closer to the mark, given the financial difficulties FCV was gaming. [/quote]

We’re = were and gaming = having.  Stupid phone. [/quote]

No, my point wasn’t that FCV was ever looking to buy anything. They were obviously sellers. But, the third party, IE St James may have been exploring both clubs either jointly or individually. Spirit was/is not in a position to buy anything and have demonstrated that they are not interested in youth soccer. What would be more likely to believe in a Spirit purchase of FCV was likely a purchase via proxy for the St James. Spirit may have felt they could flip the sale for a quick profit. In the end, they likely just lost a bidding war to the St James.

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Flipping a company with negative cash flow makes no sense.  Spirit DA with its bloated rosters, costs, and dual duty coaches was in a better financial position than FCV.   If St James is interested in making money, and we know they are, Spirit would have been the primary target.   The simplest explanation is that FCC was looking for a buyer and the St James guys saw enough value for the low price to make it work.  And don’t believe for a second that a large part of the value isn’t to get the affluent parents inside the building at some point soon...[/quote]

And FCV was not in debt before the sale?[/quote]

They were--that was the counterpoint to the notion that Spirit/St james was looking to flip FCV.   They weren't; there's no financial value there, other than the potential revenue streams from the parents.

St James seems to think that the subscription revenue PLUS the ancillary services purchased at the St James facility by these families will be worth it.   If they were aggressively looking at both Spirit and FCV for this purpose, Spirit would have been the obvious choice from a financial perspective.  More families and higher costs for the same service equals a higher bottom line.  [b]Not to mention the free fields courtesy GFR partnership vs the lease at Evergreen[/b].  Spirit owner was looking to get out of the DA business, and would have gladly taken the money and everyone "wins" in that scenario.

The fact that DIDN'T happen suggests there was no bidding war and this is something that was initiated by FCV to get out of a financial hole.  Either that or the St James owners aren't as financially savvy as thought.[/quote]

The fields are not free, and this is the part of the equation that people can't seem to wrap their head around. The St. James wants bodies in its location period. They want memberships and they want to charge for add on soccer services like strength and conditioning, futsal and any other extra that they can charge for.

Had The St. James purchased Spirit the GFR relationship likely would have fizzled.

1. The St. James is for-profit and as a for-profit and their tax status, just like FCV's means that they cannot rent county fields at non-profit rates. Any arrangement would have GFR passing on the field cost to the St. James. So, no, no matter how it played out the fields through Spirit would never be free. And on top of it, GFR is obviously a geographically locked soccer club as its namesake. FCV, assuming the name remains simply is not as locked into geography the way Loudoun, CYA, Herndon etc. Not insignificant.

2. GFR as a non-profit is obviously not for sale and even an affiliation would not generate any revenue for the St. James other than direct GFR field rentals at the St. James since any club membership dues cannot be claimed as profit.

3. Even though their building cannot support the entirety of a soccer club with one field they will certainly want as many teams practicing as much as possible there because they can build that profit into their new club fee structure. They will not be thrilled paying rent at Evergreen for very long as it is money they are essentially spending and not recovering.

4. The St. James will want a player pool closer to its facility in hopes of driving up halo memberships as well.

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1. The County fields are lower cost than Evergreen and that was a point to underscore the bottom lines of Spirit v FCV
2. Although MetroU is still a partner with GFR; at the time this was being assessed, Spirit was the owner of their DA club and GFR would not have been a consideration at all in any competitive sale situation
3. Moving Spirit to St James would have been less of a blow to parents because there are many more who are closer to St James than FCV parents

Again, the simplest explanation here is that FCV was the one reaching out for help, not St James shopping clubs and picking FCV.   Looks like the rumor of FCV being taken over by Spirit was closer to being the truth vs the converse, which was never going to happen by any credible account.[/quote]

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