Forbes Valuations of MLS Teams

[S_D]

http://www.forbes.com/business/2008/...mlsvalues.html

Saw this link on BS and I thought it was pretty good info.

Los Angeles Galaxy, worth $100 million

Toronto FC worth $44 million

-turned a profit of $2.1 million
-spectators topped the league in spending, averaging $15 a game on food, beverages and souvenirs
-rakes in $4 million in local television and sponsorship revenue.

Toronto FC was one of the most successful launches in pro sports history,” Garber says

Paul if you are reading this Tom better have given you a nice fat raise...just not too much though...we still need to be able to afford a DP

[Roogsy]

http://www.forbes.com/business/2008/...mlsvalues.html

Saw this link on BS and I thought it was pretty good info.

Los Angeles Galaxy, worth $100 million

Toronto FC worth $44 million

-turned a profit of $2.1 million
-spectators topped the league in spending, averaging $15 a game on food, beverages and souvenirs
-rakes in $4 million in local television and sponsorship revenue.



Paul if you are reading this Tom better have given you a nice fat raise...just not too much though...we still need to be able to afford a DP

I was close! When we were discussing it a few months ago I said I wouldn't be surprised if it was over 40mill!

[werewolf]

ahhh a $2.1 Mil profit, that explains the ticket price increase for a last place team.

[jloome]

Yeah, and keep in mind that'll be the written down profit, once they've written off every piece of capital depreciation and lost income possible. That really translates to a profit of several factors greater.

[olegunnar]

Only two teams on that list had positive operating income.

roh oh!

[Chevy]

Direct quote from the article....



The Toronto FC, which commissioner Garber holds up as the blueprint for the coming expansion teams, is worth $44 million, up four-fold in just three years. The team turned a profit of $2.1 million in its inaugural season last year, when it sold every ticket at 20,500-seat BMO Field.

A cosmopolitan city with a passionate soccer fan base translated into a sea of supporters donning the red and white team colors at home games. Toronto FC spectators topped the league in spending, averaging $15 a game on food, beverages and souvenirs at concession stands. Toronto also rakes in $4 million in local television and sponsorship revenue.

“Toronto FC was one of the most successful launches in pro sports history,” Garber says after reflecting on how Toronto reporters scoffed during the initial press conference, predicting that MLS would never succeed in a city with a history of failed soccer teams.

[rocker]

i would hope they made a profit!

if the CSA ran TFC there'd be a loss.

I wonder if they might have to move the Crew franchise soon.
if this league continues to grow, won't the Crew be a big drag on the sharing of revenue?
they'll always be takers, not givers.
sponsorship is key, and if a small city like that doesn't have the base, they are in trouble as the cap goes up and the league tries to grow.

[FluSH]

-spectators topped the league in spending, averaging $15 a game

What? $15 a game? I easily spend 3 x that on BEER alone every game!!!

[RPB_Brantford_08]

i would hope they made a profit!

if the CSA ran TFC there'd be a loss.

I wonder if they might have to move the Crew franchise soon.
if this league continues to grow, won't the Crew be a big drag on the sharing of revenue?
they'll always be takers, not givers.
sponsorship is key, and if a small city like that doesn't have the base, they are in trouble as the cap goes up and the league tries to grow.

The Crew will have to move soon,dwindling crowds fro a first place club are troubling...this is where the Senators ownership group should come in and Move the franchise to Ottawa, the could pickk the Crew up cheap,
all they need is a stadium.

[AL-MO]

YEAH because they'll be alot more successful there.

[Oblio2]

$2.1m
Spend it all on grass!!!!!!

[Ladies Love Julius James]

What? $15 a game? I easily spend 3 x that on BEER alone every game!!!

Ya but remember kids and soccer moms who don't buy anything.

[nobodybeatsthewiz]

agree with jloome....no WAY in hell they only turned a NOI of $2.1MM

[Detroit_TFC]

The video interview with the CEO of DC United was very interesting. Stadium announcement "in the spring." Also, Payne said no need to seek addtional investment partners for DCU, they expect "a significant increase in value in the near future."

[Beach_Red]

The video interview with the CEO of DC United was very interesting. Stadium announcement "in the spring." Also, Payne said no need to seek addtional investment partners for DCU, they expect "a significant increase in value in the near future."

Yeah, it was good. This league is about to reach the 'tipping point,' I think.

[Eastend]

What? $15 a game? I easily spend 3 x that on BEER alone every game!!!

that's what I was thinking...I guess we balance out the ones who don't buy.

[werewolf]

$15 X 20,000 people X 19 home games = $5,700,000

and that doesn't even include tickets, TV contracts, advertisements....

[GeorgeB]

"i expect soccer francises to trade in the $80 to $ 100 million range within the next three years." hmm, i wonder if he was talking about us ?

[Bluenose13]

$2.1m
Spend it all on grass!!!!!!

Hmm......I probably have spent that over the last 20 years

[ManUtd4ever]

Hmm......I probably have spent that over the last 20 years

HAHA, you're not the only one...

[troy1982]

The Crew will have to move soon,dwindling crowds fro a first place club are troubling...this is where the Senators ownership group should come in and Move the franchise to Ottawa, the could pickk the Crew up cheap,
all they need is a stadium.

In defence of the crew the article is unclear if they included the shirt sponser deal which came at the very end of last season. They also now have concert revenue (which probably wouldn't be counted for team revenue but the owner still get the money). In addition they are in first place and the crowds appear to be better, based on TV viewing (not announced)

when you include non team revenues for all the owners I think most teams are just in the black. But the article shows why doubling or tripling of the salary cap within 2 years (which many here are demanding) will not be possible.

[yellowfellow]

that's what I was thinking...I guess we balance out the ones who don't buy.

You mean, the ones who can't buy.

[Toronto Ruffrider]

$15 X 20,000 people X 19 home games = $5,700,000

and that doesn't even include tickets, TV contracts, advertisements....

I think some of that money goes to the City of Toronto, but I can't remember what proportion.

[rocktml]

wow good read thanks

[ChrisLav]

Only two teams on that list had positive operating income.

roh oh!

Actually Dallas comes in with a positive Operating income of: $0.5 million. They're just at a lower value than Chicago & 4th on the list.

[jloome]

I believe the city gets 50% of concession sales, going from memory. Could be wrong. Anyway, if you look at their expenses versus revenue, even assuming they're serving a debt (unlikely, given its MLSE) on their chunk of the stadium, this team is writing down BIG TIME.

The rest of the league picture is equally interesting. Presumably, if LA, Toronto and Dallas had a combined profit of $6.7 million and Toronto accounted for $2.7 million of htat, then LA had no more than (assuming the obviously incorrect lowball of $100G for Dallas) $3.9 million in profit. It sold 300,000 Beckham jerseys, at about $100 a piece. Shit, that's $30 million in shirt sales right there.

What kind of absurd expenses (read: travel, in all likelihood) are these teams encountering that leads to such skimpy bottom lines? Either this is an old boy's club of using pro sports to cover bills for other ventures, or something is seriously wrong.

[Cashcleaner]

Once again, this is not news that we should really be happy about. I'm sorry, but I'm not impressed at all with the fact that our club, sorry - the owners of our club, are making 44 million bucks while we've got a senior roster totalling less than 2.3 million.

Once again, I really have to point out that we are trailing behind only the Galaxy when it comes to revenues for this year and yet we certainly don't show the signs of a club that is even looking like playoff contenders.

[Shakes McQueen]

Once again, this is not news that we should really be happy about. I'm sorry, but I'm not impressed at all with the fact that our club, sorry - the owners of our club, are making 44 million bucks while we've got a senior roster totalling less than 2.3 million.

Once again, I really have to point out that we are trailing behind only the Galaxy when it comes to revenues for this year and yet we certainly don't show the signs of a club that is even looking like playoff contenders.

They aren't making $44 million dollars. That is the valuation of the entire club.

We had an operating profit last year of just over $2 million.

The three profitable MLS teams combine for a total of $6.7 in operating profit.

- Scott

[Detroit_TFC]

In the context of the upcoming players contract negotiations, you can start to see some of the talking points on both sides. The owners will say that a large salary cap increase is not feasible due to poor profitability throughout the league, except for LAG, TFC, etc. The players will say the investors are reaping a windfall based on the increasing valuation of the teams.

Considering once RB is in their own place under better terms and Seattle is likely to be a smash hit like TFC is, plus other developments like KC's future stadium, Philly, etc, overall league profitability will increase soon, by a lot. Increasing the salary cap, and thereby recruiting better quality players, will put a lot more butts in seats where that is an issue. If the owners dig in over this, they are just being penny wise and dollar foolish.

This is a tipping point for the league, on a financial level at least.

[Fort York Redcoat]

Only two teams on that list had positive operating income.

roh oh!

So perhaps its more than 2 but this is something we should all keep in mind when talking about CBA and more DP's and raising the salary cap. This league is not as succesful as our team. I want more quality players but what will happen to the league if they paid players more and keep adding players year after year with expansion?

One way to look at it is that we will be fine and any other club could just move but one only has to wiki this league to see how fragile it's been in the past.

sidenote: Why is it that leagues think Florida needs not one but two struggling teams at a time?