By Ben Nicholson
September 17 – The MLS is making progress with the sale of Chivas USA, but likely at the expense of the team’s absence in the 2015 season. The parties involved have been kept discrete, but it is thought that a combination of a wealthy American executive and a Mexican businessman will form the ownership structure of the LA-based club.
A supposed fee close to the $100 million that it cost Manchester City to open the franchise NYC FC is on the table. The MLS bought the Chivas USA franchise back earlier this year for $70 million from Jorge Vergara.
The team is an anomaly to the recent progress of soccer in the US. Whilst almost everywhere else interest and attendances have increased, and whilst potential expansion franchises battle for prominence, Chivas has withered in the shadow of local rivals LA Galaxy.
Struggling to succeed financially and playing wise since their inception, they have failed to make the post-season in the past four consecutive years, and currently sit at the bottom of the Western Conference. One record they are set to break is attendance figures: averaging 7,173 beats the current average low of 7,460 set in 2000 by the now extinct Miami Fusion.
Chivas will be rebranded upon sale, and require a lot of alterations to change their fortunes. Their current lease with the StubHub stadium is coming to an end, and the MLS want the new owners to invest in a new stadium.
They must also come up with a new logo, name, business strategy, marketing plan (and probably find a few morw players too). With all this in mind, a hiatus may be advisable.
The hefty price tag suggests the belief that the club could be a success in LA. But the indication of a yearlong break also suggests that much must change to achieve this.
Mark Abbott, MLS Deputy Commissioner revealed little in his statement about the sale, stating, “We remain focused on the process for selling the club to a new owner, which we hope to complete by the end of the year. We do not intend to comment further on the sales process until it is complete or on speculation about the status of the club.”
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