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Leo Cullen: Barca MLS Bid Needs More Thought
Leo Cullen played for three and a half years in Southern Florida with the Miami Fusion. Now retired, he spoke to Goal.com about Barcelona's bid for an MLS expansion team in the area, saying it should only be pursued if it is comprehensive enough.
Feb 27, 2009 2:38:35 AM
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Despite being early front runners for a Major League Soccer expansion team in 2010, Barcelona are hesitating on their bid in Miami. The economic crisis has affected even billionaire Roman Abromovic, so it comes as no surprise that Barcelona would take a second look at their finances before making the expensive jump into a new market.
Another cause for hesitation is the location itself. Southern Florida once boasted an MLS side, the Miami Fusion, but it folded in 2001. Concerns persist over the ability to tap into a fan-base there, or the financial repercussions.
Back in 1998, when the Fusion was created as an expansion team, it selected Leo Cullen first overall in the MLS College Draft. Some players who were selected in later slots include Chris Klein, Clint Mathis, Pablo Mastroeni, and Matt Reis.
Cullen has since retired and is a player agent, but he still remembers his playing days in Florida well. Goal.com caught up with him via e-mail for his view on the chances any future Florida expansion team might have.
“South Florida is an enigma as it pertains to sustaining professional sports regardless of the league, level or location,” he explained. “I speak from experience in saying there are pockets of desire and want for sports in South Florida, but the dynamics and factors involved in executing successfully are complex.
“Identifying with the relevant communities, receptive demographics, and the all too important ‘maybes’, as well as tackling the hurdles of selling a sport in the heat, in the expanse of a very spread-out geographic grid, and in the face of the subconscious opposition from the ever-present stereotype ‘sports in South Florida are a tough sell’ is the battle we fought daily at the Miami Fusion.”
The Miami Fusion actually played in Ft. Lauderdale, 30 miles North, in a converted high school stadium. There, it struggled to attract the Latino fanbase that had been expected to embrace the club.
“We struggled with a ‘geographic’ identity crisis, we struggled with an ‘ethnic’ identity crisis (over thought on which ethnic demographic(s) to appease, and lost sight of building a good product), and what’s worse, we struggled to properly address those two key issues during the four years it took for the Miami Fusion to close up shop,” Cullen explained. “Credit to Ken Horowitz and his family, they wanted what all of us wanted – for MLS to succeed in Miami; but we failed where so many before us had, and for reasons we could not correct in time to show what I truly believe to be the case: professional soccer/football has a place in South Florida.”
Miami did enjoy some success. Under the coaching of current GolTV pundit Ray Hudson, the team won the Supporters' Sheild in 2001 with a squad boasting the likes of Jay Heaps, Mastroeni, Nick Rimando, and Diego Serna. However, it was too little too late, as the league withdrew from Florida at the season's end.
Only now, eight years later, has talk of re-opening the market gained traction. Barcelona's joint bid with Bolivian businessman Marcelo Claure is certainly alluring. The duo have successful clubs in Spain and Bolivia, and bring name-brand recognition. However, Cullen warns against lunging at the glitziest name too quickly.
“Slapping a sexy title onto a proposed franchise bid is not the answer,” he said. “As much as Don Garber would enjoy another ready-made relationship with one of the world’s biggest and most successful clubs, he’s a bright enough guy to know said label could actually hurt more than help. If the bid in South Florida addresses, as part of a comprehensive business plan (geography/venue, transportation, marketing/branding, local support, etc), the hurdles and complex dynamics of executing MLS in Miami, then we have a reason to consider trying this again.”
Cullen preaches an optimism curbed by reality and thoughtfulness. While he imagines an expansion team in Florida could work in the future, he questions the reasoning behind rushing to construct another expansion team in the wake of so many new additions. Seattle Sounders FC join the league in 2009, and a Philadelphia expansion squad is expected to follow suit in 2010. He points to concerns that the playing quality will be too thinly spread if too many teams are created.
“I am a staunch supporter of MLS, and like everyone else involved in the league, continue learning from our successes and failures alike,” he said. “I would, therefore, tend to defer to what has proven successful when pursuing expansion opportunities. However, discussing the pros and cons of Miami as an expansion city only raise further questions about whether our league is ready for expansion so soon after Seattle and Philly; we can only sell a product to ‘new’ market(s), if that product is the kind of quality required to allow for even the most detailed business model to succeed in unison.”
In the coming months, Barcelona and Claure will no doubt be looking into similar concerns with a keen eye, evaluating finances and other risks discerningly. Until then, it is thought that the Ottawa 2011 bid may overtake Miami as the front-runner for the available expansion slot.
Zac Lee Rigg, Goal.com
Discuss MLS expansion bids in the Goal.com Forums.
Another cause for hesitation is the location itself. Southern Florida once boasted an MLS side, the Miami Fusion, but it folded in 2001. Concerns persist over the ability to tap into a fan-base there, or the financial repercussions.
Back in 1998, when the Fusion was created as an expansion team, it selected Leo Cullen first overall in the MLS College Draft. Some players who were selected in later slots include Chris Klein, Clint Mathis, Pablo Mastroeni, and Matt Reis.
Cullen has since retired and is a player agent, but he still remembers his playing days in Florida well. Goal.com caught up with him via e-mail for his view on the chances any future Florida expansion team might have.
“South Florida is an enigma as it pertains to sustaining professional sports regardless of the league, level or location,” he explained. “I speak from experience in saying there are pockets of desire and want for sports in South Florida, but the dynamics and factors involved in executing successfully are complex.
“Identifying with the relevant communities, receptive demographics, and the all too important ‘maybes’, as well as tackling the hurdles of selling a sport in the heat, in the expanse of a very spread-out geographic grid, and in the face of the subconscious opposition from the ever-present stereotype ‘sports in South Florida are a tough sell’ is the battle we fought daily at the Miami Fusion.”
The Miami Fusion actually played in Ft. Lauderdale, 30 miles North, in a converted high school stadium. There, it struggled to attract the Latino fanbase that had been expected to embrace the club.
“We struggled with a ‘geographic’ identity crisis, we struggled with an ‘ethnic’ identity crisis (over thought on which ethnic demographic(s) to appease, and lost sight of building a good product), and what’s worse, we struggled to properly address those two key issues during the four years it took for the Miami Fusion to close up shop,” Cullen explained. “Credit to Ken Horowitz and his family, they wanted what all of us wanted – for MLS to succeed in Miami; but we failed where so many before us had, and for reasons we could not correct in time to show what I truly believe to be the case: professional soccer/football has a place in South Florida.”
Miami did enjoy some success. Under the coaching of current GolTV pundit Ray Hudson, the team won the Supporters' Sheild in 2001 with a squad boasting the likes of Jay Heaps, Mastroeni, Nick Rimando, and Diego Serna. However, it was too little too late, as the league withdrew from Florida at the season's end.
Only now, eight years later, has talk of re-opening the market gained traction. Barcelona's joint bid with Bolivian businessman Marcelo Claure is certainly alluring. The duo have successful clubs in Spain and Bolivia, and bring name-brand recognition. However, Cullen warns against lunging at the glitziest name too quickly.
“Slapping a sexy title onto a proposed franchise bid is not the answer,” he said. “As much as Don Garber would enjoy another ready-made relationship with one of the world’s biggest and most successful clubs, he’s a bright enough guy to know said label could actually hurt more than help. If the bid in South Florida addresses, as part of a comprehensive business plan (geography/venue, transportation, marketing/branding, local support, etc), the hurdles and complex dynamics of executing MLS in Miami, then we have a reason to consider trying this again.”
Cullen preaches an optimism curbed by reality and thoughtfulness. While he imagines an expansion team in Florida could work in the future, he questions the reasoning behind rushing to construct another expansion team in the wake of so many new additions. Seattle Sounders FC join the league in 2009, and a Philadelphia expansion squad is expected to follow suit in 2010. He points to concerns that the playing quality will be too thinly spread if too many teams are created.
“I am a staunch supporter of MLS, and like everyone else involved in the league, continue learning from our successes and failures alike,” he said. “I would, therefore, tend to defer to what has proven successful when pursuing expansion opportunities. However, discussing the pros and cons of Miami as an expansion city only raise further questions about whether our league is ready for expansion so soon after Seattle and Philly; we can only sell a product to ‘new’ market(s), if that product is the kind of quality required to allow for even the most detailed business model to succeed in unison.”
In the coming months, Barcelona and Claure will no doubt be looking into similar concerns with a keen eye, evaluating finances and other risks discerningly. Until then, it is thought that the Ottawa 2011 bid may overtake Miami as the front-runner for the available expansion slot.
Zac Lee Rigg, Goal.com
Discuss MLS expansion bids in the Goal.com Forums.
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