We want to first congratulate you on the job you have done thus far in creating a truly wonderful league. As supporters of the MLS, we see improvement in the quality of play, fan experience, and overall value. 

We the members of the Crocketteers, San Antonio’s Premier Soccer Supporters, are writing you this letter to state our intentions to support MLS in San Antonio.

We state our commitment to continued growth.

We state our commitment to creating a festive atmosphere that both the City of San Antonio and Major League Soccer can be proud of.

Today, we have over 350 members including over 180 paid members.  We wear our scarves with pride and we exist to see the establishment and subsequent support of professional soccer in San Antonio.  We have sold out our initial order of 200 scarves and will have 200 more on the way in the coming weeks.

Our growth has been tremendous over the last year and half of our establishment. In fact on this very day, 50+ members of the Crocketteers will be in Houston to cheer on the MLS All Stars and to proudly wear our supporter colors.

As you may or may not know, San Antonio’s new mayor, Julian Castro seems to be very open to the idea of professional soccer in San Antonio based on limited public comments he has made. We would like to believe that he is not unlike previous mayor Ed Garza in his willingness to see the MLS in San Antonio. And we are hopeful that this change might put the unfortunate events of 2005 behind us and that this change might also be an opportunity to reopen the dialogue between MLS and San Antonio.

In addition, the parent company of the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs, San Antonio Sports & Entertainment (SS&E) has recently indicated that they are interested in getting into the professional soccer business (perhaps MLS).  And while SS&E is interested in the prospects of our very own Soccer-Specific-Stadium, many of us believe that the Alamo Stadium with its storied history is certainly viable at this point in time. The success of the Sounders in Qwest Field and the prospects of seeing the Vancouver franchise in BC Place drive this point home nicely. 

We were very pleased to learn that Major League Soccer has continued interest in the San Antonio market. Your statements the past few days mentioning San Antonio as an expanision market for MLS reaffirms our establishment. We feel we are the largest supporters group without a team. We hope that is not always the case as we look forward to the day we see our team finally take the pitch.

Commissioner, the Crocketteers humbly ask you to strongly consider San Antonio once again. Perhaps you and your league are already in talks with Mayor Castro and a potential ownership group.  We hope all sides realize the tremendous potential of the MLS/San Antonio partnership.

If there indeed exists advanced discussions with your league and our city, I can assure you that the Crocketteers will support it’s future hometown team and all that MLS brings to our great city.

Lastly, I invite you to share in our vision for what could be the day MLS finally calls San Antonio home. We can make this happen!

Thank you again for all that you have done for the beautiful game in America and we look forward to hearing from you soon.

Yours Sincerely,

The Crocketteers

We’ve addressed in this space already that soccer is a sport that is built on anticipation. That anticipation, when cultivated in the proper atmosphere, can give way to absolute euphoria.

For San Antonio, soccer all of the sudden seems closer than ever to being a professional reality, as the perfect atmosphere for “The Beautiful Game” in South Texas has emerged. The supporters of soccer in San Antonio can only hope that this hopeful atmosphere, this raised level of anticipation, leads to eventual euphoria in the form of a top-flight pro soccer team calling San Antonio home.

A recent article in the San Antonio Express News revealed that San Antonio Independent School District and Spurs Sports & Entertainment have in fact had discussions about venerable Alamo Stadium being placed in the managing hands of SS&E.

Alamo Stadium is a legendary local sports shrine that has fallen into various levels of disrepair as the cash-strapped inner-city SAISD struggles to maintain the facility. In its 70 years of existence, Alamo Stadium has hosted high school sports of all kinds in addition to college and professional football.

The beauty of the talks between SAISD and SS&E is that the Spurs organization (which has been itching to get into professional soccer) would not have to build a stadium for any proposed team, but simply would renovate an existing jewel that happens to be just the right size and in just the right place.

Some of the most revered (and well-attended) stadiums in Major League Soccer share a common trait: an urban location.

Seattle’s Qwest Field and Toronto’s BMO Stadium are the two oft-cited urban jewels of the league, each drawing capacity crowds and each famous for an incredible gameday atmosphere. Each also happens to be in the shadow of their respective city skylines. Alamo Stadium, for those keeping track at home, is a mere 4 miles from the front door of the Alamo.

Unlike stadiums in far-flung exurbs (like Pizza Hut Park in Frisco or Gillette Stadium in Foxborough), Alamo Stadium would be accessible by people from all over San Antonio by a simple 20 minute drive. Supporters from Stone Oak and Southtown would have easy access, as would families from the suburbs and young urbanites in the city. And for that growing number of folks living in the urban core, Alamo Stadium is accessible by public transport, with a VIA ride from Alamo Plaza taking a mere 15 minutes. With plans to add a streetcar line on Broadway in the near future, the booming residential area that is about to be River North will be connected to a refurbished, resplendent Alamo Stadium in a myriad of ways.

So the anticipation rises as the atmosphere around the potential for soccer in San Antonio heats up. SS&E is interested enough in bringing high-level soccer to San Antonio that they have entered into talks regarding management and renovation. SAISD is interested enough in staying solvent that they will bend over backwards to allow someone with resources to take over their historic facility. And San Antonio’s starving soccer fans are one step closer to realizing the euphoric dream of having professional soccer in the city. In Alamo Stadium, the beautiful game is as close as it has ever been to finding itself in the shadow of the San Antonio skyline.

Read more San Antonio Soccer articles at Crocketteers.com

One main factor for the MLS to be located in San Antonio is the fact that we have a stadium in place to host a franchise of our very own. A claim not many cities can make and can be a deal breaker in some cases.

The Alamodome is a perfect selling point and offers a very live and vibrant atmosphere to hold meaningful competitions. We’ve seen the versatility of the venue in the past when it was home to the San Antonio Spurs and even hosted an NBA All Star game. The American football fan is familiar with it due to the college bowl game the Alamobowl, that is an annual event and due also to the Dallas Cowboys holding training camp there as well.

With concerts and trade shows also utilizing it, the stadium has been used for everything you can think of outside of providing a home to a NFL team, it’s original intended use.

Naturally one is inclined to assume that the Alamodome will be the future home to a MLS franchise as it would seemingly be a perfect fit. And it would be, don’t get me wrong; I think it would be a critical piece in reaffirming our interest in attracting a team.

That issue aside, I would still like to discuss what it would mean to build a soccer specific stadium (SSS), as I feel it would have greater implications.

I understand that building a stadium is a difficult thing to finance, it was when we built the Alamodome and I’m almost sure it would be for a SSS. But let’s just say that we have financing in place and the city and county are on board with building one, what does that mean for the city?

Economics:

There are many soccer specific events that SA would be able to cater to, more so than other cities. With the development of the WPS, and the USL, SA could be a host city to their cup games or a host city to the men’s and women’s national college championships.

SA may also look at hosting youth tournaments or professional tournaments. Additionally we may be able to host more international competitions of a smaller nature, or even a world cup qualifier or international friendlies. All of these possibilities mean generating dollars and flowing revenue into the city through yet another sports related venue.

Due to the unique niche market “soccer” demands, we would be one of the few choices for these types of events and it would add another piece to San Antonio. This brings me to my next point.

Aesthetics:

By adding this other ‘piece’ as I put it, I feel that it must be downtown so that it could add to the skyline, somewhat, and make SA more attractive as a whole. It would also make San Antonio more appealing to the sports industry as the Alamobowl has. Just look at the coverage ESPN gives the Alamobowl, every year college football fans from certain regions in the country descend on the river city to cheer on their team.

From the Final Four, to the NBA Finals, reporters and sports enthusiasts love visiting, and consider coming here a small vacation even if it is while they are working. Adding a SSS would enhance the atmosphere to the city, especially during match day. I can see fellow supporters walking the streets of downtown holding over their heads the Alamo FC scarf, yelling semi-profanities at the other team . . . . . beautiful!

I can imagine the design of the stadium to be one resembling a European style architecture, where the fans are right on top of the pitch. Just imagine what the Baseline Bums would look like as ‘soccer’ fans. It would definitely raise the temperature for the opposing side, speaking of which.

The Weather:

We live in South Texas; do we really need a roof? I mean it is cold like two days a year, and rain hardly ever gets in the way, while it is annoying. Football was meant to be played on natural grass not synthetic turf, although some of the new stuff is pretty good. It just doesn’t make sense to me in an environment as green as ours that we would force ourselves inside.

I personally feel that keeping the world’s most beautiful game indoors is a crime, and it would be a crime if we kept it in the Alamodome. I would understand if we need to use the dome to escape the heat or big time events like hosting Real Madrid or AC Milan, but we will not have 60,000 fans showing up for a match between our team and Toronto FC, unfortunately.

Why not take advantage of our natural climate?

Building a soccer specific stadium is important and there has been some discussion on making the venue a combination stadium with a stage at one end for concerts and located in the suburbs as some other stadiums are modeled in much the same way.

I think this is a bad idea for two reasons: first, the stadiums look awkward and the stage doesn’t really add to the spirit of the game, it is tantamount to having yard markers across the pitch; second, why worry about a concert venue when we have the Alamodome, we can hold concerts there, and if we need something smaller, than we will use the AT&T Center. I just don’t think adding a stage is justifiable when we already have enough venues for that.

Also, if we don’t build the stadium near downtown we risk repeating what Dallas has done; in very bad taste I might add. FC Dallas, or the Dallas Burn as they used to be referred to, decided to build a stadium in Frisco, TX, some 45 minutes away from downtown Dallas. This effectively made the distance too far to travel from some of the most important supporters who came to the games at the Cotton Bowl.

As a result, their attandence has suffered, greatly, and the players lack passion for the sport when they are playing in front of a few people and their dog. The franchise has taken a downward spiral and is largely considered perennial bottom feeders. I wouldn’t expect anything less from a sports team from Dallas that is not the Cowboys or the Dallas Texans.

Even if the stadium was soccer specific, we would still get multiple uses from it. I just want something unique; something the city can get behind and that creates a special atmosphere, in much the same tradition as La Bombonera or Anfield or the San Siro. If we don’t have high expectations, we may never realize our true potential . . . . I think San Antonio has great potential.

What do you think?

Obviously, SS&E have followed the rich history in San Antonio of thinking small and looks set to short change us again. But would could a possible solution be?

Enter FC Barcelona . . . . here is one of Spain’s most successful football clubs, locked into two more years of appearances in the US, and wanting to brand a club in the MLS. SS&E should partner with them in bringing an MLS team to San Antonio, or the city’s leaders should recognize a huge opportunity staring them in the face and create a partnership.

The city should partner with the Catalan giants. Ok there, I said it; that just happened!

What about the French connection?

Tony Parker is from France, Thierry Henry is from France; Tony Parker and Thierry Henry are friends; Thierry Henry plays for FC Barcelona, Tony Parker plays for the San Antonio Spurs; wink, wink! Se Magnifique!

Until recently, I even had visions of Henry tearing down the left side of the pitch in the Alamodome, cutting inward at the eighteen yard box and finishing a beautiful goal in the top right corner, but he just looks too smitten with New York, so that’s probably not going to happen.

But FC Barcelona to San Antonio could happen.

After all, the club has stated on several occasions they will continue to work on increasing their presence in the USA. I think that would be obvious considering the turn out for their preseason friendlies.

What about Beckham?

Beckham? What about him? Well apparently he wants to buy an MLS franchise, or at least has it in his contract with MLS to purchase a team after his contract expires. This idea is probably crazy, but I don’t mind getting a little crazy, after all, I am a mad footballer.

The other option is to secure a team through relocation, as in, a franchise leaving a city to move to San Antonio. I know this may be cheap, Houston Dynamo, but if a city can’t support their team, perhaps they shouldn’t be there. An opinion that is sound in theory, but it appears that we can’t even support a team, and we don’t even have one.

I guess our last and most desperate choice is to surround the Alamo and fight until our death. Or we can just continue to support the grassroots effort of the Crocketteers. It’s your choice, but I suspect that you value your life a little more than football, at least some of you do, you know who you are.

I think at this point the best idea is to partner with a larger organization and establish a franchise as a joint venture. Even with a USL-1 team in San Antonio, we could still partner with a bigger club or investment group to help fund our eventual promotion into the MLS. I also feel that this would be the quicker way to fund a soccer specific stadium, which I would like to discuss in Part III. In the meantime, let me know what you think.

Definitely not an easy task bringing a professional franchise to San Antonio, let alone a franchise that might not be accepted by everyone. And lack of support has already brought a premature death to the world’s most popular sport in this city. But as the reports continue to surface of a USL-1 club in the works to be granted to San Antonio I have a few questions.

Should we settle for a USL-1 team?

Appropriately enough, Spurs Sports & Entertainment is in negotiations to bring a United Soccer League-1 (USL-1) team into San Antonio, as an MLS team proved to be too expensive. I for one understand the logic, let’s start small and see where that leads us . . . . right? But where will that lead us?

The Seattle Sounders were lucky enough to be promoted but they have a rich history of the sport existing in the city for almost a decade now. The Sounders had both things necessary for success going for them, an ownership group who was dedicated and was willing to spend the money needed to fund the establishment of the franchise, and a fanbase that was mad for the game, and clearly mad for the team.

The MLS is not in the business of promoting teams from the USL-1 unless they are in a city that has the resources to support a major professional team.

So if we can’t support a major professional team now, what makes us think we can support a major professional team in the future? I don’t want to seem like I’m being negative, I think the USL-1 in SA is a good thing, don’t get me wrong.

But I honestly think that SS&E and the city are not exploring all available options.

Reading an article from Match Fit USA I realized that the politics of bringing an MLS team to a city is rather complex, and often times quite ruthless. The article reported that DC United could be moved from Washington, DC if they didn’t build a new soccer specific stadium.

If you’ve been following the MLS from the beginning, like I have, you would know that this would be a tragedy. The New England Revolution are also in a similar predicament, with a lease to a stadium that neither fits their needs or their attendance to regular season games, being superfluous at best.

The article focuses on the possibility of the team being moved to St. Louis who themselves, had a deal fall through for an MLS team but looks slated to be awarded one very soon. Apparently there is no wanting for choice with regards to a stadium, as there have been three groups proposing sites and plans to build one, since then.

It always seems like other cities have more resources than San Antonio, why is that? What are some possible solutions for this dilemma? I’ll explore some of my own answers in Part II, but I want to hear some of your thoughts on the subject.

One of the best innovation strategies in business is to do nothing.  Sit and wait and allow those around you to innovate.  Sometimes the smart companies pay for the R&D to make incremental changes to someone else’s good idea rather than paying the tremendous R&D to create the idea in the first place.

It is in that spirit, San Antonio, that I invite you to tour Vancouver’s BC Place with me.

As you know, Vancouver is going to begin play in the MLS in 2011.  They will be playing home games at BC Place for the foreseeable future.

BC Place is a 60,000 seat stadium, whose current primary tenant is the BC Lions Canadian Football League Team.  That is to say, BC Place is a 60,000 seat football stadium.  Built in 1983 in part to attract a Major League Baseball team that never materialized, BC Place hosts trade and consumer shows (Boat Shows, Home and Garden Shows) and motorsports events (Monster Jam, anyone?) in addition to the CFL’s Lions.  BC Place, though relatively busy, operates at an annual loss.

Sound familiar?

The Alamodome is a 65,000 seat stadium and is currently lacking a regular tenant.  Built in 1993 in part to attract a National Football League team that never materialized, the Alamodome plays host to annual football games, trade and consumer shows, motorsports events, and annual marching band competitions.  The Alamodome, though relatively busy, operates at an annual loss.

Once upon a time, the MLS had an agreement with the city of San Antonio to bring a team to the Alamodome, much like the deal that they currently have to place an MLS franchise in Vancouver’s BC Place.  Politics quashed the deal as the reins of power changed hands.

Then, this spring, we get word that Spurs Sports & Entertainment (SS&E) is interested in bringing professional soccer to San Antonio, provided they have a soccer-specific-stadium (SSS).  An SSS would bring in maximum revenue and the group made the statement that the economics at the Alamodome don’t work.

Perhaps we need to introduce our friends at SS&E to BC Place.  Like the Alamodome’s long, lost twin, BC Place is not only viable for a profitable MLS team, but it is viable and it is TEN YEARS OLDER.  BC Place will be undergoing limited renovations that will create an intimate soccer venue from a 60,000 seat barn.  As you can see in the photo, BC Place would limit the seating to the lower bowl, integrate a centrally hung scoreboard, and project a visually striking image through the use of a translucent canopy that prevents the empty upper bowl from even being seen, giving a fan the impression and experience of a true European-style soccer environment.

The Alamodome could be transformed in much the same way.  It could probably be done even cheaper than the work in Vancouver, thanks to the Alamodome’s relative youth.  It could be done.  And if the economics work in Vancouver, are we really to believe that they wouldn’t work here?

All of this to say one thing: San Antonio could host the MLS tomorrow.  San Antonio has the population, the desire, the corporate base, and the facility.

All we need are leaders that will give it a chance.   More on that soon…

Discuss this blog with the Crocketteers on our forum

Turning to SS&E’s interest in soccer, Holt said talks with the United Soccer Leagues are stalled because there’s no public money to build a multi-use stadium.

“We think soccer can work in San Antonio, it’s just a question of when. And right now is not when,” Holt said. “The county or the city doesn’t have the money. Maybe something could eventually be worked out with a school district. But right now, with this economic situation, there isn’t going to be any public money for anything anywhere.”

The USL is considered a step below Major League Soccer, which failed in its bid to expand into San Antonio in 2005, partly because then-mayor Ed Garza lacked political support to give MLS a deal that included rent-free use of the Alamodome.

Holt said Garza approached SS&E about playing an ownership role in an MLS franchise, but Holt said SS&E “couldn’t make the numbers work” at the dome.

“But we think the USL, at least with the numbers we’ve run, could work here in a smaller stadium,” Holt said.
Holt upbeat about Spurs’ bottom line

I know the first thing that sticks out is “talks with the United Soccer Leagues are stalled because there is no public money to build a multi-use stadium.” I still find it very hard to believe that the USL would stop talks with SS&E if a stadium deal is not put in place. Find me proof in the USL, that a new multi-use stadium is required to land a franchise.

Could it be that SS&E are painting a false picture to the general public that a multi-use stadium requirement exists? I have a feeling that a multi-use stadium for a future soccer franchise is a requirement of SS&E only. To tell you the truth, it is probably a smart move to have SS&E in complete control of their own facility during the soccer season rather than sharing with a local school district and dealing with gridball lines on the field.

It seems as if our tenant-less friend, the Alamodome, has been ruled out by SS&E. If the numbers didn’t add up for Major League Soccer, they certainly will not add up for the USL. What this tells me is that SS&E has done their homework and realizes that for pro soccer to succeed in our country, soccer specific stadia or multi-use stadia with the primary tenant being a soccer team is key.

This leads to another quote that stick out to me: “Maybe something could eventually be worked out with a school district.” Could this be a temporary solution to have pro soccer in San Antonio sooner rather than later? With former Mayor of San Antonio and proponent of the beautiful game Ed Garza running for the SAISD board, could Alamo Stadium with seating for 20k+, in a prime location just north of downtown serve as the home for SS&E’s team?

Alamo Stadium

Can it be purchased from SAISD and converted to a soccer specific stadium? Can SAISD, any other local school district or a local university join forces with SS&E to build a multi-use stadium or (even better) a soccer specific stadium.

In addition to Alamo Stadium, UTSA is adding a major addition to their campus by building an Athletic Complex, including a soccer stadium.

UTSA Athletic Complex

In the proposed Verano Village across from the future Texas A&M – San Antonio, an interesting sketch of a multi-use soccer stadium has been released.

Verano Village Soccer Stadium

Texas A&M San Antonio Entrance

Overall, I’m encouraged about this interview with Peter Holt. For the first time, Spurs Sports & Entertainment comes out and validates their interest in soccer and moreso, their interest in having a multi-use stadium to serve as home to San Antonio’s future professional soccer franchise.

In closing, I offer a well-known chant to encourage SS&E: “Come on you Spurs!” - listen

What do you think?