Disney Eyes Pro Soccer Team
- Share via
Major League Soccer could kick off in Anaheim Stadium as soon as 2000 if the Walt Disney Co. pursues its interest in supplementing its baseball and hockey franchises with a professional soccer team.
“I think we’d take a look at ownership in that league,” said Tony Tavares, president of Disney’s Anaheim Sports division. “That’s something we have talked about.”
MLS Commissioner Doug Logan said the league plans to schedule exhibition games in the renovated Anaheim Stadium, probably starting next year. Logan said Disney had consulted with MLS officials before designing an outfield configuration that accommodates a soccer field.
“We think it’s a great spot and a great stadium for soccer,” Logan said.
MLS expands to 12 teams next year, moving into Chicago and Miami. The league ultimately plans to expand to 16 teams, and Logan counts Disney among the potential investors for a two-team addition in 2000 or 2001.
“We think, ultimately, there will come a day when we sit down and ask them to become owners of a team in Major League Soccer,” Logan said. “When that day is, I don’t know.”
The potential acquisition makes economic sense for Disney, analysts said, particularly after the company’s $200-million investment in purchasing the Angels and renovating Anaheim Stadium. Disney could join MLS for a fraction of that price--Florida businessman Kenneth Horowitz paid a $20-million fee for the Miami expansion franchise--and could weld its soccer operations to the Anaheim Sports finance and marketing staff that jointly supports the Angels and Mighty Ducks.
Under a 1996 agreement with the city of Anaheim, Disney operates the stadium and retains all revenues from events held there.
“Having a major league tenant occupy 18 or 20 more dates in the stadium, to generate some additional revenue and tap into maybe a different fan base, on the face of it makes sense,” said Sean Brenner of Chicago-based Team Marketing Report.
Disney could promote its baseball and hockey teams--not to mention its movies, television programs and retail products--to a soccer audience likely to include more families and Latinos than do typical Angels or Mighty Ducks crowds, analysts said. A soccer team also could join the Angels and Ducks on the local cable sports channel Disney might launch before the turn of the century.
In addition, the MLS structure--the league signs all players, with salary caps for teams and individuals--could spare Disney such public headaches as the current contract impasse with Mighty Duck free agent star Paul Kariya.
“We don’t have any Joe Sakics,” Logan said, referring to the Colorado Avalanche star whose $21-million contract upped the ante for Kariya.
The company’s ties with MLS already include a six-year contract for broadcasts on Disney-owned ABC and ESPN. Disney also will co-sponsor the 1998 All-Star Game in Orlando, staging a three-day festival at the Wide World of Sports complex at Disney World.
Logan said the league has long envisioned a second team to complement the Pasadena-based Galaxy in Southern California, whether in Orange County or San Diego County.
“We have literally millions of unserved fans, starting in Santa Ana and working our way south,” he said. “A team in Orange County could serve that market.”
Logan, who plans to meet with Tavares next month, said obstacles could include scheduling games during overlapping baseball and soccer seasons.
“And I would be remiss in not saying negotiations with the Walt Disney Co. are never easy,” Logan said.
But Tavares indicated Disney is far more likely to pursue MLS than the NFL or NBA, at least for now. The NFL often reminds Disney of its restriction against corporate ownership, and the league’s focus on Los Angeles lessens the company’s interest.
“Given our involvement in Anaheim, I’m not saying we wouldn’t be interested in L.A., but I don’t think we would enter into a process where it’s only L.A.,” Tavares said.
And, with Clippers owner Donald Sterling unwilling to sell, Tavares said Disney cannot find an NBA team for Anaheim.
“There’s no opportunities in basketball that we’re aware of,” Tavares said. “We’ve beaten the Sterling discussions to death.”