MLS to Indy: Building an empire of the mind
Photo credit: Indy Eleven
Winston Churchill said, “The empires of the future are the empires of the mind.” In Indianapolis, all we unfortunately have is an “empire of the mind.”
Like ancient Rome, Major League Soccer, so confident in its continual expansion, revealed in December of 2016 that it planned to add four teams to reach a total of 28 franchises. Your Indy Eleven were the twelfth and final city to submit their application — twelve cities in a royal rumble to gain a spot in the top flight of American soccer.
By most opinions spread around the Internet, which means they must be true, Indy is at best fifth in line for this coveted spot. Recently on the Soc Takes Pod, Grant Wahl from Sports Illustrated said: “If we’re being honest, I think Indianapolis is viewed as a long shot.”
Twelve cities vying for four spots, two teams added in 2020, and two teams to be added in 2021, all to be decided in the next 16 months or so.
INDY’S BID
Among the initial thrill and excitement of the possibility to move up in the world of soccer, there have always been the real-world facts that follow the MLS bid around like a Minnesota Dark Cloud.
What we know is that Indy’s bid included a solid investor group of Ersal Ozdemir, current owner of the Eleven and CEO of Keystone Realty Group; Mickey Maurer, chairman of the board of National Bank of Indianapolis and IBJ Corp; Jeff Laborsky, president and CEO of Heritage; Mark Elwood, CEO of Elwood Staffing; and Andy Mohr, founder and owner of Mohr Auto Group.
Ersal Ozdemir (left) with Indy captain Colin Falvey. Photo credit: Indy Eleven
The ownership group brings some serious cash to the table, no doubt about that. And serious money will be needed with expansion fees for teams joining MLS in 2020 estimated to be up to $200 million. The MLS bid is a long-term investment in the future of not only the sport of soccer, but in Indianapolis as a city. But don’t let your sticker shock wear off quite yet, there are more hefty price tags to come with this deal.
One of the many requirements that MLS has to join the league is a stadium. In Indy, our bid was 100 percent contingent on us building a soccer-specific stadium.
Our current stadium plans are the same plans we have had for over two years, except the cost has gone up. Current estimates for the 20,000 seat empire of the mind come in at $100-120 million, give or take some change.
Assuming we are going with the same plan we had in 2015 to build the stadium — because why not, it worked so well the first time — the investment group would pay for a “significant portion.” The rest would be worked into the state budget, then paid back through a collection of stadium user fees.
To do this, Ozdemir and Eleven president Jeff Belskus have to convince somebody in the Indiana House of Representatives to author a stadium bill. If, and when that bill comes to fruition, it would have to pass out of committee before moving on to a full vote in the Indiana House of Representatives. After those hurdles, it would have to survive the Indiana Senate. Previous GM and eternal hero Peter Wilt pointed out to us that a second iteration of the bill did make it through the Senate, but on the last day of a conference committee, the House and Senate could not compromise on a deal.
The Indiana Business Journal published a story last January about Indy Eleven’s additional attempts to pass a bill for public funding. Those attempts were met with stern opposition from Senate Appropriations Chairman Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville. Kenley still chairs the committee which does not bode well for Indy Eleven.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PO9wk97ddXs
Wrapping the stadium bill into the budget means it needs to be done during a budget year. The snafu here is that the state budget needs to finalized by April 29. So this all needs to happen quickly, and with no time for any marketing or PR campaign to back it up.
Even though the Indy Eleven stadium was to be funded by “user fees” and not direct taxes, there is a national unwillingness to accept the need for publicly funded stadiums. In St. Louis, even with a strong PR campaign and public support for professional soccer, fans still voted against taxes to be used for a stadium, possibly ruining their MLS bid in the process.
When asked about the status of this nonexistent bill, an Indy Eleven team official responded, “Discussions regarding a potential stadium plan are still ongoing between Indy Eleven officials — including members of its perspective [sic] MLS ownership group — and City and State government representatives. To respect the privacy of these conversations we will not provide any additional details at this time.”
My response to that is while Dr. Seuss says, “Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living,” currently there is only fantasy in thinking we are getting a stadium anytime soon.
The odds of getting a stadium bill passed in a non-budget year become much, much worse. Since Indiana writes a budget every two years, 2019 will be the next big chance.
While the action on the field is heating up for Indy Eleven, it seems inaction is the tactic being most used by the ownership group to get a stadium. President John F. Kennedy once said, “There are risks and costs to actions, but they are far less than the long range risks of comfortable inaction.”
The question we should be asking is when we will see some action regarding a soccer-specific stadium in Indianapolis?
Follow Brandon on Twitter @BrandonxxEvans.
