Thriving Sounders show how it's done, on and off MLS pitch
BULLS OF THE WEEK
The Vegas Golden Knights have made the playoffs in all three seasons of their existence, reaching the Stanley Cup final in 2018. Yet even their outstanding performance on and off the ice — where they lead the NHL in merchandising and have sold out every game at T-mobile Arena — can't quite hold a candle to the expansion experience of the Seattle Sounders FC of Major League Soccer.
The Sounders are headed to the Western Conference final in this strange MLS season, which means they could still win their third MLS Cup in 12 years of operation. They've also reached another MLS Cup final, won four U.S. Open Cups and have qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League five times.
Seattle has become the gold standard of MLS franchises in terms of business operations, with an average attendance of more than 40,000 at what is now Lumen Field (formerly Centurylink Field), a pre-match ritual that is the envy of every other MLS team, strong merchandising built around their lime green colour scheme and a sponsorship roster that is among the top five in the top North American soccer league.
The primary architect of that success is majority owner Adrian Hanauer, the longtime Sounders executive who now heads a widely held, family-oriented ownership group that includes 14 families from the Seattle area, including NFL star Russell Wilson and his wife Ciara.
Win or lose in the Western Conference final on Monday against Minnesota FC, Hanauer and two of his flagship partners — Drew Carey and the estate of Paul Allen — have already won big. The original Us$30-million MLS expansion fee has grown into an enterprise value of US$405 million (as estimated by Forbes magazine).
BEARS OF THE WEEK
The novel coronavirus is clearly creating a bear market for everyone in the business of professional sport.
No major league, tour or association is exempt from the constraints, challenges and problems that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought to sports and entertainment companies throughout North America and around the world.
Even the juggernaut that is the NFL has been humbled by COVID-19 outbreaks, including one that ravaged the Baltimore Ravens and caused their Week 12 game against the undefeated Steelers to be postponed three times (from its original Nov. 26 date on Thursday Night Football to Sunday, Tuesday and then ultimately “Wednesday Afternoon Football” on NBC and TSN this week).
The NBA appears on track to tip off its next regular season on Dec. 22 and play five games before national television audiences on Christmas Day, but showed a disconcerting nine per cent positivity rate in the initial round of COVID-19 tests of 542 players.
Yet the biggest bear — for the second consecutive week — is the NHL, which is still desperately seeking to resume play sometime in early 2021.
It last month shot itself in the foot by asking to revisit two significant financial terms in a fourmonth-old collective bargaining agreement.
The resulting stalemate proves yet again that in the business of sport — as in the business of life overall — it's not always what you do, but how you do it.
The Sport Market on TSN Radio rates and debates the bulls and bears of sport business. Join Tom Mayenknecht on Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. for a behind-the-scenes look at the sport-business stories that matter most to fans.
Follow Tom Mayenknecht at: twitter.com/thesportmarket