Grant Wahl Reports Red Bull Getting Out Of New York;

MikeDatTiger

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http://www.si.com/soccer/planet-fut...red-bulls-mls-premier-league-uefa-concussions

So the big items:

Red Bull wants out of MLS. Club & Stadium available for $300 Million. Not sure how much RBA is, but NYCFC was $100M and the Cosmos stadium is supposed to cost $400m, so $300 M is a good package deal to my ears

Henry will not return to the Red Bulls, but may not be done playing/done with MLS. If he likes New York...

Man City apparently approached Red Bull a few years ago about buying the team but was rebuffed. Interesting alternate universe scenarios there.
 
While Marc de Grandpre, the club’s head of commercial operations, says the team is not for sale, one source says that if a buyer approached Red Bull and offered $300 million for the Red Bulls and their stadium, the deal would get done within 48 hours.

In fact, team and stadium sale talks were indeed held by Red Bull a couple years ago with a New Jersey-based investor group and then again with Manchester City before the club acquired its MLS expansion franchise along with the New York Yankees, but neither set of talks led anywhere.

While it certainly doesn't look like Red Bull plans on sticking around, this isn't much more than the rumors we had before. 300 mil isn't even a price tag, it's on anonymous source's hypothetical situation. So all we really have here is someone's opinion and the fact that they have had talks before and not agreed to sell.

That said, if this does happen, bringing in fresh branding and a more dedicated FO that gives a shit about the product on the field can only mean good things for the Red Bulls and our rivalry with them.
 
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The price might be the old ebay tactic of getting people hooked into bidding at an insane low price and see how far they can push it up between rival bids.

I hope the Cosmos have gotten a nice dose of reality in NASL and come and buy in. The team still carries some cachet abroad. It would be good for the league.

Can I also say that today has been like a dream come true? I always thought RB and Chivas were embarrassments to the league and news of both of their departures on the same day? Incredible.
 
I doubt anything has really changed for the Cosmos, right? I think they're NASL to the death.

Bring back the MetroStars, it makes too much sense from a branding perspective. Taps into whatever nostalgia exists, and properly names them as a team playing in the metro area, rather than the city itself. It's the only way a Jersey team can justify "New York" in the name. Not to mention, City v Metro just sounds like a classic rivalry. Options:
  • New York Metro FC
  • New York Metros
  • New York Metro 96
  • Metro FC
  • Metro 96
  • FC Metro 96
 
The price might be the old ebay tactic of getting people hooked into bidding at an insane low price and see how far they can push it up between rival bids.

I hope the Cosmos have gotten a nice dose of reality in NASL and come and buy in. The team still carries some cachet abroad. It would be good for the league.

Can I also say that today has been like a dream come true? I always thought RB and Chivas were embarrassments to the league and news of both of their departures on the same day? Incredible.

They also probably had a dose of "who on earth wants to spend $400 Million on a stadium for a 2nd tier soccer club?" Their fans still on twitter are swearing that its NASL or die, but I imagine those vocal ones drown out the sensible ones who would be happy to see their colors in first tier soccer.
 
I'm not exactly stunned by this (if its true don't know the author's rep) and have said before that their owners could pull out very swiftly. Declining revenues = shift in corporate policy and we know what their core business revenue is. It could be the better thing for them in the long term with a possible return to their old name (perhaps including the NJ bit with NY) and there probably wouldn't be any shortage of interest. The problem for them is it might not be imminent and disinterested ownership may see them fall behind several clubs not just NYCFC.
 
Grant Wahl is about a solid as they come. Wahl and Twellman are probably the two best national American reporters.

And you're right, now that this is out the worst thing is that RB doesn't sell the club and the RB fans watch as the product on the field gets passed by.
 
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I guess RB sales (the drinks) have been slipping and with their Euro clubs reaching first division and having a real possibility of reach UCL in a crap Bundesliga, it makes sense to not wait on the long term play that is RBNY.

So sell RBNY and re-invest that 300 or 400 million into the German club.
 
Grant Wahl is about a solid as they come. Wahl and Twellman are probably the two best national American reporters.

And you're right, now that this is out the worst thing is that RB doesn't sell the club and the RB fans watch as the product on the field gets passed by.
Fine with me.
 
Interested to see what happens with all of this. I already see some Cosmos fans saying they should buy them out. But I doubt Garber gives them a second chance. And their poor attendance this season likely won't make him reconsider either.
 
I find it interesting that as soon as the MLS appears to be taking flight and becoming a legit league Red Bull pulls out. Why now, of all times, are they suddenly deciding that MLS isn's the right league for them?
 
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I find it interesting that as soon as the MLS appears to be taking flight and becoming a legit league Red Bull pulls out. Why now, of all times, are they suddenly deciding that MLS isn's the right league for them?

This is a legitimate question. We know that the TV money, general revenue and attendance are up. We know the players are pushing for more money. We know that folks like CFG/Yankees, Arthur Blank and David Beckham are trying to get IN.

My guess? RedBull runs an operation like you would run an investment portfolio. They are re-allocating assets and they want more liquid capital to employ into other outstanding assets (European squads) or they want to expand their operations globally.