Q&A with Alliance Omaha Soccer Holdings CEO Gary Green
Soc Takes recently spoke to developer and Omaha Storm Chasers owner Gary Green about his new project, one that would interest our readers. As was announced earlier this month by USL League One, Omaha will be the site of a 2020 expansion team in the Division 3 league. We spoke to Green about the past, present and future of his new project.
Nipun Chopra: What is your own interest in soccer?
Gary Green: My exposure to soccer started during the ‘94 World Cup in Foxborough during Italy vs. Spain. It was incredible. When you work on something over 2-3 years, the odds of it happening are much less than if you do something quickly. But, my study of the Omaha soccer market and lower-division soccer wasn’t quick. It needed to be looked at over a period of years to get it right.
NC: Did you think this was a unique way to get people into the stadium, or what was the pivotal reason for focusing on soccer?
GG: We get people into the stadium all the time, it’s used a lot. That’s not an issue. I got approached by the USL three years ago and they told me about the league. I was approached by the NASL around six years ago, and looking at the NASL, it didn’t feel like it was a strong league. When USL approached me, we were interested. We met with Sporting Kansas City at one point and that didn’t work out. And I didn’t want to dive into anything till I learned a lot more about the soccer community in Omaha and that doesn’t happen overnight. What I learned is that Omaha is a passionate soccer community and there is a real hunger for the sport here. I also learned a little bit about the politics of soccer (laughs), which I’m still learning.
Over time, I started becoming confident in the league (USL) and how strong they were. I visited their office in Tampa, and they really had their act together in a way that the NASL did not. It takes time to get comfortable with people.
Along the process, I met (new head coach) Jay Mims, and we developed that relationship over time. I also met Dan Houghton from Buildertrend, who is a partner in the deal. When you work on something over 2-3 years, the odds of it happening are much better than if you do it too quickly. My study of Omaha soccer and lower-division soccer wasn’t quick; it was over a period of few years. To make a championship team work, you need the economics of a larger soccer-specific stadium to come anywhere close to break even. League One was the right level we felt we needed to be.
NC: What convinced you that there was a hunger for soccer in Omaha?
GG: I saw the success of Creighton (University) and UNO (University of Nebraska Omaha) and the program that Coach Mims had built. We know the Omaha market from the sports perspective — what works and what doesn’t work. We’re involved with baseball and we know how to market to the Omaha area with the knowledge, of course, that baseball and soccer fans are not the same. We know that baseball isn’t getting the 20-34 aged fans out there. We know that baseball isn’t getting the Latino community out there even though we have a strong Copa program this year. I want the park to be a facility that reached out to all fans in Omaha, not just baseball fans.
Sarpy County, which is where we are, is a tremendously growing area. Soccer is growing here and I felt I wanted to bring a team here.
NC: Why League One instead of Championship?
GG: I think our facility is fantastic, but the USL going forward wants their Championship league teams in soccer-only stadiums.
NC: There are quite a few teams in the Championship that play at baseball stadiums and/or are owned by baseball ownership groups. Can you explain more as to why the Championship wasn’t a good fit?
GG: Sure. Albuquerque drew about 12,000-13,000 to their baseball stadium. We have 6,460, and so baseball stadiums are different sizes. Look, we looked at this issue for about three years, so we understand what’s going on.
NC: Fair enough. So you think it’s an issue of capacity?
GG: I think our facility is fantastic, but it’s fantastic for League One.
NC: Do you have plans to try to become a Championship team and/or play in a soccer-specific stadium?
GG: At this moment, no to both questions. We’re putting about $2.5 million into Werner Park right now to make it soccer ready. We’re going to do our best and pack this place out. But if the fans come out and support this the way we think they will, it would be crazy to not think about it.
NC: Did the franchise fee — which for the Championship is $7 million and for League One is between $500,000-$1 million — have anything to do with your decision to go with League One?
GG: (Laughs) Those are your numbers, and I’m not going to confirm or deny them.
NC: Right, without speaking about specific numbers, it is universally known that there is a significant disparity between the franchise fees. So, did that disparity have any bearing on your decision?
GG: Not really.
NC: You join a group of teams and owners in the league following a soccer-baseball hybrid model. What are the advantages of this approach to ownership?
GG: I’d say the advantage is that we know the overall market very well. We know the logistics of the building, parking, food, etc.
NC: Rumors about a USL team heading to Omaha have floated for a while. Why did it take until 2020?
GG: That’s a great question. We looked at an affiliated model with an MLS team, but that didn’t come to fruition. Once League One started up, we started looking at that. These deals always take time, and you just have to make sure you’re ready.
Buying an existing team would be easier than starting a new team.
NC: Why should Omaha residents be excited about this team?
GG: This is going to be their team. Jay Mims is Omaha soccer; we could’ve brought in a different coach who would’ve had to get to know the market and the fans and the community. And from what I’ve learned about Coach Mims is that he’s all about soccer and this community. He’s all about growing this sport for the community, kids, players and teams. It’s more than just winning and losing games, it’s about building this sport.
For us it’s more than 16 games a year, we want to grow the community. We reached out to a lot of folks in the soccer community and we will continue to. We are the caretakers, but the team belongs to the fans. Any owner who thinks they own the team — and the fans don’t own it with them — well, that owner is making a big mistake.
NC: What are your short- and long-term goals for this team?
GG: Short term, our first game is in around 10 months. We’ll start on the road because the weather in March isn’t ideal. Our first home game will be in the middle to end of April. So my short-term goal is getting ready for next season; we have a lot of work to do.
Long term, to put as many people in Werner Park as possible and to give them the best soccer experience that we possibly can. We want to give them a team that wins on the field and that represents the values of people in Omaha. One of the reasons we’re not going with an affiliate team is that the experience wouldn’t be authentic and the fans would have trouble connecting to that.
NC: Earlier on you said that over the last few years you’ve also learned about the politics of soccer. I have to ask you what you meant by that?
GG: (Laughs) I don’t understand any of it, to be honest. I know there is politics in the sport here. As we dive into it, I’m beginning to understand it, but not well-enough informed to give you a good answer right now.
NC: Any final thoughts you’d like to share?
GG: I am admittedly new to the sport of soccer, but the people we’ve brought on to run this, Jay Mims and Matt Homonoff, are soccer veterans. I want this to be an authentic Omaha soccer experience that represents the community and makes them proud. As I said earlier, this team belongs to all of the Omaha metro. I’m just lucky enough to be the caretaker of this and I’m very excited about it!
Follow Nipun on Twitter: NipunChopra7.
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