But in 1999, Logan was replaced by Don Garber, and MLS moved to create smaller, custom venues for its teams, rendering 67,000-seat Qwest obsolete in the league's eyes. Now, the league all but requires potential franchise owners to either have a 20,000- to 25,000-seat, soccer-specific stadium in place or promise that one will be constructed. "At the time, I think everyone thought Qwest was the perfect place for MLS," says Hanauer, "but the model has evolved."
In 2004, Hanauer led an ownership-group bidding to snare an expansion franchise, only to lose out to Dave Checketts, the former president of Madison Square Garden, as well as current owner of the St. Louis Blues hockey team. Checketts, who has numerous ties to Utah, insisted on placing the team in Salt Lake City, and his plan for a soccer-only stadium assuaged the league's concerns over market size. "A stadium deal was vital to MLS coming to Salt Lake," says Spencer Checketts, Dave's son and director of marketing for Real Salt Lake. "Ninety percent of your revenue comes from having your own stadium, and MLS now hangs their hat on this."
SounderCentral.com
Falk’s Web site switch has put him on the outs with the Emerald City Supporters, the Sounders’ rabid fan group.
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Hanauer says his team loses between $300,000 and $400,000 per year, and that he operates the Sounders as a labor of love. Should MLS come to town, he suspects the Sounders will either fold, move, or drop down to a lower league. "I haven't said anything official about that, but I'm a pretty rational guy," says Hanauer. "The idea of an MLS franchise and a USL franchise coexisting is pretty unlikely."
While McConnell shares Falk's frustration with the ECS's lack of growth and insists he would welcome an MLS club, he says he prefers to focus on the bird in hand. "The way I look at it, I've always had a team to support," he says. "I don't want to think about MLS until I don't have a USL club."
Ultimately, the philosophical differences between Falk and McConnell are unlikely to determine whether or not Seattle scores an MLS team. Hanauer says the supporter groups like the ECS have "zero" effect on an ownership group's calculus when evaluating potential markets. "[An MLS team] is a $30 million to $80 million investment, so it's not something I or any potential ownership group is going to be influenced to do or not do based on a micro-set of the overall market," he says. "Although we respect the ECS and try to accommodate them as best we can, we don't run our business based on what it's thinking or doing or asking for."
Though McConnell and Falk insist that they remain friends, the former admits that he has avoided talking at length to Falk about his defection. "It's really distracting," McConnell says of Falk's change of heart. "I can understand David's disillusionment, but I thought it was really preemptive for him to take down SounderCentral.com before the season's over. What if the MLS thing doesn't pan out? Is he going to put the site back up if we don't get [a team]? Why kill something before it's dead?"
Falk has missed the past two Sounders games, and says that when he returns he won't sit with the ECS section. "I'm a short, pudgy, 45-year-old schoolteacher," Falk laughs. "Let's be real. If you want street cred, don't look my way. [The ECS has] had their chances. I've been there to encourage them, and they've fallen down every time."
McConnell does see a silver lining in the turmoil. In the past, the group had been entirely dependent on Falk to manage its Web presence. Now, the ECS will have more control over its image and destiny, and members recently met to discuss setting up a new site. "It's a frustrating position," says McConnell. "But at the same time, it forced our hand to do something we had to do anyway."
Falk meanwhile, takes a pragmatic view of the whole saga. "I say it's worth having the Sounders die so the city can bring in the highest-level team possible," he says. "It's an extra bonus if they keep [the] name and colors. If they don't, just buy a new scarf."
hhsu@seattleweekly.com
