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Stefan Szymanski
Quicken Loans founder Dan Gilbert and Pistons owner Tom Gores have their fair share of local fans cheering on their plan to bring a Major League Soccer team to Detroit.
They have some challenges, including their desire to build a stadium on the site of the uncompleted new Wayne County Jail on Gratiot Avenue in downtown Detroit. The county has expressed a desire to finish building the jail at that site.
But there are other reasons to be skeptical.
Bill Shea of Crain's Detroit Business writes that University of Michigan sports economist and soccer author Stefan Szymanski has his doubts about the league.
Last year, he posted a blog predicting the league will eventually fold because of its business model and continued financial losses, Shea writes. Szymanski writes that the league is nothing more than a "pyramid scheme."
Shea reports:
Critics say Szymanski's numbers are off, but MLS has acknowledged it loses about $100 million a year — the amount billionaires Gilbert and Gores (and other potential investment group partners) are expected to pay for the right to operate a team in Detroit. Gilbert and Gores, or their surrogates, have yet to elaborate on their business plans.
"My feeling is I don't really understand what the end game is with the MLS business model," he said. "I am highly skeptical about how Major League Soccer is going to become a major league."
Shea writes that Matt Cullen, CEO of Gilbert's Rock Ventures, says the Detroit ownership group is aware of the league's financials, but believes its growth will offset the losses in coming years.