Sketchy Business

Interview with Fortune Magazine 1/30/20 / Interview with graphics. I’m a reporter for Fortune currently working on a story for our upcoming magazine issue that focuses on Major League Soccer’s rapid economic and geographical expansion in recent years. In particular, I’m focusing on the extent to which the league has grown its footprint, how team values have reportedly…

Posted by John Vrooman on January 30, 2020 in Major League Soccer, Sports Econ Blog

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Expansion Derby

Interview with Charlotte Business Journal / Atlanta Business Chronicle / Expansion Derby. MLS is going to name Charlotte as its next expansion city with an announcement Tuesday. Carolina Panthers owner is expected to pay $300 million to $325 million for a team that will share the NFL stadium (with modifications) and likely begin playing in 2021. I’m hoping…

Posted by John Vrooman on December 16, 2019 in Major League Soccer, Sports Econ Blog

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Expansion Game

Interview with Charlotte Business Journal. MLS Expansion Game: Past Present and Future. Could you share a thought or two on what you think Charlotte’s chances are for landing a team and what you think the odds are for it working here? Any hurdles you see? Here’s a quick comparison chart of the MLS hopefuls with odds…

Posted by John Vrooman on July 9, 2019 in Major League Soccer, Sports Econ Blog

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Devil in the Details

Interview with Austin Biz Journal. MLS Stadium Deals Does the $400 million ‘community benefit’ impact over the club’s first 25 years seem plausible given other MLS stadium impacts? What supplemental information from the team/MLS would be needed to determine an economic impact? This is impossible to tell without seeing the numbers. Impact studies usually if…

Posted by John Vrooman on March 5, 2018 in Major League Soccer

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Pyramid Scheme

Interview with ESPN FC.  What’s the optimal size of the league for the number of teams? In terms of supply and demand and market support, should it keep expanding? This is a trick question, because there are two different league expansion optima. The first is based on the league size that would maximize internal total…

Posted by John Vrooman on September 11, 2017 in Major League Soccer

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Equal Pay for Better Play

Interview with 60 minutes. I’m interested to hear your thoughts on USWNT’s case with the EEOC. What are the strongest arguments for USSF? How could a decision affect other industries and situations? What’s at stake? As devil’s advocate for US Soccer in the pending EEOC case the equal-pay-for-equal-work defense should probably follow a strategy of…

Posted by John Vrooman on October 20, 2016 in Major League Soccer

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Stop Moaning about Pay

Interview with Daily Beast. I’m working on a story about the economics of women’s sports pegged to USA winning the Women’s World Cup and the kerfuffle over the pay gap. Many of the numbers that have been cited are indeed shocking. For instance, this from the Washington Post  But the financial rewards for women’s teams and their players…

Posted by John Vrooman on July 10, 2015 in Major League Soccer

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World Cup Fever

Interview with Financial Times. Just wanted to ask you whether growth in interest in the World Cup and men’s national team (plus, the addition of new foreign stars to the MLS) was a breakthrough for soccer in the US. Unfortunately US interest in the men’s national team peaks with the onset of the World Cup…

Posted by John Vrooman on November 24, 2014 in Major League Soccer

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World Cup Kool-Aid

Interview with Florida Trend.  Everyone’s talking about the World Cup and that now is professional soccer’s moment to rise to the top tier of spectator sport in the U.S. Do you agree or are we all drinking the Kool-aid? I think you’ve spoken in the past about the World Cup giving a boost for a…

Posted by John Vrooman on September 10, 2014 in Major League Soccer

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Continental Drift

Interview with CNBC.  How does a league decide how many teams it should have? Is the MLS being smart with a jump from 19 teams now, to a planned 24 by 2020? After a critical mass is formed usually in multiples of 8, a sports league will expand as long as the marginal (extra) benefits…

Posted by John Vrooman on August 8, 2014 in Major League Soccer

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