David McNeil has always wanted to have a professional football team.
“It was one thing from the list of buckets,” he said.
Unfortunately, this bucket did not hold the $ 500 million it would cost to buy in MLS or even the $ 20 million it would cost to reach the second level USL championship. He and his wife, Sheri, could save a few hundred dollars, so when the Orange County Soccer Club Offered the possibility of becoming a stakeholder of the team for as little as $ 100, they put $ 12,500 – and David added a line to his LinkedIn page identifying it as the owner of a professional sports franchise.
It's not exactly like that Jerry Jones Or Stan Kroenke I started, but even a small piece of pie is, well, a piece of pie. And even if it did not take the McNeils at the table when great decisions are made, they considered the money well spent.
“I have a lot of Apple stock, but they don't call me either. So it's okay. I do not want a management responsibility, ”said David McNeil, director with an insurance broker and a consultant company and long -standing season ticket holders. “What I want is to be able to go up and take advantage of it and support what the management is doing.
“It's not really part of my investment portfolio. We consider it as community support. ”
The possession of fans of a sports team is not new. Green Bay Packers of NFL, for example, have more than 538,000 shareholders, including many simple fans, while the German Bundesliga clubs must give their members the majority of voting rights, ensuring that these members – in many cases, have the last word in the way the club is directed.
The Orange County program, similar to those used by colleagues USL championship clubs in Oakland and Detroit, made its debut in October 2023 and allowed people to own part of the team for a modest investment. The McNeils were among the first of the 1,463 American supporters to register and the idea proved to be such a success, the OCSC extended it to the United Kingdom last year, signing 303 additional stakeholders and bringing the total amount collected at around $ 650,000.
“When you have something rather than being a normal holder of the season, this gives you a unique and unique path in the club that feels different from the normal Fandom,” said Dan Rutstein, president of the team's commercial operations and a small investor in his favorite British club, AFC Wimbledon. “Some people came for $ 100, which is a kind of” tell your friends that you have a little of the team “. Some people came to $ 50,000.
Among those who have Ponied, the former quarter of the USC, Matt Barkley and the former striker of the Angel national team and the Mexican team, Katie Johnson. A minimum investment allows you a certificate of property; Other levels allow owners of unique goods such as scarves, a series of golf with a player or a dinner with the manager.
What this does not get you is a vote in the way the team is managed, although James Keston, the majority owner of the team, says that it does not mean that you have no voice.
“I want more committed fans and owners, no less committed,” said Keston, who spent about $ 5 million to buy Orange County Blues in 2016, then renamed the team as Orange County Soccer Club, increasing its value to $ 50 million in the past eight years.
“Why football is different from almost all other sports, it is this commitment of fans. No other sport obtains the type of passion and the type of excitement and the type of absolute and complete dedication. If we want to see the next step in us foot
A list of the many individual owners of Orange County Soccer Club.
(Orange County Soccer Club)
The Orange County investment model and the other USL championship clubs used were made possible by something called REG CF, which was included in the 2012 laws by President Obama. The regulations allow companies with assets of less than $ 25 million who are looking for small amounts of capital to raise up to $ 5 million per year, a large pool of donors, including non -accredited investors.
This means that you do not need to be a billionaire to own part of your favorite team.
“The advantage is that you can bring fans to invest, right?” said Steven A. Bank, Paul Hastings’s business law professor at the UCLA and a close observer in football finance. “You obviously have a total loyalty of the fans that invest, which is great, and you can collect funds in a world in which advertising sponsorship income could be down or could be difficult to attract.”
The drawback is that the teams must make many additional documents to comply with federal regulations and hold informed investors. And for investors, there is no guarantee that they will never recover their money.
These are the fans who inspired Orange County to try REG CF. When the Galaxy tried to launch the team of its longtime house in the Grand Parc d'Irvine in the fall of 2023, the supporters flooded the council meetings and told the city what the club had told them.
“It was really special because of the length that fans went to save the club,” said Rutstein. “So the day after our 10 -year signature with the city to keep the stadium, we launched the fans' property program.”
Keston said that the additional revenues that the new owners have contributed will not finance game signatures, but will rather pay for stadium improvements and a new VIP stand, investments that this will directly affect these fans. The team also said that it was almost certain to offer another opportunity to the people who join the ownership group this season, giving more fans a chance to boast their (tiny) piece of the rock.
“How often do you have the chance to buy a team?” Asked McNeil. “It was therefore a smaller piece. But nevertheless the same concept.”
⚽ You have read the last episode of soccer with Kevin Baxter. The weekly column takes you behind the scenes and highlights unique stories. Listen to Baxter in the episode of this week of “Podcast Corner of the Galaxy.
