Nick Stone is one of the leading members of FS Investors and the de facto spokesman for the group which is trying to bring Major League Soccer to San Diego.
Prost Soccer sat down with him and later Landon Donovan last week in his La Jolla office.
Stone and Donovan had spent much of the previous 10 days on a media blitz, ostensibly to put their own viewpoint in the war of words that emerged with San Diego State University (SDSU) who were originally potential partners in the stadium bid prior to the University abruptly walking away from negotiations.
A hostile media war ensued with journalists on the San Diego Union Tribune being publicly split but the influential sports Radio Show mighty1090 seeming to gradually move towards the MLS side as each new revelation about SDSU’s negotiating position was revealed.
Landon Donovan interview later will run this week
Photo: Scott Marsh/Prost Amerika
It probably also helped the MLS cause that Stone and Donovan generally displayed more decorum than the other side.
The same was true of each sides’ advocates in the local media. Pro-MLS Union Tribune columnist Kevin Acee refrained from using insults unlike one of his colleagues, who occasionally referred to the “Soccer City” bid as “Sucker City”.
With the stadium issue all played out on local media, we focused on the soccer side of the bid when we sat down with Stone in his office.
He stressed the strongest and weakest areas of his city’s bid.
That a deal is not yet in place for a stadium is an ‘exclusionary weak point’ but the strongest point came with some unlikely research.
A study by ESRI had shown large support for watching MLS in the border city, discovering that more San Diegans watch MLS Soccer than any other market, including even most current MLS markets.
With MLS now obsessing about their poor TV ratings more than ever, this may weigh heavily in San Diego’s bid.
“We watch more MLS than even (average of the) top five MLS teams. We watch more per head, and we don’t even have a team yet,” Stone noted.
Asked about the strength of the Sacramento bid, he did not see another strong bid from California necessarily being a drawback, pointing out that 1/7 of the country’s population is in California. He also observed that the days when a soccer franchise needed the protection and support of a franchise from another US sport are over, adding:
“It’s not that critical. Social media engagement and fan engagement is now more important.”
Stone also talked about the potential from a derby with regional rival Liga MX side Tijuana Xolos which he sees as creating an unusual potential rivalry across leagues, and lambasted those who are trying to prevent the SoccerCity stadium initiative even getting on the November ballot.
Research showed that San Diegans already have a large appetite for MLS despite not having a team
Photo: Ali Gilmore
Finally he had a message for fans of other MLS clubs.
Later this week, we will bring you clips from a fascinating interview with Landon Donovan who talks about being surprised by the level of anti-soccer feeling, comparing notes on expansion bids with David Beckham and how he looks forward – to looking back – with Bruce Arena.
See Also:
Landon Donovan: I actually wanted to be an owner not a player
Donovan jokes about coming out of retirement to play for San Diego in MLS
