“Running for president of the federation [against Alan Rothenberg] in 1994 was the single biggest mistake of my life.”
Since being appointed A-League commissioner at the end of the 1994 season, Richard Groff has worked doggedly to salvage the oldest professional outdoor league in this country. From a new name and logo to a salary cap and expansion, Groff has personally overseen the modernization and stabilization of the A-League, even producing TV coverage himself. Yet as tough as this year was, there are tougher challenges ahead.
SOCCER AMERICA: Overall, what are your impressions of the first year? How much sleep did you not get?
RICHARD GROFF: I had numerous sleepless nights. On the other hand, if my responsibility is to help develop professional soccer, then it was worth the sleepless nights. We had two new teams, we did extremely well in Atlanta, and we did very well to recover from a tough year. We lost four teams, so to speak, from last year, and yet we still kept the league and the season together. We had some tremendous plusses.
Such as?
Our televised series of matches. Our partnership with Prime Network was good for the league, and we’ve shown that with hard work and dedication, you can do a quality broadcast and use a whole new group of people to broadcast soccer in the U.S.
Does the fact that you take charge in the TV truck indicate that you are serious about overseeing every aspect of this league?
It is my mission, my personal mission. We knew we had to do television, and we knew that we didn’t have a budget like the $45,000 that you have for U.S. national team games. Yet our quality was very high. We have found some incredible directors, directors who were doing the NBA, others doing the NHL, and we have raised the quality of what we’re doing. Prime needs to be complimented.
Given that the A-League intervened to first save — then help operate — the Atlanta Ruckus franchise, how vindicated do you feel by the club’s success?
In order for professional soccer to grow, you need to spend the time and money to make it happen, and from what I can see in the last seven or eight days, our objective was absolutely reached in Atlanta. The team received more press and more attention than they did all year and they had their largest crowd [4,312 for Game 1 of the A-League final series] as a result. The key now is for these people to come back. Within two to three years, I believe the Atlanta market will be consistently drawing 5,000 people per game.
The Toronto franchise folded the day before the season started and there were doubts this league would even survive the summer. Was there ever a point where you considered quitting?
I did think of quitting, yes, a couple of times. At times, I thought it might be somebody else’s turn to take over. Certainly, my lowest point was on Christmas Eve [1994], when the owner of the L.A. Salsa [Bill De La Pena] called and told me he was folding. This was the fellow who, in effect with Seattle’s owner, hired me. And now both of them were gone, gone to the USISL. Yet I felt a responsibility to make a personal commitment to see that this league move forward.
Several owners, such as Atlanta’s Johnny Imerman, have insisted the league expand in order to cut down on travel costs. How many teams do you plan to add for 1996?
Two. Rochester is already officially accepted, and we’re still looking at Toronto and Philadelphia. We feel confident one of those two will be there next year.
Can you guarantee that your current six clubs will be back, especially since New York struggled and Vancouver apparently tried to quit a few weeks ago?
We had a conference call to accept Rochester last week, and every owner was on there, and there is an absolute commitment to going forward on the part of the existing teams. Certainly with better business plans and more commitment, this league really has an exciting future. Vancouver is solidly in the league next year. It wasn’t that Vancouver wanted to leave. What they did was a very smart thing: They wanted to analyze where the A-League was going and where everybody else was going as far as the development of professional soccer. They were wise enough to let us make our presentation of the league, they analyzed all of their alternatives, and, in the end, they chose to stay.
How financially sound was the A-League this year? Did any of your teams make money?
No one broke even, so obviously no one made a profit. For next year, our league fees will be the lowest they’ve ever been — we’re an owner-friendly league right now. — and I believe we’ll have a couple of teams break even in 1996. Our budgets will be between $450,000 and $900,000 per team and we have a real shot at several teams breaking even.
The A-League front office appears to operate with minimum staff and money. How is this possible?
Our budget is very lean and mean and we run the league with four people. That means the commissioner works very hard and the rest of the staff have multiple jobs. We don’t sit around. If you talk about young people accepting responsibilities, that’s what happens in the A-League.
Major League Soccer will presumably raid the A-League for players, coaches and front office personnel over the winter. Are you prepared to deal with that?
No question we are going to lose players. Of the 140 or so we have under contract, we may lose 30. On the other hand, there may be players who want so much money in renewals that we encourage them to go to MLS because they’re just too expensive. We will have a salary cap for next year of $400,000 per team. Teams have to decide on the direction they want to go.
But how do you counter the loss of marquee players?
You go out and find a whole bunch of Staale Soebyes and Giuliano Olivieros and Paul Daillys. You find players who, for whatever reason, are looking for teams, players coming from overseas and who are hungry to play. You also set up your business plan so that it meshes with the [indoor] NPSL. We don’t start our season until May. In the A-League, a player can play year-round, first with us and then in the NPSL, without conflict. We’ll encourage the loaning of payers back and forth. In short, you work harder.
Despite all the saber-rattling, pro soccer still seems to be settling out as a three-tiered system with MLS on top, the USISL on the bottom and the A-League in the middle, right?
True. All we’re lacking is promotion and relegation. That should happen today, and our problem is that we have too many egos. If U.S. Soccer let us remain independent and still be involved in promotion and relegation, I’d recommend it to my teams. But it has to work both ways. There are teams playing in the USISL that we believe should be playing in the A-League.
Since you brought it up, what is the current relationship between the USISL and the A-League? There was some talk of merging the two leagues for a while. We were real serious about getting the two groups together and it didn’t work out, and now I’d say we’re two groups going their own separate ways. Still, this league office encourages teams like Atlanta to set up a working relationship with Greensboro or whoever in the USISL. We need more of that, players moving back and forth and the scheduling of games.
OK, how about Major League Soccer? How well do you and Alan Rothenberg get along?
Alan and I don’t talk to each other. Period.
Doesn’t that make any sort of working relationship between your two leagues difficult?
Running for president of the federation (against Rothenberg) in 1994 was the single biggest mistake of my life. I ran because I didn’t like some things and I wanted people to talk about them and get them to consider the options. After the election, I lost, I stood up, and I made what I thought was an honest and open concession speech. I said, ‘Look, I want to be a part of U.S. Soccer.’ Without a doubt, I have been ostracized and I have to accept that. Alan does not talk to me, and I have to accept that as well.
Do you feel any compulsion to build bridges?
Well, initially I tried to do something about it, but now I just live with it. It’s certainly not from my standpoint. I go to the meetings, I try to talk to him, but it’s just not in the cards for now.
How about you as the A-League commissioner — how long do you plan to stay in office?
I am infamous for being very tough and forcing things to succeed. But I’ve never had a contract. I will stay only as long as the owners want me. But I will come back for 1996. After that, let’s take it one year at a time.
by Soccer America correspondent Doug Cress