What does Atlanta's soccer future hold?

By Doug Roberson

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The future of soccer in Atlanta, which could include hundreds of millions of dollars in World Cup windfall, depends upon many things, according to various sports executives and people familiar with the Atlanta market.

Much like the polarized interest in the sport in this country, what can be done and what needs to be done to make this a soccer city and a World Cup host have an "eye of the beholder" aspect:

• Well-attended games such as Wednesday's exhibition at the Georgia Dome between Mexico's Club America and England's Manchester City in the Aaron's International Soccer Challenge are needed, but aren't a must.
• An MLS team is needed, but is not a must.
• A new stadium would be needed for that team, but is not a must.

Interwoven among the three is the question of whether Atlanta can support another professional sports team.

All agree that soccer has potential. Metro Atlanta's population is growing in its diversity of race and interests. There is a strong youth soccer association whose participatory numbers are the highest of the team sports in the state, and there is a strong corporate base with an interest in the sport.

So what's the next step?

FIFA, soccer's world governing body, will announce the host countries for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups on Dec. 2. England is thought to be the front-runner for the first, and the United States the leader for the latter.

Though a minimum of 10 cities can be chosen to host games, 12 likely will be selected from the 18 included in the United States' bid. Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed vowed Wednesday that Atlanta will be one of the 12 and become one of the few cities in the world to host a World Cup, an Olympics, a Super Bowl and a Final Four, among other notable sports events.

But there's work to do.

Atlanta isn't thought to be a lock, but very close to it, in terms of its chance to host games. The eight cities considered locks -- Boston, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Seattle, Washington -- have MLS teams, proving a bona fide interest in the sport.

Executives in Atlanta say the MLS question seems to be the biggest hurdle keeping Atlanta from becoming another lock for the Cup, which local-bid committee chair Gary Stokan says would have a minimum economic impact of $400 million.

In a chicken-or-egg scenario, before the city can entice someone to pay the MLS expansion fee, (Seattle and Philadelphia paid $30 million each to join in 2009) the city needs to show it will support men's soccer.

More than 100,000 fans attended two international exhibitions last season. Ticket sales for Wednesday's game are expected to be similar to last year's game at the Dome between Club America and A.C. Milan, which drew more than 50,000 fans.

If the MLS puts a team in Atlanta, that team would need a home. The league's average attendance this season is 16,517 (through July 24). The MLS prefers smaller, soccer-specific stadiums. Two options are the KSU Soccer Stadium in Kennesaw (with a capacity of about 8,000) and Silverbacks Park in DeKalb County (about 4,000). Both could be enlarged.

However, a smaller stadium would not meet World Cup requirements. To lure an MLS team and the World Cup, which requires a stadium that seats in the neighborhood of 70,000 to host the World Cup final, the solution is to build an outdoor stadium. The Georgia Dome could be used by an MLS team, but replacing the artificial-turf field for every game (the league prefers natural grass) is not ideal. World Cup games are played only on natural grass.

Should Falcons owner Arthur Blank come to an agreement on a proposed outdoor stadium for his team, he said in an e-mail Friday that he "and our public partners could certainly consider a configuration that also accommodates soccer, regardless of who owns the soccer team." Seattle has something similar at Qwest Field, where the NFL's Seahawks and MLS' Sounders play. Blank has expressed an interest in bringing an MLS team to the city in the past, but said he isn't pursuing ownership right now.

However, he thinks Atlanta needs soccer. "Soccer is a global sport, and Atlanta is a global city, as well as the eight largest media market, so it’s logical that the city should have an MLS soccer team," Blank said.

A team, whether playing in the Falcons' new home or in its own soccer stadium, raises the question of whether Atlanta can support a team in each of the five major team-sports leagues. Only seven cities have teams in MLS, NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL: Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, New York, Philadelphia and Washington.

The Atlanta Sports Council likes to say Atlanta is the sports capital of the world. Bernie Mullin, the former president of the Hawks and Thrashers, points out that the city's population supports Georgia, Georgia Tech, Georgia State, one NASCAR race and two professional golf tournaments. That doesn't include the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game, the Chick-fil-A Bowl and other events that are hosted in the Dome and whose attendance is boosted by people from outside metro Atlanta.

With a population of more than 5 million, metro Atlanta is well-positioned to add another team without causing financial stress to the others, according to Ken Bernhardt, a professor of marketing at Georgia State.

"They have different target markets, sometimes with very little overlap," Bernhardt said. "A great example are the Hawks and Thrashers. Same ownership group, very different demographic for selling tickets.

"Yes, multiple teams can survive and thrive."

But in the end, the MLS team, the stadium, the single events, the promise aren't needed to secure World Cup games -- but they help.

Jim Smith, the Falcons' chief marketing officer and a former vice president of the MLS' Columbus Crew, summed up Atlanta's efforts best:

"Every game that we host is important, and no game is make or break."

*****

Aaron's International Soccer Challenge

Who: Manchester City vs. Club America

When: 8 p.m. Wednesday

Where: Georgia Dome

TV: ESPN Deportes

Tickets: Ticketmaster.com

For fans: There will be a fan festival at the Georgia Dome from 4-8 p.m. Wednesday. Featured will be three NASCAR cars, as well as numerous tents for entertainment.

*****

Players to watch

Club America is one of the more popular teams in Mexico and the United States. Manchester City is owned by one of the richest men in the world, a sheik. Here are a few of the players you will see at Wednesday's game:

Club America

Pavel Pardo: A defensive midfielder from Mexico, Pardo has spent most of his career playing in Mexico, with the exception of a successful time at Stuttgart in Germany.

Guillermo Ochoa: A goalkeeper, "Memo" is one of Mexico's more popular players. He was on his country's World Cup team.

Manchester City

Emmanuel Adebayor: A forward from Togo, Adebayor is a former African player of the year. He scored 13 goals in 26 appearances for City last season.

Shay Given: A goalkeeper from Ireland, Given is considered one of the top netminders in the world. He is recovering from a dislocated shoulder but will play.