Everett, Wash.
Published: Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Seattle's newest team gets warm welcome

Half of the yet-to-be-named MLS soccer team is owned by Hollywood producer Joe Roth and 'Price is Right' host Drew Carey.

By Scott M. Johnson
Herald Writer

 SEATTLE -- The city of Everett has hosted its share of press conferences to announce new sports franchises over the years.

Just nothing like this.

On the 75th floor of the Columbia Building, and with Governor Christine Gregoire among the 50 to 100 people in attendance, Seattle's newest sports team officially announced its inclusion onto the city's landscape Tuesday afternoon. Beginning in 2009, Major League Soccer will have a franchise here, and Gregoire is among those who were beaming with pride.

"I couldn't be more excited as a soccer mom," the mother of two daughters said, "I couldn't be more excited as a Washingtonian, and I really couldn't be more excited as governor."

Three-fourths of the yet-to-be-named team's ownership group were on hand at the Tuesday press conference. Majority owner Joe Roth is an established Hollywood producer whose movies include "Mona Lisa Smile," "Major League" and "Bachelor Party." Minority owners Adrian Hanauer, who will serve as general manager after holding the same title with the Seattle Sounders, and Tod Leiweke, representing Paul Allen's Vulcan Sports & Entertainment Company, were also on hand for the press conference. Not in attendance Tuesday was minority owner Drew Carey, a comedian and television personality who was in town over the weekend.

"It's a very historic day for soccer in North America," said MLS commissioner Don Garber, who was also in town for the announcement, "certainly for soccer in Seattle and for Major League Soccer."

Gerber said that the average attendance at MLS games was 16,000, although Leiweke is expecting bigger numbers when the Seattle franchise starts playing at Qwest Field in 2009.

"We have 25,000 seats in the lower bowl, and we believe they will be filled," said Leiweke, who is CEO of the Seattle Seahawks. "It's the loudest stadium in the NFL, and we believe in 2009 it will be the loudest stadium in the MLS."

Seattle will be the 15th franchise in the 12-year-old league. Toronto, a 2007 expansion team, sold out every game during the regular season that recently concluded.

While specific details like nickname, colors and personnel will unfold over the next 16 months, the ownership group did give some hints about what to expect.

Roth made no secret of a key player he is targeting: English Premier League goaltender Kasey Keller, who grew up outside of Olympia and has never played in the MLS. While teams have a $2 million salary cap, each franchise has the opportunity to include on "designated player," such as the Los Angeles Galaxy's David Beckham, whose salary is not included in the cap.

"It sure would be great to have a native son starting in goal for opening day," Roth said.

Roth joked that the designation could also be used on another player.

"If (Brazilian star) Ronaldinho becomes available, he'll be the star of a new Disney movie called 'Ronaldhino,'" he said.

Roth, who grew up playing soccer and eventually coached his sons' teams, came up with the idea to purchase an MLS team last February. Further research sent him to Seattle, which has been trying to find the right ownership group for a franchise since approving the funds for Qwest Field 10 years ago.

Roth ran into Carey at an L.A. Galaxy game, at which time the TV personality offered to buy in. But Carey, a diehard soccer fan, said he was only interested if the franchise was willing to adopt a fan club system similar to the one used in Barcelona, where fans vote general managers in and out every four years.

In Carey and the dry-witted Roth, the team has two characters who should keep things interesting. Roth's sense of humor was on display Tuesday, when he introduced Hanauer by saying, "Better take a picture of him because he might not be here in four years."

Hanauer's Sounders connections could also help build the roster. The league will give Seattle a territorial exemption on current Sounders players, and Hanauer named United Soccer League MVP Sesbastien La Toux as a likely target for the '09 MLS team.

Fans will be allowed to submit possible nicknames for the team through the Web site www.mlsinseattle.com. Hanauer said that the nickname should reflect the international flavor of the league but did not totally rule out the possibility of using Sounders.

He added that current Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer, a Seattle native, is a top candidate for the same job with the MLS squad. Schmetzer has led the Sounders to the USL championship game three years in a row.

The Sounders, Hanauer added, will compete in Seattle for the final time in 2008.

As for whether big-time soccer will work in Seattle, Hanauer said: "We obviously voted with our pocketbooks."
© 2009The Daily Herald Co., Everett, WA