A Major League Soccer Franchise Somewhere Over the Rainbow
In Israel Kamakawiwoʻole’s hit cover and ode to Hawaii, “Over the Rainbow,” he refers to his home state as the land where “dreams really do come true-ooh-ooh” (Israel Kamakawiwo'ole). With that being said, it’s crazy to think that some people see Hawaii as an impossible location for a professional football (soccer) team. It’s literally the state where “the dreams that [we] dare to [dream]” come to life! All jokes aside, welcome to my dream of a Hawaiian football club.
Background Information:
Major League Soccer (MLS) has experienced incredible growth since its inception in 1996. Beginning with just ten teams valued at roughly $5 million a piece, today the MLS has twenty-nine teams with an average franchise valuation of over $550 million – and the league is still expanding. While the current plan is to stop expanding once there are thirty teams, commissioner Don Garber tells ESPN, “We say we're going to stop at 30, but [some of] the other major leagues are larger than that. I never say never in Major League Soccer. There are many other markets that are opportunities for us” (ESPN Internet Ventures). Garber has previously identified Detroit, Phoenix, Sacramento, Las Vegas, and Tampa as potential homes for expansion teams. With the FIFA World Cup coming Stateside in 2026 and the league’s new TV deal with Apple making games far more accessible, there are, undoubtedly, many domestic markets the MLS will look to take advantage of. Perhaps the most amusing to fantasize about, however, is neglected by Garber and the rest of the MLS board: The Aloha State, Hawaii. I would say that this does not come as a surprise, due to there being no professional sports teams in Hawaii and the far distances that would need to be traveled… BUT, as a romantic football fan who is passionate about the sport’s growth in the US, I am surprised. In this article I will analyze why it is possible and should be considered, how this Hawaiian MLS franchise project would come to be, and the base financial costs it would require. I will refer to the proposed franchise as Hawaii FC.
Marketing & Branding Inspirations:
Spanish side and La Liga competitor RCD Mallorca is an island based team that could serve as a role model for Hawaii FC. In the midst of massive debt, RCD Mallorca filed for bankruptcy in 2010 (LoRé). Following a series of unsuccessful owners, a US-based investment team – made up of “Phoenix Suns owners Robert Sarver and Andy Kohlberg along with NBA Hall of Famer Steve Nash and former USMNT players Stu Holden and Kyle Martino” – purchased the club in 2016 for approximately €21 million euros (LoRé). In their first season in charge, the club was relegated to Spain’s third division. However, this was followed by two successive promotions, which saw RCD Mallorca back in the top flight for the 2019/2020 La Liga season. In regards to the initial relegation, former CEO Maheta Molango said, “Relegation was actually a salvation because it allowed us to make drastic decisions which were obvious and much needed” (LoRé).
Many of the decisions made by the new owners and staff in order to stabilize the club were marketing and brand focused. In an effort to gain a footprint in Asian markets, the club made strategic player signings: Japan’s Take Cubo and South Korea’s Kang-In Lee. Working with Amazon, the Spanish side initiated social media campaigns, invested in digital content production, and secured key commercial agreements; Japanese tech company Taica Corporation became the team’s principal kit sponsor (Saleh). To further develop international recognition and boost commercial activities, the owners established a knowledge-sharing agreement between the Suns and RCD Mallorca (Saleh). The relationship with the Suns allows for the possibility of three-way agreements for sponsorships and collaborations, such as PayPal’s joint sponsorship with the two teams (Saleh). The new owners also looked to better the matchday experience through the creation of a VIP field-side section – similar to NBA courtside seats, a “tunnel experience” – where fans can see players enter and exit the field, and post-match press conference access – where some fans can hear the players speak in person (LoRé). The business decisions made have thus far been positive, as Forbes highlights the Spanish side’s international revenue nearly doubling from €1.35 million in ‘14/’15 to €3.41 million in 2018/2019. Additionally, season ticket sales have risen by 29% and average attendance has increased by 31% under the new owners (LoRé). Despite another relegation to Spain’s second tier in the 2019/2020 season, the now much-more-stable club was promoted back to the top flight immediately in the following season.
Key takeaways from RCD Mallorca for Hawaii FC’s owners will be the importance of marketing and brand power in the running of a successful, financially stable team. Due to the fact that this would be Hawaii’s first professional sports franchise, plenty of emphasis must be put on creating a team identity and engaging with the community. These two things can be accomplished through team merchandise, a quality stadium, and efforts to provide a unique and enjoyable matchday experience. In the following paragraphs I will describe a few examples in regards to such things that I would introduce if I were the owner.
We’ve seen through Italian Serie A side Venezia FC the impact an iconic football kit can have for a club. Despite not winning a trophy since 1941, Venezia FC has gained major recognition and popularity from football and fashion fans across the globe. The Venezia FC owners recognized that Venice, like Hawaii, will always have tourists. The Guardian’s Italian football correspondent, Nicky Bandini, points out, “What do you want to buy when you come to Venice? You could buy a T-shirt that says ‘I went to Venice’ or you can buy a football shirt that’s cool” (Eror, W. B. A., & Eror, A). Venezia FC teamed up with Kappa to produce designer kits for the club, in accordance with the changing nature of a football fandom “[that] is pushing clubs to up their game in terms of fashion and style” (Eror, W. B. A., & Eror, A). The Italian side matched the new jerseys with strong social media efforts, implementing a strategy that resembles the aesthetic of “glossy fashion magazines” like Vogue (Eror, W. B. A., & Eror, A). The kits sold out immediately upon release, and 95% of the online kit sales have come from outside of Italy since then (Venezia FC…). Their iconic jerseys not only develop an international footprint and source of revenue, but also make the club more subject to sponsorship deals and collaborations. Hawaii FC can attract the well-needed attention any new football team seeks in their community by creating jerseys and merchandise that reflect Hawaii’s unique culture. Perhaps the state flower, Yellow hibiscus, can serve as inspiration – especially as it is found only in Hawaii. Despite any ideas I can come up with, the appropriate way to do this would be to include local organizations and opinions in the creative process.
The matchday experience and the stadium often go hand-in-hand for sports teams, but stadium construction can cost hundreds of millions of dollars. However, Hawaii already has a stadium in Honolulu: the Aloha Stadium. Fortunately for Hawaii FC, the stadium is undergoing a $500 million renovation expected to be completed by 2026. With 35,000 seats, the capacity will be sufficient and comparable to other MLS teams. Although they will have to lease the stadium annually (or potentially purchase it one day), Hawaii FC will benefit from not having to face the cost of such a renovation. Taxpayers also may not have to face the cost, as the local government is hopeful that naming rights could fund the entire project (Christovich). Model images for what the new Aloha Stadium will look like make it clear that this project is going to be an incredible architectural feat enhanced by its coastal location with Pacific Ocean views (Hawaii can now…). The prospect of playing at such an impressive complex will be sure to appeal to potential fans and investors. To further represent their community through the stadium, Hawaii FC can model off of St. Louis City SC’s appointment of Gerard Craft, a James Beard Award-winning chef, as the club’s Flavor Officer (St. Louis City SC). The newest MLS club will offer 52 individual areas for fans to purchase “an incredible variety of St. Louis’ authentic tastes and original flavors from neighborhoods across the region” (St. Louis City SC). As is the case with the creative process behind jerseys and merchandise, local organizations and opinions must be reflected if Hawaii FC were to create their own version of a region-reflecting menu offered on matchdays. A new stadium complex and a unique in-stadium menu will combine to produce a matchday experience that draws the masses.
Addressing Concerns:
In this section I will address four concerns to the possibility of Hawaii FC:
Is there a market in Hawaii? Little research has been done (that has been made public, at least) on whether there is a strong love of football in the Aloha state. However, there are certainly enough people to create a sufficient fanbase – approximately 1.5 million in Hawaii and approximately 340,000 in Honolulu alone. The word “create” is important in this context. Aforementioned, the MLS only started in 1996 with 10 teams. To no surprise, the fanbase seen today has not always been the case – it is a result of expansion teams, marketing campaigns, and community engagement efforts by the league and its clubs. In fact, out of the 46 million fans the MLS says is interested in its league, 27 million have joined in the past ten years (Kane). Going back to RCD Mallorca, I’d like to amplify a point made by Molango, “We [RCD Mallorca] believe in the power of experience” (LoRé). People will come, and will continue to come, if the experience offered is worth it. With the right business strategy and creative marketing and branding efforts, Hawaii FC will be able to create a fanbase and a love of football in the state, just as the MLS has done in the mainland over the years.
Hawaii is too far from other teams to house a professional sports team. First of all, the University of Hawaii at Manoa plays a full Division I football schedule each year (13 games in 2022), hosting games in Honolulu and playing away games as far as Ann Arbor, Michigan and Las Cruces, New Mexico (University of Hawai'i at Manoa Athletics). An MLS team would have a far higher budget than a university football team, thus travel fees should not be a significant issue. It is beneficial that the MLS is split into Western and Eastern conferences, and, as Hawaii FC would compete in the Western conference, it is an extra bonus that the majority of the Western conference teams are located near the West coast. There are, however, inland teams competing in the West, with the furthest East being the new franchise St. Louis City SC. When St. Louis goes to play the current farthest Western Conference team from them, Vancouver Whitecaps FC, it will be a 6 hour flight; MLS teams are already having to cover the distance that many Hawaii FC matches will require. However, the most significant counterargument to the worry about distance is supersonic travel. We already have the technology to cut a flight from London to New York City from 6.5 hours to 3.5 hours, and US airline United is already planning on utilizing this tech commercially by 2029 (Fox). While there are concerns with the loud noise and the environmental impact caused by increased fuel consumption, the company responsible for the tech, Boom, expects their planes to operate sustainably as net-zero carbon aircrafts (Fox). If flights around the world are shortened in length by this technology (in an environmentally-friendly way), then this would further solve any potential issues related to Hawaii FC travel requirements.
The Hawaiian community must be on board. Setting up a professional sports team in a state that does not want one would be a moral and financial disaster. Presumably, Hawaiian locals have mixed emotions about over-tourism and over-commercialization. While tourism does benefit the Hawaiian economy, responsible for approximately $18 billion in recent years, it must be balanced with quality of life for residents (Derrick). Fortunately, results of a Fall 2022 Resident Sentiment Survey revealed a statewide feeling of more effort being made to balance the economic benefits of tourism and quality of life for residents (Resident sentiment…). If Hawaii FC were to come to life, this must remain the case and the club should promise quality of life for residents as a core value. To accomplish this, there must be Hawaiian representation on the team’s executive board, and the club will have to ensure a fluid stream of communication with locals. Positive impacts through community engagement will further aid Hawaii FC in gathering residents’ support. The club should set goals to have youth identification camps on every island (which, in turn, may produce financial benefits down the road with any players making it as a professional player), establish current youth teams as affiliate club members (which also spreads brand awareness), and to work with a number of Hawaiian foundations and charitable organizations to spread their missions to the mainland by competing in the MLS. Vermont Green FC, an American club competing in USL League Two, exemplifies how a soccer club can attach a greater purpose to its identity, and will serve as a role model for Hawaii FC in their aim to do the same. Vermont Green FC partnered with Anti Racist Soccer Club, a movement to fight racism in football, to publish a case study on “community impact through a diversity, equity, and inclusion lens,” while also producing a ten point plan on what the club will do to support climate justice and anti-racism (@vermontgreenfc & @antiracistsc). Vermont Green FC’s tremendous efforts to be more than just a football club should not only serve as inspiration for Hawaii FC, but for clubs worldwide as well.
Conclusion:
The fourth concern to the creation of Hawaii FC is an obvious one, and thus will be incorporated into my article’s conclusion: 4. It will require a lot of money. Not to say that there are no individuals or teams of people who exist that can afford it, but like the creation of any professional sports franchise, it will be ridiculously expensive. Though Hawaii FC will save hundreds of millions – or even upwards of a billion dollars – on not needing to construct a stadium, leasing the Aloha Stadium from the state will still likely be a significant fee. Even just the expansion fee that Hawaii FC owners would have to pay to the MLS is currently in the $300 to $325 million range based on what Charlotte FC’s owners had to pay prior to their inaugural season (Settimi). The annual payroll will also be a large cost – presumably between the low of approximately $10.4 million paid by Real Salt Lake and the high of approximately $21 million paid by Atlanta United in the 2022 MLS season (Dunn). Additionally, there are marketing costs, research and development costs, and general operating expenses that will need to be paid before and after the team is created.
Though it would be an incredibly expensive project, it would be equally unique and adventurous for potential investors. With this article, I hope to have shown that it is technically possible to create an MLS expansion team in Hawaii, and that I have instigated conversations regarding the importance of marketing, morality, and the creative ways to go about establishing a football club and fanbase.
References
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@vermontgreenfc & @antiracistsc on social media.