Post by Tatonka on Feb 12, 2007 0:29:01 GMT -5
www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070211/SPORTS/702110353/1002/SPORTS
The businessman in David Morris would be in Charlotte, N.C., right now.
The competitor in David Morris picked Tallahassee.
Put simply: He wants to win an arena football title.
"I'm coming in saying, 'We are going to be here for the long haul,' " Morris said. "I picked Tallahassee for one main reason: it wasn't for the arena, it wasn't for the market; it was for the talent of players that were here.
"Business-wise, I should have gone to Charlotte. Eight times bigger market, cheaper to me, but I would not have found in Charlotte, even though it's a great market and all that, it doesn't have the tradition of football players that Tallahassee has. So if I want a championship product, I have to go where championship players live."
But he'll also have to win over a fickle pro-sports market. Morris recently sat down with the Tallahassee Democrat to discuss the financial aspects of bringing a team to and succeeding in Tallahassee when other pro sports teams such as the Tiger Sharks, Scorpions, Tempest and Thunder have failed in the last 15 years.
Can you discuss your business model for the Titans?
What makes this model different than most indoor teams is that the concept of this league was developed by Andrew Haines. For Tallahassee and this organization, what makes it different is that this is owner-friendly. He set it up so that the league could only be so intrusive to the teams. So that the teams, as they develop their market, instead of increasing dues as times went on, that money would still be around for teams to do different things.
I have been working on the model for a year and a half. So well before I decided to bring a team to Tallahassee, I had to look at how I wanted to present my team. I set my model up as a neighbor of Tallahassee. I want to be your championship football team. You look at my ticket prices: they're lower than anything around. So when people look at my price, they say, 'OK. With those low prices, how is Tallahassee going to make this work?'
How the Tallahassee Titans are going to make it is I am building for the future. If those stands out there are one-third filled, that operates the team between 3,000 and 4,000 fans. The next two-thirds is paying my capital investment. The last one-third is where the owner would actually get to put a tad bit of money in his pocket. So am I looking at coming in and instantly getting revenue back to me? No. What I'm looking at is the long-term stuff.
Would you consider the lease with the Civic Center favorable? Is it good enough to do what you want to do?
The short term, I made the decision to accept the lease agreement. I'm paying the highest in the league. I'm paying $10,000 a game. Where most arenas, most teams are paying between $3,500 and $4,500 per game, all inclusive, everything, love to have you here, how much more can we help, you get partial concessions, parking, all kinds of stuff, I get nothing. Now, in the future, it would help us out if we can make it more favorable than what it is. My initial thought is this: Ron Spencer has a wealth of experience and knowledge, and he has been helpful in many aspects. His organization has been very helpful to us. As any relationship grows, it's helpful to develop things.
How much have you invested in the Titans so far?
I'm well over $300,000. I made a commitment.
Compare your situation to that of the previous indoor football team in Tallahassee, the Thunder, who lasted three seasons from 2000-2002?
So as far as the difference between us and the Thunder, the Thunder unfortunately had a league that each year said, 'Hey, now that you made it this year, here's an additional cost. Here's an additional cost. Here's an additional cost.' When you take money away from the teams, then the teams can't continue to do what they originally did. If you look at the Thunder's first year, they had over 5,800 in (average) attendance. Dropped off the next year. Why did it drop off? The league took revenue from them that they needed. That will not happen to this team.
What about competing at the time of year that you are in? You have college basketball, college baseball, spring college football, high school sports and other activities. Is that a concern?
Typically, in the winter months, there's less to do. So basically, what are we competing against on Saturday nights? We're competing against the movies. So there are 60 (college) baseball games, but there are only eight home (Titans) games here. We don't consider baseball to be competition. ...
It will be an event. It is a fan-friendly game. I've talked to people who have held season tickets to the Thunder; they loved the game. The biggest complaint was the nets. They couldn't stand the nets. So the nets killed the excitement sometimes. You catch a $30 ball and you're sitting in a $12 seat, you just made $18. ... We're not going to sell any of these balls. If you want one, you're going to have to catch one.
You have purchased health insurance for all players, bought anti-concussion helmets and installed custom padding on the boards at the Civic Center. But it all comes at an added cost, right?
I don't have to provide it for the players. This is something I wanted to do. I realize it's at a big cost. But at the same token it's saying that I'm not going to leave my players unprotected. I'm going to have a world-class organization at this level. ...
I went with top-of-the-line, highest safety stuff. Riddell did not pay me to buy their stuff. I had to pay them. I think they're in love with their stuff based on their prices. But the Riddell Revolution helmets basically proved to me that it had the highest safety factor for my players.
On the field, what are your goals?
Of course, I have high expectations for my team. No expansion team that I've found on record has ever gone undefeated and won a championship. That is the team's expectation.
How many candidates did you interview for head coach and what drew you to Keven Jackson?
I had physical interviews with two. I had phone interviews with seven. What drew me to Keven is that he is the reason why Canton won (the 2006 league title), because of his defensive mind. When you talk to Keven Jackson, the first thing that comes from him is the character of who he is. The quality of the individual. That comes at you like a freight train.
After you fall in love with him because of his character, his willingness to teach was what set him apart from most other candidates. Some candidates, the head coach's job is to manage structure. Keven's philosophy is to teach. When you ask for structure items, at least at the interview level, he had already thought of some of the structure type of things. He had a presentation ready, whereas some of the other candidates had to think about it. He was head and shoulders over every candidate that it didn't take me much time to figure it out.
Any big challenge or roadblock that you didn't expect?
The surprising thing is that some potential sponsors have a wait-and-see attitude because of the Thunder and other organizations that have been here. Pessimistic. This is a different organization, and I think people can see that.
The businessman in David Morris would be in Charlotte, N.C., right now.
The competitor in David Morris picked Tallahassee.
Put simply: He wants to win an arena football title.
"I'm coming in saying, 'We are going to be here for the long haul,' " Morris said. "I picked Tallahassee for one main reason: it wasn't for the arena, it wasn't for the market; it was for the talent of players that were here.
"Business-wise, I should have gone to Charlotte. Eight times bigger market, cheaper to me, but I would not have found in Charlotte, even though it's a great market and all that, it doesn't have the tradition of football players that Tallahassee has. So if I want a championship product, I have to go where championship players live."
But he'll also have to win over a fickle pro-sports market. Morris recently sat down with the Tallahassee Democrat to discuss the financial aspects of bringing a team to and succeeding in Tallahassee when other pro sports teams such as the Tiger Sharks, Scorpions, Tempest and Thunder have failed in the last 15 years.
Can you discuss your business model for the Titans?
What makes this model different than most indoor teams is that the concept of this league was developed by Andrew Haines. For Tallahassee and this organization, what makes it different is that this is owner-friendly. He set it up so that the league could only be so intrusive to the teams. So that the teams, as they develop their market, instead of increasing dues as times went on, that money would still be around for teams to do different things.
I have been working on the model for a year and a half. So well before I decided to bring a team to Tallahassee, I had to look at how I wanted to present my team. I set my model up as a neighbor of Tallahassee. I want to be your championship football team. You look at my ticket prices: they're lower than anything around. So when people look at my price, they say, 'OK. With those low prices, how is Tallahassee going to make this work?'
How the Tallahassee Titans are going to make it is I am building for the future. If those stands out there are one-third filled, that operates the team between 3,000 and 4,000 fans. The next two-thirds is paying my capital investment. The last one-third is where the owner would actually get to put a tad bit of money in his pocket. So am I looking at coming in and instantly getting revenue back to me? No. What I'm looking at is the long-term stuff.
Would you consider the lease with the Civic Center favorable? Is it good enough to do what you want to do?
The short term, I made the decision to accept the lease agreement. I'm paying the highest in the league. I'm paying $10,000 a game. Where most arenas, most teams are paying between $3,500 and $4,500 per game, all inclusive, everything, love to have you here, how much more can we help, you get partial concessions, parking, all kinds of stuff, I get nothing. Now, in the future, it would help us out if we can make it more favorable than what it is. My initial thought is this: Ron Spencer has a wealth of experience and knowledge, and he has been helpful in many aspects. His organization has been very helpful to us. As any relationship grows, it's helpful to develop things.
How much have you invested in the Titans so far?
I'm well over $300,000. I made a commitment.
Compare your situation to that of the previous indoor football team in Tallahassee, the Thunder, who lasted three seasons from 2000-2002?
So as far as the difference between us and the Thunder, the Thunder unfortunately had a league that each year said, 'Hey, now that you made it this year, here's an additional cost. Here's an additional cost. Here's an additional cost.' When you take money away from the teams, then the teams can't continue to do what they originally did. If you look at the Thunder's first year, they had over 5,800 in (average) attendance. Dropped off the next year. Why did it drop off? The league took revenue from them that they needed. That will not happen to this team.
What about competing at the time of year that you are in? You have college basketball, college baseball, spring college football, high school sports and other activities. Is that a concern?
Typically, in the winter months, there's less to do. So basically, what are we competing against on Saturday nights? We're competing against the movies. So there are 60 (college) baseball games, but there are only eight home (Titans) games here. We don't consider baseball to be competition. ...
It will be an event. It is a fan-friendly game. I've talked to people who have held season tickets to the Thunder; they loved the game. The biggest complaint was the nets. They couldn't stand the nets. So the nets killed the excitement sometimes. You catch a $30 ball and you're sitting in a $12 seat, you just made $18. ... We're not going to sell any of these balls. If you want one, you're going to have to catch one.
You have purchased health insurance for all players, bought anti-concussion helmets and installed custom padding on the boards at the Civic Center. But it all comes at an added cost, right?
I don't have to provide it for the players. This is something I wanted to do. I realize it's at a big cost. But at the same token it's saying that I'm not going to leave my players unprotected. I'm going to have a world-class organization at this level. ...
I went with top-of-the-line, highest safety stuff. Riddell did not pay me to buy their stuff. I had to pay them. I think they're in love with their stuff based on their prices. But the Riddell Revolution helmets basically proved to me that it had the highest safety factor for my players.
On the field, what are your goals?
Of course, I have high expectations for my team. No expansion team that I've found on record has ever gone undefeated and won a championship. That is the team's expectation.
How many candidates did you interview for head coach and what drew you to Keven Jackson?
I had physical interviews with two. I had phone interviews with seven. What drew me to Keven is that he is the reason why Canton won (the 2006 league title), because of his defensive mind. When you talk to Keven Jackson, the first thing that comes from him is the character of who he is. The quality of the individual. That comes at you like a freight train.
After you fall in love with him because of his character, his willingness to teach was what set him apart from most other candidates. Some candidates, the head coach's job is to manage structure. Keven's philosophy is to teach. When you ask for structure items, at least at the interview level, he had already thought of some of the structure type of things. He had a presentation ready, whereas some of the other candidates had to think about it. He was head and shoulders over every candidate that it didn't take me much time to figure it out.
Any big challenge or roadblock that you didn't expect?
The surprising thing is that some potential sponsors have a wait-and-see attitude because of the Thunder and other organizations that have been here. Pessimistic. This is a different organization, and I think people can see that.