cincodemayo1 Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 Hey guys. Hope this is kosher to be posting this here, but this is definitely a project I think you guys would be interested in. I posted about this a while back when we were still in our sign up phase, but we're on to Phase 2, with a fully functional forum, blog, user profiles, FAQ's, etc. In case you missed it the first time...A few buddies of mine and myself just launched Project Franchise (www.projectfranchise.org), a new online community created with the goal of buying a professional (probably minor league) sports team and letting the fans take the wheel. We?ll be raising the necessary funds from sponsors and by selling cheap premium subscriptions to the site (probably between $5-10.) Once we acquire a team, instead of hiring some overpaid GM to draft the next Ryan Leaf, the fans in the Project Franchise community will control the destiny of the team. Community members will vote on EVERYTHING, from the team name and player personnel to the team logo, uniform design, even the type of condiments in the concession stand!At the moment though, we don't want a dime from you. All we want is for you to sign up and be active in the Project Franchise community. We've set up a forum, we have a blog and we want to hear from you! Are we nuts for trying to do this? Maybe, but without some feedback we'll never know. Tell us what you think! While the site is new, it?s free for anyone to join the community and start voting. When we get enough support to make acquiring a team possible, then we?ll start charging a cheap annual premium subscription fee and the Fan Community members will act as the team?s collective General Manager. So for less than a season of Fantasy Football, you will be able to actually help run your favorite, real life sports team.Check it out and let us know what you think! Oh, and I'll be happy to respond to any questions you guys have. Post them up and I'll try to get back to all of ya.www.projectfranchise.org Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goforbroke Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 Sounds like an interesting idea, but I'll believe it when I see it. A team needs some kind of front office to run the business. You can't sign players, hire team and stadium employees, and run a franchise just through online polls. I think the angle you should go for is sort of a team investment - like the Packers - and then the community can elect a sort of representative on the board of directors. But that's about as far as fans running the franchise can go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cincodemayo1 Posted June 25, 2008 Author Share Posted June 25, 2008 Sounds like an interesting idea, but I'll believe it when I see it. A team needs some kind of front office to run the business. You can't sign players, hire team and stadium employees, and run a franchise just through online polls. I think the angle you should go for is sort of a team investment - like the Packers - and then the community can elect a sort of representative on the board of directors. But that's about as far as fans running the franchise can go.Thanks for the comment...yeah, we've done a ton of research, and there will for sure be a front office with people who know how to run a team. That said, we'll let our GM's vote on everything within our power. Some leagues are more excepting of this, but we'll give as much power to the people as possible. While we can't necessarily sign someone through voting, we can scout through voting. But again, we will allow votes for as much as possible.Sign up at projectfranchise.org so we can keep you in the loop. And please, by all means, post in our forum your thoughts on ProjectFranchise. We want this to be run by REAL fans with REAL ideas, and again, we'll let you vote on everything we can! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingerbreadmann Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 :DI signed up for the hell of it. Thanks for making it worthwhile (at least for now!)Edit: Maybe we could join forces and run an ABA Team! (!!!!) (Anyone?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alphabet Man Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 Sounds abit like what they did in England... myfootballclub.com or something like that, but theyre now at the stage they have a team i believeI like Lee's ABA team idea better. twitter.com/thebrainofMatt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cincodemayo Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 Sounds abit like what they did in England... myfootballclub.com or something like that, but theyre now at the stage they have a team i believeI like Lee's ABA team idea better.Ha...funny you guys mention that. We have actually been in talks with the ABA. Obviously we have a long way to go, but it seems like the ABA is the kind of league that would go for our idea and let the fans really run the team.The MyFootballClub is a similar idea. They've done a great job so far and we hope to do the same, except we'd like to give the GMs even more power, as much as we can within league rules.Anyway, thanks for signing up guys and spread the word! It's free and your input is greatly needed and appreciated! Feel free to browse and post in our forums too. And if you have site suggestions or just suggestions to the whole idea in general, please let us know!Thanks again.The Project Franchise Teamwww.projectfranchise.org Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcgd Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 Sounds abit like what they did in England... myfootballclub.com or something like that, but theyre now at the stage they have a team i believeI like Lee's ABA team idea better.I'm part of that. Its very cool system. It was so much fun watching "my team" win the FA Trophy this year.The nice thing about the myfootballclub model is the fact that Ebbsfleet United could conceivably reach the Premier League someday. I believe right now they are in the 5th level and I'm thinking that's never happened before. But the fact that it could happen is pretty cool. Something you don't have in the United States. A short-season A baseball club will always be an A baseball club. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cincodemayo Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 Sounds abit like what they did in England... myfootballclub.com or something like that, but theyre now at the stage they have a team i believeI like Lee's ABA team idea better.I'm part of that. Its very cool system. It was so much fun watching "my team" win the FA Trophy this year.The nice thing about the myfootballclub model is the fact that Ebbsfleet United could conceivably reach the Premier League someday. I believe right now they are in the 5th level and I'm thinking that's never happened before. But the fact that it could happen is pretty cool. Something you don't have in the United States. A short-season A baseball club will always be an A baseball club.Oh, and one more thing...once we vote on the sports, we'll be having votes for team name, logo design, unis, etc. You guys are pros on this stuff...would love your input.Sign up so you don't miss out!www.projectfranchise.org Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mac the Knife Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 Two words of advice... (1) Stay the hell away from the ABA, and (2) Low-level Minor League Baseball might be your best bet for acquiring a franchise.A small group of us here on the CCSLC began a similar project about two months ago. Our initial 'target' was the ABA, at least it was until we did some research into their business practices (or, apparently, lack thereof). In the meantime I found a number of low-level minor league baseball owners interested in selling, probably due to their financial statements, but that could provide the best avenue toward acquiring a club.At this point our effort is in a sort of limbo, primarily due to the lives of the three of us pressing other concerns, but I for one wish you well in this endeavor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cincodemayo Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 Two words of advice... (1) Stay the hell away from the ABA, and (2) Low-level Minor League Baseball might be your best bet for acquiring a franchise.A small group of us here on the CCSLC began a similar project about two months ago. Our initial 'target' was the ABA, at least it was until we did some research into their business practices (or, apparently, lack thereof). In the meantime I found a number of low-level minor league baseball owners interested in selling, probably due to their financial statements, but that could provide the best avenue toward acquiring a club.At this point our effort is in a sort of limbo, primarily due to the lives of the three of us pressing other concerns, but I for one wish you well in this endeavor.Thanks a lot, Mac. To be honest, the ABA has been pretty receptive, but we'll definitely do our homework before jumping aboard. Our initial thought was Minor League Baseball and it's still one of our best options. But as our plan for most decisions, we'd like this to be a vote by the GMs. Thanks for the advice on the ABA. We'll check it out for sure. Sign up to keep posted with our project. Any other advice/help you can offer is greatly appreciated!www.projectfranchise.org Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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