Sporting Kansas City President & CEO Jake Reid spoke to local and national media on Wednesday, addressing the current suspension of the 2020 MLS season and the beginning of individual player workouts at MLS training facilities. His full remarks are below.
On what Reid learned during his experience working for the New Orleans Hornets in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005âĤ
Interestingly enough, I think there was a lot to learn from the impact on the team and the city. Clearly a hurricane impacting the region is (different) than a global pandemic. Itâs interesting looking back because that was the start of my career, so I was on the sales team there. I think transparency from the organization is important. As a kid out of college, you donât know anything. Youâre nervous and you donât know whatâs happening. Are we going to have jobs? Are we going to have a team? I give the New Orleans leadership team a lot of credit being transparent with us. We ended up moving to Orlando for three weeks to sell for the Magic, then we ultimately landed in Oklahoma City.
Iâve tried to channel that (transparency) with our group now. The unknown is the scariest part for folks, and we donât have a lot of answers right now. Iâve told everyone that thereâs no playbook for this. Weâre trying to figure out as we go and make the best decisions for the organization. In our case, you have MLS driving a lot of the decisions. Two tragedies are enough for my lifetime, so hopefully this is the last time we have to go through this. Certainly there will be some lessons learned, and hopefully I can channel that to our team as we try to get through this.
On the various return-to-play scenarios MLS is consideringâĤ
Iâve lost track of the scenarios weâve been through. Itâ changed so much, even if you go back two weeks ago. We didnât have state reopening plans or phase-out timelines. Now youâre starting to see all of that now, particularly in our region amongst others. I want to give MLS a lot of credit here. This is a scenario in New York that is completely different than anywhere else in the country aside from maybe Seattle. The league (in New York) has been really good communicating throughout this process and pulling teams in for feedback. Iâm on multiple league calls every day and serve on multiple committees where weâre trying to navigate certain things. Ultimately what weâre trying to do is put all possibilities on the table so that once we know we can jump one way or the other, weâre ready and weâre not trying to figure it out from scratch. Weâve (considered) everything from return to play in all markets behind closed doors to a regional strategy consisting of one, two or four cities in areas that maybe arenât as impacted. There are a lot of scenarios out there, and weâre obviously at the mercy of (COVID-19) as it progresses or hopefully declines. Ultimately the governments are really driving the process from the state and local level, and weâve been in constant communication with them as well. We want to be prepared so that when we get the approval on something, weâre ready to go.
Our thought is to get back to playing as soon as we can but safely. Youâve seen individual workouts start this week, then hopefully weâll get into group workouts, which will then transition into full training and closed-door games. That probably makes the most sense, and again, thatâs not any directive, thatâs just me looking at the political nature of it and the timelines. Weâd all like to get back to delivering sports to fans via broadcast rather than in-person to start off. I think weâve all agreed thatâs a scenario we would be supportive of. When you look at Kansas City, I think we could be ready to play closed doors and do group trainings in a month to six weeks. Youâre not going to have that on the coasts. Part of the challenge from the league level is figuring out what the best route is for the entire league because every market is going to be so different to this thing.
On the economic impact of not playing matches or playing games behind closed doorsâĤ
Youâve got a model in MLS where weâre more heavily reliant on local revenues than maybe the NFL, where youâve got a massive TV broadcast. IF you play closed doors in the NFL, youâre still going to have a significant portion of your revenues coming from national broadcasts. Weâve got a great deal with ESPN and FOX, and theyâve been awesome partners. Weâre just not at the same magnitude. Itâs significant for us locally as a team. Weâre looking at a significant loss if we arenât able to play games this year, and thatâs not any breaking news. When you cut off our revenue streams and cut off our ability to play games where weâre still having all of the expenses that come with running a building and paying players and staff, itâs a challenge. But I give our group creditâtheyâve been very supportive throughout this process and the league in general has the understanding that as soon as we can get back and start realizing some of the broadcast and sponsorship revenues, we can kind of check the box on some of those. Itâs going to be a significant impact on us and the rest of the league.
On Sporting players beginning voluntary individual workouts on WednesdayâĤ
It was kind of like kids on Christmas getting together under the Christmas tree. Everyone was very excited just to be there. It was very well received and Iâm very excited for the guys to get back out there and start doing workouts outside of their home. Listen, weâve got a long road back through this thing. But anytime you can get some positive momentum like we did today with guys getting back to the soccer pitch and running around, it was a great start. Itâs exciting to have something to grasp onto.
I give Peter Vermes and his staff a ton of credit. Theyâve been the league leaders on this thing, and frankly theyâve set the protocol for the rest of the league to follow. Kudos to Peter and company to put this thing together. Basically think of four quadrants on the pitch divided up equally. The guys can then do their own individual workouts (within each quadrant). Thereâs a million protocols that go into it all, but ultimately safety is at the forefront of everything from them showing up and social distancing on the way in to coordinating the times theyâre coming on and off the pitch. Even to the extent that if one guy kicks his ball into another quadrant, the other player canât kick it back. Weâve really tried to eliminate all contact and cross-contamination with any of the guys. The most important piece is making sure that the players and staff are safe throughout this process. If we donât get this part right, going to a smaller group session down the road is going to be even more delayed. So far so good.
We havenât done testing yet. Once we get to the group workout stage, testing will be completely critical. We canât go into group training until we have testing. With the individual workouts, weâre keeping every distanced and do not have testing.
On whether MLS has considered Kansas City as a potential neutral site to host MLS matches once play continuesâĤ
Weâve had good conversations about being in the mix if thatâs the route they go down. Facility-wise and infrastructure-wise, weâre in as good of a position as anyone. When youâve got the downtown hotels, weâve got plenty of hotel space if we needed it. Between Childrenâs Mercy Park, Swope Soccer Village and Compass Minerals National Performance Center, weâve got plenty of surface to train and play on. Thatâs not even counting the fields at Wyandotte and Overland Park. We can definitely do it, and weâve had excellent conversations with the league. Weâre certainly in consideration if they decide to go to a multi-city type of setup.
Thereâs the standard check list. Can you host training? Do you have game-ready facilities to play in? We check all of those boxes in a big way. When you look back on the international games weâve hosted as well as MLS All-Star and an MLS Cup, weâve got a good history with the league on big events and working with the league on those. Thereâs a built-in trust factor that this group can pull it off. I give credit to Cliff Illig and the ownership group. Theyâve been forefront on driving this thing and Cliff is on an executive committee with the league. Heâs obviously beating the drum for us every chance he gets. I think the league has complete confidence. Weâve never had an event here that hasnât been anything other than exceptional in their eyes. That carries a lot of weight in the decision making. In terms of facilities, I would put us up against anyone with what we have to offer for training and games.
On striker Alan Pulidoâs acclimation to the teamâĤ
I wish we would be playing more games because he was on a good goal scoring run before we had to halt everything. I give Alan Pulido a ton of credit. I think his integration into the team has been great. Clearly you saw the two results in games we played this year, but what you donât see is the culture piece and the leadership he brings to the group. Heâs fit in so well. Sometimes youâre nervous about bringing in a big-name player and what that impact may be with their attitude and ego. Thereâs not any of that with him. Heâs been exceptional from a training standpoint and integrating into the team. My only regret is that weâve only seen him on the pitch for 180 minutes so far.
On whether Sporting is looking to sign more Mexican players in the futureâĤ
I donât think weâre focused on Mexican players or South American players or European players. Peter focuses on the players he feels will fit into the system well and mesh. Whether thatâs within Mexico or another league, as long as they fit the mold that our team is looking for, then weâre very open to it. Youâve seen a lot of Mexican players come to the league over the last few years and the impact theyâve had, particularly up front. Itâs a good pipeline right now and the result are there to go with it.
On how the USL has reacted to the current situationâĤ
On the USL front, theyâre largely following the lead of MLS in terms of trying to evaluate what the next steps look like. Theyâve basically followed lock-step with MLS decision making. I would imagine that once we get to a point where we can resume some sort of play, youâll see the USL follow suit after that. Weâre reliant on local revenue and theyâre extremely reliant on local revenue. It hurts the (minor) league even more.
On MLS creating a new youth development leagueâĤ
In terms of the Development Academy shutting down, we look at that as an opportunity to step in as a league and help establish what the DA was meant to be and deliver that for the academy teams. Clearly weâre extremely invested in the youth space, and we feel passionately about that path and feel great about the future. Peter has been heavily involved at the league level, so weâre looking at how to improve that and step up the game when we can come back.
On whether MLS would like to become the first American sports league to resume playâĤ
Other than âThe Last Danceâ on Sunday nights, there hasnât been a lot of new sports content to look forward to. It would be something weâd be extremely interested inâif we can be the first league back. But ultimately it comes down to safety protocols, testing and doing all the things we can to make sure weâre not rushing it back. If you rush it back and screw it up, youâre going to be the last ones back, not the first. Weâre looking towards a methodical approach.
Weâve been in contact with several soccer leagues around the world. From a domestic standpoint, weâre having conversations with all of the sports leagues. I give Commissioner Garber and his team a lot of credit. Theyâre talking to the NBA, NHL and others. Although we compete on some level for dollars, this is a time where you really see the leagues coming together to try and figure this out. No one has the answers. Weâre all looking at what the best way forward might be. Itâs a sharing of ideasâwhatâs working and what isnât. Itâll be interesting to see.
On the likelihood of playing a full slate of games and how late into the year MLS can hold matchesâĤ
It would be really bad if we threw in the towel on 2020. I think thereâs so much time to get games in. Frankly, if we could start by mid-June, we could play a full season. Will that happen? Who knows. As long as we can get something going on by late summer or early fall, we could put together some semblance of a season. Clearly youâre not going to get all 34 games in at that point in time. Even if you started playing right now, youâre probably looking at a different scenario for the Open Cup. Youâve got some of these competitions that youâd have to create space for if MLS matches are the priority. Weâve looked at all of those scenarios, and as soon as we can get goingâĤweâre going to do our best to get as many games in as possible, even if thatâs not until later in the summer or fall.
On whether Sporting is looking to add players once the transfer window re-opensâĤ
Itâs going to be a buyerâs market whenever we get back out there. The question is how many buyers are you going to have based on the situation clubs come out of? Weâve talked about it and weâre always opportunistic on these things. If thereâs a situation where we have our eye on somebody that makes sense, and if we can get a great deal on it, I wouldnât be surprised for us to go after that. But at this point in time, itâs hard to think that far down the road when we arenât back playing games.
On how COVID-19 might impact the movement of transfer windowsâĤ
Weâre at the whim of FIFA in terms of the rulings that come down internationally. Itâll have some impact, even without anything happening right now. For the majority of the leagues, there will have to be a few things that change. TBD on that, but itâs firmly out of our control.
On a potential future super league involving MLS and Liga MX teamsâĤ
Anything to continue to grow the game for us her and in North America is a good thing. Weâre a long way of for that to become a reality at this point in time. Weâve had a great relationship with Liga MX. You saw the new Leagues Cup tournament begin last year as well as the Campeones Cup. Youâre starting to see a lot of that integration, but itâs hard to tell if you can merge both leagues together. Thereâs a lot youâd have to work through there, but itâs something to explore long-term to see if it makes sense. I would think itâs a benefit for both leagues, but Iâm not involved in those conversations at the league level.
