20-Member Investor Group Gains Control of Splash
The Splash, almost folded in January but saved in February, has another new owner. Actually, it’s a collection of owners, a 20-member investor group called The Anaheim Splash, Inc.
The group is the Continental Indoor Soccer League team’s third owner since January, when Ogden Facility Management Corp., began the process of folding the team after unsuccessfully searching for an ownership partner.
The Anaheim Splash, Inc., is headed by Gary Sparks, 50, president of the Coast Soccer League--the nation’s largest competitive youth league with more than 700 teams. The group took over for Arizona businessman Bill Williams.
“I have been very excited about soccer in Orange County for 12 years and always dreamed the kids in Orange County could go watch what they play every day on a professional basis, and that I can be a part of that is a dream come true--to bring them great professional soccer,” Sparks said.
Sparks said the investor group has been involved in soccer in some capacity for about eight years.
“There are people who have been around here forever who love soccer,” said Sparks, who has three adult children and one son in high school who have played. “Their kids played it and they grew up with it.
“We’re not looking to make money out of this; this is not an income. This is for the community to enjoy. . . . Not one person [in the group] relies on one penny of income from the Splash.”
Williams, chief executive officer of American Nortel Communications Corp., tired of the commute from Scottsdale, Ariz., according to Sparks and General Manager Don Ebert. Williams could not be reached for comment.
Williams and Sparks struck a deal on April 15, two months before the team’s season opener on June 14 against Dallas at the Pond.
The final legal documents to complete the transfer--the renegotiated 10-year lease to use the Pond--were signed Friday.
Sparks, the managing partner, and his group of investors currently own 85%; Williams’ current 10% will revert to The Anaheim Splash, Inc., on July 1. Ogden, the company that operates the Pond, will retain its 5% ownership that it had under the deal with Williams.
Sparks’ primary source of income is through car washes. Other investors, he said, are simply community members like him with similar aspirations.
“We can all afford a reasonable investment to keep soccer here,” he said. “It’s something all of us can afford to do for our community. None of us can be considered individually wealthy.”
