Anschutz Cuts an MLS Tie
Denver billionaire Philip F. Anschutz on Thursday recouped at least some of the money he has invested in Major League Soccer by selling the MetroStars to Austrian businessman Dietrich “Didi” Mateschitz in a deal worth an estimated $50 million.
In announcing the purchase, Mateschitz said the team would be renamed Red Bull New York, after the energy drink company he founded, which has sales of more than $1.5 billion a year.
The MetroStars are the third sports team Mateschitz has acquired in as many years. In 2004, he purchased the Formula One team Jaguar Racing from Ford Motor Co. and renamed it Red Bull Racing. Last April, he bought the 72-year-old Austrian soccer club SV Salzburg and renamed it Red Bull Salzburg.
As the MetroStars, the club was one of five MLS teams owned by AEG, along with the Galaxy, Chicago Fire, D.C. United and Houston Dynamo. The Anschutz company has been working to move the team from Giants Stadium to a home of its own in Harrison, N.J.
Mateschitz also bought naming rights to the proposed stadium and will name it Red Bull Arena. It is set to open in 2008.
MLS Commissioner Don Garber called the sale “a landmark moment” for the league, which begins its 11th season April 1. And Mateschitz, he said, “brings international credibility and proven marketing experience.”
Mateschitz, 61, brings creativity too. An extreme sports and motorsports buff, he has backed street luge, winter surfing, and something called Red Bull Flugtag (flying day), in which competitors in homemade flying machines launch themselves into water off a 30-foot ramp.
According to Mateschitz, Red Bull New York and Red Bull Salzburg will work in tandem in several areas, including training camps, scouting and friendly matches. The team is expected to retain Alexi Lalas as president and general manager and Mo Johnston as coach.
