sports

Greg Holker bought into the Minnesota Thunder's vision to grow the franchise and local soccer in general. Now he is waiting to get paid.

Holker -- a youth coach in the Minnesota Thunder Academy, which the minor league soccer franchise started to aid in the development of elite players -- said he and his assistant coaches are owed about $1,300. Holker is also the men's soccer coach and athletics facilities assistant manager at Augsburg College, where the Thunder has an outstanding bill for use of the school's dome facility.

Other local businesses are awaiting payment or have taken legal action against the Thunder, which also had experienced internal cash-flow problems. Team owner Dean Johnson, a St. Paul native who heads the Belgium-based real estate company WingField Corp., said the bills will be paid. He blamed the situation on the team's aggressive expansion during a period of economic chaos. Team revenue is down, due in large part to a more than 50 percent drop in sponsorship money since 2008.

"While there have been some moments which were difficult, we have never considered not continuing to invest," Johnson said. "Even in a difficult environment, we're moving forward with this franchise and we're creating something for Minnesota soccer."

Since Johnson purchased the team in August 2007, the Thunder reinvested in the National Sports Center Stadium in Blaine, started a Premier Development League team in Rochester, founded the Minnesota Thunder Academy and built the Thunder Lounge beer garden in the NSC. In addition, the team's budget and player salaries were increased.

The long-term goal, Johnson and team President Manny Lagos said, is to raise the profile of the team in the state and the sports market. But for now, the 20-year-old franchise is at odds with businesses around the metro area.

Erik Christopherson, president of JMC Advertising Specialties Company in St. Paul, took the Thunder to conciliation court to collect $7,500 that was past due. Managers of two indoor facilities, Augsburg's Edor Nelson Field Dome and the Irish Sports Dome in Rosemount, said the Thunder still owes them money.

"Going forward, we will have a different way of doing business with them; they will have to pay up front," said Eric Heflin, general manager of the Irish Dome. Dave St. Aubin at Augsburg concurred.

The Thunder also experienced internal financial problems. Players who helped the team reach the playoffs last season saw their bonuses delayed for months. And construction of the Thunder Lounge beer garden, which the team is banking on to attract 21- to 30-year-old fans to the stadium, was delayed in part by a lack of financing. Lagos said the three-tier deck, part of nearly $400,000 spent on stadium renovations, is 90 to 95 percent paid off.

"It's not a situation we anticipated, the cash flow being lower for some of these invoices," Lagos said. "It's just been a difficult time to cover some things in a timely fashion."

The franchise draws from four primary revenue streams: camps, ticket sales, sponsorships and exhibition games -- including a game against 22-time Guatemalan champion C.S.D. Comunicaciones on Wednesday night. The game, played during the Schwan's USA Cup soccer tournament, could provide a season high in ticket sales.

Lagos does not believe that the club's financial status is negatively affecting the team's play, but the Thunder's on-field struggles are related to sporadic fan attendance. Tickets cost as little as $5 to watch the Thunder, which entered this week with a 3-8-5 record and sitting 10th in the 11-team USL First Division standings.

The Thunder's connection to youth soccer also changed directions. In June 2008, the Minnesota Thunder Academy formed a partnership with high-level Minnesota Youth Soccer Association clubs Bangu Tsunami and Wings. As a result, the MYSA dropped its sponsorship of the Thunder, most recently valued at $30,000. The Thunder no longer receives free and reduced advertising in various MYSA publications. And 80,000 MYSA players ages 9-19 no longer get a free ticket to see the Thunder.

"If we were to continue to sponsor them, four of our 140 clubs would receive benefits that the others aren't going to receive, and we have to be fair and equal toward our member clubs," MYSA executive director Candace Daley said.

Daley and Lagos said they are continuing to discuss a way for the MYSA to support just the Thunder's professional team. And Johnson said he will continue to fund his minor league team as it pursues major goals in a tough economy.

"At the end of the day, we're trying to develop a professional soccer franchise in Minnesota and bring it to the highest level possible," Johnson said. "We have invested and will continue to invest in the franchise."