While his players prepare for a strike, Real Salt Lake's Dave Checketts has joined a growing chorus of Major League Soccer owners and investors who warn that such a move would be "absolutely devastating" to the league.
"I don't know how Major League Soccer survives it, to be honest," Checketts said. "It's that serious."
The players are ready to strike at midnight Tuesday, according to multiple sources and news reports, if they cannot agree with the league on a new collective bargaining agreement to replace the one that expired Jan. 31.
That deadline is barely two days before the new Philadelphia Union expansion team is scheduled to open the season against the Seattle Sounders on national television --and just four days before RSL begins defense of its MLS Cup championship at San Jose on March 27.
"It's definitely a tense time," RSL defender Nat Borchers said.
Yet the players insist they won't abandon their pursuit of what they call basic rights. Primarily, they want greater freedom to change teams and more guaranteed contracts, and voted 383-2 recently to authorize a strike.
Owners maintain that either concession would hurt them financially and jeopardize the stability of the league that has fought for years to build a firm footing on the fringe of the U.S. sports landscape.
"We're basically sticking to our guns," said Borchers, one of two union representatives on the team. "We've been very reasonable in the things we've been seeking. We're not going to start the next season without a new collective bargaining agreement. We're not willing to accept the status quo."
Both sides have agreed that negotiations have yielded little progress, and a strike would disrupt a season that many view as crucial to the continued development of soccer in the United States.
Interest in the game is expected to be heightened by the World Cup in South Africa this summer, while the league expects not only to add the Union as its 16th team but also witness the opening of the New York Red Bulls' new $220 million stadium in suburban New Jersey.
"If we don't play this year," Checketts said. "It's not going to be in anybody's best interest."
Checketts is among several owners and investors who have spoken up in recent days, after keeping quiet during weeks of negotiations. He said he and his partners have sunk about $200 million into building RSL over the past six years -- that includes the money they needed to help finance Rio Tinto Stadium -- and that most owners are still losing money.
Even RSL lost money during its title-winning season last year, he said.
"We have to have an attitude of continuing to build the league -- by everybody," he said.
Yet Checketts also sounded an ominous tone when he said that a strike would unleash a "whole streamroller of events" that he believes the players have not considered.
"I want to say to my players, make certain you guys understand the implications" of a strike, he said. "Make sure you understand how we might respond, and make sure you understand what it might create. ... In a sport that has come as far as we have, struggling for relevance, this just seems like the absolutely worst time to have a work stoppage."
On the field
Real Salt Lake is preparing to defend its MLS Cup title, even as its players prepare for a possible strike next week.
But Borchers said coaches and other team officials have been "very professional" while the team plays in the Carolina Challenge Cup tournament in South Carolina. RSL beat the host Charleston Battery 3-1 on Wednesday, with goals by Robbie Findley, Javier Morales and Fabian Espindola.
"There's no underlying tension" between coaches and players, Borchers said.
The victory was the first of the tournament for RSL, which lost its opener to D.C. United. Its final game comes against Toronto FC on Saturday.
Major League Soccer players are seeking three main concessions in a new collective-bargaining agreement:
Greater freedom to change teams » Under the old deal, players released by one team could not simply sign with another. Instead, a new employer had to first strike a deal with the old one to acquire the player's rights. Owners oppose any sort of free agency.
More guaranteed contracts » The union says only 20 percent of player contracts are even "semi-guaranteed," meaning teams can release most players before July 1 of a given season without having to pay them for the rest of the year.
Fewer unilateral options » Most player contracts with MLS nominally span four years, but that's only if the league picks up a series of one-year options after the first year of the deal. It can decline an option at any point, yet still retain a player's rights.
