As some of you may have guessed, I have been having some, hmmmm, how shall I put it?........ 'interesting' discussions with the Millennium Board of late, primarily with Barry Fuggle and Steve Baldwin.
Here is an announcement Steve would like to make on behalf of the Millennium Board in the light of some of the things that have been written on these boards recently, you guys can chew over and comment upon what it says
:-
It appears there is some confusion with regard to CPL & SPL transfer fees which I would like to try to clear up. We did hold meetings last week in which those team owners who could attend appeared to understand what we are trying to achieve.
It has always been our intention to build a very successful league to be the envy of professional paintball around the world. Last year was the first step and was very positive, from this groundwork we have now introduced the SPL.
The only way the league will continue to grow and be successful is with a joint approach between the Millennium and the team owners. The Millennium for its part is providing the best possible facilities and organisation to ensure maximum exposure to the broadest possible audience. You will see a great deal of movement forward in this respect at the venues this season. What the Millennium needs from the teams is a high level of professional commitment.
From a financial angle it is very simple to see that it is impossible for the Millennium to directly earn money from running the CPL and SPL leagues, this is not our aim. Of course we are a business, but our income will come later as will that of the teams.
To ensure a successful league we need consistency among the teams throughout the seasons, with the stronger teams rising through the ranks. What we don't want is teams changing hands thus making each leg of the league just look like another tournament, this will devalue the league for its members. In order to stop this we agreed at the outset of the CPL to impose a transfer fee should teams change hands. As a result, transfers have been kept to a minimum and consistency prevails.
If a team now wants to sell, (and they can sell for what they like, this has nothing to do with the Millennium) the transfer fee ensures the new team is more likely to be of a high quality.
As many of you may remember, we tried a few years ago to introduce XBall to Europe. ON the face of it, this was a disaster for the Millennium and the teams. However, from this we learned some very important lessons that have assisted us in making the CPL work successfully.
We must also ensure the SPL is as successful and this is why we have slightly altered some aspects of the format so teams don't suddenly increase their costs.
We will keep our eyes firmly on all aspects of these leagues all season and listen to team feedback, as we did last year, to ensure we move forward together.
It would take many pages to explain all our points and all of what's happening in the Millennium but I am more than happy to speak to any of the teams affected over the phone should any of you wish.
Stephen Baldwin
Here is an announcement Steve would like to make on behalf of the Millennium Board in the light of some of the things that have been written on these boards recently, you guys can chew over and comment upon what it says
:-It appears there is some confusion with regard to CPL & SPL transfer fees which I would like to try to clear up. We did hold meetings last week in which those team owners who could attend appeared to understand what we are trying to achieve.
It has always been our intention to build a very successful league to be the envy of professional paintball around the world. Last year was the first step and was very positive, from this groundwork we have now introduced the SPL.
The only way the league will continue to grow and be successful is with a joint approach between the Millennium and the team owners. The Millennium for its part is providing the best possible facilities and organisation to ensure maximum exposure to the broadest possible audience. You will see a great deal of movement forward in this respect at the venues this season. What the Millennium needs from the teams is a high level of professional commitment.
From a financial angle it is very simple to see that it is impossible for the Millennium to directly earn money from running the CPL and SPL leagues, this is not our aim. Of course we are a business, but our income will come later as will that of the teams.
To ensure a successful league we need consistency among the teams throughout the seasons, with the stronger teams rising through the ranks. What we don't want is teams changing hands thus making each leg of the league just look like another tournament, this will devalue the league for its members. In order to stop this we agreed at the outset of the CPL to impose a transfer fee should teams change hands. As a result, transfers have been kept to a minimum and consistency prevails.
If a team now wants to sell, (and they can sell for what they like, this has nothing to do with the Millennium) the transfer fee ensures the new team is more likely to be of a high quality.
As many of you may remember, we tried a few years ago to introduce XBall to Europe. ON the face of it, this was a disaster for the Millennium and the teams. However, from this we learned some very important lessons that have assisted us in making the CPL work successfully.
We must also ensure the SPL is as successful and this is why we have slightly altered some aspects of the format so teams don't suddenly increase their costs.
We will keep our eyes firmly on all aspects of these leagues all season and listen to team feedback, as we did last year, to ensure we move forward together.
It would take many pages to explain all our points and all of what's happening in the Millennium but I am more than happy to speak to any of the teams affected over the phone should any of you wish.
Stephen Baldwin
