Imagine: Soccer Team Has Money Woes

The majority owner of the Seattle Sounders says the A-League soccer team is losing more money than expected, and he’s concerned about the future of the league.

“I’m hoping that the loss will be less than half a million dollars,” said Scott Oki, a former Microsoft Corp. executive who owns 85 percent of the club. “We need an eight-team league and we need more fans to come to the games.”

He said management expected to lose money in its first season last year but he denied that the loss was nearly $1 million.

Last year the American Professional Soccer League had seven teams, but three folded in the off-season - Toronto, Fort Lauderdale and Los Angeles. The holdovers in the renamed league are defending champion Montreal, Colorado, Vancouver and Seattle. Atlanta and New York are fielding new teams this year.

The Sounders are 4-0 this season.

“I’m not worried about the league folding, at least not this year,” Oki said. “There is obviously concern going forward in ‘96 because I think most, if not all, of the owners are of the opinion we really need to have an eight-team league.

“If we can’t assure ourselves that that is going to happen, who knows what’s going to happen.”

Oki said crowds of 7,000 to 7,500 were expected at the first two games. The team claimed attendance of 4,345 at a televised home game against Vancouver on May 20, but reporters estimated the crowd at 2,000.