Soccer for a Cause

Gordon Hartman, a San Antonio homebuilder, sold his companies in 2005. On a vacation that year, his 12-year-old daughter Morgan, who has cognitive and physical special needs, wanted to join other children in a pool game. He came away thinking families like his had nowhere comfortable to go. On April 10, 2010, he opened Morgan's Wonderland, a fully accessible theme park.²

The soccer club was meant to help pay for it. The NASL announced a San Antonio team on October 4, 2010, and under the Soccer for a Cause banner its net profits were to go to the park.¹

1. The clubTickets and sponsors for a pro team in the NASL
2. Soccer for a CauseNet profits set aside for the park, more than $1 million by Hartman's count³
3. Morgan's WonderlandThe accessible park near the club's stadium¹

An immediate hit

The name came in January 2011, and the team kicked off in 2012 under coach Tim Hankinson with a 0–0 draw against the Atlanta Silverbacks. The home opener drew 13,151 to Heroes Stadium, even though Puerto Rico won 4–0.¹ The average crowd that season was 9,176, and the Scorpions finished first in the league. Pablo Campos scored 20 goals and was the league's top player.¹

Supporters formed quickly, including the Crocketteers, the Casual Football Firm and the Spanish-speaking El Veneno.¹

Toyota Field opened on April 13, 2013, with a 2–0 loss to Tampa Bay. The 8,296-seat stadium was owned by a nonprofit Hartman founded, with proceeds going to the park.⁴ That season fell apart in the fall, and Hankinson was fired in August after four straight games without a win. Alen Marcina replaced him and got the job permanently that November.¹

The title at home

The 2014 team was third in the spring and won the fall season at 11–2–5.⁵ Captain Adrian Cann's stoppage-time goal beat the New York Cosmos 1–0 at the end of the fall. The Cosmos came back for the semifinal, and Wálter Restrepo won it 2–1 in the 110th minute.^1,6

Sold to get a bigger team

Hartman wanted to go further. In March 2014 he said reaching Major League Soccer would take “a lot of money and a little bit of luck.” Japanese investors were due to meet city officials about expanding Toyota Field that November, and in February 2015 the president of Mexico's federation wrote in support of the bid.⁸ The effort stalled in 2015, and by August he was focused on selling the club. City and county officials were far apart with him on the stadium's value that September.⁸

A deal came together in November. The City of San Antonio and Bexar County bought Toyota Field for $18 million, and Spurs Sports & Entertainment took a 20-year lease and added $3 million. The deal set a penalty of up to $5 million if MLS didn't arrive within six years. Hartman said the $21 million would go to Morgan's Wonderland.^4,9

There was no room for the Scorpions in that plan. On December 22, 2015, the Spurs group announced a new USL team for the stadium, which became San Antonio FC, and the Scorpions' 2016 tickets were refunded.^1,10 The team had just finished 10th, and it didn't play again.