The Athletic: Grand Slam Track asks vendors to accept 50% or bankruptcy looms

Snippets from the article:

"GST recently approved letters which informed companies who provided services to the track league that they must accept an offer of 50 percent of their total owed monies for invoices through till the end of October 2025, or GST may otherwise go into bankruptcy. Multiple vendors, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect relationships while disclosing confidential information, told The Athletic that if they want to accept the offer, they must do so by December 5. All vendors must agree to the deal for any of them to receive their share under the proposed plan."

"Matt Gordon, the owner and principal designer at one of those vendors, Eastern Lighting Design, told The Athletic Tuesday that “at no point” was he made aware of any financial issues for GST during the first meets of its opening season, which took place in Kingston, Miami and Philadelphia."

“It really wasn’t until the plug was pulled on LA that we were aware that there were problems,” Gordon said. “Ultimately, I feel, at least speaking for Eastern Lighting
Design, that we were taken advantage of.”

"For the vendors who received the letters, the December 5 deadline to unanimously agree to a 50 percent loss — or potentially face receiving no more money themselves — looms."

No mention of whether or not the athletes have been paid. Twice the article stated, "GST declined to comment."

Sounds like the athletes have received half of what they are owed. Doesn’t sound like they will receive the other half

“In early October, The Athletic reported that GST had arranged financing to cover 50 percent of all money owed to athletes, with the league at that stage insistent that a second season could be possible. Due to the nature of financing, the funds are subject to repayment by GST in the future.
Athletes were then told that GST would work to secure additional funding in the following 60 days, but several athletes’ agents have told The Athletic that they are yet to receive further information. Those agents indicated that they would be prepared to compromise to avoid the project folding and their athletes receiving no more money.”

And again I say this as I did before…. If this is a journalism website why is there no investigative journalism being done about this? Show us the paper trails of where this money went. Where’s MJ hiding now? Hes been awfully quiet. Where’s Merber now? Also very quiet. Cowards the both of them.

That the US Free Enterprise system. It's easy to try something new. But people often suffer if you fail. Think of the alternative if no one could try new ideas. We would have no LA2028 if it were not for Tom Bradley, UCLA Track Star, LAPD Vice Squad Lieutennant, Mayor of Los Angeles, who made LA 1984 the 1st Profitable Olympics and 1st Global Live bilingual TV Olympics in over 200 count.res.

I don't understsnd this as a strategy. Even if all vendors accept 50% of fees owed, GST's reputation is shredded for any future potential initiatives.

I think MJ is hoping to avoid court where a deep investigation will take place. He wants this swept under the rug before the paper trail is discovered. I hope nobody accepts this and instead pursue litigation. MJ will be forced to disclose information that he desperately wants to remain hidden.

Weirdly, I said that GST was heading for bankruptcy after ther LA meet was cancelled. My post was deleted immediately. I posted the same thing when more information came out. Again deleted. Do the brojos have a stake in GST? Bankruptcy is almost certainly the only path forward to save the individual investors from further cash losses. Trying to bargain down the debt is will barely move the needle when there is still negative cash flow and no marketable product.

What kind of paper trail are you expecting? I think the previous reporting from this writer in the Athletic has uncovered what happened. There just never was nearly enough money to begin with. Grand Slam was promising money they never had to athletes and vendors, and were able to take advantage of the fact that the athletes and vendors are accustomed to not being paid immediately so Grand Slam was able to stage three meets before that issue caught of with them.

Screw that take him to court and clean MJ out

You’re accusing Johnson embezzling money without any evidence. Johnson has a high net worth and I doubt he was willing to risk going to prison.

It just underlines that GST is stuck between a rock and a hard place. If vendors accept 50% of what they're owed, GST will have erased a good chunk of its debt but the vendors will be pissed. Most of them probably won't want to work with GST in '26 or would insist on receiving funds up front.

The problem is, paying off their vendors in full looks to be close to impossible. To do that, you'd have to require investors to come on board who would be willing to put in $10 million to clear a bunch of debt from 2025 just for the right to fund GST's 2026 season. Who is going to want to do that?

And even if GST pays off its vendors in full, their reputation and credibility has already taken a massive hit and vendors/athletes are going to be skeptical about working with them moving forward.

As if there’s anything to work with moving forward. There’s no GST. It’s not happening again clearly. These vendors get screwed over (in typical USA capitalistic fashion) and are expected to just take it and for what? There is no future GST. It’s dead, done, and gone. This is why I keep asking for MJ to share what he got paid - show us the paper trail. How much money was spent paying MJ, Merber and others but not paying vendors and athletes?

"work with GST in 2026"???

This joke of a league is done, finished, kaput, gone.

Accept it.

Huh, I remember them hanging a medal around Peter Uberoth's neck for what you give credit to Bradley for.

Yes it's over.

We can only hope that this absolute gong show hasn't f-ed things up in terms of meaningful investment/opportunities etc in the sport moving forwards.

it will, that's the issue. which is why, many people like me, want a witch hunt on MJ and the rest of the executive board to hold them accountable.

how the hell do you promise money you don't have?

Quite simple - when your ego is so large that in very first press releases about your league (and the website opening page), you refer to yourself as "Olympic Hero Michael Johnson", you clearly have this wild and delusional self concept that leads you to believe anything you do will be successful. It's the curse of the once-successful athlete that believes that competence in one siloed area of life automatically translates to everything else.

And that's how you promise money you don't have.

World Athletics who are owed £30,000 by GST have rejected the 50% payment terms for vendors and told GST to pay the athletes in full.

thetimes.com

Grand Slam Track facing collapse as 50% settlement rejected

Matt Lawton, Sports News Reporter of the Year

World Athletics tells Michael Johnson-led venture it must pay athletes who are owed six-figure sums and rejects offer of partial payment of debt

Open link

Tom was the genius behind many business ventures. Tom is the founder of the policy tp bring gasoline, insurance, motion picture, etc, investors in from all over the world and make them Angelenos. It was a revolutionary idea in the 1980s to push investors to be involved stakeholders in Los Angeles. Tom made it popular.