EXCLUSIVE-New Parma owner promises exciting soccer in long-term project

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RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT

VIDEO SHOWS: INTERVIEW WITH NEW PARMA OWNER, KYLE KRAUSE, RECENT FOOTAGE OF PARMA'S STADIUM AND TRAINING GROUND

SHOWS:

PARMA, ITALY (RECENT) (PARMA HANDOUT - ACCESS ALL) (MUTE)

1. VARIOUS OF AERIAL FOOTAGE OF PARMA'S STADIUM - STADIO TARDINI

PARMA, ITALY (SEPTEMBER 17, 2020) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

2. GATES OUTSIDE STADIUM

3. CLOSE UP OF GATES

4. PARMA CALCIO SIGN

5. SHOT WALKING ON TO PITCH

6. CLUB LOGO ON WALL

UNKNOWN LOCATION (SEPTEMBER 17, 2020) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

7. (SOUNDBITE) (English) KRAUSE GROUP CEO, KYLE KRAUSE, SAYING:

"For me, owning Parma Calcio is not about a near-term success and near-term opportunity of saying 'Yes, we did that and now on to the next thing'. It's long term and in the same sense from a people's standpoint I can't pick the future and timing for that but I see some presidents in Italian football and around the world become impatient fairly quickly, and I think that can be unfortunate for the entire staff standpoint; director, manager, etc. And so, I think for us, you want a chance with the team collectively, a team of leaders, along with a team on the field, to be able to build towards the project. It's not a project that's going to have success overnight and it's not a project that's going to say 'yes all of a sudden we're going to field five of our academy players in January. So I view it as a long-term, certainly, investment from our standpoint, a long-term passion."

PARMA, ITALY (SEPTEMBER 17, 2020) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

8. VIEW FROM STANDS

9. INSIDE OF GROUND

UNKNOWN LOCATION (SEPTEMBER 17, 2020) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

10. (SOUNDBITE) (English) KRAUSE GROUP CEO, KYLE KRAUSE, SAYING:

"So, expectations today; be in Serie A, have a team that's fun to watch, exciting to be on the field, and have success come to us as time comes."

PARMA, ITALY (SEPTEMBER 17, 2020) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

11. VIEW OF THE PITCH

12. CLOSE UP OF GRASS

UNKNOWN LOCATION (SEPTEMBER 17, 2020) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

13. (SOUNDBITE) (English) KRAUSE GROUP CEO, KYLE KRAUSE, SAYING:

"To me, there's a lot of fantastic things about Parma. I think you've got an existing ownership group that's a group of entrepreneurs in Parma who have done a great job, you know the story of bringing the club from Serie D to A in three seasons. So, you have a great ownerships group, you have also got a passionate fan base, so you've got a nice built in solid fan base. They're in Parma and they have got a fantastic history. You don't have to go that far back to where people know Parma Calcio around the world and that history is one that can inspire someone as a new partner with the team, and also give us something to aspire to. So.. and it's a great town. Parma is just a beautiful town, beautiful area. So, there's a multitude of great things about Parma that probably attracted me there but first that Italian passion got me there I guess."

PARMA, ITALY (RECENT) (PARMA HANDOUT - ACCESS ALL) (MUTE)

14. AERIAL FOOTAGE OF PARMA'S STADIUM

UNKNOWN LOCATION (SEPTEMBER 17, 2020) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

15. (SOUNDBITE) (English) KRAUSE GROUP CEO, KYLE KRAUSE, SAYING:

"We see the development of players as being a big part of what we do. We have got an excellent academy today from an infrastructure standpoint, and I think the opportunity for us to grow and develop our talent and have them play in the first team I think has to be priority one. When you look on the field and say 'how many of those players on the field are academy grown by us', and that certainly has to be a priority. But I think also that takes time and so the attraction of young players also I believe is going to be important to us and that young player attraction to be bringing them in, let them play with us, let them develop with us and be part of our growth."

PARMA, ITALY (SEPTEMBER 17, 2020) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

16. SCREEN INSIDE STADIUM

17. VIEW FROM STANDS

UNKNOWN LOCATION (SEPTEMBER 17, 2020) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

18. (SOUNDBITE) (English) KRAUSE GROUP CEO, KYLE KRAUSE, SAYING:

"If we bring in young talent, they are going to be on the field. We're not going to be today a roster that some of our… other Serie A teams have huge rosters, therefore bring in talent and loan out talent which is fine. We are going to bring in talent and have them play for us."

PARMA, ITALY (SEPTEMBER 17, 2020) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

19. PARMA BADGE ON SIGN INSIDE STADIUM

20. REAR VIEW OF STAND

UNKNOWN LOCATION (SEPTEMBER 17, 2020) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

21. (SOUNDBITE) (English) KRAUSE GROUP CEO, KYLE KRAUSE, SAYING:

"Yes we have plans from a stadium renovation standpoint, and yes I think we can overcome some of these obstacles and I'll talk about them a little bit. I think if you look at it from an Italian government standpoint, they have recently changed the law making it easier to stadiums developed, because they've got the feedback that it is difficult, and for Serie A to be competitive around the world you need a modern contemporary experience for the fan base. It's just part of what fans deserve today from their sports experience. So, I think that we can do it, I think we have a start, our partners have already started on the process with the city about laying some of the groundwork for the future and that renovation, which is basically a transformation of our existing stadium. So, I think, you know… how long will it take? I don't know but it is in our near-term plans to proceed on some kind of stadium (development)."

PARMA, ITALY (SEPTEMBER 17, 2020) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

22. ENTRANCE TO THE CLUB MUSEUM

23. SHIRTS ON DISPLAY

24. TROPHY CABINET

UNKNOWN LOCATION (SEPTEMBER 17, 2020) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

25. (SOUNDBITE) (English) KRAUSE GROUP CEO, KYLE KRAUSE, SAYING:

"The Atalanta model is fantastic. I mean you look at what they've done, you have to respect the success that they've got. If you look at it and I think almost anyone has to look and say 'wow, how did they do they that and have that success and do we aspire to that'?. I think today, you know, today we aspire to stay in Serie A, get our squad together what we need now. I think from a longer term standpoint to be able to play in Europe would be in fantastic, whether we make the Europa (League), how quick that looks like, but that's not going to be something that we are going to think we're going to achieve in the next few or several years. But I think to have a goal to someday play in Europe is a fantastic goal but it's a building process. We talked about the academy a minute ago. We've got to build to get to that point."

PARMA, ITALY (RECENT) (PARMA HANDOUT - ACCESS ALL) (MUTE)

26. AERIAL VIEW OF CLUBHOUSE AT TRAINING GROUND

UNKNOWN LOCATION (SEPTEMBER 17, 2020) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

27. (SOUNDBITE) (English) KRAUSE GROUP CEO, KYLE KRAUSE, SAYING:

"I think clubs can be successful and clubs of our size can be successful. There's a natural advantage that the largest clubs and mostly including in Serie A. And how, you know from our inherent fan base to team revenue distributions and things like that. You have to earn your place to get to that point, but for us this is a generational type thing. So, do I think I we can get there eventually? Yes, we can."

PARMA, ITALY (RECENT) (PARMA HANDOUT - ACCESS ALL) (MUTE)

28. AERIAL VIEW OF CLUBHOUSE AT TRAINING GROUND

STORY: Patience is a virtue not often associated with Serie A clubs, among officials or supporters, but the new U.S. owners of Parma believe they and the team's fans have enough of it to build a bright long-term future.

Kyle Krause, chief executive of the Krause Group which completed the takeover on Friday (September 18), told Reuters he wanted Parma to develop young players and give fans a team that is "fun to watch, exciting on the field" -- even if it won't happen overnight.

Patience will also be needed to get around Italy's unyielding bureaucracy and renovate the Stadio Tardini.

"I see some presidents in Italian football, (and) around the world, become impatient fairly quickly and I think that can be unfortunate for the entire staff," Krause said in his first interview with a non-Italian media organisation as Parma owner.

"So I view this as a long-term investment, a long-term passion. For me, owning Parma is not about a near-term success."

Parma are the latest Serie A club to come under North American ownership, following AC Milan, Fiorentina, Bologna and AS Roma.

The takeover was the latest twist in the topsy-turvy history of the club who enjoyed a golden period during the 1990s - claiming two UEFA Cups, the 1993 European Cup Winners' Cup and three Italian Cups -- but were relegated to the fourth tier after going bankrupt in 2015.

Remarkably, they won three straight promotions and returned to Serie A in 2018 and they have since finished 14th and 11th.

"You don't have to go that far back where people know Parma around the world and that history can give us something to aspire to," Krause said.

Krause wants the club to focus on young players.

"We see the development of players as a big part of what we do. We have got an excellent academy from an infrastructure standpoint, and the opportunity for us to grow and develop talent and have them play in the first team has to be priority one," he said.

"Some other Serie A teams have huge rosters, they bring in talent and loan out talent which is fine... but we are going to bring in talent and have them play for us."

Modernising the 27,000 Stadio Tardini is also among the plans even if other clubs have struggled to cut through the red tape.

"I think we can overcome these obstacles," said Krause. "I think if you look at Italian government's standpoint, they have recently changed the law making it easier for stadium development."

European soccer can be tough for mid-sized clubs such as Parma, who tend to see their top players picked off by bigger rivals.

Atalanta, who have qualified for the Champions League twice in a row, and Sassuolo are rare exceptions.

"The Atalanta model is fantastic, you look at what they done and you have to respect the success," Krause said. "You have to look at that and say 'wow', how did they do they that?

But Parma's immediate priority is to stay in Serie A.

"To be able to play in Europe would be in fantastic but that is not something we are going to achieve in one or two years," Krause said.

"Clubs of our size can be successful. There is a natural advantage that the largest clubs have in Serie A, from inherent fan base to team revenue distributions, but for us this is a generational type thing."

"Do I think we can get there eventually? The answer is yes."

(Production: Flavio Lo Scalzo, Brian Homewood, Andy Ragg, Tim Hart)