Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Firebirds To Stop Operations, Continue Search For New Owner

Collapse
X
Collapse
 
  • Page of 1
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
Previous template Next
  • #1

    Firebirds To Stop Operations, Continue Search For New Owner

    League Could Control Team By Sept. 20

    POSTED: 8:56 pm EST September 8, 2004

    INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indiana Firebirds, whose owner has been trying to sell the team, said Wednesday it will cease operations at the end of this week but continue to seek a new owner until Sept. 20, RTV6's Wil Hampton reported.

    If a new owner isn't found by Sept. 20, the Arena Football League -- to which the Firebirds belong -- will control the club. The AFL could then operate it in Indiana, move it, or shut it down, Hampton reported.

    Ticket orders for the 2005 season will be refunded, the team said.

    The Firebirds moved to Indianapolis from Albany, N.Y., before the 2001 season. In 2002, David Lageschulte bought the team from Glenn Mazula, who owned the franchise since its inception in 1990.

    In July, Lageschulte said he either wanted to sell the team or move it closer to his Florida home.

    Lageschulte, who lives in Fort Myers, Fla., and was a founder of the Hooters restaurant chain, also owned the AFL's former Miami team in the mid-1990s.

    The Firebirds averaged 10,874 fans at home games in Conseco Fieldhouse this year, ranking 11th out of 19 teams. They went 8-8 and missed the eight-team playoffs.
    Copyright 2004 by TheIndyChannel.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
    Tags: None
Previous template Next

Related Topics

Collapse
  • DJRamFan
    Owner puts Firebirds up for sale
    by DJRamFan
    Arena football team may move if local buyer can't be found


    By Jeff Rabjohns
    [email protected]
    July 30, 2004


    The Indiana Firebirds are for sale and may move to Florida if a local buyer cannot be found in the next 30 days, owner David Lageschulte said Thursday.

    Lageschulte is searching for local ownership for the Arena Football League franchise that moved to Indianapolis from Albany, N.Y., before the 2001 season.

    If that doesn't happen, Lageschulte, a resident of Fort Myers, Fla., said he would look to move the team, possibly as soon as next season.

    "I would like that to be an option," he said. "First, I'd love to try to sell it and keep it in Indiana. We have wonderful crowds and wonderful games in Indiana.

    "If I can't, I would try to move it. Florida would be a choice of mine, but that would have to come with league approval."

    Lageschulte declined to tell his asking price for the team or what he paid for it. The most recent team to join the Arena league, the Austin (Texas) Wranglers, paid a $16.2 million expansion fee before the 2004 season. The sale of the Georgia Force before the 2003 season was reported at $14 million.

    With an influx of NFL ownership and a television deal with NBC, Arena football has seen its franchise values soar.

    "It's probably a little early to tell what the market will bear," said David Morton of Sunrise Sports Group, who along with Milt Thompson of Grand Slam III has been contracted by Lageschulte to search for potential owners.

    "To compare a new franchise . . . is difficult because this is an existing, established brand."

    Morton said he and Thompson are in the early stages of making proposals to potential buyers.

    Lageschulte purchased the team in August 2002 from Glenn Mazula, who owned the team since its inception in 1990.

    Lageschulte was an investor in the franchise since 1997. From 1993-95, he also owned an Arena franchise known as the Miami Hooters.

    One of the originators of the Hooters restaurant chain, Lageschulte is co-CEO of a company that runs 30 restaurants and bars. He also is part owner of a company involved in fitness centers, heavy equipment and environmental remediation.

    Lageschulte purchased control of the Firebirds with the intent that he would eventually sell the team.

    "We have some pretty stiff deadlines at this point. I love Indianapolis and the Indianapolis market," Lageschulte said. "Unfortunately, I live in Florida and that's the reason I wanted to sell the team or have someone take it over.

    "We have to find something in the next 30 days that at least smells like a deal."

    Playing in Conseco Fieldhouse, the Firebirds averaged...
    -08-02-2004, 02:59 PM
  • DJRamFan
    Cities confident MLB will pick someone soon
    by DJRamFan
    Associated Press
    HOUSTON -- Baseball's No. 2 official expressed confidence Monday that the Montreal Expos will move before the 2005 season but wouldn't set a new deadline for a decision.



    The Expos were bought by the other 29 teams before the 2002 season, and baseball at first hoped for a decision by July 2002 but later pushed it back to the 2003 All-Star break and then to this year's break. The bidding areas have said in recent weeks that they think a decision could be made by late July or early August.



    "I've been hanged out to dry by coming out with proposed dates," Bob DuPuy, baseball's chief operating officer, said before the All-Star Home Run Derby. "The sooner we get it done the better. I believe it will happen this summer. I believe it's very important we get this done this year."



    Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia's Loudoun County, near Dulles International Airport, appear to be the top contenders to land the Expos. Also bidding are Las Vegas, Monterrey, Mexico; Norfolk, Va.; Portland, Ore., and San Juan, Puerto Rico.



    Downtown Washington is about 40 miles from Baltimore's Camden Yards, and DuPuy acknowledged that Orioles owner Peter Angelos has openly opposed having a team move that close to his franchise. If the Expos move to either Washington or Northern Virginia, they would play at RFK Stadium, home of the expansion Washington Senators, before moving to a new ballpark in 2007 or 2008.



    "He's expressed his view with the regard an impact a club in the Washington area would have on the Orioles," DuPuy said.



    Commissioner Bud Selig said in May that he was concerned about the effect an Expos move to the nation's capital would have on the Orioles.



    "It isn't only the Orioles, it's all teams," Selig said then. "I think it's the commissioner's responsibility to protect the 30 franchises."



    Baseball officials met Friday with the Washington and Northern Virginia groups, and DuPuy said discussions are ongoing with all the bidding communities.



    He also said it's possible baseball will decide where the Expos move before finalizing a deal to sell the team, a process that could extend into early 2005. He said that areas that don't wind up with the Expos could become contenders for other franchises.



    "That's an inevitable conclusion you can draw if you're having eventual relocation," DuPuy said.



    Selig says the Florida Marlins and Oakland Athletics need new ballparks to survive in their areas.
    -07-12-2004, 05:12 PM
  • DJRamFan
    Arena League's Kats to play in GEC next year
    by DJRamFan
    By PAUL KUHARSKY
    Staff Writer

    A resurrected version of the Arena Football League's Nashville Kats will begin play at Gaylord Entertainment Center in February.

    Titans owner Bud Adams, a founding owner in the old American Football League, beamed yesterday at the concept that he is now an owner in the new AFL.

    ''What goes around comes around,'' he said with a giggle. ''I think it will be great for Tennessee and Nashville to have football most of the year round.''

    AFL Commissioner David Baker said he was ''tremendously heartened'' by Adams' commitment to the league, going so far as to call the new franchise a ''second Music City Miracle.''

    Adams' representatives and officials from the GEC have been haggling over a lease since the AFL accepted Adams' bid for a Nashville franchise in August 2001. They finally settled on a one-year lease with two three-year options. The Kats will pay $3,500 per game and cover all the expenses of operating the facility.

    They will get back 30 percent of the concessions and be able to sell signage on the dasher-boards providing those sponsors do not conflict with the GECs' regular advertising. Adams said the Kats will be able to sell only five of the building's suites for their games.

    With a National Hockey League lockout that could extend into 2005 looming, the arena guaranteed itself at least eight games that will all be played on Friday or Saturday nights or Sunday afternoons. Adams said AFL games at the GEC will ''help the city out.''

    The original Kats joined the AFL as an expansion team in 1997, but original owner Mark Bloom sold the team in 2001, it moved to Atlanta and became the Georgia Force.

    Bloom is back, this time as a minority owner, and so is Coach Pat Sperduto. Adams hired Sperduto in in 2001 and he has worked in the Titans' offices as director of arena football operations ever since.

    Sperduto said he will continue to work with offensive line coach Mike Munchak throughout Titans training camp, then gradually disconnect from the NFL team.

    Bob Flynn, who has 14 years of AFL experience, is the team's general manager. He said his primary role will be building a base of ticket buyers.

    Details of the team's expansion draft and the league schedule will be sorted out at an AFL meeting Aug. 17. AFL teams have 24-man rosters, and each team protected 16 players in the last expansion draft.

    The Kats will also be able to build by signing free agents. Sperduto said some familiar names could be Kats again when training camp opens in January.

    While there could be some overlap between administrative departments of the Titans and Kats, Adams said he will add staff to his AFL team as Sperduto and Flynn determine what they need.

    Paul Kuharsky is a staff writer for The Tennessean. He can be reached at...
    -08-03-2004, 10:18 AM
  • DJRamFan
    Nashville Kats return for 2005
    by DJRamFan
    NASHVILLE, TENN. - What goes around comes around. The Nashville Kats will return to action in January 2005 at the Gaylord Entertainment Center. The addition of the Kats to the Nashville sports landscape will mean that area football fans have the opportunity to enjoy the sport on a yearlong basis, with the Titans season running from August through January and the Kats from February to June.

    Commissioner Baker on Kats' return

    K.S. “Bud” Adams, Jr., a founding member of the AFL (American Football League) in 1959, and owner of the Titans/Houston Oilers franchise for 45 years came full circle on Aug. 18, 2001, when his application to purchase an AFL (Arena Football League) team for Nashville was accepted.

    “I am thrilled that we were finally able to put an Arena League team on the field for the football fans in the Mid-South,” said K.S. “Bud” Adams, Jr. “One of the things I did when the original Nashville arena team was sold and moved in 2001, was to hire their coach, Pat Sperduto, to work for the Titans until we were able to negotiate a lease with the Gaylord Entertainment Center. Now that things are in place I will hand the head coaching duties of the Kats over to Pat.”

    Pat Sperduto spent three seasons as head coach of the Kats from 1999 - 2001, produced a 32-18 record, three playoff appearances and two ArenaBowl berths. As a player and coach, Sperduto has advanced to the ArenaBowl on five occasions and won three Arena Championships with Tampa Bay.

    In December of 2003, Bob Flynn was hired to be the General Manager of the new arena team and will handle all aspects involved in the administration of a team, including tickets, marketing and promotions. Flynn is a 14-year veteran of the Arena League with stops in Los Angeles and Orlando. During his tenure in Orlando, Flynn was part of an operation that played in four ArenaBowls and winning a championship in 1998.

    The Kats also will have additional stockholders, including the Kats original ownership group (Corner Partnership), led by Mark Bloom.

    Tickets for the games will range from $5 to $99 per game with season ticket packages starting at $45 for the nine-game home season (eight regular season games and one post season game). Starting today, the team will begin taking orders for season tickets either by calling the Kats ticket office at 615-565-4700 (ticket office fax number is 615-565-4212) or by going to titansonline.com and obtaining an on-line order form. A $50 per seat refundable deposit is required to reserve seats. Priority seating will be based on the date that the deposit is received. For former Kats season ticket holders, every effort will be made to locate their seats near their previous seats, but exact placement cannot be guaranteed.

    “Our goal in structuring our ticket prices was to create exciting and affordable entertainment that is accessible to families and young adults,”...
    -08-02-2004, 02:59 PM
  • DJRamFan
    AFL approves neutral-site plan
    by DJRamFan
    Friday, August 20, 2004
    By Gary Bond
    The Grand Rapids Press
    Starting in 2005, the ArenaBowl championship game will be played at a neutral site and, according to sources, the start of the Arena Football League season will be moved up two weeks to the week before the Super Bowl.

    The AFL board of directors Wednesday unanimously approved the ArenaBowl championship to be played at a neutral site. Cities under consideration to host the first neutral site ArenaBowl are Las Vegas, New Orleans, Phoenix, Orlando and Las Vegas, the likely front-runner.

    Having a neutral site will allow the the selected city an entire year to prepare for the league's biggest spectacle, following the lead of the National Football League. The AFL also hopes to attract bigger major sponsors to the event.

    The board of directors also discussed expansion, with four possible new franchise sites making "impressive presentations," but no vote was taken. There was discussion on increasing the number of teams who qualify for the playoffs this season from eight to 12 and moving up the start of the season, but there were no talks about which teams might relocate or fold.

    "The meetings were very positive," said David Green, minority owner of the Grand Rapids Rampage, who represented the organization at the meetings. "Given the history of this league, the biggest change was approving the neutral site for the ArenaBowl."

    The AFL will be entering its 18th season in 2005.

    The AFL is considering an NBC doubleheader the Sunday before the Super Bowl and a televised AFL game on Super Bowl Sunday that would kick off at noon or 1 p.m.

    "I heard that was a possibility and as a coach you want as much time as possible to prepare your team, but I'm all for moving up the start of the season if it benefits NBC and the league," said Rampage head coach Sparky McEwen.

    "Expansion is always good in my opinion because it's another way to pick up a new fan base and possibly gather more AFL fans."

    With the announcement of the Nashville Kats re-joining the AFL for the 2005 season, there are 20 teams in the league, but the Detroit Fury, the Carolina Cobras and the Indiana Firebirds are rumored to be folding.

    The Kats franchise folded in 2001 after losing to the Grand Rapids Rampage in the ArenaBowl XV championship, 64-42.

    The AFL plans to release its 2005 schedule in September.

    © 2004 Grand Rapids Press. Used with permission
    -08-20-2004, 12:09 PM
Working...
X