|
|
Post by David on Jul 14, 2015 11:19:52 GMT -8
AFL Issues Statement on Outlaws, VooDooJuly 14, 2015
LAS VEGAS – The Arena Football League, as part of its strategic plan to solidify its financial condition and create a platform for growth, has taken over operation of the Las Vegas Outlaws and the New Orleans VooDoo, the League office announced today. In a collective decision from the AFL Board of Directors, both teams will continue as members of the Arena Football League without their previous ownership groups in place. Both the Outlaws and VooDoo have four games remaining in their respective 2015 regular season schedules. “I came in with the intention of shoring up the AFL’s financial growth and positive steps have been taken over the past year,” AFL Commissioner Scott C. Butera said. “AFL ownership requires significant financial commitment and operational expertise. We’re excited about moving forward with members who share the same vision. We appreciate the efforts that have been made to keep Arena Football viable in each of these high quality sports markets and have begun fielding inquiries from other interested parties. Our new direction has a supreme commitment to putting the right people in place with all of our teams and we’re making the proper strides in getting that done.” Las Vegas plays on the road this Saturday versus the LA KISS and New Orleans will be at home this Saturday taking on the Tampa Bay Storm. Each game will be available to watch online via “AFL Live” on ArenaFootball.com.
|
|
|
|
Post by Kasey on Jul 14, 2015 18:08:20 GMT -8
does this mean the league will let the teams just finish out the year or continue the franchises into next year?
|
|
|
|
Post by DiamondThief on Jul 14, 2015 20:32:54 GMT -8
does this mean the league will let the teams just finish out the year or continue the franchises into next year? I do not think the league can sustain "owning" two teams for very long. It probably will depend on whether new franchises emerge to take their places. |
|
|
|
Post by David on Jul 14, 2015 20:45:28 GMT -8
does this mean the league will let the teams just finish out the year or continue the franchises into next year? New Orleans and Las Vegas will finish out the season (the league has never had a team fold during the season), but their participation in 2016 is up in the air. The AFL will try and convince people to purchase the VooDoo and the Outlaws. However, there's a catch; the new ownership has to pay off the debt of the previous ownership. If they can't find new ownership, the teams will likely fold. If they can find ownership for both teams, they can either keep the franchises in their current markets or relocate them under a new re-brand (similiar to how Portland was born from Emmert purchasing the Milwaukee Mustangs). But at the moment, I don't think any of us knows what will happen. Teams off the top of my head like the Chicago Rush and the San Antonio Talons failed to find ownership that would purchase the teams and pay their outstanding debts. From my recollection, this has been a problem since the league re-launched in 2010. Best case scenario, these two franchises can be salvaged. Worst case, both these teams won't come back and the league is going to drop to 10 teams.... or the league is going to rush into expansion to fill in the void left by New Orleans and Las Vegas. |
|
|
|
Post by David on Jul 14, 2015 20:48:08 GMT -8
does this mean the league will let the teams just finish out the year or continue the franchises into next year? I do not think the league can sustain "owning" two teams for very long. It probably will depend on whether new franchises emerge to take their places. Angi, you're right. Last year, they had to sustain Orlando and San Antonio last season, but they were lucky to get a new owner for the Predators. The Talons never found ownership and went dormant. |
|
|
|
Post by David on Jul 16, 2015 19:33:13 GMT -8
The league announced that the Week 18 game between New Orleans and Las Vegas has been cancelled. Both teams will be credited with a tie rather than a loss.
The decision makes sense. The league's running operations on both the VooDoo and the Outlaws. Why pay money to have the VooDoo travel to Vegas and spend money to operate Vegas's arena? But this still is an embarrassing situation for the AFL.
Now the topic of debate: Should Las Vegas even be allowed to be in the playoffs?
|
|
|
|
Post by Yeseeka on Jul 17, 2015 17:14:08 GMT -8
If they're going to cancel a season game, then they should not be allowed to be in the playoffs. It's pretty simple.
|
|
|
|
Post by David on Jul 17, 2015 22:07:37 GMT -8
If they're going to cancel a season game, then they should not be allowed to be in the playoffs. It's pretty simple. ArenaFan is pretty divided over this. A majority are saying the players work their butts off and that because of crummy ownership, they shouldn't be punished for that. Meanwhile, if Vegas is disqualified from playoff contention, that means Spokane and Portland would be in the playoff hunt.... |
|
|
|
Post by Kasey on Jul 18, 2015 0:04:16 GMT -8
If they're going to cancel a season game, then they should not be allowed to be in the playoffs. It's pretty simple. ArenaFan is pretty divided over this. A majority are saying the players work their butts off and that because of crummy ownership, they shouldn't be punished for that. Meanwhile, if Vegas is disqualified from playoff contention, that means Spokane and Portland would be in the playoff hunt.... it would be a hollow playoff berth, but that shouldn't not eliminate the Thunder or Shock from making the playoffs. |
|
|
|
Post by bsquared on Jul 25, 2015 7:04:58 GMT -8
They should be out. Other guys have worked just as hard, and didn't get a free tie. Vegas got that one miracle early against Arizona but they haven't been any good since then. They could just as easily have lost to New Orleans this week. Hopefully they lose out and it doesn't matter anyway.
/wish Portland had Sonie against them and LA decided to try off the field before they'd lost two games to them
//ArenaFan people are divided based on who likes Aaron Garcia and who doesn't care about him
|
|
|
|
Post by DiamondThief on Aug 9, 2015 7:38:49 GMT -8
I do not think the league can sustain "owning" two teams for very long. It probably will depend on whether new franchises emerge to take their places. Angi, you're right. Last year, they had to sustain Orlando and San Antonio last season, but they were lucky to get a new owner for the Predators. The Talons never found ownership and went dormant. I have not heard any rumblings of new ownership, not even on ArenaFan. Either the league is keeping this under wraps or they are having great difficulty finding owners. |
|
|
|
Post by David on Aug 9, 2015 10:23:19 GMT -8
Angi, you're right. Last year, they had to sustain Orlando and San Antonio last season, but they were lucky to get a new owner for the Predators. The Talons never found ownership and went dormant. I have not heard any rumblings of new ownership, not even on ArenaFan. Either the league is keeping this under wraps or they are having great difficulty finding owners. I'm willing to bet on the latter. I've heard numerous times about how Chicago and San Antonio had perspective owners, but that never came to pass . Although, VooDooNut did mention perspective owners for the VooDoo. Outlaws? Nothing. Who knows, maybe the league will surprise us all and are keeping it secret, unlike what the old Kurz-led regime did. But based on track record, I'm willing to bet they aren't having much success... |
|
|
|
Post by bsquared on Aug 10, 2015 4:53:43 GMT -8
I'd say Butera didn't declare the Outlaws dead because they were trying to find an owner in time and they didn't want to cause alarm if they didn't have to.
Now they are dead and Orlando continues to be the only team brought back from league control despite rumors about every team.
BTW, Vegas didn't "earn it," their playoff berth was entirely based on having been awarded a tie for not playing. If Arizona decided they were fine with a bye week, Portland/Arizona could've been canceled and Portland would then have automatically qualified due to tiebreakers over Vegas.
|
|
|
|
Post by DiamondThief on Aug 10, 2015 16:21:57 GMT -8
I'd say Butera didn't declare the Outlaws dead because they were trying to find an owner in time and they didn't want to cause alarm if they didn't have to. Now they are dead and Orlando continues to be the only team brought back from league control despite rumors about every team. BTW, Vegas didn't "earn it," their playoff berth was entirely based on having been awarded a tie for not playing. If Arizona decided they were fine with a bye week, Portland/Arizona could've been canceled and Portland would then have automatically qualified due to tiebreakers over Vegas. You are right, Brian. Vegas never earned it. If they had played and beaten the VooDoo, I would be pissed, but I would understand. They would have earned it. With The VooDoo coming off a win over Tampa Bay, not a great team, but much better than the Outlaws, no one can make a claim that the VooDoo may not have won that game. That is the thing. No one knows what the outcome of that game would have been. |
|
Graphic courtesy of David.
