Post by DiamondThief on Feb 3, 2016 18:12:50 GMT -8
BREAKING:
Feb. 3, 2016 -- Portland Thunder fans can box up their team gear, pack it away and put it away with their other collector items. The team is about to get a new identity.
Arena Football League commissioner Scott C. Butera announced today that the Thunder would be re-branded. Operations of the team, which will enter their third season in less than two months, were taken over by the league four weeks ago, leaving previous owner Terry Emmert out in no man's land.
At the time of the takeover, the team Butera said the move was made to "stabilize the team in the Portland market." In an article in The Portland Tribune today, Butera said he wanted to improve marketing of the team and produce a quality AFL team in the Portland.
“The quality of the football is outstanding, I just think we need to improve the way the league is marketed, both at the league and team level," he said. "We’re committed to having a great product in Portland."
Under the AFL's single-entity model, each team owner and investors' financial contributions are pooled to contribute to the league's overall operations. This means financially unstable teams are aided by contributions from teams which are on more stable footing.
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READ:
AFL's intentions with Thunder are unclearly clear
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The AFL took over two teams near the end of last season -- the New Orleans VooDoo and Las Vegas Outlaws. In the fall, the San Jose Sabercats announced they would cease operations, and prior to that, the Spokane Shock moved to the Indoor Football League. The league went from 12 teams to eight. If the Thunder fold, the league would be at seven.
Last month the league announced a two-conference alignment which kept the Thunder in the National Conference, along with the Arizona Rattlers, Los Angeles KISS and Cleveland Gladiators. the Philadelphia Soul, Jacksonville Sharks, Orlando Predators and Tampa Bay Storm make up the American Conference.
Though he did not indicate specifically which parts of the team will be re-branded, it likely involves the name, logo and possibly the color scheme. it also was not reported what time frame the re-branding would be completed. Portland opens its season on April 1 against the Arizona Rattlers at Moda Center at the Rose Quarter.
Owners of the other seven teams will foot the bill for Thunder operations this season, including the change in name and appearance.
Butera said he and Emmert had negotiated over six months prior to the takeover regarding concerns about certain aspects of the way the league was being run. Emmert had previously cited the league's policies on health insurance for its players as a primary concern. In The Portland Tribune article, written by Steve Brandon, Emmert said he was surprised at the league takeover.
"(I was caught) 'off guard," he said. “(I had) legitimate and serious concerns regarding some of the league’s operational practices.”
Butera said that while he is open to discussing a possible future with Emmert and the AFL in Portland, it was the Clackamas businessman's decision to refuse to sign his 2016 Commitment to the AFL.
“We made many, many attempts to try to work with the owner, and they never responded to any of our offers, or they responded in a way that just didn’t make sense,” Butera said. “I can assure you we made probably six months of effort, and we ended up taking over a large financial burden from that owner to make sure the team was in a stable perspective.
“If Terry decided he wanted to do something, we would always be open to talking. We’ve been talking throughout this process. The communication lines are open.”
Butera announced on Jan. 29 that the league had fired the entire Thunder coaching staff. Butera said today the move was made because the coaches, head coach Andy Olson and line coach Clay Harrell, had been part of Emmert's Thunder team. Olson, former head coach of the Spokane Shock, had been on the job for just four months. Harrell had been with the Thunder though its first two years and had been retained by Olson.
On the same day, he announced former Pittsburgh Power and Utah Blaze head coach Ron James had been tabbed to assume head coaching and general manager duties. James had spent the 2015 season as assistant head coach and defensive coordinator of the Cleveland Gladiators. he will join former Gladiators quarterback Shane Austin, who signed with Portland in November.
James has extensive coaching experience and seems to be looking forward to his next stop in the Rose City.
"I'm looking forward to being in Portland," James told me via Twitter.
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READ:
AFL Commissioner Butera promises 'outstanding team' for Portland in 2016 (The Portland Tribune)
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Butera said the AFL is looking for new ownership to give Portland some stability, but it would have to be the right kind of ownership. He refused to comment on whether the team has contacted Portland Trail Blazers and Seattle Seahawks owner Paul Allen, who also owns the Moda Center at the Rose Quarter. He also refused to comment on the status on those conversations, should they have taken -- or are taking -- place.
After Emmert and the Arena Football League announced the granting of a Portland franchise, the team had a naming contest on facebook. The eventual winning name -- Growlers -- was nixed and the team went with the Thunder.
Butera is entering his second season as commissioner of the AFL. A former chief executive officer of a number of casinos in the eastern United States and Las Vegas, he moved the league offices from Chicago to Las Vegas after his hire in September 2014.
- ANM
Photo Credit: AFL commissioner Scott C. Butera (Photo courtesy www.examiner.com)
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