From Deseret News archives:
Arena Football League to announce season's canceled
An official announcement is expected today.
The source requested anonymity, saying a six-figure fine looms for talking.
The AFL's board of directors voted via conference call late Sunday to shut down in 2009, the source said. The AFL has 16 teams, including the Utah Blaze, after New Orleans folded earlier this off-season.
The AFL has been in existence since 1987.
Tim Marcum, Tampa Bay's coach, told The St. Petersburg Times this weekend that Tampa Bay, Arizona, New York, Orlando and San Jose were committed to playing the 2009 season.
The Plain Dealer's source said the league voted to shut down in 2009 because too many big-name owners or teams in big-name cities said they would not return in 2009. The source said the list of definite outs included the Blaze, the Dallas Desperados, ArenaBowl champion Philadelphia Soul, Colorado Crush, Georgia Force, Chicago Rush and Cleveland.
"We couldn't be taken seriously if we lost too many teams, especially in big markets," the source said. "That's what was going to happen. We needed to shut down and reorganize."
The source said the deal-breaker was ESPN saying it would not televise a six-, seven- or eight-team league.
The source said owners of franchises that wanted out, including Jerry Jones (Dallas) and Arthur Blank (Georgia), expressed a desire to return in 2010 under a new league business model.
"The league and the teams could not continue on their current financial paths," the source said. "The economy is one reason why we're going through hard times, but it's not the only reason. We need time to reconfigure everything so we can come back stronger than ever — and we will."
Last Wednesday, the board voted not to suspend the season — but more teams wanted to shut it down than wanted to play in 2009. Marcum said the vote was 10 against playing, seven for. Since Wednesday, Marcum said, Chicago had switched sides and went against, making it 11-6, if all votes held.
After Tampa Bay, Arizona, New York, Orlando and San Jose, the sixth vote presumably came from Gridiron Enterprises, which holds the patent for the AFL and has a seat on the board.
Evidently, enough of the holdouts were convinced during the conference call Sunday night that the 2009 season needed to be canceled. It is not known whether a two-thirds or three-fourths majority was required to make it happen.
