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Arena Football League Suspends 2009 Season

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By ADAM ADKINS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 15, 2008

Updated: 12/15/2008 01:08 pm

The Arena Football League has decided to suspend operations for the 2009 season, the league announced Monday.

A statement from the league confirmed that the AFL's board of directors met via conference call Sunday evening and voted in favor of suspension. The statement said the decision is "subject to agreement and cooperation with the Arena Football League Players Association while the League works on developing a long-term plan to improve its economic model."

Tampa Bay Storm veteran Nyle Wiren, the team's union representative, confirmed union representatives were meeting via conference call today to vote on the issue. The outcome of that vote was not immediately known.

Storm head coach and general manager Tim Marcum, who has been a coach in the league since it began in 1987, was extremely disappointed in the decision to suspend operations. He wouldn't say the decision would lead to the death of the AFL, but he clearly does not believe this action is in the league's best interest.

"I hope not, but I can only go by what other leagues have done in the past," Marcum said. "We've mentioned it 15 times; the USFL took a year off, too."

The United States Football League, a springtime outdoor football league that began in 1983, decided to suspended operations for one season in 1986, but never returned to the field.

Marcum said the most disheartening thing was some AFL owners' unwillingness to listen to an alternative to suspending operations, including taking additional time to work on a new business model and simply postponing the season. He pointed out the players' union seemed willing to do its part to keep the league going, including players agreeing to pay cuts.

"There's plenty of time to push back the season, get a new plan in place and go forward," Marcum said. "The union is willing to give concessions." The owners who decided to suspend operations "just didn't want to listen."

According to a statement from acting commissioner Ed Policy, the owners are strongly committed to the league.

"Every owner in the AFL is strongly committed to the league, the game, and, most importantly, the fans," Policy said in the statement released by the league. "Owners, however, recognize that, especially in light of the current unprecedented economic climate, the AFL, as a business enterprise, needs to be restructured if it is to continue to provide its unique brand of this affordable, fan-friendly sport."

The board of directors, which met via conference call, needed to have a two-thirds majority in favor of suspending operations for the season. Marcum said the final vote Sunday was 12-5 in favor of suspending the season. The teams in favor of playing were Tampa Bay, Arizona, San Jose and New York, according to Marcum. The other vote in favor of playing was from Gridiron Enterprises, which holds the patent for the league. The board is comprised of a representative from each of the league's 16 teams and one representative from Gridiron Enterprises.

Sunday was the second time in five days the board had voted on the issue. On Wednesday, the board voted not to suspend the season. Marcum said at the time the vote was 10-7 in favor of suspending operations. However, Marcum said Chicago - previously in favor of playing - switched sides, which brought the board back together Sunday for another vote. Marcum said Orlando cast the decisive vote Sunday to give the board the two-thirds majority needed to suspend operations.

It has been a tumultuous offseason for the AFL, with Commissioner David Baker abruptly resigning in July two days before the ArenaBowl and the New Orleans VooDoo folding in October.

Matters intensified when the league suspended the start of free agency, failed to hold a dispersal draft for VooDoo players or name a permanent replacement for Baker. Ed Policy, the AFL deputy commissioner and president, has been serving as commissioner.

Reports began to surface early last week that the AFL was in serious financial trouble and that the 2009 season was in jeopardy. Marcum has said the business model for the league is broken and that in recent years owners have been losing millions each season.

The AFL began in 1987. The franchise known as the Tampa Bay Storm has been a part of the AFL since its beginning, starting as the Pittsburgh Gladiators in 1987 before moving to Tampa Bay in 1991. The Storm has been among the league's most successful teams, winning an AFL-record five ArenaBowl titles (1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 2003).

Marcum has also been a part of the league since its inception, starting his career as head coach of the Detroit Drive before coming to Tampa Bay in 1995. He is the AFL's all-time winningest coach and has won an AFL-record seven league titles.

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