Post by Banana Cat on May 18, 2012 3:50:33 GMT -5
This shocks no one. What was shocking is that many of the Western Conference teams joined the league and believed the sugary words coming out of AIF Owner John Morris' mouth (when he had an easily discoverable bad history of running scam leagues). Leaving the AIF is a smart decision on Ontario's part. I believe the league they are looking to join in 2013 is the IFL, but they'll need some investor help for that I think.
www.dailybulletin.com/ci_20651022/warriors-cease-operations
www.dailybulletin.com/ci_20651022/warriors-cease-operations
Warriors cease operations
Louis Brewster, Staff Writer
05/17/2012
ONTARIO - Add Tom Mitchell to the list of those who have covered Maria Mendez Grever's 1934 song, "What a Difference a Day Makes."
On Wednesday, the Mitchell-owned Warriors, an American Indoor Football team, were 7-0, looking forward to closing out the regular season with two more home games at Citizens Business Bank Arena. The team had already clinched a spot in the AIF title game next month.
On Thursday, Mitchell announced his team was ceasing operations and working on plans to join another league next year.
"The last 24 hours just reached a boiling point with the AIF," Mitchell said. "We can't move forward with the AIF so we're ceasing operations."
Due to the restructured financial obligations placed on Mitchell by the league, "we couldn't continue. It was all just starting to come together. Down deep, I sense there are ulterior motives at play," Mitchell said.
Attempts to reach the AIF front office on the East Coast were unsuccessful late Thursday.
Finances have been at the center of the league's operations throughout the shortened season. As of last Sunday, when the Warriors rolled past the Nevada Lynx, 76-6, the Ontario team was believed to be the only one with a home arena.
"When we first joined, there were five whole teams, with one traveling team (North Alameda)," Mitchell said. "But as soon as we paid the membership fee, (the Western Conference) started to change."
Arizona was evicted from its Prescott arena, Stockton reportedly folded and the Nevada team also became a traveling team. Ontario's remaining games would have been against North Alameda on Sunday and Nevada on May28.
"The final straw was an arrangement that we would have picked up the costs of two games and they could have picked up costs traveling to the championship game," Mitchell said. "They changed all that.
"The (league office) also said we hadn't fulfilled our contract by playing with a different ball. We sent them the money for the balls, but we didn't get them. They also said we violated league policy with our comments in the newspaper."
Mitchell estimated it would have cost his organization more than $25,000 for the trip to the title game. It would have cost more than $3,000 for the expenses of bringing in teams to complete the home schedule.
"We could meet our payroll for Sunday's game," Mitchell said. "But it's tough to market our team with the kind of opposition they're sending us.
"I mean some teams didn't have enough helmets, others had tape falling off their uniforms and some hadn't practiced. It was becoming harder and harder."
Attendance at Warriors games dropped steadily after the opening night crowd that appeared to number more than 3,000. The last home game drew about a third of that number.
Louis Brewster, Staff Writer
05/17/2012
ONTARIO - Add Tom Mitchell to the list of those who have covered Maria Mendez Grever's 1934 song, "What a Difference a Day Makes."
On Wednesday, the Mitchell-owned Warriors, an American Indoor Football team, were 7-0, looking forward to closing out the regular season with two more home games at Citizens Business Bank Arena. The team had already clinched a spot in the AIF title game next month.
On Thursday, Mitchell announced his team was ceasing operations and working on plans to join another league next year.
"The last 24 hours just reached a boiling point with the AIF," Mitchell said. "We can't move forward with the AIF so we're ceasing operations."
Due to the restructured financial obligations placed on Mitchell by the league, "we couldn't continue. It was all just starting to come together. Down deep, I sense there are ulterior motives at play," Mitchell said.
Attempts to reach the AIF front office on the East Coast were unsuccessful late Thursday.
Finances have been at the center of the league's operations throughout the shortened season. As of last Sunday, when the Warriors rolled past the Nevada Lynx, 76-6, the Ontario team was believed to be the only one with a home arena.
"When we first joined, there were five whole teams, with one traveling team (North Alameda)," Mitchell said. "But as soon as we paid the membership fee, (the Western Conference) started to change."
Arizona was evicted from its Prescott arena, Stockton reportedly folded and the Nevada team also became a traveling team. Ontario's remaining games would have been against North Alameda on Sunday and Nevada on May28.
"The final straw was an arrangement that we would have picked up the costs of two games and they could have picked up costs traveling to the championship game," Mitchell said. "They changed all that.
"The (league office) also said we hadn't fulfilled our contract by playing with a different ball. We sent them the money for the balls, but we didn't get them. They also said we violated league policy with our comments in the newspaper."
Mitchell estimated it would have cost his organization more than $25,000 for the trip to the title game. It would have cost more than $3,000 for the expenses of bringing in teams to complete the home schedule.
"We could meet our payroll for Sunday's game," Mitchell said. "But it's tough to market our team with the kind of opposition they're sending us.
"I mean some teams didn't have enough helmets, others had tape falling off their uniforms and some hadn't practiced. It was becoming harder and harder."
Attendance at Warriors games dropped steadily after the opening night crowd that appeared to number more than 3,000. The last home game drew about a third of that number.