Post by 50 Yard Fan on Jun 30, 2013 20:59:21 GMT -5
www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20130630/GPG0211/306300147/Green-Bay-Blizzard-owners-put-IFL-team-up-sale
Team will suspend operations if it doesn't find a buyer by Sept. 1
The owners of the Green Bay Blizzard are putting the Indoor Football League team up for sale a little more than three years after saving the franchise from folding.
The team, which was formed in 2003, has until Sept. 1 to find a buyer or it will be forced to suspend operations, according to Art Clarkson, the Blizzard’s chief operating officer and part-owner. That deadline was imposed by the league as a timeline for teams to commit to the 2014 season.
Titletown Football Group LLC — a group of five local investors — finalized the purchase of the Blizzard franchise in 2010 from the previous ownership group headed by former Green Bay Packers linebacker Brian Noble.
Noble had led the ownership group that purchased the team from Lyle Reigel of Appleton in 2005.
Four of the five current owners of the Blizzard also have other businesses, and running a football team has proven to be too much for some of them because of family and professional commitments.
The team has not made a profit since the new ownership group took over, although the losses have decreased each year.
The Blizzard, which plays its games at the Resch Center, averaged 3,811 fans per game this season despite going 4-10. It included one game with a crowd of 5,880, which was the best-attended contest in the league.
“When they took it over, the (previous owners) had everything in a box,” said Clarkson, who was hired by the Blizzard after being an owner and operator of several minor-league teams. “There were no records, no nothing.
“I had never taken over a damaged franchise. The basic thing is that they saw a (chance) to own a professional football team, but they saw a civic responsibility. They didn’t want to see this go away.”
Now, it’s up to Clarkson to find another buyer to help save the team again. He plans to stick around in his current role provided new ownership wants him to stay.
Clarkson is confident he will get enough investors to buy in and believes the team can start making a profit in the next two years. He also thinks having a strong relationship with PMI, which manages the Resch, along with the Green Bay Packers and others in the community will help.
“I’ve never in my life had a franchise go out beneath me, and I’m not starting now.”
The owners of the Green Bay Blizzard are putting the Indoor Football League team up for sale a little more than three years after saving the franchise from folding.
The team, which was formed in 2003, has until Sept. 1 to find a buyer or it will be forced to suspend operations, according to Art Clarkson, the Blizzard’s chief operating officer and part-owner. That deadline was imposed by the league as a timeline for teams to commit to the 2014 season.
Titletown Football Group LLC — a group of five local investors — finalized the purchase of the Blizzard franchise in 2010 from the previous ownership group headed by former Green Bay Packers linebacker Brian Noble.
Noble had led the ownership group that purchased the team from Lyle Reigel of Appleton in 2005.
Four of the five current owners of the Blizzard also have other businesses, and running a football team has proven to be too much for some of them because of family and professional commitments.
The team has not made a profit since the new ownership group took over, although the losses have decreased each year.
The Blizzard, which plays its games at the Resch Center, averaged 3,811 fans per game this season despite going 4-10. It included one game with a crowd of 5,880, which was the best-attended contest in the league.
“When they took it over, the (previous owners) had everything in a box,” said Clarkson, who was hired by the Blizzard after being an owner and operator of several minor-league teams. “There were no records, no nothing.
“I had never taken over a damaged franchise. The basic thing is that they saw a (chance) to own a professional football team, but they saw a civic responsibility. They didn’t want to see this go away.”
Now, it’s up to Clarkson to find another buyer to help save the team again. He plans to stick around in his current role provided new ownership wants him to stay.
Clarkson is confident he will get enough investors to buy in and believes the team can start making a profit in the next two years. He also thinks having a strong relationship with PMI, which manages the Resch, along with the Green Bay Packers and others in the community will help.
“I’ve never in my life had a franchise go out beneath me, and I’m not starting now.”
