Post by Banana Cat on Jul 1, 2011 7:31:42 GMT -5
blog.pennlive.com/patriotnewssports/2011/06/reasons_for_harrisburg_stamped.html
Reasons for Harrisburg Stampede's poor season pile up
June 30, 2011
Greg Pickel
Whether it’s a house, a business, a restaurant, or a professional indoor football league team, location is often the most important part of business success, and it very well might be the deciding factor in the continuance of the Stampede as an indoor football franchise in Harrisburg.
After concluding its worst season statistically in its three-year run in Harrisburg, co-owner John Morris, who brought the franchise to Harrisburg in 2007, said the first thing that needs to happen to move forward is an agreement with the Farm Show Complex.
“I’m more concerned about working out a deal with the Farm Show than anything else right now,” Morris said a few days after his team completed a 2-10 2011 season.
“We’ve put some things into place already to help jump start the 2012 season, but we need to get together with the Farm Show and get some things hashed out before we move forward.”
Farm Show officials did not return messages for comment.
It might still be too soon to say whether Harrisburg is an ideal or adequate city to house an indoor football team that competes with two long-established minor league clubs in the Hershey Bears and Harrisburg Senators, but it is certain after three years that attendance is struggling.
“Just like every other city in the country, the economy is rough, and we’ve found that in our attendance numbers, and it’s a problem,” Morris said.
“It’s a situation we really need to grow, and we’re working on ways to do that, whether it be cheaper tickets, more promotions, or something else, we are exploring all of our options.”
While perks and affordable prices are attractive, a losing record is not, which was evident this year, when Harrisburg went 2-6 at home and dropped its first six games, three of them at home.
Attendance numbers reflected the poor start, and those numbers trended downward through the remainder of the home slate.
That start was shocking for a team that fell a game shy of the AIFA Bowl in 2010. It also begged the question of why the Stampede replaced previous head coach Ramon Robinson, who guided the Stampede to their best record in franchise history, and why the roster was revamped.
“Ramon did a great job for us, but his family is in South Carolina, so during the offseason that’s where he would be, and we needed someone who could be in the community year round, which is why we brought Bernie Nowotarski up from Reading,” Morris said.
“His track record with bringing personnel in and doing great work in the community was long and proven.”
Jermaine Thaxton, Eugene Goodman and Archie Smith were the lone players left from the 2010 season, and Morris said that had less to do with Robinson’s departure and more to do with losing players to the AFL.
“It’s our job to get these guys ready to move on to the AFL. So for us to advance them, we really don’t consider it replacing them, but rather us doing our job as a franchise to get these guys to the next level.”
And what Harrisburg did was fill its roster with players who appeared talented on paper. Cory Groover and Jamaal Stokes are two examples, but it never materialized into a successful season.
“As opposed to the 2010 season, we found a way to lose instead of finding a way to win, which is very disheartening,” Morris said.
June 30, 2011
Greg Pickel
Whether it’s a house, a business, a restaurant, or a professional indoor football league team, location is often the most important part of business success, and it very well might be the deciding factor in the continuance of the Stampede as an indoor football franchise in Harrisburg.
After concluding its worst season statistically in its three-year run in Harrisburg, co-owner John Morris, who brought the franchise to Harrisburg in 2007, said the first thing that needs to happen to move forward is an agreement with the Farm Show Complex.
“I’m more concerned about working out a deal with the Farm Show than anything else right now,” Morris said a few days after his team completed a 2-10 2011 season.
“We’ve put some things into place already to help jump start the 2012 season, but we need to get together with the Farm Show and get some things hashed out before we move forward.”
Farm Show officials did not return messages for comment.
It might still be too soon to say whether Harrisburg is an ideal or adequate city to house an indoor football team that competes with two long-established minor league clubs in the Hershey Bears and Harrisburg Senators, but it is certain after three years that attendance is struggling.
“Just like every other city in the country, the economy is rough, and we’ve found that in our attendance numbers, and it’s a problem,” Morris said.
“It’s a situation we really need to grow, and we’re working on ways to do that, whether it be cheaper tickets, more promotions, or something else, we are exploring all of our options.”
While perks and affordable prices are attractive, a losing record is not, which was evident this year, when Harrisburg went 2-6 at home and dropped its first six games, three of them at home.
Attendance numbers reflected the poor start, and those numbers trended downward through the remainder of the home slate.
That start was shocking for a team that fell a game shy of the AIFA Bowl in 2010. It also begged the question of why the Stampede replaced previous head coach Ramon Robinson, who guided the Stampede to their best record in franchise history, and why the roster was revamped.
“Ramon did a great job for us, but his family is in South Carolina, so during the offseason that’s where he would be, and we needed someone who could be in the community year round, which is why we brought Bernie Nowotarski up from Reading,” Morris said.
“His track record with bringing personnel in and doing great work in the community was long and proven.”
Jermaine Thaxton, Eugene Goodman and Archie Smith were the lone players left from the 2010 season, and Morris said that had less to do with Robinson’s departure and more to do with losing players to the AFL.
“It’s our job to get these guys ready to move on to the AFL. So for us to advance them, we really don’t consider it replacing them, but rather us doing our job as a franchise to get these guys to the next level.”
And what Harrisburg did was fill its roster with players who appeared talented on paper. Cory Groover and Jamaal Stokes are two examples, but it never materialized into a successful season.
“As opposed to the 2010 season, we found a way to lose instead of finding a way to win, which is very disheartening,” Morris said.
