drumguy8800
14 September 2004, 12:17 AM
MISL calls off Sidekicks season
League hopes to find new owner, reactivate team in 2005
09:25 PM CDT on Monday, September 13, 2004
By TODD JORGENSON / The Dallas Morning News
The Sidekicks' search for a new team owner has ended in disappointment, at least temporarily. The MISL announced Monday that Dallas' indoor soccer franchise will not play this season.
MISL commissioner Steve Ryan said the league would continue to seek a new investor-operator for the team in hopes of reviving it for the 2005-06 season.
The league will hold a dispersal draft at 11 a.m. Wednesday, when Sidekicks players will be allocated to the MISL's nine other teams. Dallas can retain the rights to four yet-undetermined players from its roster in the event it is reinstated next year.
"It's pretty sad because a lot of people in this franchise made a lot of sacrifices over the last 20 years to make sure we never got to this point," said Sidekicks coach Tatu, who has been with the team since its inception. "I don't want to see it die, and I will do everything I can to make sure that doesn't happen."
The Sidekicks, a member of the original MISL, would have begun their 20th season of indoor soccer next month. They won the league's Western Division last season.
J.L. "Sonny" Williams, investor-operator of the franchise since 1996 and its sole investor since 2002, said in April he would relinquish his stake in the league. The franchise has struggled financially the last few years. That problem was exacerbated last season, when attendance dipped to its lowest level since 1985.
Ryan worked with a few potential locally-based investment groups throughout the summer but has been unable to broker a deal. Monday's decision coincided with the league's plans to issue its schedule for the 2004-05 season, which begins in late October.
Tatu has assisted in the negotiations, although he is not being paid by the league or the team. The remainder of the front-office staff resigned or was laid off after the season concluded in April.
The MISL has a single-entity ownership structure, meaning each team owner invests in the league and is granted a management license to operate a team in a particular market. Any new Sidekicks investors would require league approval and would assume Williams' management agreement, which does not have a specific expiration date.
Tatu said he hoped to continue some of the team's community involvement, including its summer camps and 4-on-4 tournaments. E-mail tjorgenson@dallasnews.com
.
League hopes to find new owner, reactivate team in 2005
09:25 PM CDT on Monday, September 13, 2004
By TODD JORGENSON / The Dallas Morning News
The Sidekicks' search for a new team owner has ended in disappointment, at least temporarily. The MISL announced Monday that Dallas' indoor soccer franchise will not play this season.
MISL commissioner Steve Ryan said the league would continue to seek a new investor-operator for the team in hopes of reviving it for the 2005-06 season.
The league will hold a dispersal draft at 11 a.m. Wednesday, when Sidekicks players will be allocated to the MISL's nine other teams. Dallas can retain the rights to four yet-undetermined players from its roster in the event it is reinstated next year.
"It's pretty sad because a lot of people in this franchise made a lot of sacrifices over the last 20 years to make sure we never got to this point," said Sidekicks coach Tatu, who has been with the team since its inception. "I don't want to see it die, and I will do everything I can to make sure that doesn't happen."
The Sidekicks, a member of the original MISL, would have begun their 20th season of indoor soccer next month. They won the league's Western Division last season.
J.L. "Sonny" Williams, investor-operator of the franchise since 1996 and its sole investor since 2002, said in April he would relinquish his stake in the league. The franchise has struggled financially the last few years. That problem was exacerbated last season, when attendance dipped to its lowest level since 1985.
Ryan worked with a few potential locally-based investment groups throughout the summer but has been unable to broker a deal. Monday's decision coincided with the league's plans to issue its schedule for the 2004-05 season, which begins in late October.
Tatu has assisted in the negotiations, although he is not being paid by the league or the team. The remainder of the front-office staff resigned or was laid off after the season concluded in April.
The MISL has a single-entity ownership structure, meaning each team owner invests in the league and is granted a management license to operate a team in a particular market. Any new Sidekicks investors would require league approval and would assume Williams' management agreement, which does not have a specific expiration date.
Tatu said he hoped to continue some of the team's community involvement, including its summer camps and 4-on-4 tournaments. E-mail tjorgenson@dallasnews.com
.