The FireHawks could return in 2011.
Or the team could be finished.
Or there could be an entirely new franchise.
Or there could be no indoor football in Fort Wayne, snapping an eight-season run.
Not even CEO Mike Loomis knows what’s ahead, though he’s “optimistic, conservatively” that the FireHawks will return.
Two days after the team ended its first season with a 25-24 loss at Wisconsin in the CIFL playoffs, Loomis said Monday he envisions a couple of options.
He could keep the team and continue to run it himself or find new investors or new ownership.
The likelihood of the first option “isn’t very good,” he said.
“This team needs to go to the next level, and I don’t have the financial resources for that,” he said.
Loomis said he is actively searching out people interested in acquiring the team.
When asked how much he thought the franchise is worth, he said, “To me, a lot.”
But before anyone likely would buy the franchise, the team’s finances must be repaired.
Coach Willie Davis said Saturday that none of the coaching staff or the players are current in payroll.
Most have been paid only through Week 3.
Loomis wouldn’t say how much coaches and players are owed. But with players making $120 per game, an active 21-man roster would be $2,520 in player payroll for one game.
If players have been paid only through Week 3, that’d leave six games unpaid, which is $15,120. And that’s not counting coaches’ salaries.
“I intend to, ultimately, end the season in the black,” said Loomis without offering specifics on how that will happen.
Perhaps it’s more likely that a new ownership group would emerge and start another new franchise.
The FireHawks’ lease with Memorial Coliseum was only for one season, so general manager Randy Brown would be free to entertain new proposals.
At this point – and seemingly at this time every year – no one can be certain how this will shake out.
But Loomis and Davis said indoor football is great for the city and believe it’s a viable entertainment option.
“I think at the end of the day, the fact these guys played so hard, considering they haven’t been paid in quite some time, and have so much heart and determination and to lay it on the line like they did it has to speak volumes for anyone who says should we or shouldn’t we have arena football here,” said Davis, whose team was 6-5, including two forfeit victories.
“The character of the team spoke volumes. It’s just, unfortunately, we just haven’t been in the financially stable situation to be successful off the field.”
