Fran
12-30-2003, 01:08 PM
http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=64116&ran=48453
Norfolk Nighthawks team calls it quits
By PAUL WHITE, The Virginian-Pilot
© December 30, 2003 | Last updated 12:59 PM Dec. 30
NORFOLK — The Norfolk Nighthawks Arena Football team has suspended operations permanently, the team’s general manager announced Monday.
“I’ve already notified the city,’’ Billy Mann said. “We’ve dissolved the partnership. We’re closing down.’’
John Rhamstine, Norfolk’s director of civic facilities, said he received the news in a voicemail message left by Mann on Christmas Eve.
“We’re very disappointed,” said Rhamstine, who added that the Nighthawks’ eight home games added nearly $50,000 in profits to Scope’s bottom line.
The Nighthawks, who debuted in the af2 league — a tier below the Arena Football League — in 2000, were co-owned by a pair of NFL greats: Bruce Smith, a Norfolk native who just completed his 19th and likely final season as an NFL defensive end with the Washington Redskins, and Chesapeake’s Ken Easley, who starred as a defensive back with the Seattle Seahawks.
Each owned 49 percent of the shares of the team.
Last season, however, the two feuded over how Easley was running the business, according to Smith, who added that he was eventually able to force Easley out.
The team suspended operations in September and began searching for an investor willing to buy Easley’s stake.
“Several people, local business people, showed interest, and one investor was extremely interested,’’ Mann said. “They made Ken a fair offer, but they couldn’t work out a deal.’’
Attempts Monday to reach both Smith and Easley were unsuccessful.
The decision to halt operations could hardly be deemed a surprise. Three weeks ago, Smith told The Virginian-Pilot “things aren’t looking good’’ when asked about the team’s future.
The team’s head coach, Rick Frazier, already had taken another job with Grand Rapids in the Arena Football League.
In addition, season-ticket renewals had yet to be mailed, and the team’s lease to play home games at Scope had expired.
The Nighthawks’ four-year existence was marked by declining success both on the field and at the gate. After reaching the af2 playoffs in their first season, the Nighthawks failed to advance to the postseason in any of their last three.
Meanwhile, attendance declined from an average of 5,603 per game in 2000 to just 2,550 in 2003.
Still, Mann stressed the dispute between Smith and Easley was the main factor behind the end of the Nighthawks.
“This had nothing to do with attendance or anything like that,’’ Mann said. “It just got personal. It’s disappointing on a lot of levels.’’
Mann said the investor who made the offer to Easley, a person Mann would not identify, indicated a willingness to try to resurrect the Nighthawks for the 2005 season. But that would not happen unless Smith had a change of heart. In mid-December, he said suspending operations for a year before returning was “not an option.’’
Rhamstine said he doesn’t expect another ownership group to surface, but if one does, “we would certainly be willing to listen,” he said.
He noted that the city owns the artificial turf, pads and other equipment necessary to play arena football, so that a new team would have an easy transition to Scope.
However, media reports in other cities indicate that most of the other members of Norfolk’s af2 division — Richmond, Greensboro, Charleston, S.C.; and Fayetteville, N.C. — are having financial difficulties. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that city’s af2 franchise, Norfolk’s archrival, also might fold.
Norfolk Nighthawks team calls it quits
By PAUL WHITE, The Virginian-Pilot
© December 30, 2003 | Last updated 12:59 PM Dec. 30
NORFOLK — The Norfolk Nighthawks Arena Football team has suspended operations permanently, the team’s general manager announced Monday.
“I’ve already notified the city,’’ Billy Mann said. “We’ve dissolved the partnership. We’re closing down.’’
John Rhamstine, Norfolk’s director of civic facilities, said he received the news in a voicemail message left by Mann on Christmas Eve.
“We’re very disappointed,” said Rhamstine, who added that the Nighthawks’ eight home games added nearly $50,000 in profits to Scope’s bottom line.
The Nighthawks, who debuted in the af2 league — a tier below the Arena Football League — in 2000, were co-owned by a pair of NFL greats: Bruce Smith, a Norfolk native who just completed his 19th and likely final season as an NFL defensive end with the Washington Redskins, and Chesapeake’s Ken Easley, who starred as a defensive back with the Seattle Seahawks.
Each owned 49 percent of the shares of the team.
Last season, however, the two feuded over how Easley was running the business, according to Smith, who added that he was eventually able to force Easley out.
The team suspended operations in September and began searching for an investor willing to buy Easley’s stake.
“Several people, local business people, showed interest, and one investor was extremely interested,’’ Mann said. “They made Ken a fair offer, but they couldn’t work out a deal.’’
Attempts Monday to reach both Smith and Easley were unsuccessful.
The decision to halt operations could hardly be deemed a surprise. Three weeks ago, Smith told The Virginian-Pilot “things aren’t looking good’’ when asked about the team’s future.
The team’s head coach, Rick Frazier, already had taken another job with Grand Rapids in the Arena Football League.
In addition, season-ticket renewals had yet to be mailed, and the team’s lease to play home games at Scope had expired.
The Nighthawks’ four-year existence was marked by declining success both on the field and at the gate. After reaching the af2 playoffs in their first season, the Nighthawks failed to advance to the postseason in any of their last three.
Meanwhile, attendance declined from an average of 5,603 per game in 2000 to just 2,550 in 2003.
Still, Mann stressed the dispute between Smith and Easley was the main factor behind the end of the Nighthawks.
“This had nothing to do with attendance or anything like that,’’ Mann said. “It just got personal. It’s disappointing on a lot of levels.’’
Mann said the investor who made the offer to Easley, a person Mann would not identify, indicated a willingness to try to resurrect the Nighthawks for the 2005 season. But that would not happen unless Smith had a change of heart. In mid-December, he said suspending operations for a year before returning was “not an option.’’
Rhamstine said he doesn’t expect another ownership group to surface, but if one does, “we would certainly be willing to listen,” he said.
He noted that the city owns the artificial turf, pads and other equipment necessary to play arena football, so that a new team would have an easy transition to Scope.
However, media reports in other cities indicate that most of the other members of Norfolk’s af2 division — Richmond, Greensboro, Charleston, S.C.; and Fayetteville, N.C. — are having financial difficulties. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that city’s af2 franchise, Norfolk’s archrival, also might fold.