If the price is right!

The Champions Indoor Football (CIF) forum
suge night
Site Admin
Posts: 649
Joined: Wed Mar 01, 2006 4:09 pm
Location: USA

If the price is right!

Post by suge night » Mon Jul 07, 2014 1:42 pm

Wink Hartman puts Wichita Wild up for sale
• By Jeffrey Lutz
• The Wichita Eagle
The Wichita Wild may be going out on top.
Less than two weeks removed from the franchise’s second straight Champions Professional Indoor Football League championship, owner Wink Hartman is selling the team. Hartman, 68, said he lost $2 million over the Wild’s eight seasons.
Hartman attempted to sell the Wichita Wings soccer franchise after two seasons last May, but no buyers were found and the franchise folded. Hartman, who owns Hartman Oil and an Indy Car team along with several businesses, believes an ownership group for the Wild can be found.
The team is closing its doors on July 11 until new owners are secured.
“For about the last two or three years, we’ve worked very diligently trying to build an adequate fan base. We’ve tried very much to keep the professional sport in Wichita, but it finally comes to the amount of time and attention it takes, and our time can be spent on other assets.”
The Wild moved from the Indoor Football League to the CPIFL in 2013 and won the new league’s first two championships. The team oversaw a coaching change this season from Morris Lolar to Paco Martinez and new general manager Jeremy Mock guided an overhauled front office.
From an on-field standpoint, the Wild has probably never been more stable. Quarterback Rocky Hinds was named CPIFL MVP and most of the players were around for both championship seasons.
But with limited home games – the Wild played nine games at Hartman Arena this season including the playoffs – the financial situation for low-level professional sports is always tenuous.
“It’s a financial struggle every year, and it has been for eight years,” Hartman said. “With my age and all the responsibilities, maybe it’s time I should turn over the leadership to somebody else who can spend more time and devote to the Wild.”
Hartman said he and Hartman Oil vice president Morrie Sheets will aggressively pursue a new owner or ownership group with the goal of keeping the team at Hartman Arena. They haven’t spoken to any potential owners yet.
Hartman, who told Martinez, Mock and other Wild personnel of the decision on Tuesday, isn’t looking to recoup his lost money in a sale.
“Price is probably third or fourth on the list,” Hartman said. “The No. 1 thing I’m concerned about is that the Wild continue to play at Hartman Arena. That’s No. 1 on my list of importance. Price is not the deciding factor here. The deciding factor is that it continues to play in Wichita and that we have a solid ownership group that has the time to devote to the team.”

Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/2014/07/02/353669 ... rylink=cpy

suge night
Site Admin
Posts: 649
Joined: Wed Mar 01, 2006 4:09 pm
Location: USA

Merger

Post by suge night » Thu Jul 31, 2014 9:58 pm

News story states talks are being held for a merger by the CPIFL and LSFL mainly out of desperation to stay afloat but this move will force what should be taking place anyway, many of both leagues teams listed are suspect no idea how many CIPFL teams will be around as some listed are out of business or attempting to be sold, and the LSFL has only 4 teams after the Rio team was put out of the league for lack of fee's and such. So this great meeting of minds is pretty much the final stand. :!: hope they have luck with it......

nksports
Site Admin
Posts: 3669
Joined: Wed Feb 23, 2005 7:53 am
Location: Newton, KS (the land of Oz)

Post by nksports » Thu Jul 31, 2014 10:37 pm

In the CPIFL, Salina and Dodge City were solid at the box office.
Sioux City and Wichita were doing OK.
Oklahoma never released attendance numbers that I've seen.
Lincoln and Omaha had the same owners. Lincoln was forced to fold because it's building is slated for demolition and the other suitable arena is way too expensive. Attendance in Omaha has been dwindling for years, which is too bad because they once had a model franchise. The rumor going around is the Omaha owner is going to restart the Kansas City franchise (which also had to fold when it's building was demolished) and move it to Independence, Mo.
Bloomington struggled at the box office this season. I don't think anyone showed up for Topeka games, and I seriously doubt that they will be back.

The shock of the Wild sale is Hartman also built the arena. It's a nice arena, seats about 5,000. Great sightlines. The scuttlebutt is the arena makes more money from concerts, meetings and other events than it does for the pro sports teams. Because of common ownership, I don't think the Wild paid rent (I'll be he's hoping new owners would pay rent).
Wichita has had indoor football in one form or another continuously since 2000.

suge night
Site Admin
Posts: 649
Joined: Wed Mar 01, 2006 4:09 pm
Location: USA

Merger not interesting?

Post by suge night » Mon Aug 18, 2014 3:41 pm

It's interesting that not one person has found this ground breaking news on this board ,we know both leagues were in a bit of trouble LSFL was pretty much entering into life support without this move. :idea:

CPIFL and LSFL Finalize Merger Agreement
August 14, 2014 - Lone Star Football League (LSFL)




Dodge City, KS: As anticipated, executives from both the LSFL (Lone Star Football League) and the CPIFL (Champions Professional Indoor Football League) have finalized negotiations to bring about the merger of these two successful leagues in what will create likely the largest indoor football league in the United States. This merger provides a strong group of regionalized teams, and ownership groups that will provide the foundation for not only the existing teams, but also for future teams through expansion efforts. "I gives me great pride to realize the results of this merger after the hard work of all the involved teams over the past few months," explained Ricky Bertz who owns the Dodge City Law and has been serving as a representative for the CPIFL through the process, "We are confident that these humble beginnings will lead to a solid and long-standing future for our new league." a new name and logo are expected to be revealed in the coming days.
The new league will consist of teams in the Texas cities of Amarillo, Odessa, and San Angelo, along with Rio Rancho, NM, Tulsa, OK, Dodge City and Salina, KS, Lincoln and Omaha, NE, Sioux City, IA, and Bloomington, IL. "We have long enjoyed our in-state Texas rivalries and the cost effective close playing partners. To now be able to combine those features with the stability and more national presence that the merger provides is going to be excellent for our teams and our fans," stated Stephanie Tucker, owner of the Amarillo Venom and spokeswoman for the former LSFL.

In addition to the eleven teams listed above, the league is now closing out expansion efforts for the 2015 season with several possibilities from Indiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas. Announcements of those additional teams will begin happening within the next few days.

The yet-to-be-named league will be hosting their first ever executive and owners meetings in Wichita, Kansas on August 22nd and 23rd with the goals of creating a league office, finalizing details of playing rules, and beginning work on the 2015 scheduled amongst other business plans. Further information will be released soon and questions should be directed to the CPIFL offices at (325) 277-3713.

• Discuss this story on the Lone Star Football League message board...

Trish_lvs_Baltimore
Site Admin
Posts: 612
Joined: Fri Sep 03, 2010 3:04 pm
Location: Baltimore, Md.

Post by Trish_lvs_Baltimore » Mon Aug 18, 2014 8:01 pm

[quote=""nksports""]In the CPIFL, Salina and Dodge City were solid at the box office.
Sioux City and Wichita were doing OK.
Oklahoma never released attendance numbers that I've seen.
Lincoln and Omaha had the same owners. Lincoln was forced to fold because it's building is slated for demolition and the other suitable arena is way too expensive. Attendance in Omaha has been dwindling for years, which is too bad because they once had a model franchise. The rumor going around is the Omaha owner is going to restart the Kansas City franchise (which also had to fold when it's building was demolished) and move it to Independence, Mo.
Bloomington struggled at the box office this season. I don't think anyone showed up for Topeka games, and I seriously doubt that they will be back.

The shock of the Wild sale is Hartman also built the arena. It's a nice arena, seats about 5,000. Great sightlines. The scuttlebutt is the arena makes more money from concerts, meetings and other events than it does for the pro sports teams. Because of common ownership, I don't think the Wild paid rent (I'll be he's hoping new owners would pay rent).
Wichita has had indoor football in one form or another continuously since 2000.[/quote]Ok, that answers my question about the Kansas Koyotes. I was just about to ask what happened with them..
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. Founded 1908.
The First and Always The Finest

DFWCC
Site Admin
Posts: 671
Joined: Tue May 24, 2011 2:28 am
Location: Dallas-Ft Worth, Tx

Post by DFWCC » Tue Aug 19, 2014 1:03 am

So now you will have the possibility of Bloomington (who may be near broke) or Sioux City making the @ 1,300mile 20hr trip to McAllen Tx.
That should really help the travel budget.
Anyone want to spend 40 of 48hrs on a bus? NOT!!! :(
Should be a guaranteed loss.
That'll probably be a two-nighter with expensive hotel bills.
Plus some players have local jobs that may not allow at least 2days missed. :eek:

DFWCC
Site Admin
Posts: 671
Joined: Tue May 24, 2011 2:28 am
Location: Dallas-Ft Worth, Tx

Post by DFWCC » Tue Aug 19, 2014 1:13 am

Sounds like an ideal set-up
Larry as league President
Moe as business mgr
Curly as head of referees

nksports
Site Admin
Posts: 3669
Joined: Wed Feb 23, 2005 7:53 am
Location: Newton, KS (the land of Oz)

Post by nksports » Sat Aug 30, 2014 9:52 am

The Wild had a suitor, but decided not to buy the team. Instead, he's letting the Wild fold and will take an expansion team into the league. He hadn't said which venue he will use (there are three to choose from — Hartman Arena, about 4,800, Intrust Bank Arena, about 12,000 with the rent to match, and Kansas Star Arena, about 4,000 and about 20 miles south of town on the turnpike but plenty of free parking and a casino with a good cheap buffet next door).

Post Reply

Return to “CIF”