VENOM FRANCHISE COLLAPSES
A bitter feud between Budweiser Events Center owners and the
organization of Tri-State Indoor Professional Sports (TIPS) has
left Northern Colorado’s inaugural indoor football franchise, the
Colorado Venom, without a home.
The National Indoor Football League announced Monday that it has
revoked ownership of three teams from TIPS organization, leaving
the Events Center with no choice but to dump a franchise unable to
meet its financial obligations.
The Venom, along with the Greenville (S.C.) RiverHawks and Waco
(Texas) Marshals franchises are now without local owners. The NIFL
says it is working to secure new ownership in South Carolina, Texas
and Colorado.
“As a league we are working hard to get our local ownership in
place,” said NIFL Commissioner Carolyn Shiver. “Waco is in the
process of announcing their new ownership group and we are still
working hard to get everything settled in both Greenville and Fort
Collins.”
Although Colorado has taken a huge step back in its inaugural
season, the team will still continue playing its road schedule
until new ownership is in place. Negotiations are no longer taking
place with the Budweiser Events Center or with Global Spectrum, the
organization that manages the arena.
Prior to the announcement that they would no longer have a home,
the Venom only had played one game, a harrowing 63-13 loss to the
Utah Warriors in West Valley City. The team never played a game at
the Events Center, despite having a seven-game home schedule.
The reason behind the collapse deals with the contract signed by
both the Venom and TIPS. A paragraph in the contract states TIPS
would provide the Venom with equipment, certain supplies and
materials. Unfortunately TIPS was unable to provide these things
for the Venom, forcing the NIFL into revocation of the
franchise.
The Venom front office was unavailable for comment on the
decision made by the NIFL commissioner. Although the league says
that the Venom will continue with its road schedule, the fact that
the team lacks equipment and materials is making it difficult for
the Venom to continue with its expansion season.
“As we move forward in each of these member cities, we are still
looking forward to a strong year as a league,” Shiver said in a
press release. “The NIFL is committed to the players that are in
place in all three cities and helping to secure local ownership
groups for these communities.”
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