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.”