Post by fwp on Apr 1, 2010 8:28:01 GMT -5
www.standard.net/topics/sports/2010/03/31/knights-delay-game-was-needless-says-owner
OGDEN -- If he had to, Ogden Knights owner Bill Bennett says he would have taken care of any expense out of pocket.
However, Bennett says there would have been no need.
The owner of the American Indoor Football Association team said Tuesday that the team has always been completely insured and that a pre-game walkout of numerous players Saturday was a misunderstanding.
"For lack of a better word, there was a lack of communication," Bennett said. "The players didn't understand."
The players included a majority of the starting offensive line and last year's leading receiver, former Weber State start Adrian Conway.
"There never was a problem," Bennett said.
It forced Ogden coach Doug Coleman to scramble to field a complete team of 20 players, many of whom trickled in and which resulted in the kickoff being pushed back 30 minutes at the Golden Spike Events Center.
Still, the makeshift team nearly pulled off an improbable upset of a San Jose team expected to contend for the Western Conference championship. Ogden lost 36-29 in a haphazard game that featured 30 penalties and both quarterbacks completing under 40 percent of their passes.
The AIFA does not have a league-wide insurance policy for its 13 teams. Rather, it allows the teams to work out deals best for them in their respective markets, according to Bennett.
Problems throughout the sport are not uncommon. Last year, the Indoor Football League, the largest of the four active leagues, had its season tarnished when it learned that the Sioux Falls Storm did not have insurance and forced the team to forfeit its first five games.
The incident is one of many fires that Bennett is trying to put out before the team's next home game April 16 at the Golden Spike Events Center.
Among the most obvious -- no game clock or play clocks. Officials kept both on the field the first two games.
The Events Center does not have a true game clock -- message boards on both sides are used for a scoreboard but have no timekeeping capacity.
Last year's team did have clocks, but Knight officials said the previous ownership did not finish paying for the clocks and they have since been repossessed.
"We were working under the understanding that the scoreboard was part of the arena contract," Bennett said.
"Any venue you would think that, but then you remember this is a rodeo arena. I come in thinking they are scoreboards and they are just message boards. It's a phenomenal thing."
Bennett said it's a logistical problem the team is addressing. The condition of the field improved dramatically from opening night to Saturday and improvements to the turf will be made
"Everything leads back to last year," Bennett said. "I'm committed to make this work and to give Ogden a championship organization."
Coleman is bringing in players for workouts as the team prepares for its first road game of the season Saturday at San Jose.
OGDEN -- If he had to, Ogden Knights owner Bill Bennett says he would have taken care of any expense out of pocket.
However, Bennett says there would have been no need.
The owner of the American Indoor Football Association team said Tuesday that the team has always been completely insured and that a pre-game walkout of numerous players Saturday was a misunderstanding.
"For lack of a better word, there was a lack of communication," Bennett said. "The players didn't understand."
The players included a majority of the starting offensive line and last year's leading receiver, former Weber State start Adrian Conway.
"There never was a problem," Bennett said.
It forced Ogden coach Doug Coleman to scramble to field a complete team of 20 players, many of whom trickled in and which resulted in the kickoff being pushed back 30 minutes at the Golden Spike Events Center.
Still, the makeshift team nearly pulled off an improbable upset of a San Jose team expected to contend for the Western Conference championship. Ogden lost 36-29 in a haphazard game that featured 30 penalties and both quarterbacks completing under 40 percent of their passes.
The AIFA does not have a league-wide insurance policy for its 13 teams. Rather, it allows the teams to work out deals best for them in their respective markets, according to Bennett.
Problems throughout the sport are not uncommon. Last year, the Indoor Football League, the largest of the four active leagues, had its season tarnished when it learned that the Sioux Falls Storm did not have insurance and forced the team to forfeit its first five games.
The incident is one of many fires that Bennett is trying to put out before the team's next home game April 16 at the Golden Spike Events Center.
Among the most obvious -- no game clock or play clocks. Officials kept both on the field the first two games.
The Events Center does not have a true game clock -- message boards on both sides are used for a scoreboard but have no timekeeping capacity.
Last year's team did have clocks, but Knight officials said the previous ownership did not finish paying for the clocks and they have since been repossessed.
"We were working under the understanding that the scoreboard was part of the arena contract," Bennett said.
"Any venue you would think that, but then you remember this is a rodeo arena. I come in thinking they are scoreboards and they are just message boards. It's a phenomenal thing."
Bennett said it's a logistical problem the team is addressing. The condition of the field improved dramatically from opening night to Saturday and improvements to the turf will be made
"Everything leads back to last year," Bennett said. "I'm committed to make this work and to give Ogden a championship organization."
Coleman is bringing in players for workouts as the team prepares for its first road game of the season Saturday at San Jose.