Post by 50yardfan on Jul 21, 2010 9:05:44 GMT -5
Wenatchee Valley indoor pro football franchise may switch to a different league
WENATCHEE — The Wenatchee Valley Venom’s 12-man ownership group has come to a consensus: the team will play in 2011. It’s just what league they’ll be playing in that’s up in the air.
The group has met since the team’s season ended July 3, and the decision was to bring the team back for a second season, said Kyle Skalisky, the team’s president, director of business operations and part owner.
“For any professional minor league sports franchise, the first season is a critical one,” Skalisky said. “If you look at the number of teams that fail in its first season, it is staggeringly high. We feel like as an organization we delivered the show to the crowd, and we didn’t spare the quality of the product. I think we came up with something that just got better from week to week. Like anything you have to have some time to breathe and evaluate, but this is something for the long haul here in Wenatchee.”
The group will spend the offseason making adjustments to smooth out the way the team is run as a business, starting with a meeting tonight.
“Now we’re just going through all the details of how we’re going to structure it as management goes,” said general manager and director of football operations Mark Helm, also a part owner. “We’ve learned some lessons on both sides of the ball — how we can cut costs, how we can be a better team on the field.”
“We’ve got to come up with a cost structure that works in terms of what costs us to run a franchise for a year,” said director of finances and part owner Frank Kuntz. “Then it’s just making sure we keep our sponsorships and season ticket sales up.”
After enduring scheduling issues and sub-par opponents in its debut season in the American Indoor Football Association, the team will consider joining a different league.
“I think we’re gonna work hard to make sure we’re in a league that is stable and has good competition,” Skalisky said. “Currently we’re in the AIFA, but that doesn’t mean we won’t explore other options. We can do everything right, but if you’re not playing the same quality of teams, that can detract from the product. We’re going to work hard with the AIFA and explore other options to find what’s the best fit.”
“Anytime you’re in a league, you want the other teams to be just like you and put a great product on the field. Our division last year didn’t do that,” said Kuntz, citing the Ogden Knights and Wasilla Arctic Predators, which both forfeited multiple games in 2010.
Putting together a more fan-friendly schedule will be the group’s biggest main objective. The Venom went through two stretches of three or more weeks without a home game, and attendance suffered for home games that fell on the July 4 and Memorial Day holiday weekends.
“I think the scheduling is where we gotta concentrate on,” said part owner Steve Still, noting that the season needs to wrap up before summer weather hits. “When it gets warm here people go outdoors.”
“Obviously the league itself probably didn’t do a lot of favors with the schedule. Football should go one game at home, then one away to get a rhythm,” Kuntz said. “After Memorial Day people wanted to go outside. Our attendance for the first two games was really good, so then we budgeted for the next games, and that (attendance) didn’t happen.”
The owners said they are satisfied with the shape the team is in after finishing 2010 on a six-game winning streak.
“It’s pretty clear to me we have the right coach in place and a decent core group of players,” said Kuntz. “I would think those two things are going to be really good for us.”
WENATCHEE — The Wenatchee Valley Venom’s 12-man ownership group has come to a consensus: the team will play in 2011. It’s just what league they’ll be playing in that’s up in the air.
The group has met since the team’s season ended July 3, and the decision was to bring the team back for a second season, said Kyle Skalisky, the team’s president, director of business operations and part owner.
“For any professional minor league sports franchise, the first season is a critical one,” Skalisky said. “If you look at the number of teams that fail in its first season, it is staggeringly high. We feel like as an organization we delivered the show to the crowd, and we didn’t spare the quality of the product. I think we came up with something that just got better from week to week. Like anything you have to have some time to breathe and evaluate, but this is something for the long haul here in Wenatchee.”
The group will spend the offseason making adjustments to smooth out the way the team is run as a business, starting with a meeting tonight.
“Now we’re just going through all the details of how we’re going to structure it as management goes,” said general manager and director of football operations Mark Helm, also a part owner. “We’ve learned some lessons on both sides of the ball — how we can cut costs, how we can be a better team on the field.”
“We’ve got to come up with a cost structure that works in terms of what costs us to run a franchise for a year,” said director of finances and part owner Frank Kuntz. “Then it’s just making sure we keep our sponsorships and season ticket sales up.”
After enduring scheduling issues and sub-par opponents in its debut season in the American Indoor Football Association, the team will consider joining a different league.
“I think we’re gonna work hard to make sure we’re in a league that is stable and has good competition,” Skalisky said. “Currently we’re in the AIFA, but that doesn’t mean we won’t explore other options. We can do everything right, but if you’re not playing the same quality of teams, that can detract from the product. We’re going to work hard with the AIFA and explore other options to find what’s the best fit.”
“Anytime you’re in a league, you want the other teams to be just like you and put a great product on the field. Our division last year didn’t do that,” said Kuntz, citing the Ogden Knights and Wasilla Arctic Predators, which both forfeited multiple games in 2010.
Putting together a more fan-friendly schedule will be the group’s biggest main objective. The Venom went through two stretches of three or more weeks without a home game, and attendance suffered for home games that fell on the July 4 and Memorial Day holiday weekends.
“I think the scheduling is where we gotta concentrate on,” said part owner Steve Still, noting that the season needs to wrap up before summer weather hits. “When it gets warm here people go outdoors.”
“Obviously the league itself probably didn’t do a lot of favors with the schedule. Football should go one game at home, then one away to get a rhythm,” Kuntz said. “After Memorial Day people wanted to go outside. Our attendance for the first two games was really good, so then we budgeted for the next games, and that (attendance) didn’t happen.”
The owners said they are satisfied with the shape the team is in after finishing 2010 on a six-game winning streak.
“It’s pretty clear to me we have the right coach in place and a decent core group of players,” said Kuntz. “I would think those two things are going to be really good for us.”