MISL Tries to Hang On Once Again

SAN DIEGO â€”  The Major Indoor Soccer League apparently ducked another knockout punch after owners decided Monday to attempt continue operating with just seven teams.

The 10-year-old league was on the ropes Friday for the third time this month when the Cleveland Force, one of the most successful teams, announced it was folding, leaving the league with seven franchises.

The Sockers, along with several other teams, had said they would only go forward with at least eight teams.

But in a conference call Monday morning that included league owners and Commissioner Bill Kentling, the group agreed to proceed with seven teams, said Socker President Ron Cady and Ron Fowler, who both participated in the call.

“All of the seven teams remaining have exhibited the most positive attitude I’ve seen in a long while,� Cady said. “I think the thing that got everybody going was the way Cleveland folded.

“He (Force owner Bart Wolstein) didn’t tell anybody he was going to do it and he thought the rest of the league would just follow him. As it’s turned out, everybody has pulled together more.�

Fowler, who is scheduled to appear in U.S. Bankruptcy Court Friday in an attempt to purchase the Sockers, said Monday he will go through with his offer provided a few details can be worked out this week.

“We’re probably the team that’s most up in the air,� Fowler said. “But we’ve made a commitment to do what we can.

“I’m more optimistic because there’s a sense of camaraderie among the owners now. Everybody we talked to (during Monday’s conference call) was asking how they could help. That hasn’t happened before. We realized that we’re all in this together. That’s the major reason I’m still looking at this thing.�

Fowler said he will meet with players and with the team’s key vendors--television and radio stations--to discuss possible cost-cutting measures.

Because the MISL is dropping from eight to seven teams, the 1988-89 schedule will be reduced from 56 to 48 games, reducing revenue by almost $400,000 for each franchise.

“We need to work some things out in order to make up for the new revenue loss,� Fowler said. “If everything can be worked out in meetings this week, we’ll go ahead with the bid. I’m confident we can do that. We’ve come this far.�

The owners are talking about ways to minimize costs, such as having visiting teams play twice in one city before traveling.

“Nobody’s jumping to any new ideas, just listening,� Cady said. “Once we get all the ideas sorted out, we’ll know what we’re doing.�

It’s still possible that the league could return to eight teams.

Cady said Kai Haaskivi, a midfielder who helped lead Cleveland to the MISL finals against the Sockers in June, is trying to put together a new group of investors in Cleveland.

A similar effort worked in Tacoma.

After the Tacoma Stars folded July 8, a new group put together by Tacoma attorney Jim Manza offered to restart the Stars. The league is to vote on Tacoma’s new franchise this week and Cady said it is almost a formality.

“They did it in Tacoma, maybe that can do it in Cleveland, too,� Cady said. “You never know.�

Three weeks ago, when Tacoma and the Chicago Sting folded, it appeared the league would follow. But Manza’s group kept the league alive.

Then, two weeks ago, owners created the demand for a new collective bargaining agreement. When talks reached an impasse July 13, Kentling said he thought the league was done. But a new agreement was reached last Monday lending hope to the league again.

That was until Friday until Cleveland folded. Now, it appears the league is going forward again.