Carolina Cobras folding? moving?

[winters in buffalo]

From the July 16, 2004 print edition of the Charlotte Business Journal

Future of arena team unclear as staff is cut

Erik Spanberg

Senior Staff Writer

Rumors of troubled operations have engulfed the Carolina Cobras in recent weeks as the Arena Football League club has lost or dismissed more than half its employees.

For the moment, a three-person crew is in place while the team's owners ponder their next move.

Former employees and other industry sources say majority owner Pete Loftin may fold the team or seek to relocate it to Miami, where he lives. At the same time, the Cobras have approached the Charlotte Bobcats about playing in the NBA franchise's new uptown arena beginning in 2006, though no deal has been reached.

The Bobcats declined an offer to purchase the Cobras last year, says Barry Silberman, the senior arena executive for the Bobcats.

General Manager Darrell Harbin hasn't spoken with Loftin since the season finale May 30.

"We went pretty hard this season and now we're taking a breather," Harbin says. "There's not a lot to say because the season just ended. I have never had a conversation with Pete about moving or selling the team. That's up to him. It's business as usual for me."

Neither Loftin nor his senior adviser, Billy McGehee, returned telephone calls this week.

The Cobras are operating with Harbin, a senior business manager and a sales representative. Harbin acknowledges many staffers have left but says they were either interns or didn't fit into the franchise's long-term plans. At least three full-time staffers have left for jobs with the Bobcats and WNBA Sting in recent months.

An AFL spokesman, Chris McCloskey, says the league was unable to reach Loftin this week and hasn't heard from the club about a prospective sale or relocation.

"Anything regarding the future of the team has to be answered by Pete Loftin," he says.

A history of struggles

Loftin became wealthy as the founder of Raleigh-based BTI Telecommunications Inc. He bought a stake in the Cobras when the team entered the AFL in 1999 and, two years ago, brought the team to Charlotte in an attempt to boost fan and sponsor support.

Early results haven't been promising. The Cobras were winless in 2003 and posted a 6-10 record this year. In two seasons here, the franchise has had four head coaches.

Attendance and corporate support have been sluggish as well. Paid attendance at Charlotte Coliseum averaged 6,829 fans this season, 43% below the AFL's average of 12,019 per game.

Since Loftin and the Cobras arrived, they have lost millions of dollars, industry experts estimate. Harbin, the general manager, declines to discuss the team's financial performance.

"I am not convinced Arena Football is a concept that has a lot of legs in a market like Charlotte," says Carl Scheer, the former owner of an AFL franchise in its sister league, AF2. "Maybe if (Carolina Panthers owner) Jerry Richardson were involved, it would be different."

Loftin isn't well known among local powerbrokers. He has spent much of his recent time restoring the Florida mansion formerly owned by fashion magnate Gianni Versace.

This spring, the Cobras completed the second year of a three-year lease at Charlotte Coliseum. Mike Crum, acting chief executive of the authority that runs the coliseum, says he hasn't spoken with the team about its future.

"We have a lease and we expect them to meet the terms of that agreement," Crum says. The Cobras pay $5,000 per game plus 10% of gross ticket revenue to rent the coliseum; the authority keeps all parking and concession revenue. Crum says there are no specific penalties in the lease agreement if the Cobras opt out, though the authority could take legal action if the team failed to meet its obligations.

Team needs new home

It's still possible the team could stay in town, if Loftin can weather another season at the coliseum and negotiate an agreement with the Bobcats. Because the coliseum will be razed once the uptown arena opens, the Cobras would need to secure a new home.

"It's the best location for them to have a chance at success here," says Silberman, the Bobcats executive. "But I don't know if we can make a deal happen or not. It's sort of a back-and-forth situation."

The AFL's struggles here come at the same time the league is flourishing elsewhere. The 19-team league increased its average attendance by 6% this season, drawing the most fans in its 18-year history.

In addition, a number of high-profile owners have joined the AFL in recent years. They include former All-Pro quarterback John Elway, rock star Jon Bon Jovi and National Football League owners Jerry Jones, Daniel Snyder and Tom Benson. Franchise values have risen to $16 million, up from $400,000 in 1996.

[Mac the Knife]

This absolutely doesn't surprise me in the least.

Loftin is a clown, and he's run a half-assed organization since day one. Rather than to have moved from Raleigh to Charlotte, or Charlotte to Miami, they ought to move Loftin's ass out into the street.

[slapshot]

Hasn't Miami already failed twice with Arena Football teams?

Here's a hint...sell the team to Robert Kraft. Boston is a willing city.

[pagan696]

Hasn't Miami already failed twice with Arena Football teams?

so has CLT.

[oz615]

Here's a hint...sell the team to Robert Kraft. Boston is a willing city.

either thant or better yet mothe the team Nashville

[pagan696]

either thant or better yet mothe the team Nashville

now that is a mouthful, or a full mouth...

[nitroseed]

Nashville's being given an expansion team next year, which will be the rebirth of the Nashville Kats (can you see the Kats vs. SabreCats matchup?).

[shiznit1083]

I think a team in Boston would do real well. Besides Jacobs' cheap ass would love to have another team paying rent to play at the Fleet.

[Brian in Boston]

Besides (Jeremy) Jacobs' (owner of the Boston Bruins and Fleet Center) cheap ass would love to have another team paying rent to play at the Fleet.

Which is precisely the reason we have yet to see an Arena Football team set up shop in Boston.

It is highly unlikely that Jeremy Jacobs is going to craft a "sweetheart deal" for any incoming tenant of the Fleet Center. He is a "bottom-line" guy, and he is going to do everything in his power to make sure that his bottom-line is bolstered by the maximum rent he can conceivably charge a tenant. Which will make it that much more difficult for a "fringe" sport like Arena Football (yes, it has improved its profile... but we're not exactly talking the "Big Four" here, are we?) to turn a profit in the facility.

Unless Jacobs decides to launch the team himself or enter into an amicable partnership with Bob and Jonathan Kraft, I don't see the Arena Football-to-Boston rumors coming to fruition anytime soon. The former is highly unlikely, as Jacobs is more than happy to own and operate the Fleet Center and the Boston Bruins, while charging outside tenants (concert tours, the circus, skating exhibitions, etc) top-dollar for rentals of the arena. The latter appears increasingly unlikely, given that mainatining the New England Patriots' competitiveness in the NFL seems to be taking up more and more of the Kraft family's time and attention. Witness the lackluster efforts given to marketing and promoting Major League Soccer's New England Revolution this season. Attendance is down significantly and fans of the team are grumbling. The Krafts are intent on managing their "core" product... the Pats.

So... unless there's an Arena Football fan in New England with a big heart and DEEP pockets, the sport's arrival in Boston could be a long way off.

Brian in Boston

[shiznit1083]

Thanks for killing my dream.

Does anybody want to kill Jacobs?

[JamesCraven]

Here's an original idea: Sell the team to Wayne Hyzenga, Miami Dolphins' owner, and maybe The Rock, and move it to Office Depot Center, and rename it the South Florida Stampede. (Hey, didn't somebody I know think about that?) Besides, if Bob Kraft bought it, he'd more likely move it to Providence, RI in all possiblilty.