News: Indoor Professional League ( IPL )

I'm not sure of the cities, but one is a group of unicorns and the other will be owned by Santa Claus.

 

And yet, no one is interested in Mr Hale's indoor soccer league utopia. You would think that Syracuse would have joined by now but they choose to stay with the MASL. Why?

Perhaps Mr Hale's reputation proceeds him. As we all know he does have a history of pulling up stakes and leaving every league he has been involved with. It would be a no brainer for potential investors not to get involved with a situation like that, wouldn't it? Why would any owner want to get involved with a league where the club with the leading attendance bolts to form a new league after a couple of seasons (on average)?

Perhaps potential owners are vetting the IPL only to decide that it may be too much of a risk to join?

Tick tock. Time is getting short for the IPL to add more clubs.

 

Well, with the polar icecaps melting ...

 

Strike three Lewis. Your crime statistics meme was wrong. Your Harrisburg dance team post was wrong. This post is wrong.

The PASL-Premier's insurance was never through Phil and right now it's through AAU.

 

Funny story- Buddy owes the Blast some $$ for field time from last year. They've asked for payment a few times

Should I tell him to say "the checks in the mail"

Sincerely,
The Chicago Riot

 

So for various reasons ( which I don't want to go into here) I have taken a hiatus from these boards, voluntarily and by moderator command over the years.

I have missed 'the Chicago Riot is owed money by Ed Hale' post, article, link or assertion.

Can anyone send me a link that explains it, I have been puzzled before in seeing it.

As an aside, good luck to Ed Hale and Andrew Haines to negotiate a solution to this. One unified structure for all the teams is the best way forward.

 

That's all it was, Ed Hale who was one of the figure heads of the league at the time (like always) promised Chicago's team they would be paid, guaranteeing they would be paid in full if they finished the season. Because he assured them with his own words, he is held responsible. Not the other guys who were involved, just Ed.

Ed shouldn't have promised it if he wasn't going to pay out of his own pockets, that is were he made his mistake. But I am under the understanding it was supposed to be split by the big wigs of the league, when they backed out, so did he. That situation isn't just Ed's fault, regardless who says otherwise.

 

The AAU sold insurance to PASL? Nobody at AAU thought to see that the "P" in PASL stood for Professional?

AAU used to be amateur only.

 

It stands for Premier.

 

Yes, I've talked to a few players from that team and Ante has been the most vocal that they were promised to be paid by Hale to finish out the season and they were never paid.

 

For some reason I thought I remember Jim Lindenburg being mentioned in this promise as well, but wasn't another team being bailed out at the same time? Sharx/Roar maybe?!?! Can't remember all the details, only that the Riot players blame Hale for not being paid.

 

The Chicago Riot folded a couple years before the Roar even started.

The Sharx & Roar were poorly managed and were both one-year-and-done (though unlike the Roar, the Sharx managed to win a few games). However, I have never seen any reports that these two teams failed to pay their players or staff. It is possible that there are more Riot/Wichita 'playing soccer for free' situations happening or did happen, that never get publicized.

But if a whole team is unpaid, word tends to get out. The local media in Wichita investigated the bouncing checks there. Any professional league that allows such a situation to happen and do nothing to make it right is not much of league, IMO. Hale and those other owners should have paid the Riot players and staff, even at cost to themselves. Is it any wonder the sport is struggling with stories like this floating around?

 

That list would include every professional league in history.

 

The Omaha situation was just sad. They had a decent arena downtown and when i went there to watch a game, the crowd was decent and very exciting. But the original owner apparently lost a ton of money, then sold the team to some mysterious guy in vermont or new hampshire. Guy said they would go to the PASL but it never happened. From what i've read, sounds like not only did players not get paid, but people who ordered season tickets never got their money back either.

 

I also read that the arena in Omaha did not get paid everything owed by the Vipers' owner(s). In 2006, the St. Louis Steamers (then part of MISL), folded after the season. I talked years later to some
long-time indoor soccer fans who said they had paid a 'deposit' payment for the next season's tickets. These fans (a very nice older couple and their family) said that their money was never refunded. They then got a call from someone in law enforcement (or someone claiming to be the police) saying that they were looking for the owner of the Steamers. Apparently he owed some people money. The caller was probably a bill collection agency of some kind.

I think that the league should require that advance money for season tickets would go into an escrow account to be safely held until tickets are actually issued. The failed MASL expansion team in Hartford last year was able to refund those who paid for season tickets because the arena used an escrow account (the team folded prior to playing any games). That was a local decision in that case, though.

 

CAUSE

EFFECT

That was a real arena with real costs. Not some indoor soccer center.

 

The escrow account is a good idea but how much to put in it? Not a lot of deep pockets in this sport to cover all deposits

I've never heard of a debt collector calling season ticket holders ever.

Wow

Any sport

 

Just a guess, but maybe an unpaid employee or player of the Steamers, who had access to a season ticket holders list called some of them to attempt to find the erstwhile owner (who was from Philadelphia). Pretending to be law enforcement is actually against the law, but I guess if someone is desperate enough they will try to use every trick. The arena used by the St. Louis Steamers could have used lawyers and/or private investigators to find the owner easily enough, if they were owed any money (or sue in court). My guess is speculation, but who else would have had access to a season ticket list but a member of the organization?

 

Not sure if everyone has seen this article.

http://www.thebluetestament.com/201...and-ipl-already-talking-about-coming-together

 

I kinda feel that if the MASL want to merge with the IPL, than they most be open to major changes on the business practice front. Grow up. This is business and not a board game. This is fan interest and player's lively hood. Looks as if the MASL didn't believe Mr. Hale was serious until it was too late; now they are having major remorse.

Hey, I am just a fan and would also like to see the MASL join the IPL as well. Moreover, a public apology to the fans would be a nice first step and would go a long way in healing the divide.

SHAME

 

Somebody is.

This from the guy who whines about officiating when calls go against his team.

The Chicago Riot would like a word with your patron saint.

Again, someone is.

Look, absolutely ********ing no one misses Ed Hale OR the Blast. Hale can't get more than four teams in his league or he'd have done it by now, it being, you know, late July.

Um, it's going to be the other way around, jackweed.

You're right.

Hale should apologize.

And he should pay the Riot players what he said he would.

This shit of yours is so ********ing tired.