Reports: Arena Football League to cancel 2009 season

Plain Dealer file photographThe Cleveland Gladiators, run by President Bernie Kosar, could be sidelined this season after reports surfaced today that the Arena Football League is expected to cancel the 2009 season.

The Arena Football League is expected to cancel the 2009 season, several media sources are reporting today.

The Rocky Mountain News reported today that league officials are expected to make the announcement before the end of the week. The Kansas City Star later reported that Pete Likens, communications director for the Kansas City Brigade, said the AFL players' union agreed late Tuesday to the decision.

"It's pretty much a done deal to suspend the 2009 season and work toward a single entity-league," Likens said, according to The Star. "We plan to start up again in 2010."

A prominent AFL player, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said he does not think the AFL ever will come back if 2009 is canceled. The player said reports were untrue that the AFL players union had agreed Tuesday to the decision to cancel the 2009 season. The player said he did not want to be identified in case there is a 2010 season.

Developmental league arenafootball2, which operates as a separate entity, will play in 2009.

Phil Tesar, media relations director of the Gladiators, said early this afternoon: "We've heard rumors and speculation about the future of the league for a while. For us, it's still business as usual. We're still selling tickets until we're told otherwise."

The AFL has been in existence since 1987.

The Gladiators made their Cleveland debut in the AFL last season. They reached the National Conference Championship Game before losing to Philadelphia.

Chris McCloskey, AFL executive vice president/communications, could not be reached.

The AFL released a statement this afternoon that said: "Despite rumors and reports to the contrary, all AFL teams are continuing to work towards ArenaBowl XXIII. As it has previously stated, the AFL continues to work on long-term structural improvement options. Some of the options may impact the 2009 season. There is currently no timetable for an announcement of any kind."

A key blow to the AFL as it grappled with economic hardships was the dissolution of a potential $100 million ownership agreement with Platinum Equity. The deal fell through when a number of team owners balked at the idea of giving up varying degrees of control of their franchises to Platinum, a source said.

The AFL player said ownership came back to the players and asked for a pay cut. The players said they would so everything possible to keep the league going, but that they needed more details on exactly what the cuts entailed. As of Tuesday night, the players were waiting to hear back from the owners.

Among the strong hints this offseason that the AFL was in trouble were multiple delays of a dispersal draft of New Orleans VooDoo players; failure to release the 2009 schedule for a league that begins in the spring; and failure to name a commissioner to replace David Baker, who resigned in July.

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