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The Fort Wayne Firehawks are coming.
Or so say Mike Loomis and John Christner, owners of a potential new indoor football franchise in Fort Wayne.
The elements seem to be in place for the sport to return to Memorial Coliseum in 2010.
That wasn’t the case two months ago.
The Freedom went into receivership last season, and court-appointed receiver Kent C. Litchin didn’t get any serious offers to buy the team’s assets. So when Loomis, a local attorney, sent Litchin a five-page proposal Sept. 30 to offer to convert his and Indiana businessman Christner’s debt into equity and take over the franchise, Litchin needed only a couple of days to consider and approve the offer.
Loomis and Christner were owed about $60,000 by the two entities (Fort Wayne Sports Partners LLC and Midwest Sports Ventures LLC) that were in receivership, Loomis said.
By buying those two companies, Loomis and Christner earned the franchise’s most important asset, its lease agreement with the Coliseum.
The next step is for Litchin to file a report to the court that will indicate, among other things, the proposed transfer of the assets. That could happen as soon as next week.
Then, the Coliseum’s football committee will start negotiations with Loomis and Litchin to continue with the existing lease, assignment of the existing lease to Loomis and Christner’s new company (Championship Sports Enterprises LLC) or enter into a new lease, Coliseum general manager Randy Brown said.
“We’re extremely confident, … that we’ll be able to get the lease accomplished, whether it’s an assignment or new one, and in the meantime, we’re moving forward with the implementation of our business plan,” Loomis said. “We would like to have the I’s dotted and the T’s crossed by the end of the business day on Dec. 4 for the reason that the (Continental Indoor Football) league owner meetings are going to be here Dec. 5.”
Many of the past ownership groups of indoor and arena football in the city have stumbled by not having enough capital to fund the franchise to start the season. Though a team has never folded, it’s been common for players and coaches to go without pay for weeks and for other creditors to pile up during the season.
There still are three other major creditors owed by the two companies in receivership, Loomis said. Those creditors will be given promissory notes so Litchin can dissolve the companies, Loomis said.
Loomis and Christner aren’t responsible for anyone owed by First and Ten Enterprises LLC or Freedom Football LLC, two companies that were formed in 2008 and aren’t included in the receivership, Litchin said. That means coaches and players who still are owed salary from last season’s team that advanced to the CIFL championship game will have to pursue other options to get paid.
Loomis and Christner hope there isn’t any future confusion with their new company.
Though neither Loomis nor Christner would specifically talk about their business plan, they said they can operate a franchise for about $150,000 a season.
Christner, who will act as general manager for the franchise, said he doesn’t anticipate adding more partners. At this point, the franchise doesn’t need to.
“We’re capitalized to do it,” Christner said. “If we weren’t, we wouldn’t do it.”
