Thunder Owners Hope Year Delay Won’t End WIFL

Officials of the San Diego Thunder said they hope the decision to postpone the debut of the World Indoor Football League until 1989 does not mean the end of their franchise.

League owners agreed Thursday not to play the 1988 season because of financial difficulties. The six-team league was supposed to begin play in its inaugural season next Thursday.

“It’s a great sport, and it has a great future,” said Jim Brown, one of 10 San Diego businessmen who are listed as co-owners of the Thunder. “I can only speak for myself, but I look forward with going ahead next year.

“We put this deal together on short notice. There was always a concern that it would not work out. But we were sold on the idea and went forward. It was some of the other cities that let us down.”

The league voted to postpone play because the San Antonio franchise failed to meet Thursday’s 10 a.m. PDT deadline to raise the $200,000 minimum required to operate a franchise, and teams in Baltimore and Indianapolis also were short of funds, WIFL President Roger Gill said.

Other teams were planned in Las Vegas and St. Louis. The Las Vegas franchise announced Tuesday it was disbanding because of uncertainty over other franchises, and St. Louis said Thursday it had suspended operations.

“If everyone had been as strong as San Diego, Las Vegas and St. Louis, we would have a very solid, viable league,” Gill said by telephone from his home in San Antonio. “The league did not want to begin season play with the prospect of the league or the stronger franchises subsidizing the weak.”

Gill said the recent loss of the league’s planned cable television agreement with the Financial News Network also contributed to the decision to postpone play until February or May 1989. He said he did not know if all the original cities would remain in the league.

“Each one of our localities is an attractive city,” Gill said. “What we need now is to get a game plan. We have to provide proof of financial strength before we can attempt to go forward. We accomplished much in the allotted time, but it was too much to do on such a short fuse.”

The league was formed in March and did not announce its six teams until May 3. Plans called for a 10-game regular season, with a championship game to be played Aug. 30 at a site to be determined.

The Thunder had been practicing for more than a week and as late as Tuesday released a list of 20 players it had signed in anticipation of its season opener June 20 at St. Louis. But Thunder Coach Don Matthews canceled practice Wednesday night when it became questionable whether the league would play this season.

“We went ahead and did the job,” Matthews said. “Our franchise was strong. That proves the idea was a viable situation here in San Diego. I’m very disappointed because we had good strong ownership, and they were enthusiastically backing us.”

Thunder President Johnny Sanders informed the franchise’s owners Thursday morning of the decision to postpone play, Brown said. He said he is unsure what startup costs the franchise had incurred, but he expected the owners to meet shortly to discuss the team’s future.

None of the players received any payments or are owed any money for practicing with the team, Matthews said. The players, who were to receive $500 per game, were not to be paid until the season began.

“It wasn’t much, but, hey, it was better than nothing,” said lineman Kevin Smith, a former San Diego State player who said he has been working two part-time jobs to make ends meet. “I was looking at this as a chance to get noticed.”

Mark Halda, a former San Diego State quarterback, said the players were unaware that the league was having difficulties until Matthews told them before Wednesday’s planned practice.

Halda said he was unsure whether he would return if the team played next year and was concerned that the delay would hurt the league’s credibility.

“Who is to say in February they won’t put it on hold again?” he said. Matthews said the future of the coaching staff was undetermined. Matthews, who came to San Diego after being removed as coach of the British Columbia Lions of the Canadian Football League, has said he did not have a written contract with the Thunder. He and his wife have been living in a rented house in San Diego.

“When we first heard the news, we were on our way back to Canada,” Matthews said. “But we’ve decided to stay. We like it here.”

Matthews said about 1,500 season tickets had been sold for the Thunders’s five-game home schedule at the San Diego Sports Arena. Refund information is available by contacting the Sports Arena ticket office at 224-4174.