Rulings Go Sockers’ Way; MISL Can’t Terminate Yet

The Sockers went 4 for 4 in a federal bankruptcy court Thursday, and Ron Fowler’s bid to keep the franchise alive seems closer to reality, even though a final decision on the team’s future won’t be made until next Friday.

Judge Peter W. Bowie’s restraining order against the Major Indoor Soccer League--preventing it from terminating the Sockers for failure to post a $400,000 letter of credit by today’s deadline--capped a 45-minute hearing in which all the decisions went the Sockers’ way.

Bowie also:

--Approved a secured $85,000 loan from Fowler’s Liquid Investments Inc. to the Sockers to cover the payroll through the end of June.

--Approved a similar loan of $125,000 to cover playoff bonuses for coaches and players.

--Dismissed an objection by the MISL Players Assn., which claimed that the 11 player contracts Fowler wants to purchase under his bid should have included those of Jim Gorsek and Brian Schmetzer, both of which were guaranteed.

“Without any of those rulings, there would have been no need to go forward,” Fowler said. “I’m obviously very pleased with all of the judge’s decisions. I feel that now, based on all of the factors that we are aware of, we are beyond our toughest stumbling blocks.”

Earlier Thursday, MISL Commissioner Bill Kentling told Fowler, Socker President Ron Cady and bankruptcy attorney Charles Christopher that he was disallowing their request for an extension to post the letter of credit.

“I had to be concerned about the constituency of the rest of the owners in this league,” Kentling said. “We’re trying to go forward as a league, and our bylaws state that we can’t afford to have the future of any of our teams up in the air.”

Kentling’s decision caused only mild concern for Fowler and Christopher, who said they figured that Bowie would accept their motion to issue a restraining order during Thursday’s hearing, which he did.

One league source said that Kentling also expected the judge to issue a restraining order and that he might have given the Sockers an extension, had he thought differently.

The source said that seven of the nine teams in the MISL have posted their letters of credit; he would not disclose the other team that had not.

The Sockers now hope to post theirs next Friday, the day Bowie is to make his final ruling on Fowler’s bid to buy the franchise.

Bowie said one thing that concerned him was whether two loans totaling $250,000 from Liquid Investments to the Sockers were secured. If so, only $450,000 of Fowler’s original $700,000 purchase offer would be available to pay unsecured creditors.

In that case, Bowie said, Fowler’s bid may be misleading, as Fowler also owns Liquid Investments. Bowie said he needed more documentation on the status of the loans, and it is to be provided to him at the hearing July 8.

Christopher said late Thursday afternoon that as a precautionary measure, Fowler has made a backup offer of $500,000 in case Bowie doesn’t accept the original. Liquid Investments would not necessarily be repaid the $250,000 under the backup plan.

Cady said he would be forced to let some of the team’s administrative staff go Thursday night because the team will not be funded by anyone through at least the first eight days of July. Money from Liquid Investments covered the team through Thursday.

“If Ron’s purchase offer is accepted, we’ll go about hiring people again at that time,” Cady said. “But, for now, we have to cut back.”

Cady indicated that only people in marketing and sales positions would be kept on until next Friday, when Bowie decides the franchise’s future.

The future of indoor soccer in St. Louis looked worse after it was announced that a potential sale of the Steamers fell through.

The fact that the Steamers had not met their payroll since April 1 and had a debt of at least $1 million eventually killed a potential sale to San Jose businessman Milan Mandaric, former Anheuser-Busch executive Dennis Long and attorney Steve Frank of St. Louis, Frank said.

Kentling terminated the Steamer franchise last week at the league’s owners meetings in San Diego but had expressed confidence that the new group headed by Mandaric might be awarded an expansion.