Splash’s Future in Anaheim Is Questionable

Splash co-governor Brad Mayne said Friday that if the indoor soccer team doesn’t find an ownership partner, the team might not play in Anaheim this season.

Mayne, The Pond general manager, said Ogden Facility Management Corp., the team owner, already has been turned down by four potential partners, and is in current discussion with two others “with the hopes that one of the two will turn into something worth pursuing to continue the operation of the Splash at the Arrowhead Pond.”

“We’ve really offered the spectrum of opportunities,” Mayne said. “We’re offering a percentage of the team in return for keeping the team at The Pond and allowing them to operate the team and sharing in some of the ancillary income.”

Mayne said the corporate office dictated the course he has taken the last two months in search of additional financial backing. The company wanted to make sure it wasn’t “at risk of losing any money,” he said. It wanted to free the local Ogden staff to direct its attention to running the facility without the distraction of running the Splash.

Ron Weinstein, Continental Indoor Soccer League commissioner, expects to know by Monday whether Ogden will take on a partner.

“There’s not a better [existing] partner out there than someone who owns the building they play in,” Weinstein said, referring to Ogden’s 30-year contract to run The Pond.

The Splash has won division titles its two seasons in Anaheim since moving from Los Angeles. It was second in the league in attendance last season, averaging 8,429.