Pond Won’t Host Soccer This Season

The World Indoor Soccer League will wait no more. After allowing officials from the Zodiac and the Arrowhead Pond more than three months to negotiate an agreement that would return indoor soccer to the arena, all parties have agreed to wait until next year, league president Gordon Jago said Thursday.

“We know Anaheim is a good market,” Jago said. “It can be really successful for us.”

Jago joined Zodiac President Richard Brown and Pond assistant general manager Mike O’Donnell on two conference calls this week, hoping to resolve a stalemate involving arena dates. When O’Donnell could not guarantee that more weekend dates would become available--the Pond offered 18 dates, but only one on a weekend--Jago supported the Zodiac’s decision to reject the deal and try again next year.

“They would be bathed in red ink,” Jago said. “One weekend [date] definitely doesn’t work. Our market is the youth market.”