Storm to continue to play despite MISL's demise
Chicago Storm officials say fans shouldn't fret despite Major Indoor Soccer League's announcement Monday that the nine-team league was ceasing operations.
Storm Chief Operating Officer and General Manager Brian Loftin says the team will continue to compete at the Sears Centre arena in Hoffman Estates, where it draws about 3,000 fans per match.
The league likely will re-launch later this year with more teams, Loftin said. Soccer and dance camps offered by the Storm remain unaffected.
"It really is business as usual for us," Loftin said, lauding the current league ownership group. "This allows us to change our business model."
More Coverage Stories MISL shuts down [6/02/08]
The disbanding legally rids the league of investors who owned now-defunct franchises in cities like Dallas and St. Louis. Under the league's 2001 bylaws, those owners had equal rights on league decisions.
The current atmosphere is much different compared to 1992 when MISL ceased play. The league eventually emerged in its current form in 2001.
"They just went belly up," Loftin said.
The Storm aren't Chicago's first MISL team. The Sting played indoors from 1984 to 1988 at the old Chicago Stadium and at the Allstate Arena, which then was known as the Rosemont Horizon.
Before the Storm, the Chicago Power played indoors from to 1988 to 1995 as part of the American Indoor Soccer Association and National Professional Soccer League. And who could forget the Chicago Horizon? They played just one season in MISL before folding in 1981.
The 11,000-seat Sears Centre opened in 2006 thanks in part to a $50 million loan from the village of Hoffman Estates. The Storm played 15 home games this season. The franchise debuted in 2004.
The Chicago Shamrox lacrosse team shares the Sears Centre with the Storm. Shamrox spokesman Joe Stefani said team officials aren't sure what to make of the news about the Storm.
"We're not really sure about the circumstances around it," he said.
Almost a year ago, officials from the Chicago Hounds minor-league team announced it was ceasing operations. Team officials blamed the Sears Centre for increasing the rent for arena. The 2006-07 season was the team's only season.
Sears Centre Executive Director Jeff Bowen said at the time that the Hounds' departure gave arena officials an opportunity to book more lucrative events.
Since then Bowen has appeared before the Hoffman Estates village board and gained approval on two outdoor events scheduled for this summer to be held at the arena's parking lots. On June 14 the arena will host the first Adrenaline MMA fights, hoping to capitalize on the mixed-martial arts' growing popularity.