STEVE PAXOS announced yesterday that he has resigned as NPSL Commissioner after 12 seasons and is "interested in pursuing ownership" of an NPSL team, according to Howard Richman of the K.C. STAR. A search has begun to find a replacement for Paxos, who will remain with the NPSL as a consultant until a new commissioner is hired. Paxos was NPSL Chair when the league, originally the American Indoor Soccer Association, formed in '84. In '88, when Paxos became commissioner, the league had four teams, but for the 2000-01 season there will be 13 teams with the addition of franchises in Greensboro, NC, and Toronto and the loss of the St. Louis franchise. Chicago "is scheduled to become" the 14th team in 2001-02 (K.C. STAR, 7/14). In Wichita, Bob Stratton writes that Paxos "resigned under fire" following the league's summer meetings in Cleveland. Sources said that Paxos' departure, with three years remaining on his five-year contract worth an "estimated" $150,000 per year, "ends several attempts by NPSL owners over the years to oust" him. Stratton writes that Paxos' "critics" say that he "was unable to get a national television contract and alienated players who wanted to play in summer soccer leagues." League attendance per game last season was the lowest since '92-93, at 5,444 (WICHITA EAGLE, 7/14)
