AFL L.A. Avengers Terminating Membership After Nine Seasons

Avengers Averaged 13,000  Per Game Past Two Seasons

L.A. Avengers Owner Casey Wasserman yesterday said that after nine seasons, the Avengers are "terminating their membership" in the AFL, according to Sam Farmer of the L.A. TIMES. The move "comes four months after the AFL voted to suspend the 2009 season to devise a new business model in hopes of restarting in 2010." That plan "has not materialized, and the 16-team league is set to vote today on a new [CBA] with its players union." Wasserman said that the team "did not want to participate in that vote ... without a defined business plan for the future of the league." The AFL "requires team owners to vote on ... a termination request, but it's highly unlikely the decision to disband will be reversed." The Avengers are "not the first team to shut its doors within the last year," as the New Orleans VooDoo "ceased operations in October" (L.A. TIMES, 4/20). PROFOOTBALLTALK.com's Mike Florio noted the Avengers "averaged roughly 13,000 attendees per game over the past two seasons at the Staples Center, making them one of the most successful franchises in the history" of the AFL (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 4/19).