Stray Kats: Nashville AFL Franchise To Cease Operations
AFL Nashville Kats Owner Bud Adams announced yesterday he has ceased operations of the team, marking the second time the club “has cut ties with the city,” according to Jessica Hopp of the Nashville TENNESSEAN. Adams said, “Our ownership group couldn’t put together a viable financial model that would be successful over the long-term.” The Kats were sold in ’01 and moved to Atlanta, but Hopp notes this move “comes at a time of particular volatility,” with the Predators’ future in the city unclear. Adams was the team’s “savior when he purchased the rights to bring [the AFL] back to Nashville” for the ’05 season. However, it was “hard to make the Kats a viable contender in a sports market dominated by” the Titans. Kats Assistant GM Darryl Hammond, who also played for the team during both incarnations, said, “When I first got here it was basically the only show in town. But with the Titans and the Predators coming in, this town isn’t big enough to support all those teams. We just got squeezed out.” Hopp notes the team averaged 7,962 fans per game last year at Sommet Center, the third-lowest average in the league. All players on the Kats’ roster will be made available in a dispersal draft later this month (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 10/11).
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