In another curious twist to the already strange saga of the Salt Lake Sting, the team has now been taken over by the American Professional Soccer League.
League officials Thursday informed the Sting Foundation that due to unfulfilled obligations by the nonprofit foundation, the Sting's player contracts, logo and team name are now under control of the league, said APSL co-chairman Bill Sage."Ever since we conditionally approved the (Mike) Silva group as the new owners, there have been certain conditions of the agreement that weren't met," Sage said. "They didn't put up the performance bond we asked for or pay certain assessments and fines. They have been given one deadline after another."
What all this means is that the Sting will play Saturday against the Miami Freedom, but that could be the last time the Sting play - ever. The league is not interested in long-term management of the team, Sage said, and is actively seeking a buyer.
So what may make the difference between the Sting sticking around or not is whether enough people come to Saturday's game to impress prospective buyers.
"We need a big turnout," said Fred Gray, former Sting director of soccer operations and now the APSL-appointed team "caretaker."
"If we ever needed to show that there's fan support here, this is the time."
At least one local group, led by Merrill Osmond and Jeff Woodbury, has shown interest in purchasing the team but has been unimpressed by low attendance. And Sage said he already has had several calls from other interested parties.
Sage said the league expects it to take "a week to 10 days, at the outside," before some change occurs in the team's status. If a buyer is not found by then, he said, "One option would be to shut the team down." He declined to speculate on other options.