The World League of American Football should continue, but must improve both on the field and the balance sheet, Lamar Hunt, owner of the Kansas City Chiefs, said Saturday night.
"We want to find ways to improve," Hunt said at halftime of the World Bowl, the WLAF's championship game. Hunt heads the seven-member board of directors of the WLAF, which is owned jointly by the 28 National Football League teams.At a meeting earlier Saturday, five board members agreed that finding ways to resolve the league's financial troubles was a better option than folding.
"The owners want to see progress and the reality is, we've regressed financially," Hunt said. "Income-wise, we're below our targets.
American-based franchises have suffered at the gate because most players are unknown despite an NFL program under which WLAF teams are loaned second- and third-string NFL players. There was also a dropoff in interest overseas in London and Barcelona, although Frankfurt improved its gate.
"The feeling at the meeting was positive," Hunt said. "People want to find ways to correct the mistakes."