Franchise Has Roster of Problems From Top to Bottom

The easiest way to explain the Piranhas’ financial woes would be to blame their on-field performance this season.

At 2-12, the Piranhas tied Portland and New York for the Arena Football League’s worst record. Although they were competitive nearly every week, the Piranhas found ways to give away games in the second half. Among them were costly penalties, mental mistakes, dropped passes, turnovers and inconsistent play from the quarterback position, which was shared by five players.

But the Piranhas’ real problems run much deeper than a missed block or a shanked field-goal attempt, and they began long before the 1997 season-opening, last-second 33-32 loss to New Jersey at the Pond.

Season-ticket sales were down more than 1,000 from last year’s total of 3,400. The 1997 exhibition opener against Texas drew an announced crowd of 9,107, compared to 15,907 for the Piranhas’ debut game last year. Coming off a 1996 playoff season, a 2-0 exhibition slate in 1997 and a coaching change, the Piranhas announced a crowd of 10,582 for the May 3 opener with New Jersey. A quick glance around the Pond, which holds 17,000 for AFL games, showed that the building was barely a third full for the New Jersey game and the other six home games.

“I read somewhere that somebody said most of our problems were tied to the team’s record,” first-year Coach Mike Hohensee said. “Well, that’s just not true. I think very little of it had to do with how the team played.

“I know what happened with the football team. I don’t know what happened up there [in the front office]. But that’s a situation that needs to be rectified.”

Minority owner Craig Johnson admits he and majority owners Robert Zinngrabe and Dave Wilson weren’t able to devote as much time as they would have liked to the daily club operations. Johnson said the front office will undergo a major shake-up. He said the heads of marketing, tickets, sales and corporate sponsorship are being replaced.

Johnson said senior vice president Roy Englebrecht, player personnel director Ian Welsh and public relations director Kurt Van Fossen are employed through Nov. 15, but he wouldn’t comment on their future beyond that. Johnson said Hohensee’s job is secure.

“We’re looking at a professional management group to run this team,” Johnson said. “Not for the money they can bring in, but for the management they can provide. We’re looking for a change.”

Johnson said Zinngrabe was busy running the Delma Corp. and Wilson devoted most of his time to his Ford dealership. Last year, majority owner David Baker was a hands-on owner, but Baker was elected the league’s commissioner in the off-season.

What if the current ownership group cannot find a professional management group to take over daily operations?

“We’re still committed to playing next year,” Johnson said. “Our goal is to have something done by the end of August.”

Why have the owners kept players, front-office employees and fans in the dark for so long?

“How do you tell someone they are not needed anymore?” Johnson said. “We didn’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings.”

Whoever takes over leadership of the Piranhas has a lot of work to do, Johnson said.

“We’re go to try and emulate what the successful teams have done in this league,” he said. “We didn’t do that this year because we didn’t have the people in place that could carry those things out.”

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Hohensee has a suggestion or two for the new leadership.

“When the pregame show doesn’t change an iota in two years, that’s pretty bad,” he said. “Harleys every week gets pretty old. To get more fans in the stands, I’d charge every high school football player in the area five bucks a game. That way, you build a following and get people to identify with some of these players.”

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Some other suggestions:

--Decide who your audience is. If it’s families, as you originally stated last year, then lower your ticket prices so a family of four can afford to attend a game. The $40 tickets that surrounded much of the Pond’s lower level will break the monthly entertainment budgets of most families of four. By the time a family of four pays for parking, food and drinks, they have spent more than $200 at a game.

--Change the music. If you’re gearing your product to families, then play more family-oriented music. With the current music selection, most Piranha games sound like Def Leppard or Motley Crue concerts.

--Show more faith in the game. Granted the field’s a little small and the rules are a little odd, but the game itself isn’t all that bad. In fact, with all the touchdowns and balls flying off the end zone nets, the game is often more exciting than your average NFL game. So turn down the music and cut out the pregame fireworks.

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Johnson maintains that the Piranhas are turning the corner financially. He said the team didn’t lose nearly as much money as it did last year because its costs were lower this year. “We actually had more paid fans this year and we didn’t spend nearly as much on marketing,” Johnson said. “We’re looking forward to making a modest profit next year.”