'85 Chronology-Fire Sale

Event Date: July 31st, 1985

Event Description: Scarfone Buys Bandits

Source: UPI

Beating the clock by minutes, a group of investors breathed life into the Tampa Bay Bandits by paying off players and agreeing to buy the franchise and support the team in Tampa for the 1986 USFL season.

Architect Lee Scarfone, a Bandits limited partner for three years, is head of the group that Tuesday deposited between $250,000 and $300,000 in a bank, which insures players will receive back pay for their final game of the recently concluded 1985 season.

General Manager Ralph Campbell said the deposit was made minutes before a 4 p.m. deadline, which is when the players would have become free agents.

Lawyers from Scarfone's group and John Bassett Enterprises had to approve documents before agreement was reached on the 30-day option to purchase the franchise.

“I had hoped to make all of this happen a week ago,” said Scarfone, who bought a portion of Bassett's interest in the team. “But it's like marriage: If you used advisers, you'd never get married.”

Bassett, who was the Bandits' managing general partner for three seasons, is in Toronto for treatment of two brain tumors.

Scarfone is now managing general partner. He said Campbell, other high ranking team executives and the coaching staff will be retained. “I'm really more at their disposal than they are at mine,” Scarfone said.

Campbell said the purchase agreement by Scarfone's group meant the Bandits had “overcome the first hurdle to keep the franchise in Tampa. An option is when you buy the right to buy something,” Campbell said. “The final purchase is not consummated. We will be working on it. We'd like to think we can conclude that by the end of August.”

Story-(UPI Modified)