Event Date: November 1st, 1985
Event Description: USFL Fall Meetings
Source: Associated Press
The announcement came during a meeting at which USFL owners laid strategy for moving from a spring to a fall schedule. The league has lost almost $100 million in three years of operation.
“These nine (franchises) are very strong, very secure teams,” Usher said. “We now have strong, very popular teams. Frankly, all systems are go.”
Usher did not rule out the possibility that some of the teams now dropped from the league's plans could still play in 1986, provided they proved financially secure.
But by the conclusion of the two-day meeting Friday, only nine teams had provided letters of credit and other information that satisfied the league's financial requirements.
Usher also announced that the Denver Gold franchise would move to Portland, Oregon, where they would be renamed 'with fan input.'
Holding franchises under the current plan are: New Jersey, Baltimore, Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa, Birmingham, Memphis, Phoenix and Portland. Dropped from plans for the 1986 season were Los Angeles, Oakland, Houston, and San Antonio.
The Los Angeles Express, Usher said, "is somewhere between terminal and moribund."
Usher said a league composed of an even number of teams would be desirable, but "we can equally manage with an odd number."
He also said the USFL had an excellent chance of winning its anti-trust suit against the National Football League. The USFL contends that the NFL holds a monopoly over the three major television networks.
Usher said that while the USFL has access to ESPN and other cable programming, the advertising dollars there are a fraction of those available in a contract with the three networks -- ABC, NBC and CBS.
The opening day of the USFL season -- Labor Day -- will coincide with the NFL's season opener. The championship game will be held in Jacksonville. Season tickets will go on sale soon, Usher said.
The Gold, owned by Colorado automobile dealer Doug Spedding, has been looking for a new home for the club coached by Darrel 'Mouse' Davis. Club officials sought the move because of the difficulty in competing with the NFL Denver Broncos.
The Portland Breakers lost all their players to free agent status in August after failing to meet the payroll for the last four games of the season.
The USFL Players Association then sued Breakers Owner Joe Canizaro and the league for $1.2 million. Canizaro, a New Orleans real estate developer, was unsuccessful in raising $5 million from Portland investors to pay off team debts and fund the franchise for another season.
more to come......
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