Predators welcome Local Investors

Tuesday November 18, 2003

by Dan Pearson, OrlandoPredators.com

ORLANDO, Fla. -- After a wait of nearly seven years, prominent local ownership is once again a part of the Orlando Predators.

Managing member and team president Brett Bouchy announced today a list of local individuals that have purchased a percentage of the team. Bouchy, along with Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, introduced the new ownership group at a press conference at City Hall.

“Since purchasing the team from the publicly traded company in February, we have actively sought local ownership and involvement in the team,” Bouchy said. “We believe it is critical to the success of our franchise to have local investment. We want the Orlando community to feel that it’s their team.”

The Predators have had a long history of local involvement. Purchased as an Arena Football League expansion team in 1991, the original ownership was a group of 26 local investors headed by former New York Mets manager and Winter Park resident Davey Johnson and included prominent healthcare entrepreneurs Donald R. Dizney and James E. English, who later acquired Johnson’s controlling interest.

After the 1996 season, the Predators were bought by an Arizona group headed by Phoenix businessman Will Meris. Over the next two years, the team was transformed into a publicly traded company (Orlando Predators Entertainment, NASDAQ-PRED). It acquired additional shares of the Arena Football League and purchased several “af2” and minor league hockey franchises.

Just prior to the 2003 season, the team changed hands once again when OPE sold the team to a group led by Bouchy. While the team enjoyed unprecedented success on the field (seven straight trips to the playoffs, three ArenaBowl appearances and two world championships) during the past seven years, Bouchy believed it was still imperative to return to the days of local ownership.

“This list of new owners represents a fairly impressive cross section of Orlando’s most important business leaders,” Bouchy said. “There is no question that their involvement will provide the team with additional marketing, promotional and community opportunities.”

Bouchy said the contributions of the group would not stop with their monetary investment. “These men and women are extremely successful because they know business and they know the Orlando community. We are going to rely on their expertise when it comes to making decisions on the Orlando Predators.”

The new ownership group includes:

Stephen DeLuca
Founder, sole owner and president of Delco Oil, Inc., distributors of Texaco, Shell, Valero, Marathon and Sunoco bulk lubricants, wholesale and retail fuel products in Central Florida. DeLuca was an investor in the Predators from 1992-97.

Peter DiPasqua Jr.
Peter DiPasqua is the owner of DiPasqua Enterprises, a $30 million company that consists of 64 Subway restaurants and more than 500 employees.

Harvey Finkle
Florida optician and owner of Winter Park Eyewear. Finkle is a long-time Predators sponsor and season ticket holder.

Robert Gries
President of Sports Funding, Inc. and well-known Tampa Bay businessman. Gries was the founding owner of the Tampa Bay Storm of the Arena Football League. Gries represented his family’s ownership interest on the Board of the Cleveland Browns, an involvement in professional football that began in 1936.

Bob Hersch
President and Owner of United First Financial Corporation, a securities firm that specializing in institutional investment.

Ron Howse
Ron Howse is the owner, President and Director of Ron Howse, PA, a civil engineering and development company located in Kissimmee.

Bill Louche
A Windermere, Fla. resident, Bill Louche is a well known contractor.

Mike McBath
A former NFL player and founding general partner of the Orlando Predators, Mike McBath is Senior Vice President of Investments for Paine Webber.

Mike McHale
A long-time area physician, Mike McHale is Vice President of Emergency Physician Specialists. He also is a partner in the Montecristo Club at the TD Waterhouse Centre.

Pat McHale
Vice President, Worldwide Support Services at MRO Software. Currently sits on Board of Directors for Utopia Provider Services, a private health care service provider in Orlando.

Michael O’Quinn
Prominent downtown attorney, Michael O’Quinn is a partner with Fowler & O’ Quinn, P.A. US Representative Tom Feeney was a also a partner in the firm until his election to congress. The firm represents a number of local municipalities.

Lou Pearlman
Lou Pearlman is a diverse investor best known as the entertainment giant who founded and promoted The Backstreet Boys and N’Sync. Mr. Pearlman also owns a downtown restaurant and recently joined development efforts at Church Street Station.

Ron Schwartz
Ron Schwartz is a self-employed real estate developer and investor. He is CEO of Demetree Builders, Inc.

Gregg Wasserman
Gregg Wasserman is owner of Horizon Homes of Central Florida, a residential and commercial builder.

Lena Wasserman
Lena Wasserman is the owner of Community State Mortgage Corp., a licensed mortgage lender.

WEP, LLC
Partnership that includes Steve Kropp, E. Joseph McKinney, Thomas Lawler, Eric Peisner, and Warren Williams, Kropp, McKinney and Lawler are all partners in LCA Associates, an apartment complex development company in Central Florida. Peisner is Chief Financial Officer for LCA. Williams is a prominent real estate attorney with substantial downtown investment holdings.

John Williams
John Williams is the Chief Executive Office of Wayne Densch, Inc., the distributor of Budweiser and other Anheuser-Busch products in portions of Orange and Seminole counties. Williams sits on Board of Directors of several companies and organizations, including Central Florida Zoo and Wayne Densch Charities. Williams is chairman-elect of Sanford/Seminole County Chamber of Commerce.