Steamwheelers Sold - Enter New Era
Gary Stibolt
Thursday September 28, 2006
Just a year ago, an investment group, led by Larry Bush, assumed majority ownership of the team relieving former majority owner, Jim Foster, of the controls. From a business perspective, several things improved under the leadership of Larry Bush. That growth and restructure last year proved to have made a positive impact on the decisions announced Wednesday.
Under the ownership restructure a year ago, Jim Foster was a minority owner in the team along with several of his initial key investors. Under the new ownership agreement, Jim Foster and his original investors have resolved their financial interest and are no longer involved in any capacity with the team. In their announcement, the Steamwheelers have completed the sale of their af2 franchise to a new local ownership group headed up by Mike Bawden of Bawden & Lareau Public Relations thus transferring 100% controlling interest in the team. McCarthy-Bush, led by Larry Bush, and Mike Whalen (Heart of America) have also sold their financial interest in the team.
This marks a new era in Steamwheelers football. Quad City had remained the only inaugural af2 team with the same original ownership group in tact up until now.
Three weeks ago, the Macon Knights (Georgia) unexpectedly announced that they were ceasing operations altogether in the af2. Combine that with the fact that this is the second ownership change for the Steamwheelers in as many years and it shows how volatile owning an Arena Football team can be. Without the restructuring by Larry Bush this past year and the entry of this new ownership group, the Steamwheelers would have likely suspended operations for the 2007 season.
The conditions in this market have changed since 2000, when the team was first introduced to the Quad Cities. The environment in which to own and operate an arenafootball2 team has also evolved. The new ownership group gives the team new life and forms a solid financial foundation in which to move forward while keeping some of its strengths intact.
"There are new business considerations for owners and operators of af2 franchises," explained, Mike Bawden. "I don't think we could have existed under the old structure. We feel we have a business plan that we'll be able to implement over the course of the next few years with our ultimate goal of being a community-based ownership group for the team."
Under the new ownership structure, McCarthy-Bush will remain a vital part of the team’s management group through other contractual arrangements. Larry Bush will reduce his role in daily operations but remain the teams CFO and CEO and manage the team from a financial perspective under the agreement. Mike Bawden, the new owner, will assume the role of overseeing day-to-day operations for the most part. Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Shawn Brown, will see his role increase in the team's management structure and is expected to be named the team's General Manager in the days ahead and assist Mike Bawden with those day-to-day decisions.
The team ran with a small front office last year and the only announced change so far is that Jim Foster will no longer work for the team. Shawn Brown will oversee corporate sales accounts that were previously managed by Foster and assist in building the front office team.
One of his first formal decisions that the new owners dealt with once the ownership change was finalized was the official signing of the Steamwheelers new head coach. While Larry Bush led the search effort for a new head coach under the former ownership regime, the new owners were also involved and a formal offer could not have been made until the ownership transfer was completed.
The Steamwheelers have hired Sean Ponder as the teams new head coach and in almost the same breath, all but announced that Troy Biladeau has been contacted to be the assistant head coach and defensive coordinator.
Fans obviously remember coach Ponders high-powered offense from last years team despite their first losing record in team history. Many fans may also remember Troy Biladeau as an assistant coach under Frank Haege in 2001. Since his last time in the Quad Cities, Biladeau has gone on to create and run defenses that have consistently been in the top five in the af2. Many fans may not realize however, that it was Biladeau's defense that won the coveted ArenaCup Championship this past August in San Juan, Puerto Rico while coaching for the Spokane Shock.
"Having coach Ponder and coach Biladeau lead our team in 2007 is the perfect situation for the Steamwheelers family," stated Larry Bush. "The fans know what these two coaches can do, they've seen them both in action, and their successes - coming together - using their own system and style of coaching, generates a lot of positive energy that we've been looking for since winning our last championship."
So the Steamwheelers indeed enter a new era of arenafootball2. After much hard work, we now have the type of ownership group that is right for the Quad City community and we have the right coaches in place to carry the work and excitement forward into the 2007 season to compete for and win an af2 championship.
"We have fantastic fans and they deserve to have the type of Arena Football that will win championships," explained Bawden. "Our fan club does amazing things to support one another, our players, and the organization as a whole. We feel with what we have put in place for them, and the team that coach Ponder and coach Biladeau will put on the field, more fans will want join our teams' fan club and be a part of the new Steamwheelers experience."
As a football enthusiast and a big fan of the Steamwheelers, Mike Bawden now finds himself in new territory and wants to approach the management of the team with the fans in mind. "We want their input as to what they want their Steamwheelers to be," stated Bawden. Bawden’s ownership group is in the process of finalizing their business plan and will work with the fan club to write a new business plan for them as well. "There are strengths that our fan club has to offer and we want to harness their energy and make them more involved in our overall processes. There is a lot they can do for us and there is a lot we can do for them. The end result will be a much better Steamwheelers experience for all of our fans and the community."
There are a lot of questions that come from an announcement such as this. Questions like, what will change at the games? Who is going to be working in the front office? Are season tickets going to be managed better? What is Jim Foster going to do? And so on. We’ll find out in the days and weeks ahead. Mike Bawden plans to hold various fan functions to gain their thoughts and perspectives as well as answer questions.
Life of pro football in the Quad Cities without Jim Foster is a new era and as a fan, I appreciate his efforts in bringing football to the Quad Cities again. Some may remember the Quad City Mohawks and the Quad City Blackhawks. Some may recall the Rock Island Independents as well. Football has taken on new life once again and we are fortunate to still have it here in the Quad Cities.
Gary Stibolt has covered the Quad City Steamwheelers since their 2000 inaugural season. He also owns, operates and is the Chief Editor/Publisher of SteamwheelerFans.com, a website dedicated to the Steamwheelers and their fans. He coresponds for other media outlets covering arenafootball2. In addition to leading the Steamwheelers Fan Club, Gary serves as Coordinator of the National af2 Fan Club. He is married with two sons and works as an Infrastructure Analyst for Deere & Company in their Corporate Computer Center in Moline, Illinois.