Mariners soccer franchise terminated by league; season canceled

A 2006 Mariners game at the Sportsplex. (Genevieve Ross/ The Virginian-Pilot file photo)

By Tris Wykes
The Virginian-Pilot

VIRGINIA BEACH - Susan Hoffman, the ticket and promotions manager for the Virginia Beach Mariners, paced the hallway outside her Sportsplex office around 9 a.m. Thursday.

"Given the last two weeks, it's amazing I haven't worn out this carpet," she said with a wry smile.

Nearby, goalkeeper Matt Nelson nervously nibbled at Hoffman's homemade gingerbread, while the cell phone of marketing and program director Cindy Focke rang constantly with calls from friends seeking updates.

Creating the tension was uncertainty over whether the Mariners would fold or be saved by the last-minute recruitment of new owners. The answer came at 9:30 a.m., and it wasn't what anyone had hoped.

The franchise, caught in the midst of an ownership squabble, had been terminated by the league.

Russell Hutchison, a former Mariners player and promotions director who has overseen recent operations, delivered the news in the team's locker room. One Mariner booted at a chair upon exiting and Focke drifted around the team's offices dabbing at her face with a damp, crumpled tissue.

"I'm sad because we worked so hard and we were ready to go," she said. "All the relationships we built in the community and all the training the players did... everything's been pulled away."

Norfolk businessman Jerry McDonnell and a Florida counterpart, Mike Sidebottom, are locked in a legal battle over whether one of Sidebottom's companies bought the Mariners from McDonnell in November. Neither man is willing to oversee the team or be financially responsible for it.

The Mariners were only a few weeks away from their April 13 opener in the First Division of the United Soccer Leagues. After the USL announced the termination of the team, the league distributed a letter to Virginia Beach players explaining the situation.

The USL stated that it was unable to find new owners and because of the season's imminent start, "We are left with no other option but to remove the (Mariners) from the schedule effective immediately.

"We are embarrassed and deeply regret that Virginia Beach Soccer, LLC, has discontinued its commitment to support this team and the agreements in place with players, staff, sponsors, ticket holders, the other (First Division) teams and the league."

Mariners players and staff haven't been paid for their March work. The letter informed them that the league has no financial obligations to them and can offer "no guarantees other than to work on your behalf as an advocate to collect this money."

Asked how that work might be undertaken, USL executive vice president Tim Holt declined comment. However, in an afternoon news release in which he described the team's folding as "a stunning development," he expressed the league's hope that it can return to Hampton Roads next year.

He said, though, that that wouldn't happen until the USL was " thoroughly convinced that the principals are firmly committed to owning and operating a soccer franchise for the long-term."

The team's demise means Mariners players are free agents, but spots on other rosters will likely be hard to find at this time of year.

Veteran defender Steve Danbusky announced his retirement moments after being told of the Mariners' fate. Fellow greybeards Greg Simmonds and Jeff Bilyk said they'll have to think hard about whether to keep playing.

"I can move on easily enough," Focke said. "But for the players, this is their life and profession. For them, this late in the game, what now?"

That question can also be applied to Mariners sponsors and season-ticket holders, who may have lost their investment with the club. Hutchison said funds taken in have been exhausted to run the club in the last month. Although the USL will try to help sponsors and ticketholders recoup that money, there are no guarantees.

Another question is what will happen to what Hutchison estimated to be $50,000 in new equipment and souvenir merchandise. There are also various debts the team has run up using local companies.

"There are a lot of outstanding bills that whoever's found to be the owner of the Mariners will be responsible for," Hutchison said. "That will be figured out in court over the next weeks and months."

Such wrangling is an aside to most Mariners' employees. Hutchison, Focke, Hoffman and Melissa Bryant, who had been working to overcome the problems created by previous ownership groups, are almost certainly out of work. The fate of the Virginia Beach Submariners, members of the USL's Premier Development League, should be decided within two weeks.

Should the USL grant Virginia Beach another team, it would be the sixth ownership change in South Hampton Roads pro soccer since the Hampton Roads Hurricanes debuted in 1994.

Nelson, a longtime Mariner, isn't sure a new club is likely to succeed.

"If you keep burning a bridge, no one's going to rebuild it after awhile," he said. "You think the next guy who comes in to run a team here is going to be able to successfully ask companies or fans for their support? Not a chance."

Said Bilyk: "When you first get down here, you think what a great place for a team. There are so many kids playing soccer and people involved in soccer that how can (pro soccer) fail here? But it continues to do so."

� Reach Tris Wykes at (757) 446-2367 or at tris.wykes@pilotonline.com