Edmonton Aviators has returned its franchise

Adjust font size:

Canada-based US A-League club Edmonton Aviators has returned its franchise back to the United Soccer Leagues (USL), after it failed to meet revenue expectations for the three months it has existed. The club’s ownership group, Edmonton Professional Soccer (EPSL) Ltd has admitted the business plan, put in place at the start of the franchise, was based on a predicted average of 11,000 for the team’s home games, despite a league average of just 3,000. Although ticket sales nearer the league average the business plan was seriously flawed. The EPSL have paid more than $ 250,000 US for the franchise and suffer large operating losses. The club’s 19-person ownership refused to provide immediate cash injection to keep both the men and women’s teams afloat, and decided to see the franchise fold. The Club will fulfill its final league fixtures after the USL agreed to run the franchise until new ownership is found. Under this arrangement, the club’s players agreed to receive only 50% of the salaries they had negotiated with ESPL. The much-reduced pay offer granted that every player had become a free agent on the collapse of the EPSL franchise, but only three players chose to leave the club. Dave Askinas, chief operating officer of USL has admitted that he has received interest from parties in a US city, interested in buying the franchise.