Dion Earl was so sure of his ability to raise a top arena soccer team. Six months ago at the Seattle Impact FC’s opening news conference, Earl expected to fill the 6,500-seat ShoWare Center.
Six months later, the Impact are faltering, dropping to last place in the Major Arena Soccer League’s Pacific Division at 3-10, with six games left in the regular season. Star player Gordy Gurson was traded to the St. Louis Ambush on Monday morning.
Attendance at home games has been in the double digits.
And now the Tacoma Stars are on the verge of buying the fledgling franchise. The MASL has vetted Stars owner Lane Smith and approved him for team ownership, with the transition “95 percent complete,” as of noon Wednesday, according to a news release.
Smith clarified that he won’t be taking over the tarnished Impact brand, but instead is acquiring the franchise rights from Earl so he can rebrand the Seattle/Tacoma area team as the Stars.
He said that he’s uncertain as to whether the team will continue to play at the ShoWare Center or relocate to Tacoma.
“Yet to be determined, we need a place to play. And currently with the Kent ShoWare, the venue’s fine,” Smith said.
He hesitantly ventured that ShoWare would provide a prime venue as is, and that the location is well suited.
“The infrastructure makes it very easy to trade out,” Smith said. “I’m from Tacoma, I love Tacoma,” he continued. “I hope people will understand and accept that. I hope Tacoma fans circle around the brand and drive up to Kent.”
If the deal is approved and made final, the Stars will continue the Impact’s lease at the ShoWare Center for the remainder of the season.
MASL Commissioner Kevin Milliken is aware of the sale, but declined to provide any concrete information until it is finalized.
“There’s been a lot of communication,” he said, “but I don’t like to announce stuff that isn’t final.”
According to Milliken, Earl has been attempting to sell the team for the past few months, but “this is the first time he’s ever had paperwork going back and forth.”
Earl and the Impact have toiled in trouble throughout its team’s first year of existence. Earl faces legal battles. Ex-employees, in a lawsuit, are accusing him of having sexually assaulted two women on the Impact’s now-defunct dance team.
The scathing lawsuit referred to Earl’s conduct as owner of the Impact as “despicable” and called him a “tyrant,” according to court documents.
A massive, 22-player walkout followed.
After the lawsuit targeting Earl, Milliken said he has stepped up the league’s background checks to make sure that Smith is properly vetted.
Milliken said that the sale of the team had less to do with the lawsuit than concerns about the abysmal attendance at games.
“The fans have spoken,” Milliken said, but he was still cautious about the sale, saying that there’s “no deal done until paperwork is completed.”
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