ALBANY — Owners and fans of the South Georgia Wildcats arena2 football team will have to wait until 10 p.m. today to find out if their team will remain in Albany for another season.
The Albany City Commission, at the urging of City Attorney Nathan Davis, voted to hold off on a vote that would have extended the arena league team’s contract with the city for another year so that Davis could draw up a proposal for commissioners to look at.
“With all due respect, I would be very uncomfortable binding this body to a contract made orally,” Davis said. “We need a written document so that all commissioners and the owners of the Wildcats can look at it and make sure what we’ve said here tonight is what everyone is agreeing to.
“I feel as city attorney I have a duty to prepare a document for everyone to agree on, not to rely on minutes taken at the meeting.”
Commissioners had originally agreed to hold a special called meeting Friday — the day that Wildcats officials had said they must report to the arena2 league office if they will be in Albany next year — to discuss the matter, but team attorney Dave Orlowski said the Wildcats would need an answer by today.
The commission then agreed to meet at 10 a.m. today, but someone pointed out that a 24-hour notice to media outlets was required by ordinance. The commission then agreed to hold the special called meeting at 10 p.m.
Team officials had submitted a five-year proposal for commissioners to consider, but at a prebriefing, it became obvious that that was not going to fly.
“I’m not prepared to vote on anything for five years,” Commissioner Tommie Postell said. “You’re asking us to consider a five-year commitment on three days’ notice. I’m not going to do that.”
Other commissioners echoed Postell’s sentiments, and Wildcats officials said the five-year deal is what they thought city officials wanted.
“I think the biggest misunderstanding came from what the city thought we were trying to commit to and what we wanted them to commit to,” South Georgia General Manager Darren McPhail said after the meeting. “That’s why (co-owner) Silvio (Fazzini) came out, because he wanted to show that we were committed to being here for the next five year.
“Ultimately, it looks like our timing was bad because not everyone was on the same page. Now it looks like instead of a new, five-year contract, which is what we hoped for, we’re going to just scribble something on the old contract, sign it, and come back next year to hash it out.”
Fazzini said he could sell the one-year deal to the team ownership.
“We want to be here for the next five years,” he said, “but if they only want to do a deal for a year, we’re fine with that.”
Commissioners had skirted around the edges of a deal in the prebriefing, Mayor Willie Adams telling Wildcats officials, “Understand, we love you guys, and we want you here. But we also have a fiduciary responsibility to the taxpayers of Albany.”
In addressing the Wildcats’ requests, Davis noted that the team was asking for additional concessions on a “sweetheart deal.” Those concessions included use of the arena rent- free, the purchase of 500 tickets by the city for each home game and a $10,000 sponsorship of one home game, plus the elimination of some $32,000 in debt the team has incurred since it started playing here four years ago.
Davis suggested that the city instead look into signing a contract “befitting a $30 million facility.”
Commissioner Bob Langstaff, who said that he supported keeping the Wildcats in Albany with certain provisions involving concession sales, responded, “A $30 million facility that sits empty is not worth anything.”
Commissioner Roger Marietta, who said issues like control of concessions, control of signage money, a team audit, part ownership of the team by the city and the protection of city interests were items that needed to be addressed before a contract is signed.
“And, I must say that I resent the threat that the team would move if we don’t agree to their contract requests,” Marietta said.
Asked if there was a measure of bluffing involved with the implied threat of the team’s original proposal, Orlowski said, “There is no bluffing involved here (as it applies to the five-year deal). If they would have agreed to the deal (Tuesday night), we would’ve signed it.
“One year or five years, the owners are fine either way. They’re committed to staying.”
During the business meeting that followed the prebriefing, Postell offered a motion to accept a one-year deal, and Langstaff followed with “friendly amendments” to the motion that addressed the concessions and city-purchased tickets issues before Davis objected to such a move.
The motion was later withdrawn, and commissioners agreed to reconvene tonight to vote on the matter.