N.A.S.L. STUDYING FATE OF TEAMS (Published 1981)
- ️Tue Aug 18 1981
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- Aug. 18, 1981
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The board of directors of the financially troubled North American Soccer League opened a two-day meeting in Chicago yesterday to discuss, among other matters, the status of the Washington Diplomats and the fate of several other franchises.
The Diplomats, a debt-ridden club that has been unsuccessfully seeking a buyer for months, barely met the player payroll last week and asked the front-office staff to defer a week's salary. Sources close to the team now say that it may fold within a week if no buyer is found. A month ago the asking price was $3 million; now it has reportedly dropped to $2 million.
The Diplomats are owned by Duncan Hill and his father, Jimmy, who are English sports promoters, and by Gary Lemmen, a businessman in Detroit, where the franchise operated last year as the Express. Duncan Hill, who acts as general manager, said in a recent interview that the owners moved the team to Washington during the offseason in the hope that new investors could be found.
''We've lost all the family money,'' Hill said. ''All we have left is our home,'' he said, referring to the family's residence in London.
The Diplomats are in the running for a playoff spot, and Duncan Hill said on Sunday that money would be found to carry the team through the playoffs if it qualifies. Six of the final 16 playoff spots will be decided tomorrow, the last day of the regular season.
After arriving in Chicago to attend the league directors' meeting, Hill said that, if no buyer was found, there was still the possibility of a merger with another franchise. No Profit