Outlaws hit by issues on and off field in first year in Las Vegas

These are troubled times for the Las Vegas Outlaws.

The Arena Football League expansion team is suffering from growing pains on and off the field. The ownership group is reorganizing, as the business side of the operation has failed to measure up, while on the field, the Outlaws are in the throes of a four-game losing streak entering today’s contest against the Cleveland Gladiators at 2 p.m. at The Thomas & Mack Center.

There were rumors that the team was on the verge of suspending operations. But co-owner and general manager Bob Hewko said that wasn’t the case.

“Absolutely not,” Hewko said as he and co-owners Vince Neil and Mark Daniels were in the process of buying out co-owner Sohrob Farudi. “It’s an adjustment in the ownership group, and we are in this for the long haul.”

The team is struggling to attract fans. According to figures from Thomas & Mack, the Outlaws’ turnstile count for their first four games was 15,891, an average of 3,973.

For their last home game May 23 against Spokane, the actual attendance was 2,280. Attendance has diminished with each home game.

Hewko said word of the time change from the evening to the afternoon was not handled as well as it should have been and was a contributing factor to the paltry crowd for the Outlaws-Shock game.

Farudi was overseeing the team’s business operations as well as its marketing and promotion efforts, according to Hewko. But things were not getting done, and some employees reportedly hadn’t been paid, and money is owed to some vendors, including T&M.

“Vince isn’t happy, and neither am I,” Hewko said. “We’ve got to get the business side straightened out.”

Hewko said the players and coaches have been receiving their paychecks. On Friday, a team source who wished to remain anonymous said the other employees were expected to get paid soon and the outstanding bills will be paid.

Attempts to reach Farudi were unsuccessful. AFL Commissioner Scott Butera did not return phone calls or email seeking comment on the Outlaws’ ownership situation.

Ironically, the Outlaws’ opponent today is the last team to try to make arena football work in Las Vegas. The Gladiators played at T&M and Orleans Arena from 2003 to 2007 before relocating to Cleveland.

The Gladiators, who are 5-5 and in second place in the Eastern Division, are among the AFL’s top draws, averaging 11,313 per game.

With his team 3-6 and the second half of the AFL season about to begin, Outlaws coach Aaron Garcia said the challenge is to get things turned around on the field.

“They’re definitely hanging in there, but there’s a lot of things going on around here right now, top to bottom, and it’s a distraction, no question,” he said of the off-field issues. “But we have to focus on Cleveland. We’ve played well at times during this stretch, but we’re still trying to play that complete game.

“Obviously, winning cures a lot of things, but there’s a lot of other things that need to be fixed around here for us to be successful.”

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.