West Virginia Roughriders owner Gregg Fornario started making semi-cryptic Tweets back in early July surrounding the team.
“Hmmmm up thinking of the next move … Sometimes holding on to long depreciates the worth of today. ‘A wiseman can be a fool, but a fool can not be a Wiseman.’ #Moneymoves #Donotlookback.”
A week later, he offered one slight less cryptic.
“A wise man once said ‘SELL’ when you’re on the top. Cause the value of today is never guaranteed tomorrow. #Roughriders.”
If the writing wasn’t already on the Twitter wall, it certainly is now. Fornario posted on Aug. 24 that he is entertaining offers for the team and for those with serious interest to contact him at gregg@westvirginiaroughriders.com
But this isn’t a decision Fornario arrived at without much though, or even recently.
Back after the Roughriders defeated Carolina 55-29 in the 2019 AAL championship game, the thought to capitalize immediately crossed his mind.
“Once we won the championship, the conversation came up a week after. Should we put it up for sale now,” Fornario said. “But we didn’t and decided to come back for another year, gamble to speak, to see if we could do really well for the 2020 season and win another championship.”
Initially it looked like a solid plan. The team joined the National Arena League. It was set to host the kickoff event against Jacksonville—in Wheeling no less—pitting the 2019 NAL champs against the AAL champs and newcomers to the league.
Fan interest was certainly riding high. And then, as in all things that start with promise and end in disappointment recently … COVID.
Long-Term Ownership Never the Plan
Fornario explained that in late 2016, he told himself that in 3-5 years, if he could build a pretty good brand, he’d put it up for sale and entertain offers.
He felt plan made better sense than holding onto it for 7-10 years, then trying to sell after the shine and interest had started to fade.
The pandemic, the cancellation of the 2020 season and the uncertainty surrounding the 2021 season certainly altered his timetable.
“I’ve seen too many teams stick around, 7-10 years, and then try to sale and you just can’t sell it,” Fornario said. “With this COVID going on, we’re still into our fourth year and I figured maybe this was the best time to see what kind of offers are out there. There are new teams popping up in different leagues, so there is still interest in putting teams out there.”
And there’s interest in the Roughriders, at least initial.
Fornario didn’t go public with the sale plans until this week, but he’s already been in discussion with a couple of people, different ownership groups, that already own teams that may be interested in buying another.
“I’m not sure how serious it is yes. It’s going back and forth,” he said.
One thing he is nearly sure on is whichever group does take ownership, they’ll want to keep the team in Wheeling. To move it would be financial folly.
“The way I look at it, no one will buy an arena team and relocate it, that makes zero sense,” Fornario said. “You’re paying for what’s going on in the town, the fan base, the social media following. This team has over 12,000 followers combined on its social media platforms and if you move the team, that disappears immediately.”
No Guarantees
Fornario admits that’s not exactly a guarantee.
Any new ownership group is free to move the team if it so chooses. But his immediate question would be why.
“They buy the team; they can do what they want with it. But it would make zero sense for anybody to buy a team just to relocate it,” Fornario said.
This is especially notable given the team’s current location.
The Roughriders were just as successful in Richmond as they have been in Wheeling—on the field.
On the balance sheet, Wheeling has been far better to the organization.
“Our first two years in Richmond was not nearly as easy and profitable as it was just for that one year here,” Fornario said. “Wheeling was a better fit for arena football than other, bigger cities. It’s a much better experience.”
It’s also one the current owner may not entirely be done with.
“If there was a buyer and say they wanted me to stay on as a consultant, I’d plan on that doing it. I’d actually encourage that,” Fornario said. “My knowledge of the sport, the does and don’ts, could be a big help.”
Fornario knows the game. In addition to his ownership experience,he knows people, and how to bring in the right mix of people to field a successful franchise.
He has training and extensive experience as a sports agent and advisor, doing a considerable amount of work with the Canadian Football League and its players.
Most of the guys I represented are in the CFL,” Fornario said. “I still have my certificate for the CFL, I just haven’t been an active now as I had been.
“And of course, they canceled their season too, so they don’t know what’s going on for the next year either.”
