Owners of the Thunder have earned our thanks

For three seasons, residents of this region were treated to great family entertainment with the flash and frenzy of the Mahoning Valley Thunder, an arena football team that played in the Covelli Centre, formerly the Chevrolet Centre, in downtown Youngstown. It was a new experience for this sports-crazed area, but the owners of the team, all with deep roots in the Valley, were willing to take a chance.

Dr. Jon Saadey, Dr. Michael Slyk and Tim Chesney put up hundreds of thousands of dollars for the new af2 arena football franchise, the city of Youngstown, led by Mayor Jay Williams, paved the way for the Thunder to pay in the city-owned sports and entertainment complex, and the media were unstinting in their support of the inaugural season in 2007 that begin at the end of March and concluded the end of July.

On March 31, 2007, we published an editorial with the headline, “Sound of Thunder today is music to region’s ears.” The piece, which acknowledged the commitment of the team owners and city government, included this line: “Now, it’s the community’s turn.”

After a successful first year, it seemed the Valley had struck gold. With a record of 7 wins and 9 losses, residents felt the team would get better in the second year.

But in 2008, the Thunder went 3-13 and the fans were getting restless. The national economic recession did not help matters.

And yet, Saadey, Slyk and Chesney remained committed to keeping the team intact. It was a daunting challenge, but they felt an obligation to Valley.

This year, however, with the region reeling from the economic turmoil that had gripped the state and nation, attendance suffered. The season record of 2-14 turned believers into doubters.

The announcement Wednesday by Saadey that the Mahoning Valley Thunder has ceased to exist did not come as a surprise — but it was disappointing, nonetheless.

‘Class organization’

Saadey was not exaggerating nor patting himself and his partners on the back when he said, “We put together a class organization. If you talk to the players around the league and the coaches, we really put together a class organization, What we did not do, successfully, is win. Unfortunately, you have to win in this town.”

He also conceded that the lack of experience on the part of the owners could have contributed to the problems that plagued the Thunder.

Be that as it may, residents of the Mahoning Valley owe Saadey, Slyk and Chesney a sincere thank-you for providing such wholesome family entertainment that for three seasons allowed us to be a part of something different and, yes, enjoyable.

The demise of the team has a greater implication, namely, the impact on the Covelli Centre’s financial viability. The Thunder was important because the team had a three-year contract with the arena, which meant management could depend on certain dates between March and July being filled.

City government, along with arena director Eric Ryan and his staff, will have to go back to the drawing board to determine how the facility will make up the loss of revenue.

The reality facing the decision-makers was summed up by Ryan in response to the Thunder’s demise:

“There’s only so much corporate and sponsorship dollars out there. A lot of people are pulling back, so we need to be careful where it’s too much for the market to bear. From an arena standpoint, we’ll try to book some dates in the spots the Thunder had and we’ll be fine.”

We hope so. The fiscally challenged city government cannot afford to pump any money into the arena’s operation. It is still carrying a $12 million debt obligation related to the construction of the facility.