Report: Hartford City Could Fold Before Opener
- Updated: October 19, 2015
Photo credit: Hartford City FC
With one of its owners under recent legal scrutiny, it appears that pro indoor outfit Hartford City FC is in danger of folding before its first kick.
On Saturday, the lawyer for team president Mitch Anderson told the Hartford Courant that the likelihood of the MASL club staying afloat is “dismal” in light of the recent revelation of legal troubles surrounding co-owner James Duckett, Jr.
“As far as the soccer club is concerned, no official announcement but things do look dismal,” Anderson’s attorney William T. Gerace wrote in an email to The Courant.
A request for comment made by NESoccerToday.com on the report was not immediately returned. According to a source, players and coaches are still scheduled to participate in training on Monday.
Earlier this month, The Courant reported that Duckett had record of legal troubles, including a felony conviction for embezzlement. The newspaper also detailed that Duckett has also encountered a number of judgments against him for unpaid debts.
Duckett’s development company, Premier Sports, was hired by the City of Hartford for redevelopment work on Dillon Stadium. The stadium was slated to host Hartford City as an outdoor squad with the intent to position it as a potential NASL expansion side. But city officials subsequently hinted that Premier Sports had overbilled the city for its work on the project, and local authorities are now investigating the matter.
Duckett brushed off the allegations in a brief telephone conversation with The Courant on Saturday.
“You guys have a slant and a curve and a twist on how you want to put things on,” Duckett told the newspaper. “I’ve got too many other things I got going on.”
Last week, the club started selling its merchandise at 50 percent off, with the online store featuring a banner that read “CLOSEOUT SALE — EVERYTHING MUST GO — NO REFUNDS OR EXCHANGES, ALL SALES ARE FINAL.”
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