"Without a viable arena partnership we simply felt we would not be able to do things properly and we would not be able to rebuild the franchise." In a release, the NLL said Vancouver has been removed from the schedule and a dispersal draft of Raven players will be held Wednesday. The NLL will continue to play with 10 teams, including franchises in Toronto and Calgary.
Mayenknecht wouldn't rule out some reincarnation of the Ravens returning for the 2006 season. "There has to be the right conditions in place," he said. "There has to be financial stability. There needs to be consistent marketing over a three-to-five-year period to really build his franchise. With those conditions in place I believe Vancouver would be very successful as a NLL franchise."

Last Tuesday the NLL gave Mayenknecht five business days to provide "certain financial assurances" that the team could survive. In three full years of operations the Ravens have accumulated debts of over $1.5 million and became an orphan no one wanted to own. Hovering near extinction, the club missed payrolls and the playoffs last spring.
The Ravens spent their first three seasons at GM Place, home of the NHL Vancouver Canucks. Attendance dropped from 10,211 the first year to 8,333 the second. Last year the average crowd was 7,124, leaving the Ravens seventh in attendance in the league. The Ravens were entering their fourth season of operation.

Mayenknecht, who has spent his own money trying to keep the team alive, attempted to convince Orca Bay Sports and Entertainment, owners of the Canucks, to buy a stake in the club.
When that failed, he tried to reach an agreement with the Pacific Coliseum - home of the Western Hockey League's Vancouver Giants - for the Ravens to play their eight home games.
The Ravens have struggled with ownership problems since the team's birth. Mayenknecht, David Stadnyk, former owner of the Vancouver Whitecaps A-League soccer team, and local businessman Bob Smart were unveiled as the Ravens owners back in April of 2001.

Stadnyk pulled out before the team's first season and Mayenknecht talked former NHL defenceman Paul Reinhart into bankrolling the team. Citing losses of over $1 million, Reinhart handed the team back to the NLL in February of 2003. The team limped through the 2004 season, staying alive because of various bridge financing and Mayenknecht again was forced to find an owner. There was a bright spot last April when Raj Kalra and Atlanta-based Partners Group 1 signed a letter of intent to purchase the team, but that group has disappeared like the warm summer days. "The interruption to seamless committed ownership, that made it difficult for th franchise," explained Mayenknecht.

The defending National Lacrosse League champions made the best out of the Vancouver Raven's demise. Calgary Roughnecks took advantage as the team ceased operations Tuesday night inking a pair of high-profile former Blackbirds to one-year contracts. Forward Chris Gill and defenceman Andy Ogilvie. Ogilvie played with the Ravens last season and were unrestricted free agents who had committed to play in Vancouver for 2005 Forward Craig Conn, a native of St. Catharines, Ont., was taken first overall by the Minnesota Swarm. Conn, 21, had 19 goals and 20 assists in 13 games with Vancouver last year, his first in the NLL. He was named to the league's all-rookie team. Buffalo Bandits took 34-year-old forward Curt Malawsky. The 6-foot-1, 175-pound Malawsky, in his eighth pro season, has 157 goals and 327 points in 84 career games. A total of 19 Ravens players were selected in the draft, which went two rounds. Calgary forfeited its first-round pick to sign unrestricted free agent Andy Ogilvie.

The league will announce a revised schedule soon, really the question is, what will Vancouver do without Lacrosse AND Hockey? Truth be told, this would seem opportune for an MLL Lacrosse team in Seattle. Sceptics would argue the same fate may befall the MLL expansion.

Walax.com