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One month before the franchise was set to play its first games in the inaugural season of Arena Football One, the league announced Friday night that the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Mavericks have withdrawn from participating in the league.
Furthermore, the release said, the Mavericks’ membership in the league has been terminated.
“This is one of the hardest messages any organization has to deliver,” AF1 CEO Jerry Kurz said in the release, “but it is better to eliminate concerns before the season starts than during the season, as many other leagues have had happen.”
“Unfortunately, the Mavericks will not take the field this season, and we are disappointed for the fans in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton,” league commissioner Jeff Fisher said in the release. “They are phenomenal advocates for arena football, and their passion for our sport has not gone unnoticed.”
There was no word on what specifically may have caused the Mavericks to withdraw from the league, nor any comment from team officials when the league announced the news on Friday night.
The Mavericks were set to open up the season the weekend of March 7-10 at Corpus Christi, with two home games set for the following two weekends.
The team’s social media channels last announced a team sponsor, Last Minute Brewing, and the hiring of a new business development coordinator on Jan. 30.
A second open tryout, following the one held at Misericordia’s Sports Dome in January, was scheduled for Saturday afternoon at Misericordia.