Titans Won't Play in 2011; Players to be Dispersed

by Corey McLaughlin | Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff

Orlando's top players, like Ryan Boyle (center) and Jordan Hall (right), will be up for grabs in a dispersal draft after the Titans shut down operations for the 2011 season due to an unsettled ownership situation. © John Strohsacker/LaxPhotos.com

The Orlando Titans will not participate in the 2011 National Lacrosse League season and a dispersal draft of its players will be held at a date to be determined, the NLL announced Friday.
 
In a short statement posted on the league’s official website, the NLL said the Orlando franchise will not play next season, “as the club continues with efforts to restructure its ownership,” but that the plan is for the team to return in 2012.
 
“The NLL looks forward to the return of the Titans to Orlando in 2012 once the new ownership of the team is re-structured,” the statement said.
 
Team president Steve Donner told the Orlando Sentinel in late June that majority owner Gary Rosenbach was decreasing his interest in the club, and that the franchise sought to increase the percentage of local, Central Florida-based ownership.
 
Rosenbach, who is not based in Florida, owned the team since its inception four years ago, including its first three seasons in New York. The team moved to Orlando before the 2010 season.
 
It is unclear when the dispersal draft will occur. NLL Insider reported that the draft is likely being held up due to attempted contract terminations by several former Titans players who are claiming the franchise did not pay portions of their 2010 contracts.
 
If the players are deemed unrestricted free agents, they are eligible to sign with any team in the league instead of being dispersed.
 
“A dispersal draft for the contract rights to the Titans players will be scheduled by the league,” the NLL’s statement said.
 
The Titans finished the regular season 11-5 and won the East Division title in their first season in Florida. They lost to Toronto in the semifinal round of the playoffs.
 
Orlando featured league MVP Casey Powell and goaltender of the year Matt Vinc. But they and other former Titans who may decide to play next season will wear the uniform of a new team.