HOUSTON -- A group of investors apparently is interested in buying either the Denver Gold or Houston Gamblers and moving the team to Hawaii, but the owner of the Gold denied an agreement has been reached.
A spokesman for the group said it has assets of $100 million with its principal partner worth $92 million, the Houston Chronicle reported Thursday.
The group says atthe moment it has an 'agreement in principle' with Denver owner Doug Spedding to move the Gold of the United States Football League to Hawaii for the fall of 1986. Spedding owns the USFL rights to Honolulu.
'That's not true,' Spedding said. 'They just said, 'This is what we'd like to do.' I said, 'OK, but first I've got to do what I've got to do.' If there's a way to keep the team in Denver, we're going to keep the team in Denver. I'll call them if I need them, but I might not ever need them.'
Spedding has said a USFL switch to a fall schedule would leave him unable to compete for fans with the Denver Broncos of the National Football League. The Gold is averaging under 13,000 fans per game while the Broncos regularly have sellouts of about 80,000.
But the group, which had scheduled a meeting with USFL Commissioner Harry Usher Thursday in California, apparently would prefer to purchase the Gamblers because of the drawing power of Houston quarterback Jim Kelly, one of the league's top players.
Gamblers president Jerry Argovitz said earlier this week he had reached an agreement in principle with an unidentified Houston group to sell 75 percent of his one-third holdings in the Gamblers.
Currently, Argovitz, Jay Roulier and Alvin Lubetkin each owns a third of the team. But under the deal Argovitz apparently has agreed to, Roulier and Lubetkin would sell enough of their stock to give the new investor 51 percent interest in the team.
Argovitz said the group was expected to keep the team in Houston.
The spokesman for the group of Honolulu investors told the Chronicle any purchase agreement would state the league would host an all-star game this July in Hawaii to introduce the USFL to the state.
'We are going to meet with Usher on this and have already talked about it, but without reaching agreement,' the spokesman said. 'We think it's important to have some kind of promotion in Hawaii prior to putting a franchise there.'
The Honolulu group approached Usher through a certified letter mailed last Friday. The group wants to deal with him to expedite purchase of a USFL club.
Although the group apparently lists the Gamblers as its first choice, the spokesman said Denver would be an easier team to purchase because there is only one owner.
Spedding voted against the proposed move to the fall at Monday's meeting of USFL club owners. Tampa Bay Bandits owner John Bassett, also against the move, plans to start his own league in the spring. Spedding isn't sure if he wants to join Bassett's league.
