ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, August 16, 1996 TAG: 9608160084
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KEITH POMPEY STAFF WRITER
Nick Rush, the founder of the Roanoke Rush, has transferred majority ownership of the area's National Minor League Football team to Larry Linkous.
``My time constraints with work, the [Montgomery County's] board of supervisors and my family did not allow time for the organization, which has grown to a point where it deserves more,'' Nick Rush said in a written statement.
One player, who asked not to be identified, said he was happy with the change.
``If he would have stayed the owner next year, no one would have came back,'' the player said.
Linkous, the former chairman of the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors and also an auctioneer, officially took over majority ownership Wednesday. He said the day-to-day operation will not change.
Rush had an up-and-down tenure as majority owner of the franchise. In the inaugural season last year, Roanoke averaged 3,510 spectators, which ranked third in the league. But the players threatened to walk out, saying Rush wasn't paying them the money he originally promised.
During the off-season, both sides worked out a deal. Starters were to make $125 per game and reserves $100. But in a two-hour meeting last week at Lucy Addison Magnet School, Rush told the players he could not pay them on that scale.
After Roanoke's attendance dropped to 839 for an Aug.3 game against the Carolina Bobcats, Rush said the team would fold if the numbers did not improve and he cut ticket prices from $8 to $6. He told the players checks would be incentive-based, such as $25 for a touchdown or a sack.
At the time, some players said they believed Rush's decision to step down would be only a matter of time.
LENGTH: Short : 40 linesby CNB