Storm

Owner cites family time as reason to sell Storm

By FRANK PASTOR
Published March 23, 2006

TAMPA - For Storm owner Peter C. "Woody" Kern, even home games are road games.

That is why, after 12 seasons, the Pilot Point, Texas, resident is putting the team up for sale.

Kern said Wednesday he is looking for a local buyer for the Arena league's flagship franchise so he can spend more time with his wife, Sheri, and 8-year-old daughter Kristin, the youngest of his seven children.

"I haven't dried up, and I don't plan on dropping dead or anything," Kern, 58, said. "I plan on traveling with my kids and leaving my business interests in the Dallas area."

Kern, president and CEO of PCK Management in Denton, Texas, slowly has been divesting himself of all out-of-state business interests. Last year, he sold the Asheville (N.C.) Tourists minor-league baseball team to Palace Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Lightning.

Kern, who bought the Storm from Bob Gries for a reported $477,000 in 1994, is asking for more than $20-million. The Kansas City Brigade sold for $16-million to $18-million last year, and the league is asking for $18-million to $20-million for future franchises, Kern said.

"My number is a little north of $20-million," Kern said. "I think with what an expansion piece of paper is going for, we have the history with the Storm, a solid fan base and an agreement with the building, I don't think that's asking too much."

Kern sold the Storm to Thomas Hopper for more than $12-million in 2002 after Kern, who operated nursing homes at the time, filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 bankruptcy. But Hopper could produce only about $1-million, and majority ownership returned to Kern, who currently develops real estate.

"Now everything has changed financially from that perspective," Kern said. "It's not a must-sell by any shape or form."

Kern acknowledged he has lost money on the Storm. But he said losses have diminished in recent years and expansion money coming in from the league should make the team "an attractive purchase option for somebody."

He has turned over matters to Tampa firm Carr & Associates, his business and asset manager. He hopes to present a potential buyer for league approval by the ArenaBowl on June 11.

Kern, one of the most successful owners in Arena league history, brought coach and general manager Tim Marcum to Tampa Bay in 1995. They have won ArenaBowls in 1995, '96 and 2003.

Kern said Marcum, who has three seasons remaining on the five-year contract he signed in 2004, has told him he plans to stay with the team.

"Hopefully, it will be a seamless transition if I do find somebody who wants to purchase the team," Kern said.

Palace Sports & Entertainment will work with Kern to try to keep the Storm in Tampa but has "no interest" in acquiring it, president Ron Campbell said.

"We have enough losses with our (hockey) franchise," Campbell said. "We can't run too many not-for-profits."

[Last modified March 23, 2006, 02:15:42]