Tempe’s PEBA Transition Hits Major Snag

[Apollos]

December 10, 2031: The signage has been hung around town and inside the park. Expectations for Tempe’s return to the big leagues are high both within the clubhouse and in the executive offices. Yet as the Tempe Knights begin the last step in their long road back to the PEBA, it seems they find themselves right back where they started – in a tussle over the stadium they are once again forced to share with the local soccer club, the Tempe Heat F.C.

Word has leaked from Tempe’s front offices that many of the same issues which initially forced them from the PEBA following the 2023 season, have once again sprung to the forefront as the Knights attempt to schedule games within the confines of a competing sports enterprise, and thus jockey for the valuable revenues that the Heat have slowly absorbed in the years following the Knights’ departure.

As was the case in 2023, the Heat have carved out a small but rabid fan base whose expectations of 7 pm start times on weekdays and afternoon kickoffs on the weekends appear at this juncture, rather unchangeable. With the Knights apparently being forced to play second fiddle again, ownership has gone public with its complaints, both to the local stadium authority, KSM Management, and the board of the PEBA. The Knights COO (and son of Knights principal owner, Chris Van Hauter), Lance Van Hauter issued a statement today laying out their concerns:

“In the seven years following our departure from the Tempe metropolitan area, and the eight years since a professional baseball game was played in Tempe, our franchise expected our fellow sports management group from the Tempe Heat F.C. to have matured and come to terms with their ability to both attract adequate fan support and generate revenue to cover their expenses. It seems our trust was misplaced as the Heat have once again taken primacy in any and all scheduling issues thus forcing the Knights to work around the soccer club who will both pay significantly less rent, and utilize the field on a far more irregular basis. To be held hostage by what we anticipated would be a sympathetic, if not downright excited fellow ownership group, while attempting to negotiate an equitable solution to the scheduling issues we currently face, leaves the Knights with few options moving forward.

It is the Knights intention to bring championship baseball back to the Tempe area regardless of whether our local counterparts will assist in this endeavor, and we anticipate both KSM Management and our ensuing legal action will make this clear to all parties. The Knights regret that it has come to this point, but to be unable to adequately and fairly bring both parties to the table at this late stage of the negotiations, under threat of hostile action or revocation of our contractual lease agreement, the Knights have decided to file a formal complaint with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, in an attempt to gain back these rights.”

Despite a myriad of issues with the current status of The Keep, the Knights and Heat’s home field, it was believed that the Knights were seeking a long term lease in their return to Tempe – in the neighborhood of 10 to 15 years. These outstanding disagreements make it unlikely however, that Tempe ownership will seek a long term partnership with either the Heat F.C. or KSM Management.

The Knights are allegedly under the gun to work out a deal with the Heat and according to sources out of PEBA Headquarters in Asheville, North Carolina, Tempe has been given an ultimatum by the league to finalize an agreement over the continuing scheduling issues, or face a possible suspension of the upcoming Knights’ season. The actions taken today by Van Hauter’s legal team make it clear that they intend to fight this battle at the highest levels.