Arizona

AUSTELL, GA– The league announced today that the CDFL Relocation Committee has indeed pulled the plug on the Hayashi Silver Dragons in Atlanta, following this season. The franchise which started off well and won its only championship in Atlanta, but has seen a dwindling fan base due to recent losing seasons. Hayashi followed up its championship season by losing its final six games in 2003. The 2004 season saw Hayashi return to the playoffs in Ray Rhoades final season as coach. This year the Silver Dragons started 2-1, but have not won since, resulting in the firing of first year head coach Terry Hoeppner. General Manager Mark Trollinger named himself as interim manager to the remainder of the season until a new coach can be named. The new home of the Silver Dragons next season will be Chandler, Arizona - just miles away from rival Tempe Tantrums. "The move will be a positive one for the team", says GM Mark Trollinger. "We will renew our rivalry with Tempe, build a fan base out west while remaining loyal to our Atlanta fans as well. We are in negociations with a cable TV deal to broadcast Hayashi games nationwide so that fans, regardless of location, will be able to follow their favorite team. This is the first step of the rebuilding process, and we will return to glory. The only silver lining to this season is that we will get a good early draft choice next season to build the team around." A name has not been chosen yet, but ground will be broken immediately. The team will play at Mesa's Ho-Hokam Park (home of the spring training Chicago Cubs)until the stadium is completed in mid November. .