The Major Arena Soccer League has canceled the upcoming season of Hartford City FC, the indoor soccer team that was to play at the XL Center.
"The MASL has decided to not go forward with the 2015-2016 Season," the team said on its website. "We look forward to bringing HCFC into the future."
This comes after revelations that the team's ownership group was enmeshed in a developing saga in the city of Hartford involving a failed outdoor stadium development for another professional soccer team, allegations of overbilling city taxpayers, concerns over the background of one of the team's owners, and, now, a federal investigation.
Earlier this week, a lawyer for Premier Sports Management Group said he didn't know what the future would hold for the arena soccer team. And a representative of the Chicago Mustangs told WNPR that the team was still planning to play Hartford on Nov. 8. Tickets to the games at the XL Center are still on sale; repeated calls to the company were not returned. Efforts to reach the league have been unsuccessful.
Still, the team's future seems to have been settled by the league itself, and communicated to the rest of the teams in the league, too.
"The Major Arena Soccer League has announced today a team affiliation change for the 2015-16 season," the Baltimore Blast said on its website Wednesday as it detailed changes in its schedule as a result of the Hartford team's demise. "It was determined that the expansion organization in Hartford, Connecticut cannot move forward. The league has finalized terms of separation with Hartford City FC."