THE Cheshire Jets have been plunged into chaos and the club's future hangs in the balance just weeks after they were saved from extinction.
After only seven games of the season, the British Basketball League has withdrawn the club's franchise from owner Haydn Cook after he notified them that he was to cancel the players contracts today and requested the postponement of Sunday's game against Mersey Tigers.
A statement from the league today said: "The BBL have withdrawn the Cheshire franchise from its operating company with immediate effect.
"The decision follows an urgent review of the franchise following notification from the club that they were unable to fulfil their fixture this weekend. The BBL is currently exploring a number of options to ensure the continuation of the franchise. It is anticipated there will be a further announcement in the coming days."
New owner Cook, who saved the club from going out of business last month, found the costs involved in running the Jets greater than expected. When he approached the BBL and made them aware of the situation, requesting a postponement of the derby on Sunday, the league's Franchise Committee decided to take back the franchise.
The move throws the season into major doubt, although from the BBL statement it seems clear they are hopeful a solution can be found to ensure the Jets survive.
According to Cook, it means the players will be sent home, season tickets will be refunded and there will be no more games this season.
"I tried," he said. "I had a lot of support, particularly from our sponsor Terry Hearfield who has been fantastic, but in the end the costs just didn't add up. Given a couple of years we maybe could have made it work but I could not keep it going for that long.
"I would like to keep the foundation running and maybe build the club back up in some form. If we can get the whole community behind it then in a few years perhaps we can look again at a BBL franchise, but we need to build up a lot of cash reserves if that is what we want to do."
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