Sunday, Sep. 06, 2009

Carrs return to run franchise they began in 2005

By Ben Reynolds, Herald staff writer

The Tri-Cities Fever is staying in the family.

J.R. and Teri Carr reached an agreement to take over majority ownership of the franchise they helped bring to the Tri-Cities.

Doug MacGregor, who has been the team's sole owner since it moved to arenafootball2 in 2007, will stay with the team as the minority owner.

"It came down to that we really care about the team and don't want to see it go away," Teri said.

The Carrs, along with Randy Schillinger, brought the Fever to the Mid-Columbia in 2005, and want to get the franchise back on top.

To do that, Teri says it starts on the field.

Teri said she would "absolutely" love to have coach Pat O'Hara back, and hopes he can continue to build upon what he started in the final 11 games of last season.

O'Hara's contract officially expires Sept. 15, and he has said that he enjoyed his time in the area and would consider returning.

But everyone is in a holding pattern right now until the revamped af2 unveils its intentions for the 2010 season, which includes the Fever.

MacGregor is expected to make some sort of announcement at the end of this month outlining the changes.

With Teri overseeing day-to-day operations of the team in 2005-06, the Fever won the National Indoor Football League title in its inaugural season and reached the playoffs the following season.

After the 2006 season, the Carrs stepped away from the Fever and the franchise was eventually sold to MacGregor. Schillinger, Teri's dad, stayed on the past three seasons as general manager. But his time with the franchise has run its course, and he has decided to pursue other business opportunities.

That left MacGregor in a quandary, and he decided put the team up for sale, saying without a local owner he would fold the franchise.

With that deadline looming, J.R. and Teri decided to get back to what they started, and hopefully this time make it even better. "It's happened so quickly," Teri Carr said.