(CSAC boss George Dodd, everybody. Is it really surprising that a guy who dresses like a blackjack dealer would be responsible for blowing so much money?)
California’s state athletic commission is in big financial trouble and with it, the possibility of future MMA and boxing matches held in the state. At a meeting on Tuesday it was revealed that the CSAC, led by Executive Director George Dodd, is insolvent, and has been spending far more than it is bringing in through event revenue.
The budget officer for California’s Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA), Taylor Schick, released a memo with numbers detailing that if the commission continues on its current path it would face a deficit of nearly $700,000 by the end of 2013’s fiscal year. Such a deficit would force the state to stop putting on athletic events, including MMA and boxing contests, according to DCA director Denise Brown in a letter to Dodd.
“Without the ability to pay for even basic services, the Commission will have no choice but to cease operation immediately and cancel or postpone indefinitely all Commission regulated events,” she wrote.
California’s commission has at least two upcoming UFC events on the docket to regulate — July 11th’s UFC on Fuel 4, which will take place in San Jose, and August 4th’s UFC on Fox 4 event in Los Angeles. At present, no scheduled fights are likely to be affected but subsequent ones may be in peril.
Dodd’s leadership was brought into question at Tuesday’s meeting. The Executive Director has kept his job for now but was censured by his commission for “not adequately informing the commission about the insolvency of the athletic commission fund.” On Thursday, commissioner Linda Forster resigned, saying she was shocked to learn of the commission’s financial problems.
In an unrelated story, Nick Diaz‘s home city of Stockton filed for bankruptcy yesterday. Damn, California…would it kill you to get your shit together?