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BISMARCK \u2014 An unlikely obstacle has forced North Dakota\u2019s only Indoor Football League team to stay on the sidelines this year: high workers\u2019 compensation costs.<\/p>\n
The Bismarck Bucks team has decided to forego playing this season because it can\u2019t afford the premiums for medical coverage through Workforce Safety & Insurance, which it is mandated to use.<\/p>\n
Workforce Safety & Insurance is the state of North Dakota\u2019s monopoly workers\u2019 compensation program; all employers are required by law to cover their workers under the program, which provides health care and disability benefits.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are going dormant,\u201d said Heidi Ripplinger, the Bismarck Bucks\u2019 vice president for operations.<\/p>\n
Workers\u2019 compensation costs for the team, which has a roster of 25 players and a few coaches and other staff, exceed the payroll costs for the entire operation, said Derrick Bulawa, CEO of BEK Communications Cooperative, which owns the Bucks.<\/p>\n
As a result, the Bucks will not play during the Indoor Football League\u2019s 2023 season, which will start in March.<\/p>\n
The Bucks pleaded their case before the board of Workforce Safety & Insurance but were told that the state workers\u2019 compensation program lacked the legal authority to grant the flexibility they sought.<\/p>\n
Board members told team representatives that their solution would require going before the North Dakota Legislature to seek a law change, said Valerie Kingsley, WSI\u2019s director of communications.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s exactly what the Bucks are doing, Bulawa said. Draft legislation is being prepared, and several legislators have expressed interest in sponsoring a bill, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not taking a shot at WSI,\u201d Bulawa said. \u201cI’m just trying to point out the fact that one show doesn\u2019t fit all.\u201d<\/p>\n
By Bulawa\u2019s tally, 10 professional sports teams in North Dakota have failed or been forced to move, a clear sign, he said, that economic conditions are unfavorable.<\/p>\n
\u201cClearly, there\u2019s an economic problem,\u201d and workers\u2019 compensation costs are a part of that problem, he said.<\/p>\n
The expensive medical coverage mandated through Workforce Safety & Insurance doesn\u2019t work for contact professional sports teams, Bulawa said. Typically, an Indoor Football League team has an average of 3\u00bd injuries per season requiring surgery, he said.<\/p>\n
North Dakota\u2019s only other professional sports team, the RedHawks baseball team in Fargo, doesn\u2019t have as many injuries, Bulawa said, so is not as adversely affected.<\/p>\n
Other teams in the league get medical coverage under an agreement with local health providers, an arrangement that isn\u2019t possible because of North Dakota\u2019s state monopoly workers\u2019 compensation system, Bulawa said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s really the struggle, not only for the Bucks, but all contact professional sports,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Typically, agreements include barter arrangements, with teams providing free tickets and promotional opportunities for the health provider, including displaying banners with the provider\u2019s logo, Bulawa said.<\/p>\n
\u201cTherefore, the costs are very, very different,\u201d he said. \u201cThat happens in every state but North Dakota.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Bucks, which started in 2017, are one of 14 teams in the Indoor Football League, a number expected to expand to 16 by 2024, when the Bucks hope to resume play, Ripplinger said.<\/p>\n
During the team\u2019s hiatus, the Bucks will explore the possibility of a new venue for playing its games. The Bismarck Events Center has been the team\u2019s home, but other cities have expressed an interest in landing the team, Bulawa said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn\u2019t mean we\u2019re going to exclude Bismarck,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to see what\u2019s out there.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n