ELMIRA, N.Y. (WENY) - The Professional Box Lacrosse Association announced the remaining games of the 2023 inaugural season have been postponed. This includes the Elmira Renegades at First Arena.

The league says season ticket holders will be contacted and will receive a full refund for the duration of the season.

In a press release on Tuesday, owner Carmen Kesner said "Our vision is to implement a fast, physical, safe, and exciting experience for our fans and players. We believe we have been able to create this experience, but we feel there are elements we need to improve upon. For that reason, we are halting the season to re-organize the league and team operations."

The league also announced the appointment of Brad Bryant as new Chief Executive Officer of the PBLA. 

"I'm excited about what is in store for this league" said Bryant in Tuesday's release. "My goal is to take Mr. Kesner's concept to the next level and create a sustainable product for years to come that both the players and fans can be proud of.

On Monday, Commissioner of the PBLA and operator of First Arena, Steve Donner, notified fans on Facebook that the main funding source for the league was discontinued.

WENY spoke with Donner on Tuesday and he explained the current situation as they try to find a solution, and he is still hopeful to possibly return to play this season.

"There's been a ground swell of support and emotion not to let this thing die for this year, and I really want to point out it's not an Elmira thing because Elmira has been one of the bright spots of the league and our finances here and the crowd support is probably one of the best in the league" said Donner. "It's not an Elmira thing, it's a national funding source for the league that sort of committed over a number of years and has run into some financial difficulty of their own and I don't want to knock them because they've invested a lot of money into the league also."

"I think we're all working on solutions long-term, and I haven't given up hope that there might be a solution that still allows us to salvage this season or parts of this season" Donner added. "The likely outcome if we're successful to save it might mean a couple of extra home games for our fans because of our fan support so if they could just hang in there, let things sort themselves out and lacrosse is not done in Elmira or around the country, it's just a matter of if it's done for this season."

The PBLA was introduced in July 2022 and the inaugural season began in late December with 9 teams in the league including the Elmira Renegades, Binghamton Bombers, Charlotte Bootleggers, Hampton Hammerheads, Jim Thorpe All-Americans, New England Chowderheads, Trenton Terror, Salem Mayhem, and Syracuse Spark.

Teams in the league played about 4-5 games before Tuesday's announcement. The Elmira Renegades were off to a 2-2 start.

Stick with WENY on air and online for any further developments.