Storm Owner Kern In Critical Condition

Posted Mar 31, 2009 by Adam Adkins

Updated Mar 31, 2009 at 03:58 PM

Tampa Bay Storm minority owner Peter “Woody” Kern is currently in critical condition after undergoing surgery for an aortic aneurysm, the team announced Tuesday.

Kern, 61, is currently in the intensive care unit at Memorial Herman Heart & Vascular Institute at the Texas Medical Center in Houston.

“Woody is a great friend of mine and we are deeply concerned for his health and well-being,” Tampa Bay Storm head coach/general manager Tim Marcum said in a statement released by the team.  “We are keeping Woody in our thoughts and prayers.”

According to a statement from the team, doctors diagnosed Kern with an aortic aneurysm during a routine check-up. He underwent surgery on March 25.

Kern is president and CEO of PCK management located in Denton, Texas. He purchased the Storm in 1994 and was the principal owner of one of the AFL’s most successful franchises before selling a majority stake in the team in December 2007 to local orthopedic surgeon Dr. Bob Nucci, who runs the Nucci Spine Institute in Tampa.

The Storm won three AFL championships (1995, 1996 and 2003) while Kern was the majority owner.