Memphis 901FC is moving to Santa Barbara due to inability to build a SSS: Statement from Memphis 901 FC Regarding Franchise Transfer - Memphis 901 FC Long story short, College Football and NBA Basketball took priority for funding over a SSS so Howard and Co. lost the franchise. Too bad MLS doesn't do the same thing (I'm looking at you, Seattle and Atlanta)!
It sounds like the money ran out. The owner of the team (also the owner of the venue they played at) apparently filed for bankruptcy last month. The word on the street is the Hailstorm owners currently owe back-pay to the players. The League had actually been paying the players since like mid-summer or something like that. The Hailstorm won the Jagermeister Cup this year, but USL withheld the prize money because of the player pay issue. My understanding is the Hailstorm owners are currently suing USL because of the withheld prize money. This info is all second-hand from various sources, so someone else might be able to provide a more detailed backstory to the situation. EDIT: Added some additional info.
They also owe a ton of contractors for the work on the Future Legends Sports Complex. And they ran out of money before they got enough of the complex done for Windsor to allow another season to be played there. Its a mess from top to bottom.
The Hailstorm sounded like a shady operation from the get-go. The whole complex - stuck in Windsor - never made sense. I wasn’t impressed. Forget them! The switchbacks are going to the USL championship and will be held at home at Weidner Field next Saturday. Go support them! I just bought tickets for the final for $55 each. Great price. They aren’t my hometown club Lou City but I have a ton of respect for the organization. Way more that the Hailstorm.