Basingstoke Bison are scheduled to play Coventry on 6 September

The Basingstoke Bison have been plunged into crisis with the collapse of airline company Zoom, the club's principal sponsors.

The transatlantic carrier's demise leaves the club �30,000 short ahead of their first league game on 6 September.

Owner Tomas Enerston told BBC Radio Berkshire: "We need to raise a lot of money in a very short time and that is never simple.

"Right now I hope we can get the team back on the ice for next week."

The ramifications of the company's collapse are complex for the Bison, with the club also reliant on Zoom for flying its players into the country from Canada and the USA.

"We happen to be the only team in the league flying in all our players next week, which is of course not going to happen at the moment," added Enerston.

We did very well last season - we'd like to continue with that but right now it is very uncertain Tomas Enerston Basingstoke Bison owner

And the problems have multiplied with the withdrawal of one of the club's other corporate partners, who felt unable to meet sponsorship costs alone.

Enerston added: "We also lost another sponsor because they thought that their contribution would not be enough now that we have lost Zoom. They have completely backed out."

Enerston is hopeful another airline will step in to fly over their players, but admits the longer term prospects are grim.

"We're actually working on several of the airlines on that, but we need a quick answer," he said.

"We did very well last season, with the media attention and raising the crowds. We'd like to continue with that but right now it is very uncertain."