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Beginning of the end of Arena Football League? (again)


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17 minutes ago, AstroBull21 said:

So, we all thought the league would be a 6 team league (with the addition of Albany) for 2018, but we were wrong...

 

Cleveland will go on-hiatus for the next two seasons while their home arena goes under renovations.  The Gladiators will return for play in 2020.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/gladiators/index.ssf/2017/11/cleveland_gladiators_will_susp.html

 

Theres still rumors of a Newark team for 2018, but no news/rumors of it since August.

There's no current CBA in Arena now, so I'm not sure Gilbert will return in 2020. He'll just see how the league tries to survive for two years, then make up his mind.

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2 hours ago, MJWalker45 said:

They are done. There are enough arenas nearby that could have filled in if needed. The Cavs and Monsters are still playing there as far as I know. 

Because they want to close the arena during the Cavs offseason for renovations. The Monsters season would end before the predicted late playoff run by the Cavs every year.

 

The reason they won't move anywhere else is finances. I'm sure at the Q, the only cost was switching the infrastructure out from basketball or hockey to arena football. All three are owned by the same group, so I'm sure 'stadium cost' is minimal, and all concessions, signage, etc go to the same group.

 

If they moved the team elsewhere, they'd be paying rent and losing out. And my guess it just isn't financially worthwhile.

 

One thing they COULD HAVE done was just frontload the schedule each year and worry about playoffs as they happen. Maybe play neutral site in Canton or Erie or somewhere if Wolstein doesn't work. Or just play on the road at another AFL venue. Or doubleheader the semifinals somewhere else.

 

They could have done it. But, didn't. Which tells me it was cheaper to sit out than to push through.

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24 minutes ago, Sykotyk said:

Because they want to close the arena during the Cavs offseason for renovations. The Monsters season would end before the predicted late playoff run by the Cavs every year.

 

The reason they won't move anywhere else is finances. I'm sure at the Q, the only cost was switching the infrastructure out from basketball or hockey to arena football. All three are owned by the same group, so I'm sure 'stadium cost' is minimal, and all concessions, signage, etc go to the same group.

 

If they moved the team elsewhere, they'd be paying rent and losing out. And my guess it just isn't financially worthwhile.

 

One thing they COULD HAVE done was just frontload the schedule each year and worry about playoffs as they happen. Maybe play neutral site in Canton or Erie or somewhere if Wolstein doesn't work. Or just play on the road at another AFL venue. Or doubleheader the semifinals somewhere else.

 

They could have done it. But, didn't. Which tells me it was cheaper to sit out than to push through.

The Q has handled the booking and ticketing for CSU's Wolstein Center since 2015, so they likely could have made it work however, the Cavs/Gladiators/Monsters COO* said,

Quote

"There is no other venue in or around Cleveland that can provide the extended, required certainty of availability, in addition to game presentation and operational capabilities required for Gladiators' games like The Q does,"

 

*:http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20171129/blogs06/143886/gladiators-are-going-two-year-hiatus-will-there-be-arena-football

 

I doubt they'll return as the league is struggling and they may just go all digital as soon as this season.

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I've been following this dumb league long enough to remember when the original Milwaukee Mustangs trotted out the "we're just sitting out while our arena undergoes renovations" line.

On 1/25/2013 at 1:53 PM, 'Atom said:

For all the bird de lis haters I think the bird de lis isnt supposed to be a pelican and a fleur de lis I think its just a fleur de lis with a pelicans head. Thats what it looks like to me. Also the flair around the tip of the beak is just flair that fleur de lis have sometimes source I am from NOLA.

PotD: 10/19/07, 08/25/08, 07/22/10, 08/13/10, 04/15/11, 05/19/11, 01/02/12, and 01/05/12.

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On 11/30/2017 at 2:14 AM, Sodboy13 said:

I've been following this dumb league long enough to remember when the original Milwaukee Mustangs trotted out the "we're just sitting out while our arena undergoes renovations" line.

At least the AFL did announce they were contracting the four teams: Milwaukee Mustangs, Florida Bobcats, Houston ThunderBears, and Oklahoma Wranglers.

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  • 3 weeks later...
1 hour ago, Bulldog said:

What is the difference between the AFL and IFL again?

 

The Arena league tries to be national while the IFL (and other leagues) stick to a more regional format. The IFL, for example, has the majority of their franchises in the Midwest (save for Arizona).

 

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5 hours ago, Bulldog said:

What is the difference between the AFL and IFL again?

Nowadays, the goal posts. They're actually patented so only AFL has that type of goal post. IFL is actually spread over more area than AFL now. I feel like if AFL and another similar sized league joined together ala AFL/NFL from 67-70 they could get a little momentum back. Is Orlando reformed in another league like Jacksonville is?

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18 minutes ago, MJWalker45 said:

Nowadays, the goal posts. They're actually patented so only AFL has that type of goal post. IFL is actually spread over more area than AFL now. I feel like if AFL and another similar sized league joined together ala AFL/NFL from 67-70 they could get a little momentum back. Is Orlando reformed in another league like Jacksonville is?

 

Orlando shut down its operations, compared to Jacksonville's jump to the National Arena League. 

And I wouldn't say that the IFL is more spread out than the AFL. The majority of the IFL's franchises are based in the Midwest, save for Arizona. 

Sadly, as someone who keeps his ears on the ground when it comes to indoor football, there won't be any mergers anytime soon. There was talk of a potential merger between Champions Indoor Football and the IFL earlier this year, but that fell through and fell through hard. Egos are to blame, for the most part.

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On 12/17/2017 at 6:51 PM, MJWalker45 said:

Nowadays, the goal posts. They're actually patented so only AFL has that type of goal post. IFL is actually spread over more area than AFL now. I feel like if AFL and another similar sized league joined together ala AFL/NFL from 67-70 they could get a little momentum back. Is Orlando reformed in another league like Jacksonville is?

 

That patent has actually expired (25 years). It's just no other league wants to use them. They cost a lot to construct/store/maintain, and not all of the smaller venues can easily handle placing them properly in the endzones. Plus, it obstructs the seats behind them. So, nobody else uses them.

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The Storm are ceasing operations. 

 

This hit me hard, some of my best childhood memories were going to Storm games with my dad, we had season tickets for many years, up until 2009 when the league didn't play and our personal lives got in the way as well. While I haven't been as die-hard as in the past I still followed them and enjoyed the ArenaBowl this last season. I think for me this kills whatever connection I had left with the league for good. A shame, I have amazing memories. Those games were a blast.

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1 hour ago, Seadragon76 said:

So... Now that Tampa Bay is out, when can someone take this version of the Arena League to back of the shed and put it out of it's misery?

Since there's still no CBA, I think they're behind the shed and putting the shells into the rifle.

 

Meanwhile, Valor and Brigade owner Ted Leonsis did have a blog post regarding the Storm today.

 

https://tedstake.monumentalsportsnetwork.com/2017/12/21/on-why-i-continue-to-have-faith-and-believe-in-the-arena-football-league

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With the Storm gone, it feels like there's nothing left connections wise to the AFL I grew up with, so it's a weird end of a niche era to me. It's really time to pull the plug honestly.

 

I'll always remember seeing the Nashville Kats when I was 10 (even though my only vivid memories are of the weird goalposts and little field crammed into what was then the Gaylord Entertainment Center and the halftime show being a battle of like 200 live-action medieval roleplayers) and playing EA's Arena Football on PS2. Good stuff.

ICXC NIKA

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