Arena Football News & Updates

[MJWalker45]

3 minutes ago, dont care said:

Do arena teams really draw larger crowds then that?

The old AFL did. I'm certain most leagues now still draw over 6,500 if they are marketed correctly.  The Gunslingers are around 3,500 to 7,000 depending on the game. At least they're playing in an actual stadium now instead of a horse barn. 

It would have been a royal pain to figure out how to shoot a proper game with this setup. But at least it would have been softer than landing on concrete when you get tackled. 

I also don't know why San Antonio didn't get a slot over Salem when their current building is probably the capacity the new AFL should be shooting for to start (9,000+). 

[Dilbert]

I thinking these cities revealed yesterday are merely where the AFL wants a team, rather than will be a team. Since the announcement arena officials in Salem, Lake Charles, and Cincinnati were unaware of the league coming to town.

[GDAWG]

2 hours ago, Dilbert said:

I thinking these cities revealed yesterday are merely where the AFL wants a team, rather than will be a team. Since the announcement arena officials in Salem, Lake Charles, and Cincinnati were unaware of the league coming to town.

 

Quite a contrast from when the Arena League (the one with the Ozarks Lunkers, Wichita Woo, Duluth and KC Goats) placed teams in those cities.  Those initial press conferences had city officials present.  

[Sykotyk]

16 minutes ago, GDAWG said:

 

Quite a contrast from when the Arena League (the one with the Ozarks Lunkers, Wichita Woo, Duluth and KC Goats) placed teams in those cities.  Those initial press conferences had city officials present.  

They may be operating in small towns and smaller facilities, but they're appearing to be legitimate in presentation. This AFL announcement just smacks of a scam.

[MJWalker45]

On 7/19/2023 at 10:31 PM, Sykotyk said:

They may be operating in small towns and smaller facilities, but they're appearing to be legitimate in presentation. This AFL announcement just smacks of a scam.

Not including teams that were last active when the team was alive, and the fact cities and stadiums are like, "US? First time we've heard about this" is not a good sign. Did they just throw darts at a map the morning of the announcement?

[GDAWG]

Tim Capper of ArenaFan.com has said that he's going by with what the league has officially announced rather than what TMZ has announced.  He's saying that what was announced by TMZ will not necessarily be the cities that will kick off in 2024.  There may be some evidence to that as well, especially for California.  

 

The Bay Area Panthers recently announced that they are considering their options for a new home city in 2024, including Sacramento and Stockton.  They currently play at the SAP Center in San Jose, the home of the Sharks.  Now they did say that there was a possibility of staying in San Jose, but if they don't stay in San Jose, I sense the AFL will want to go there, to get the San Jose Sabercats back.  If San Jose becomes available if the Panthers leave and they say "hello AFL, let's talk about getting the Sabercats back" the AFL would talk to them in a heartbeat.  I find it hard to believe that the AFL would choose Bakersfield over San Jose if San Jose wanted back in the AFL.  

 

The AFL Ohio team may not necessarily be Cincy.  The AFL might decide to bring back the Columbus Destroyers if the IFL abandons that market and the proposed Columbus Wild Dogs of the IFL doesn't happen.

[Dilbert]

2 hours ago, GDAWG said:

Tim Capper of ArenaFan.com has said that he's going by with what the league has officially announced rather than what TMZ has announced.  He's saying that what was announced by TMZ will not necessarily be the cities that will kick off in 2024.  There may be some evidence to that as well, especially for California. 

This makes sense. It seemed kinda weird that the league would have teams in cities like Chicago, St Louis and Austin, while also having teams in Salem, Lake Charles, and Bakersfield

[GDAWG]

55 minutes ago, Dilbert said:

This makes sense. It seemed kinda weird that the league would have teams in cities like Chicago, St Louis and Austin, while also having teams in Salem, Lake Charles, and Bakersfield

 

The AFL will not choose Bakersfield if San Jose is available and the IFL has abandoned it for Sacramento, Oakland or Stockton.  They would choose San Jose.  

[Red Comet]

Typically it’s the teams that are fly-by-night operations in arena football, not the league itself. 

 

Also, really looking forward to seeing the Goats. Found my old Brigade jersey too! 
 

Spoiler

 

[Sodboy13]

On 7/21/2023 at 1:59 PM, Dilbert said:

This makes sense. It seemed kinda weird that the league would have teams in cities like Chicago, St Louis and Austin, while also having teams in Salem, Lake Charles, and Bakersfield

It makes more sense if you remember that the last time this league brand was in Chicago, it was actually in Rockford.

 

The stink coming off of this operation is of a level I have not experienced since the NIFL was doing all of its graphic design in WordArt.

[Sykotyk]

nm

[Sodboy13]

On 7/23/2023 at 9:54 PM, Sodboy13 said:

The stink coming off of this operation is of a level I have not experienced since the NIFL was doing all of its graphic design in WordArt.

 

Defector's Dan McQuade, who previously lifted the hood on the Philadelphia 76ers' partnership with emerging metaverse outfit Color Star and found a Chinese building materials company, a bunch of pseudonyms, English-adjacent word salad, and graphics reminiscent of Atari's "Hard Drivin'," has picked up on the AFL announcement and yes, this league reboot is straight vaporware.

 

Quote

More than a week after the relaunch announcement, a person claiming to represent the Bakersfield AFL squad contacted the Mechanics Bank Arena. The individual identified himself as “Tim Robinson,” but left contact information that was not for anybody with that name. Defector dialed the phone number used to make the call to the Bakersfield arena, however, and asked for “Tim Robinson.” 

 

“Well, that’s me, but there is no ‘Tim Robinson,’” said the man who answered. “That’s an alias.”

He said his real name was Tim Carbajal, and that he came up with “Tim Robinson” after finding out he’d been selected as owner of the Bakersfield AFL franchise. He declined to say when or how that selection took place. “I’m sorry I did that,” he said. A public records search for the phone number revealed a Timothy Carbajal of Taft, Calif., a town about 35 miles southwest of Bakersfield. 

Carbajal declined to answer questions about where the money to buy and/or operate an AFL franchise came from, citing a gag order from the league office. Carbajal also politely declined to discuss plans for drafts or tryouts or hirings or anything related to the arena team.

 

“That information is encrypted by the league,” he said, “and I cannot give that out out of respect to the AFL.”

 

Carbajal admitted that the arena team, which will be called the California Grizzlies, has not yet found a place to play. A Twitter account was registered in July for the “California Grizzlies,” and the bio calls the team “California’s only Arena Football League Franchise” and says it’s based in Bakersfield. The account, which follows AFL commissioner Hutton on Twitter, hasn’t tweeted yet. 

 

"They're saying the AFL isn't an actual football league. There's no explanation. Just body after body busting out of  wood and hitting pavement. I DIDN'T DO ING  ! I DIDN'T RIG  !"

 

https://defector.com/arena-football-league-relaunch-comes-as-surprise-to-cities-that-will-allegedly-have-teams

[Ferdinand Cesarano]

6 minutes ago, Sodboy13 said:

More than a week after the relaunch announcement, a person claiming to represent the Bakersfield AFL squad contacted the Mechanics Bank Arena. The individual identified himself as “Tim Robinson,” but left contact information that was not for anybody with that name. Defector dialed the phone number used to make the call to the Bakersfield arena, however, and asked for “Tim Robinson.” 

 

“Well, that’s me, but there is no ‘Tim Robinson,’” said the man who answered.

 

 

 

Tables!

 

So the Orlando Predators have already announced their departure from the NAL for this supposed AFL revival.  Are they now going to have to pull a George Costanza and go back to the NAL, pretending that nothing happened?

 

[GDAWG]

2 hours ago, Ferdinand Cesarano said:

 

 

 

Tables!

 

So the Orlando Predators have already announced their departure from the NAL for this supposed AFL revival.  Are they now going to have to pull a George Costanza and go back to the NAL, pretending that nothing happened?

 

 

I think Orlando needs to go to the IFL if the NAL doesn't want them and they have remorse about the AFL.  

[GDAWG]

 

[SeaTac]

Bay Area Panthers (San Jose) win the IFL Championship over the Sioux Falls Storm 51-41 in Las Vegas. Panthers had gone 1-15 in their inaugural season in 2022. 

[GDAWG]

 

[MJWalker45]

2 hours ago, GDAWG said:

 

So the NAL is done now? 

[GDAWG]

10 minutes ago, MJWalker45 said:

So the NAL is done now? 

 

They recently added the Omaha Beef and Sioux City Bandits from the CIF and are rumored to add the CIF Topeka Tropics as well as a team in Colorado and Texas.

[MJWalker45]

37 minutes ago, GDAWG said:

 

They recently added the Omaha Beef and Sioux City Bandits from the CIF and are rumored to add the CIF Topeka Tropics as well as a team in Colorado and Texas.

I wonder if that changes with Jax leaving?