Arena Football News Galore

[nitroseed]

http://www.arenafootball.com/around_the_af...nes/448881.html

Among the biggest news coming from the AFL: Salt Lake City has been officially approved for a franchise to begin play in 2006. This makes another franchise landed for the SLC area, coming soon after the awarding of an MLS franchise.

And while Nashville and SLC are on their way in, the Detroit Fury, Carolina Cobras and Indiana Firebirds are on their way out. All three franchises have been terminated. Efforts are underway by several local ownershps groups to revive the three franchises, and they may be allowed back in at some point in the near future.

The league is now at a total of 17 teams, and is planning to increase its number to 20 by the 2006 season. While SLC has been approved, Boston, Kansas City, Miami and Washington appear to be the early frontrunners to receive an expansion team for the 2006 season. Daniel Snyder and Fred Drasner, owners of the Washington Redskins, own the rights to a future AFL team, along with fellow NFL owners Wayne Weaver (Jacksonville) and the York Family (San Francisco).

[schlim]

I'm always amazed by the ferver of arena fans and just how long this league had been around. To make it this far and this long, and still lose three franchises in one year has got to hurt.

[LMU]

They really need to exploit the bigger markets. Instead of reviving failed franchises, expand elsewhere. For instance, maybe put teams in Boston, DC, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Houston, etc. That way you can put teams in big football towns so that there's already a fanbase, since the AFL runs during the NFL's offseason.

[Brian in Boston]

The problem with placing an expansion franchise in Boston is that the team would be at the mercy of Bruins' owner Jeremy Jacobs when it came to negotiating a lease to use the FleetCenter... which Jacobs also owns.

Jacobs is not going to do any tenant in the facility any favors when negotiating terms. He's notorious for squeezing every dime that he can out of each and every business venture that he's involved in. So, in addition to the AFL squad being the third-tier tenant in the building (after the Bruins and Celtics), it is hard to envision Jacobs being very generous with regard to cutting an AFL team a percentage of concession sales, etc. As for Jacobs owning an AFL team himself, Boston fans would have to start worrying about him running the franchise on a "shoestring", much the way B's fans worry about his financial stewardship of the hockey team.

On another AFL topic, I can't get over the distribution of teams in the wake of the league's termination of the Carolina, Detroit and Indianapolis franchises. It's awful. They should have gone with the following alignment for the 2005 season:

EASTERN DIVISION

Columbus Destroyers

Nashville Kats

New York Dragons

Philadelphia Soul

SOUTHERN DIVISION

Georgia Force

New Orleans VooDoo

Orlando Predators

Tampa Bay Storm

CENTRAL DIVISION

Austin Wranglers

Chicago Rush

Dallas Desperados

Grand Rapids Rampage

WESTERN DIVISION

Arizona Rattlers

Colorado Crush

Las Vegas Gladiators

Los Angeles Avengers

San Jose SaberCats

Then, if the five cities that AFL Commissioner David Baker anticipates coming aboard all actually end up joining at some point in the near future (3 by 2006, others potentially following), the league could adjust accordingly:

EASTERN DIVISION

Boston

Columbus Destroyers

New York Dragons

Philadelphia Soul

Washington

SOUTHERN DIVISION

Georgia Force

Miami

Nashville Kats

New Orleans VooDoo

Orlando Predators

Tampa Bay Storm

CENTRAL DIVISION

Austin Wranglers

Chicago Rush

Dallas Desperados

Grand Rapids Rampage

Kansas City

WESTERN DIVISION

Arizona Wranglers

Colorado Crush

Las Vegas Gladiators

Los Angeles Avengers

Salt Lake City

San Jose SaberCats

Of course, that's assuming that franchises like the Austin Wranglers, Arizona Rattlers and Las Vegas Gladiators will still be around in a couple of seasons. Austin has already flirted with moving to San Antonio, Arizona's ownership future is clouded and Las Vegas is anything but a bona fide success at the gate.

[slapshot]

I thought that Robert Kraft would be the potential owner of an Arena Football team in Boston. I know he has said before that would be a future option. He seems to be a very shrewd businessman who would make fielding a competitive team one of his biggest priorities. Making a profit of course would be the first, but as he's shown with the Patriots, you don't have to spend a lot to field a championship team. He would be in the same boat as Jacobs on that issue, but Kraft seems to be much more in tune with pleasing the fans rather than treating the team strictly as a cold business.

If Jacobs grip on the FleetCenter is too tight, I doubt Kraft would think twice about having the team play in the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence. I heard that arena is in the middle of a big renovation to modernize itself, including new luxury boxes and a video scoreboard. At capacity, I think it could hold between 12,000 and 14,000, which seems to be above average for attendance for most of the cities in the league.

[Brian in Boston]

Kraft has been mentioned as being interested in bringing an Arena Football League franchise to Boston in the past. However, the last time I heard the names of individuals bandied about in connection with AFL expansion to Boston, Commissioner David Baker was addressing the issue during the week leading up to Arena Bowl XVII (June of 2003).

At the time, Commissioner Baker said that Bob and Jonathan Kraft were "great supporters of the Arena Football League" and that the AFL regarded them "as friends". He also indicated that Boston businessman Paul Sarkis and former Boston College and New England Patriots quarterback Doug Flutie were interested in potentially bringing an AFL franchise to Boston. Paul Sarkis was described as "someone who continues to be involved". As for Flutie, Baker said that he hadn't spoken to him personally, but that "Doug went to a game that I couldn't attend and some of my staff hosted him". The commissioner further revealed that the league had "talked to some of Doug's people" and that "his people have talked to my people"... whatever the hell that means.

Bottom line? It's anyone's guess whether or not the Arena Football League will ever set up shop in Boston. As for who would actually own the team, that's equally open to debate. One thing is certain: if the team is to play in the Fleet Center, Jeremy Jacobs is going to drive a hard bargain with regard to the lease and other revenue streams. That's what Commissioner Baker was undoubtedly referring to when he said that the AFL and potential Boston owners still had "a lot of things to work out in terms of the lease" back in 2003.

[marlinfan]

a team in south florida will not work people here are all bandwagoners and won't show up for arena football. did anyone see PPS for the dolphins opening day, a UM game after they were eliminated out of the national title chase, a heat game before they made the playoffs,a marlins game before they started winnning, and a panthers game. not many people willing to become true fans of a sport.

The Miami Fusion left because of a little fan support. Even though their stadium was located roughly 40 miles from where it should have been. An MLS team in the Orange Bowl surrounded by Little Havana and neighboring hispanic communties would do a lot better.

The Miami Manatees minor league hockey team packed up in the middle of the season and went to Orlando last year.

The Miami Marlins minor league teams of the 80's also left because of no fan support and many other minor league baseball team.

If it's not a major sport that's competing for a championship people down here won't watch them PERIOD. AFL won't work down here,

[DEAD!]

If it's not a major sport that's competing for a championship people down here won't watch them PERIOD. AFL won't work down here,

Especially if the team is called the Hooters

[Dilbert]

If you could have a team called Hooters, I think you should have Hooters food at all concession stands, and some regular sports fare, obviously Hooter Girls as the cheerleaders, and Hooter girls as the ushers for the arena. If that could happen I would definetly be a season ticket holder for every game!

Hooters curly fries are better than Arbys!

[nitroseed]

Just in case anyone was wondering...

Miami Hooters History

[RyanB06]

Oof...1-11. Even the New England Seawolves weren't that bad.

Good find, Nitro. BTW, I had a little chuckle when I read your sig. That Series was my first experience with what it means to be a Red Sox fan. For some inexplicable reason, I still come back for more.

[Ez Street]

Bring on Kansas City!!

[Geoff]

The Miami Manatees minor league hockey team packed up in the middle of the season and went to Orlando last year.

They didn't go to Orlando, they bacame road warriors.

[Mac the Knife]

I'm now convinced that the AFL will never reach its potential, and never be more than a minor league.

While they always argue that the NFL had lots of team turnover early in its history, the AFL's 18 years have seen franchises change cities like most folks change underwear. Or franchises folding. Lots of 'em. The NFL reached relative franchise stability in year 14 by contrast.

The problems with the AFL? It has tried to get too big, too soon. Not in terms of the number of teams, but in terms of stature. It has sold its soul to NBC for the television deal it has, while at the same time sold out its fans (of which I was one, being among the first to buy Carolina Cobras season tickets - a whole row of 'em at midfield - when they started in Raleigh) by ripping franchises out from under them rather than forcing owners to stay the course.

Clive Toye, one-time head of the NASL, told me the league had an unwritten policy during its expansion heyday: give us three years. If you don't break even then, you can fold up shop or move. At the very least you'll get a decent tax write-off. Unfortunately, the AFL seems to be doing the exact same thing... and we all know how the NASL turned out.