Houston team

[Buttmonkey]

Where will the Houston team play it's games?

[Big Easy]

Aren't they staying in College Station?

[phydeaux72]

Aren't they staying in College Station?

I believe there were two SIFL franchises in Houston; the Texas Pirates, who moved to College Station and changed their name to the Hurricanes and the Houston Crusaders who put their start date off until 2011.

[Big Easy]

I believe there were two SIFL franchises in Houston; the Texas Pirates, who moved to College Station and changed their name to the Hurricanes and the Houston Crusaders who put their start date off until 2011.

I had written that team off. The group that started the Pirates were trying to put a team in Pasadena as well. Considering what they did with the Pirates, I wouldn't suggest them staying the course.

The IFL should come here. Even if we have an SIFL team, I doubt I'll have any interest at all...unless they play close to where I live....and Pasadena isn't close. First hand, I know it's a tough market. As you know I had a little exposure through the Copperheads....and managed sponsorships for the Houston Aeros. I think in the right arena, with proper concessions (money split and beer sales) it can be done. I guess the main hurdle is finding an arena thats beer and revenue share friendly (considering most of the nicer areans are school district owned).

I know you have first hand knowledge of running a team here...so my comments are probably ill advised. I just can't help but think that with the masses of people in Houston school districts (Klein, Cy-Fair, etc.), someone could cash in in one of those districts. It would be hard work, but I don't think it's impossible. Then again, like I said above, all of the moons would have to allign...and it probably starts with venue...which is the toughest thing.

BTW, watching games at the Berry Center was a great experience. Awesome building! When I was doing PR work for the C-heads, there was "talk" of awarding one day beer licenses for special events. That said, I doubt the BC would want to host indoor football gain as I've heard they were soured by the C-heads experience. I can't say why, but the word on the street was that they felt "burned".

[Buttmonkey]

The berry center was a great venue but no beer was no good!

[phydeaux72]

Well, I can tell you this. And I speak from experience. After owning a minor league sports franchise in the Houston market, I have no desire to ever put another franchise in that market. The market is too big and too major league minded for minor league sports. After doing a little research, which is what I should have done before going there in the first place, I've found that with the exception of the Houston Aeros, minor league sports franchises have rarely, if ever, survived in the greater Houston market. And the only reason I believe that the Aeros have survived there this long is becuase there is no other hockey alternative in the Houston market.

But that's just from my experience.

[Big Easy]

Phy, your first hand experience is valid and not something I'd question. You would certainly know better than I. Maybe it's just me wanting that it could be successful versus the reality that it can't.

When you were in Houston, you followed a team in the Katy area that left behind some problems and bad feelings. I'm not accusing the C-heads of not cleaning some of that up (or trying to), but just the fact that it happened was probably a a blow to your efforts and I'm sure it had an effect on them too. Also, when you were active in the Houston area, the C-heads were playing. I know crowds at both arenas were not what either ownership group wanted, but the number of people combined possibly could have been viable. I just have the feeling that the market was damaged by the C-heads move to Cy-Fair/af2 and due to the fact that there were now two teams to choose from when one had not yet established itself. Again, it's probably just me wanting to wish against reality. I travel all over the country and see so many minor league teams making it in big league cities. Minor league baseball in the Dallas area works even though they have the Rangers there. Chicago has a NHL and AHL team. Etc. I'd hate to think that outside of the Aeros it's impossible for Houston to support a minor league team, but that could be the case. Theres just something inside of me that says someone should be able to caputure an area, even just a big school district and garner enough interest to be mildly successful. If someone could somehow capture the pride of a suburban area and make it "their team", it could take off. For those reasons, I often think Houston should have a minor league baseball team in the Woodlands or Sugarland. Just far enough out, but still very heavily populated.

And finally, yes I know, minor league baseball and hockey are apples and oranges to indoor football.

[Caballo Diablo]

Aren't they staying in College Station?

Hurricanes To Relocate In 2010
October 16, 2009 - Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL) Texas Hurricanes


http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3917648

[realitycheck]

I hear Kicks is available... anyone? Bueller?

phydeaux is right. My prediction - these guys won't play another down... and if they do, Terry Williams is obviously looking to take a loss for his taxes.

So where does that leave the western group of teams? With the travel-blowout-of-the-week and the Turfcats taken away, that leaves 4 teams. The only two that are on solid ground at this point are Lake Charles and Lafayette... Houma is a burned market after Franklin's antics, and the Hurricanes are looking for a place to make landfall. Not to mention the "Crusaders" or whatever they might be called... IF they make a go of it at all.

Sure hope everybody has some extra room in their budgets... I smell cross-division road trips, at least one... how's Lake Charles to Columbus looking?

[Minor League Man]

I believe there were two SIFL franchises in Houston; the Texas Pirates, who moved to College Station and changed their name to the Hurricanes and the Houston Crusaders who put their start date off until 2011.
Last I heard, it was just 2010 that they put off their start date until...Have they decided to put it off ANOTHER year? (If so, I bet they'll never play a down)

[arenafan]

I hear Kicks is available... anyone? Bueller?

phydeaux is right. My prediction - these guys won't play another down... and if they do, Terry Williams is obviously looking to take a loss for his taxes.

So where does that leave the western group of teams? With the travel-blowout-of-the-week and the Turfcats taken away, that leaves 4 teams. The only two that are on solid ground at this point are Lake Charles and Lafayette... Houma is a burned market after Franklin's antics, and the Hurricanes are looking for a place to make landfall. Not to mention the "Crusaders" or whatever they might be called... IF they make a go of it at all.

Sure hope everybody has some extra room in their budgets... I smell cross-division road trips, at least one... how's Lake Charles to Columbus looking?



Columbus went to Harrisburg (14 hours) Baltimore (12 hours) and Fayetteville 2 times (7.5 hours) so a trip or two to lake charles is still saving them money on travel.

[sportznut]

Not saying there will or will not be any cross division games, what i will say, if that is what the owners want, then that is what i will build.

[phydeaux72]

The berry center was a great venue but no beer was no good!

Both the Berry Center and Merrill Center are beautiful facilities and were great for indoor football. Their only drawbacks were the lack of beer sales and the astronomical rental fees.

The only other facility in Houston that would be suitable for indoor/arena football at this level is Reliant Arena. They do sell beer. However, as of about two years ago when I looked into it, the base rent alone was $11,000 per night and good luck getting a cut of the concessions. Plus, with no media coverage whatsoever, I can't see a franchise in the SIFL, or any league for that matter, surviving longterm in Houston.

The only thing Houstonians care about are the Rockets, Texans, Dynamo, and maybe the Aeros. And even those are a hard sell.

[Minor League Man]

The only thing Houstonians care about are the Rockets, Texans, Dynamo, and maybe the Aeros. And even those are a hard sell.

You mean there's no support for the Astros? (Or UH or Rice sports?)

[phydeaux72]

You mean there's no support for the Astros? (Or UH or Rice sports?)

Yeah, them too.

[Disco]

Well, I can tell you this. And I speak from experience. After owning a minor league sports franchise in the Houston market, I have no desire to ever put another franchise in that market. The market is too big and too major league minded for minor league sports. After doing a little research, which is what I should have done before going there in the first place, I've found that with the exception of the Houston Aeros, minor league sports franchises have rarely, if ever, survived in the greater Houston market. And the only reason I believe that the Aeros have survived there this long is becuase there is no other hockey alternative in the Houston market.

But that's just from my experience.

Your problem was NOT the Houston market, that is just a cop-out for failing....try having beer sales....now thats an idea...DUHHHH, nuff said. Last time i checked there were more Swashbucklers fans at your games the Ruff Rider fans, of course that is when we were running the scoredboard up in the 80's... :::giggling::: god that was so much fun, player of the week everytime we visited Katy was a nice finishing touch as well.

[expressfb]

is the guy/guys who owned the texas pirates, now starting the team in tyler called the Texas Rose?

[Marlins]

is the guy/guys who owned the texas pirates, now starting the team in tyler called the Texas Rose?

Yes, James Germany was formally one of the owners of the Texas Pirates and will now be one of two owners for the Texas Rose in Tyler.

[Minor League Man]

Can anybody give some information on the Houston Lightning team that's supposedly starting SIFL play in 2010?

[HoustonLightning]

Can anybody give some information on the Houston Lightning team that's supposedly starting SIFL play in 2010?

www.lightningprofootball.com

[realitycheck]

www.lightningprofootball.comAnd like everything else with the SIFL... almost all of the pages are "Coming Soon". When are people going to realize that launching a team website with everything "coming soon" looks a lot worse (for not just the team, but the league overall) than not launching the site?

No tryouts. No arena info (save for a pic of Reliant). Photos from 2009 for a team that didn't even exist. It's all Coming Soon!!

[HoustonLightning]

Hey, I was just giving out a web address. I have nothing to do with its content. I think someone needs a nap. :)

[dagr8_1_4ever]

.
I think he was pointing out a big problem with the league and its image.
In less than an hour one can have one of these cookie cutter websites full of useful information that one could use to show off their team and league as professional and worthy of $10 to $20 bucks for a ticket when the season begins.

.

[50 Yard Fan]

What I get from the site is that this is the same Texas Pirates team that could not make it though the 2009 season back for another try. They were a low budget team in 2009 and look to be again with the recycled Lincoln Lightning logo.
Not good. :(

That's my first impression from the site.

[dagr8_1_4ever]

.
One would think that the league would require a team that didn't finish last season to put up some kind of financial bond in case they do fold again to make sure the other teams don't suffer.

Of course it would look like a leauge would require that of all new members as well would put up some kind of security bond in case they can't complete the season. Thus making sure teams are serious and teams will be played for performing.

.

[Big Easy]

I'm happy to see Bryan Blake coming back to Houston as a head coach. I liked working with Bryan when I was a compliance officer with the Copperheads (the season before I assumed media responsibility). Really liked Coach Biles too. If they secure a good arena to play in I'll have to check them out.

[preeths]

They're probably going to have to change that logo. I doubt they can just take the Lincoln Lightning's old one.

[indoor fan]

I'm happy to see Bryan Blake coming back to Houston as a head coach. I liked working with Bryan when I was a compliance officer with the Copperheads (the season before I assumed media responsibility). Really liked Coach Biles too. If they secure a good arena to play in I'll have to check them out.


Had the privilege of meeting Ed Biles, as well. The former Houston Oilers Head Coach, had some great stories about Joe Namath, when he was an assistant with the Jets.

[sportznut]

This is not the Texas Pirates Org. The Previous Ownership group of the Texas Pirates will NOT be assoiciated with our League. Thank You

[sportznut]

This is not the Texas Pirates Org. The Previous Ownership group of the Texas Pirates will NOT be associated with our League. Thank You

[50 Yard Fan]

This is not the Texas Pirates Org. The Previous Ownership group of the Texas Pirates will NOT be associated with our League. Thank You


I am glad to hear that. :)

But now I have to ask, why they are using all those Pirates photos on the site.:confused:
They even show them as the 2009 Lightning. http://www.lightningprofootball.com/photo-gallery/category/1-houston-lightning.html

That does not seem like a great idea to associate yourself with a team that didn't make it through the season.

[Independent]

I think just for looks when the Turfcats 1st had their site up their used pictures of the Frisco Thunder players.

[50 Yard Fan]

I think just for looks when the Turfcats 1st had their site up their used pictures of the Frisco Thunder players.

The Turfcats may have, but they didn't show pictures of the Thunder and say "Here are photos of our 2008 Turfcats".

It just seems like a bad move.

And I do hope they change the logo. :)

[dagr8_1_4ever]

.
Since you can tell us what isn't happening with the Texas team can you give us some info about what is happening with them?

.

[Mayne1984]

with prices around $20, I would think they may be playing in reliant arena

[fwp]

They're probably going to have to change that logo. I doubt they can just take the Lincoln Lightning's old one.

Just noticed that! Wow, there's some good old memories!

[preeths]

That one sticks out to a few of us old-timers!

[indoorfan1]

Is it me or are we expecting to much from the houston team-the reliant arena is booked trust me --trust me--I know. There is also conflict of interest with oh lets say THE TEXANS ---look at the the website for the reliant arena -- no mention at all and it is booked. houston hungry had it right. you are dealing with micromngmnt. at its worst. the integrity is just not there. The people over the lightning have an incredible employee turnover -- but they refuse to see that they are the problem it is always someone else. If they couldnt fill up Kicks Indoor-(1500 cap) how the heck will they fill up reliant (6000 cap)????

[50 Yard Fan]

Houston Lightning update their web site with the new logo.:)

[dagr8_1_4ever]

Is it me or are we expecting to much from the houston team-the reliant arena is booked trust me --trust me--I know. There is also conflict of interest with oh lets say THE TEXANS ---look at the the website for the reliant arena -- no mention at all and it is booked. houston hungry had it right. you are dealing with micromngmnt. at its worst. the integrity is just not there. The people over the lightning have an incredible employee turnover -- but they refuse to see that they are the problem it is always someone else. If they couldnt fill up Kicks Indoor-(1500 cap) how the heck will they fill up reliant (6000 cap)????



Tell us how you know they are not going to play in the Reliant Arena so we will be able to trust you next time?

Not saying you are not right but you give no evidence except that you know.

.

[shaolin]

I heard Toyota Center myself

[Marlins]

Any new news on the Houston team? Their website is full of a lot of "coming soon" stuff, but not much else.

[Big Easy]

I heard Toyota Center myself

No way. Thats a recipe for disaster. That building is mega expensive.

[Mayne1984]

yeah I dont know how long they will last in there...but im still waiting on what the schedule will look like

[shaolin]

No way. Thats a recipe for disaster. That building is mega expensive.

yep I keep hearing it. The Lightning will be in the Toyota Center.

Great venue but i agree it could be a horrible recipe to eat for the ownership though

[Mayne1984]

http://www.lightningprofootball.com/tryouts.html


2010 Open Tryouts
The Houston Lightning will be holding their first open tryouts.

When:
January, 30th at 9:00 AM

Where:
Pro Combine Tryouts
For Houston Lightning Tryouts
Next to Saint United Church
350 Century Plaza
Houston, TX 77073

Cost:
$50.00 (Cash or Credit cards day of tryouts. Checks must be paid in advance)

Click here for online registration.

[indoor fan]

yep I keep hearing it. The Lightning will be in the Toyota Center.

Great venue but i agree it could be a horrible recipe to eat for the ownership though

They have the Reliant arena on their banner. That would be more expensive than Toyota Center, I would think.

[Mayne1984]

Yeah I was comparing their home schedule to the events that were going on at Reliant Arena... and none of the games conflict with the events thats going on there....

[dagr8_1_4ever]

.
Now just have to hope they are financed well enough to finish the season.
Travel will be fairly high as spread out as the teams are.

.

[Buttmonkey]

Reliant arena and reliant stadium are two diferent faclities

[dagr8_1_4ever]

.
So explain the difference and tell us which one they will actually be playing in.

.

[NatePreds05]

Reliant Stadium is where the Houstan Texans of the NFL play. Houston's SIFL team will definitely not be playing there.

Reliant Arena is probably where they will be playing.

[Mayne1984]

yeah the Reliant Arena event schedule is what I was comparing. Seems like they will most definitely play there

[50 Yard Fan]

The Houston site was down for maintance and is now back up.

But the Reliant Arena is no longer shown in the back ground at the top of the screen.
And when you click on "Tickets" and "Arena" you get "Coming Soon".
I am not sure if there was anything on that page before, but that makes me think they are no longer playing at the Reliant Arena and are now looking for a new place to play. Not good, this close to the start of the season.

[50 Yard Fan]

Does the Houston team have an arena?

I still get "Coming soon" when I click on "Tickets" and then "Arena"

[jackinthebox]

there done replaced for opening night....

[Big Easy]

Houston web site not responding....neither is SIFL site.

[jackinthebox]

trust me its over.....swashbucklers will play nort texas crunch of the iifa....

[50 Yard Fan]

Although the SIFL posters have been very quiet.

[Marlins]

Just found this....


Houston Lightning makes big announcement.
Posted on Tuesday, 16 March 2010 11:33 by administrator

Houston, TX March 12, 2010: Our season is set to open March 20, 2010, against the Louisiana Swashbucklers. After meeting with Tom Hager, President of the SIFL, on March 10, 2010 we have made the decision to not field the Houston Lightning this year. This decision is directly related to an agreement to play in a specific local arena which is now not being honored, by them. We have spent an enormous amount of time, effort, and money to replace our original arena. Understand that we have not sold a single ticket, nor taken any advertising dollars. This issue for our organization is not a financial decision, but one of fairness and integrity.

We do not make this decision lightly as it affects so many lives in and around our organization; fans, players, coaches, staff, sponsors, other team owners, and those employees of all the vendors in support of us. With such a short time to our first game we cannot in good consciousness attempt to field a team and meet the level of quality and experience we demand of ourselves, let alone our fans and sponsors. It would also be financially irresponsible to our organization at this point to attempt this.

The Houston Lightning would like to thank our staff and coaches for their support and hard work since our inception. We also want to take a moment to thank the SIFL for the opportunity to bring arena league football to Houston. We also want to acknowledge all the players who came to our tryouts and worked so hard to live their dream.

We wish the SIFL all the best, and still believe that Houston is a city that can support an arena league team successfully.

[preeths]

Ugh, this is not what the SIFL needed, especially after last season.

[Big Easy]

Understand that we have not sold a single ticket, nor taken any advertising dollars.

no tickets + no sponsorship $ = no football

Unless they had ticket and sponsorship commitments that were pending based on striking a new arena deal, they were dead in the water from the word go.

Why wait until now to make this announcement? With 2 months until opening kick off you know if you can go or not. If you don't have your arena in place and dont' have ticket or sponsorship $ you are toast.

Finally, I found it interesting that they would refer to the opportunity as a chance to bring "arena league football" to Houston. I know it's semantics and I'm not suggesting they are candidates for any league with "arena" in it.

[robster2001]

From @siflfootball on Twitter at 8:05 AM Eastern time today:

2010 SIFL Season kicks off on March 20 in Lake Charles, La.

Really? Their scheduled opponent has folded -- a fact not mentioned on the SIFL website, even though it apparently happened a week ago.

To promote a game where you know one of the scheduled teams won't appear is... well... bush league.

Update the website, guys. You owe the fans in Lake Charles that much.

[realitycheck]

My guess is that the league probably got blindsided as usual (think Florida Kings) and they are in scramble mode right now. Granted, a real PR guy would have taken care of business already, but it looks like the SIFL has chosen to lower the bar in the PR department.

I will say this - say what you will about the IFL, but at least they have a plan in place for situations like this that doesn't have "call the North Texas Crunch" as step 1. Until Thom Hager realizes he needs to raise the bar a little bit higher for owners in his merry band of misfits, the SIFL will (sadly) continue to deal with these problems.

[NatePreds05]

From @siflfootball on Twitter at 8:05 AM Eastern time today:



Really? Their scheduled opponent has folded -- a fact not mentioned on the SIFL website, even though it apparently happened a week ago.

To promote a game where you know one of the scheduled teams won't appear is... well... bush league.

Update the website, guys. You owe the fans in Lake Charles that much.

A team will appear Rob, and the game will be played. The team just won't be the Houston Lightning. Promotion goes on. Ya gotta sell those tickets.

[preeths]

Agreed, the SIFL needs to update the status of their opening game ASAP. Sure, I believe it will be played, but it would be helpful to officially know who their opponent will be. I do not chalk this up against their PR or media person. He consistently gets information out. My guess is he just doesn't have the details in hand yet.

[newiflfan]

I interpreted the "no ad money" comment to mean that maybe the team had collected some ad money, but has since refunded it all.

[jerry101jlh]

Paul said the SIFL didn't need this, which is true, but my question is how and why did they let it happen? Let's be honest, if the league had done their due diligence this would not be happening.

I can not speak for the SIFL, but I know most leagues require proof of a venue deal before entry into the league finalized. If this is not the case in the SIFL, should be and if it is, why did they choose to let things go into a week before the season?

[indoor fan]

Right now the SIFL is moving closer and closer to the APFL level. I would rather see them try and redo their schedules than have a traveling semi pro replacement team.

[dagr8_1_4ever]

So what advantage would a traveling team have to join a league at this late date?
Would an Augusta who wasn't in a few weeks ago get in now and play the season, not having to pay the initiation fees and being able to negotiate home teams out of travel money and not have a lot of other expenses associated with being a league member?
Give them eight games to play this year as all road games and see how well they compete before getting in full time next year?

Just a thought.

[Caballo Diablo]

So what advantage would a traveling team have to join a league at this late date?
Would an Augusta who wasn't in a few weeks ago get in now and play the season, not having to pay the initiation fees and being able to negotiate home teams out of travel money and not have a lot of other expenses associated with being a league member?
Give them eight games to play this year as all road games and see how well they compete before getting in full time next year?

Just a thought.


That's similar to what happened last year.

When the 2nd Houston team dropped out due to serious health issues with the owner, the Florida Kings were added as a travel only team to fill out the games already sold in season ticket packages for the rest of the teams. The Kings were scheduled to join the league this season and said they were ready to play.

The team seemed less prepared than a semi-pro team and it turned out their owner was psycho. The Kings were booted from the league and the Semi-Pro North Texas Crunch filled in as opponents for the rest of the year.

Props to the Crunch for accepting the challenge, they turned out to be a better opponent than the Kings and their players got some valuable experience and a look see by many coaches who otherwise would be unfamiliar with them.

It worked out as well as can be expected and it was only year on. Having a similar occurance this season is troubling. Is it just a coincidence both situations started with a Houston team unable to field a team?

[dagr8_1_4ever]

.
That being the case, any Texas team would have to ante up a double franchise fee to start the season then have half repaid when they successfully complete the season.

Of course, if it is that common an occurance I might would make that the rule for all teams and make them pay the franchise fee up front. That way they will be more likely to hang around at least until the end of the year. If not that money could be split between the teams that do finish to help offset the loss of revenue for the missed games.

Creditable is so important and it looks like something missing in a lot of indoor football leagues around the country, not just the SIFL.

Here is hoping the remaining teams hold up their end of the bargain and we are in for 10 great weekends of SIFL football.

.

[IndoorExpert]

You are absolutely right. The perception is very poor. To wait until a week before the first game seems ludicrous, and irresponsible. If I paid a franchise fee, I would be livid. I would be asking for at minimum, a reduction. Having similar problems two years in a row means that no new rule was implemented to avoid this problem from happening again. Making mistakes is common place for us all. Learning from those mistakes is the key to success while repeating them is the sign of failure.

[jerry101jlh]

I believe the SIFL before last season even started promised fans a different league, one that did its due diligence and would not be subject to mistakes of the past, yet they didn't follow through on that promise obviously. You are so right Indoor Expert on perception. If the league did make changes in the off season to prevent this kind of thing from happening they obviously ignored those changes. In either case, changes made, but ignored, or needed change not made, the perception is the SIFL is not living up to their pre launch as a league promises.

[arenafan]

The SIFL could not have seen this coming. The arena in houston decided at the last hour to pull the lease. Houston had paid all of their bills and was waiting to start the season.

[preeths]

The Lightning admitted that they hadn't sold any tickets or collected any advertising dollars ( http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3976062 ). I believe that indicates more than anything else that this was not a last-hour decision by the arena.

[jerry101jlh]

rather common to blame the arena or others. Bottom line had all been in order Houston would be playing.