Fran
09-13-2005, 02:53 PM
Arena football coming to town?
UIF’s Freedom preventing deal, af2 president says
By Stacy Clardie
The Journal Gazette
Arenafootball2 president Jerry Kurz said a group of investors is ready to establish a franchise in Fort Wayne that would begin play in 2006.
The only thing stopping the city from getting a team is the Fort Wayne Freedom.
The Freedom, which plays in United Indoor Football, has played its home games at Memorial Coliseum since 2003. Owner Rich Coffey and Coliseum general manager Randy Brown currently are finalizing a new three-year lease, and Brown said the final step is approval from the board of trustees. He expects that to happen this month.
Kurz said because the Coliseum is the “premier building around that area,” it is the only option to host an af2 team. The af2, affiliated with the Arena Football League, has 20 teams across the country, including franchises in New York, California, Florida and Wisconsin. The only franchises in the Midwest are in Green Bay, Wis., Louisville, Ky., and Moline, Ill.
Kurz said af2 is interested in Fort Wayne because of the size of the market, the Coliseum, the demographics of the community and the solid ratings from af2 games on television in Fort Wayne. The support for the Freedom, though, is “way, way low on the totem pole” because the style of play in the UIF and the af2 are “night and day different,” Kurz said.
“We’re excited about it, but it’s depending upon their being an available space,” Kurz said. “If Coffey continues on and doesn’t leave the market, we’ll be disappointed. But we’ll look to next year. This is our 20th year, so we’ve been around a long time and we will be around a long time.”
Coffey insists the Freedom will stay in Fort Wayne.
“I’m saying they don’t have a local ownership group and they’re not going to be playing at the Coliseum,” Coffey said. “It’s much ado about nothing.”
Coffey said the af2 has been visiting other markets that currently have UIF franchises “to make us nervous in the UIF.”
The UIF had 11 teams in its inaugural season this summer. Coffey said Bloomington, Ill., has been approved as an expansion franchise to play in 2006. At the league meetings this weekend in St. Louis, UIF owners also approved the move of the Tennessee Valley franchise from Huntsville, Ala., to Rockford, Ill. More teams could be added before the end of the month, too, Coffey said. The deadline is Oct. 1.
Kurz said the af2 had contact with one other “lower-level” team in the same league as the Freedom’s – one he declined to specify – and that was because the team contacted him.
Brown confirmed he had spoken with representatives of af2, but he’s standing firm behind Coffey and the Freedom. There are four lawsuits on file against Coffey and/or Indiana Indoor Football LLC (the team’s corporate name) claiming lack of payment for services rendered.
Kurz said the deadline for af2 to add a franchise in Fort Wayne would be no later than the end of this month because schedules are released Oct. 15. Even if there isn’t an opportunity to bring an af2 franchise to the city this season, Kurz said he could revisit the issue for 2007.
UIF’s Freedom preventing deal, af2 president says
By Stacy Clardie
The Journal Gazette
Arenafootball2 president Jerry Kurz said a group of investors is ready to establish a franchise in Fort Wayne that would begin play in 2006.
The only thing stopping the city from getting a team is the Fort Wayne Freedom.
The Freedom, which plays in United Indoor Football, has played its home games at Memorial Coliseum since 2003. Owner Rich Coffey and Coliseum general manager Randy Brown currently are finalizing a new three-year lease, and Brown said the final step is approval from the board of trustees. He expects that to happen this month.
Kurz said because the Coliseum is the “premier building around that area,” it is the only option to host an af2 team. The af2, affiliated with the Arena Football League, has 20 teams across the country, including franchises in New York, California, Florida and Wisconsin. The only franchises in the Midwest are in Green Bay, Wis., Louisville, Ky., and Moline, Ill.
Kurz said af2 is interested in Fort Wayne because of the size of the market, the Coliseum, the demographics of the community and the solid ratings from af2 games on television in Fort Wayne. The support for the Freedom, though, is “way, way low on the totem pole” because the style of play in the UIF and the af2 are “night and day different,” Kurz said.
“We’re excited about it, but it’s depending upon their being an available space,” Kurz said. “If Coffey continues on and doesn’t leave the market, we’ll be disappointed. But we’ll look to next year. This is our 20th year, so we’ve been around a long time and we will be around a long time.”
Coffey insists the Freedom will stay in Fort Wayne.
“I’m saying they don’t have a local ownership group and they’re not going to be playing at the Coliseum,” Coffey said. “It’s much ado about nothing.”
Coffey said the af2 has been visiting other markets that currently have UIF franchises “to make us nervous in the UIF.”
The UIF had 11 teams in its inaugural season this summer. Coffey said Bloomington, Ill., has been approved as an expansion franchise to play in 2006. At the league meetings this weekend in St. Louis, UIF owners also approved the move of the Tennessee Valley franchise from Huntsville, Ala., to Rockford, Ill. More teams could be added before the end of the month, too, Coffey said. The deadline is Oct. 1.
Kurz said the af2 had contact with one other “lower-level” team in the same league as the Freedom’s – one he declined to specify – and that was because the team contacted him.
Brown confirmed he had spoken with representatives of af2, but he’s standing firm behind Coffey and the Freedom. There are four lawsuits on file against Coffey and/or Indiana Indoor Football LLC (the team’s corporate name) claiming lack of payment for services rendered.
Kurz said the deadline for af2 to add a franchise in Fort Wayne would be no later than the end of this month because schedules are released Oct. 15. Even if there isn’t an opportunity to bring an af2 franchise to the city this season, Kurz said he could revisit the issue for 2007.