Would Bismarck or Fargo work out for UIF?

[Minor League Man]

What do you think?

[tony-o]

With the right leadership, yes.

[preeths]

Bismarck is reportedly a UIF target, according to a couple of recent newspaper articles.

[Rocky]

Travel would be an issue. If Bismarck's closest rival is Sioux Falls, SD, they'll be out on an island. Now, if they work in 2-3 teams in the NoDak/Minn area, that would be great.

[hawk174md]

I am sure Bismarck would be a plus in the UIF. Fargo? Hey, why not?

[freedomfan69]

i think it would be great to have a team from bismark in the UIF:) Freedom Fan 4 life

[Reichert]

Fargo has a miserable history with minor league teams. In fact, an editorial appeared in the Forum of Fargo-Moorhead not so long ago mentioning this fact and the UIF's designs on Fargo. Not only has the Indoor Football League been a huge failure there, so has the Continental Basketball Association (twice, no less), several junior hockey leagues, and a slew of other minor league basketball teams. Fargo's only successful minor league team has been the Northern League's baseball Redhawks, which have become a summertime institution there far beyond the games themselves. Oh yeah, it doesn't hurt that the Redhawks are huge winners on the field, too...a critical component to any effort to get a minor league team going in Fargo.

Quite frankly, there isn't a single minor league team or league itself out there that can duplicate what the Redhawks have done simply because no league (especially in indoor football) is going to have owners with deep enough pockets to pour the money into the game product or the facility.

The UIF would be well-advised to keep their eyes looking elsewhere and not think about setting foot in Fargo. Bismarck, on the other hand, is a very different story.

[Minor League Man]

I thought the UIF was the "Second Chance League"?

[Pounder]

Fargo: Home of North Dakota State University, where they do put 13 to 14K fans in the Fargodome for "just elevated to 1-AA" college football.

It has been my observation that college towns have not made for the best places to put minor league sports that compete with sports sponsored by the town's college... baseball being the sole exception. Lincoln and Knoxville are obvious examples for this discussion.

[NoBallinPDX]

The Freeze was the indoor football team that failed there, but not entirely due to circumstances they could control. They were members of the old PIFL (or IPFL, whichever one it was) About four weeks into their season their venue was flooded by high rains and rising rivers. Fire marshals would not allow the arena to be used until damages were repaired. Thus, Fargo Freeze had to finish the season on the road. It wasn't the SOLE cause of their demise, I'm sure. But it certainly did not help. I agree that Fargo would be a viable expansion site...so long as it's flood-proof!!

[hawk174md]

The Fargo Freeze were a part of the Indoor Football League that was purchased by the Orlando Predators of the Arena Football League. Thus, the af2 was born.

[AllAces]

So, what would be the travel time to Rapid City, Sioux Falls, Billings, and Casper? With all the NIFL problems, what if...