Drillers Press Conference Info

[ronaldoswalt]

Officials Outline Plans For Drillers in 2008
Drillers to unveil new logo, coach and management team

BEAUMONT –The Beaumont Drillers indoor football team will be holding a press conference to discuss the upcoming 2008 season.

Team administrators will offer information on new league, tryouts, new coach, logo, website and staff in a news conference at 11 a.m. on Friday (1/4/08) at the Beaumont Convention and Visitor's Bureau on McFaddin @ Willow.

Those attending are Paula Bothe Four Alarm Productions; Bryan Blake, Head Coach/General Manager; J. Ronald Oswalt, Director of Media Relations, Ed Biles, former Houston Oilers Head Coach and Chris Doelle, Media Producer for the Drillers. This is the media's best opportunity to gather information on the Beaumont Drillers upcoming 2008 campaign.

In addition to providing information on the new management, coaching, staff and partnerships, media can find out about what fans can expect when attending Driller’s football games.

For more information or get photos for media outlets or to get your 2008 Beaumont Drillers season tickets, contact the Drillers office at (713) 732-0107 or by electronic mail at beeblak@aol.com or contact J. Ronald Oswalt at ronaldoswalt@gmail.com

[indoor fan]

I guess this pretty much secures that the San Bernadinos Bucking Bulls will win the NIFL's Pacific Conference.

[Jamie]

I'm still pulling for the Candoos!

[Minor League Man]

I heard they were going to the APFL...Which I think would be the best choice for them.

2008-The year the Kansas Koyotes' Kastle Tower GETS DRILLED into rubble...

[Gusher]

I am very excited about what is in store for the up-coming season.

[Big Easy]

According to Wikipedia, Beaumont will be in the APFL's South Division along with Conroe, Florida, Fort Worth and Wichita Falls. Glad to see Blake and Biles coaching close to Houston. I'll try to make a game or two in Beaumont if I can. I'll probably catch them in Conroe as well.

/I'm assuming Ed will be coaching with Bryan like he did with the Copperheads last season

[Drillers1]

You can get a peek at the new Drillers web design at www.beaumontdrillersfootball.com. :)

[Big Easy]

Cool. I look forward to it's full debut.

/I'd photoshop the NIFL patches off of the pictured players' uniforms

[Fez]

Why didn't the Drillers join the IFL or even the AIFA?

[Drillers1]

The AIFA travel was an issue, and it was too late to even talk to the IFL once the new management was in place.

[exit322]

If any of the Reaps have any ownership in the Drillers, I find it hard to believe the IFL would take them. Just too many historical issues there.

[Gusher]

Time will tell. The IFL / Drillers could be a nice fit.

[Minor League Man]

Well, the conference took place...Any word from it?

[Gusher]

It turned out great. Good turn out from the media. There were some very good ideas/ plans said that should make a very postive difference for this team. The commitment is there.

[Minor League Man]

It turned out great. Good turn out from the media. There were some very good ideas/ plans said that should make a very postive difference for this team. The commitment is there.
Well, I have a few questions:

1. Is it APFL as reported? If so, what's their schedule and what teams will be playing?
2. Will they stay in Ford Arena?
3. When should we expect the website to be functional?

[Gusher]

Well, I have a few questions:

1. Is it APFL as reported? If so, what's their schedule and what teams will be playing?
2. Will they stay in Ford Arena?
3. When should we expect the website to be functional?

1. Yes The APFL South Conroe, Fort Worth, Wichita Falls, Sarasota No schedule as of now.
2. Yes Ford Park Mgmt of Ford Park was there and are working hand and hand with the Drillers and Four Alarm Productions.
3 Not sure but I think soon.

[indoor fan]

1. Yes The APFL South Conroe, Fort Worth, Wichita Falls, Sarasota No schedule as of now.
2. Yes Ford Park Mgmt of Ford Park was there and are working hand and hand with the Drillers and Four Alarm Productions.
3 Not sure but I think soon.

APFL South:

1. Conroe - solid
2. Beaumont - solid
3. Wichita Falls - ????? two players at their tryout
4. Ft. Worth - ????? folded after two road games last year; owner is a flake;?
5. Sarasota, FLORIDA - ???deep pockets to fly back and forth; can teams survive?

[suge night]

Could be an interesting season (indoor fan)reads to much on message boards,from what I'm told by Wichita GM they signed most of their team from Dallas Desperados cut there public tryout was just dressing,and at the time another organization claiming to play from the iifa was causing semi pro problems,As for the Ft.Worth thing they( just my 2 cents )did the right thing by not losing any more money than they did by getting a late start and as time played out showed that the city of Ft.Worth kills minor league teams no matter who goes in their NBA D-League was ran out of town last season by the city,I would also like to say that it is very easy for any of us to slam people on this message board but how many of us would put ourselfs out front like the people who take the risk these people take,(sorry a new years thing.) :-D good luck to all from every sport.

[indoor fan]

All anyone needs to do is do some background check on the Ft. Worth owner. He has never put together a team that has made it through a season. Did he ever have a lease last season? Does he have a lease this season?

Just the facts. I hope everything works out well for the APFL south teams, but a little inveestigation goes a long ways.

[ronaldoswalt]

link is here from kdfm channel 6 in beaumont
http://www.kfdm.com/video/index.php?bcpid=1138292619&bclid=1138334401&bctid=1366496424

[ronaldoswalt]

01/05/2008
Drillers return in a different league
By PERRYN KEYS , The Enterprise

BEAUMONT - The Beaumont Drillers spent four years making token efforts to drum up support and stabilize the indoor-football franchise.

This year, they say they're going to get it right.

Attempting to draw a line between old and new leadership, the Drillers announced the return of Bryan Blake as the team's head coach and general manager, as well as their move to a new league for the 2008 season.

The Drillers also unveiled a new logo, new uniforms and a new Web site.

The announcements were made Friday at a news conference at the Beaumont Convention and Visitors Bureau, attended by city officials and staff members from Ford Park.

The Drillers said Friday they will return to Ford Arena and play in the American Professional Football League, which started in the Midwestern United States in 2003 and now counts 11 teams as members.

The team has tabbed a Beaumont marketing firm to help advertise and build up a positive image in the area.

Blake said the Drillers also plan to fill their roster with local athletes and begin community-involvement programs with local schools.

"This is no longer somebody's hobby," said Blake, who coached the Drillers during their first two seasons in Beaumont from 2003-04.

"This is going to be a business, and it's going to be a 24-hour job. I didn't want to come over here and do this without doing it right."

The Drillers are still owned by Louisiana businessman Roy Reap, who started the franchise in Alexandra, La., and played as the Louisiana Rangers before moving after the 2002 season.

Roy Reap's son, Steven Reap, served as general manager and ran the team's day-to-day operations for parts of the last five seasons.

"Steve and I didn't really see eye-to-eye on things," Blake said. "He's no longer a part of the organization."

Blake left the Drillers in 2005 and founded the Katy Copperheads in 2006, serving as coach and general manager.

Last season, he sold his majority stake in the Copperheads to an Austin businessman. The Copperheads also relocated to the Cypress area of Houston and moved up to arenafootball2, a widely known and more well-respected league owned by the Arena Football League.

Blake coached the Copperheads last season but said he clashed with ownership, which wanted to hire its own assistant coaches.

"My career has been up and down a little bit," Blake said, "but I kept in touch with Roy, and he always wanted me to get back with it."

Meanwhile, the Drillers' league basically went belly-up in the middle of last season, leaving the Beaumont team to scramble for opponents.

The National Indoor Football League, rarely a model for consistency, had not gone through a season without one of its teams folding since 2003. In 2007, however, teams either folded or defected en masse, leaving the Drillers' schedule full of holes.

The team managed to meet all its commitments for home games at Ford Arena, shipping in teams from other leagues - including the APFL's Conroe Storm - for exhibition games that would eventually count toward the Drillers' NIFL record.

The team has suffered from low attendance almost from the day it arrived in town. The Drillers won their first three home games at the Beaumont Civic Center in 2003, but soon missed the playoffs as attendance nearly vanished.

When the Drillers finally made their first postseason appearance in 2006 - their second season in Ford Arena - fans were allowed into the game for free.

"We just need some people to get out and see some games. When they do, I think they'll want to come back," Blake said.

"We're going to do this thing the right way from now on. We're going to advertise, and our ticket prices are going to be very affordable. There (are) teams in this league that average 5,000 fans in smaller cities than Beaumont."

The Drillers will play in the APFL's South Division along with franchises from Bradenton, Fla., Fort Worth, Wichita Falls and Conroe.

The APFL expects to announce its schedule by the end of the month, media relations director J. Ronald Oswalt said.

The season is scheduled to begin in April.

[exit322]

Whoa - the BS meter just started screaming. If you add up all of the attendance averages in the APFL last year...it probably doesn't equal the "teams in this league that average 5,000 fans" line.

[BananaCat]

Time will tell. The IFL / Drillers could be a nice fit.
I believe they'd be a good fit in the Intense league as long as they had stable ownership.

[exit322]

The IFL, from what I've been told from multiple sources, will not ever take the Reaps as an ownership group.

[BananaCat]

The IFL, from what I've been told from multiple sources, will not ever take the Reaps as an ownership group.
It's good to see the Intense league doing so well. I think they learned their lesson a few years ago when they joined the NIFL, and since then they've been improving each year.

[exit322]

The IFL has certainly kept the mistakes to a minimum...their biggest one since "coming back" was a team that the AF2 took.

[Drillers1]

Whoa - the BS meter just started screaming. If you add up all of the attendance averages in the APFL last year...it probably doesn't equal the "teams in this league that average 5,000 fans" line.

It was actually a general statement about Indoor Football, not the APFL it's self. It's funny to me how people seem to look for anything negative to try and point out on these boards. :rolleyes:

[Gusher]

5,000 fans would be awesome. With the $99 four pack this is the best ticket in town.

[exit322]

There (are) teams in this league that average 5,000 fans in smaller cities than Beaumont."

Yes, you're right. It absolutely does look like he said "throughout the sport." Because "in this league" has the same meaning as "throughout the sport." Ya might want to check the text before you go trying to pretend someone's out to get you.

Beaumont's ownership has been crap for eight years, and that's probably a nice statement. Sorry, when "well, I guess they have paid the rent for eight years" is the best thing that can be said about the organization, that's not a good thing. Hopefully it works out. I think the 73-22 blowouts every week will get old fast...and with the talent the Drillers will probably have, 73-22 might be closer than reality.

[phydeaux72]

The IFL, from what I've been told from multiple sources, will not ever take the Reaps as an ownership group.

I don't believe that that's entirely true. I believe that if the Reaps can prove that the Drillers are a stable, well managed franchise, then the IFL would be happy to consider them. I may be wrong. But I don't believe that it's as cut and dry as saying that the IFL won't take them just because the Reaps are the owners.

[phydeaux72]

The IFL has certainly kept the mistakes to a minimum...their biggest one since "coming back" was a team that the AF2 took.

I think the jury is still out on whether or not the Alaska expansion was a good move for the IFL. The Alaska Wild completed the 2007 season with very few hiccups. They're coming back for 2008. And they've gotten the initial startup costs out of the way.

I also feel that the Fairbanks franchise is going to be a huge success, possibly even moreso than the Anchorage franchise.

[exit322]

The jury is still out publicly, but I think the league is lauding it a success internally.

And I think they're right. Alaska had a few hiccups to start, but they had turned the corner and were a solid football team on and off the field by year end. And now they have a local (as best you can) rival.

[exit322]

I don't believe that that's entirely true. I believe that if the Reaps can prove that the Drillers are a stable, well managed franchise, then the IFL would be happy to consider them. I may be wrong. But I don't believe that it's as cut and dry as saying that the IFL won't take them just because the Reaps are the owners.

I've heard elsewise, but you'd know better than me.

[Gusher]

I don't believe that that's entirely true. I believe that if the Reaps can prove that the Drillers are a stable, well managed franchise, then the IFL would be happy to consider them. I may be wrong. But I don't believe that it's as cut and dry as saying that the IFL won't take them just because the Reaps are the owners. I hope that this year will show everyone the PROGRESS towards those steps.

[BananaCat]

I hope the Drillers do make progress. I think they'd be an excellent addition to the IFL if they have their ducks in a row.

[Gusher]

NBC coverage of the press conference.
http://setxhomepage.com/media_player.php?media_id=4737

[hawkeye]

I heard from someone that the IFL is the only professional league outside of the NFL to have all of it's teams coming back this season. If that is true that is HUGE! The IFL is doing great things and they seem to be on the right course which is...build your markets, build the league brand, and then expand.

As far as Beaumont...they will have a great rival in the APFL in Conroe. I'm hoping to see how they fare against teams like Iowa and Kansas as well.

[phydeaux72]

I believe Beaumont will dominate the APFL.

[Minor League Man]

I believe Beaumont will dominate the APFL.
So you think (as I said before in this thread) that '08 is the year that the Kansas Koyotes' Kastle Tower gets Drilled into rubble and falls into the moat?

[phydeaux72]

So you think (as I said before in this thread) that '08 is the year that the Kansas Koyotes' Kastle Tower gets Drilled into rubble and falls into the moat?

Indeed I do.

[hawkeye]

I guess that's why they play the games right? :)

[BananaCat]

I won't believe Kansas will be toppled until I see it happen. They should've went down 2 years ago (and did), but managed to create so much controversy that the title game became boycotted. No reason for me to expect more of the same from happening, until it doesn't. Like Bush said..."Fool me once...uh....uh....you can't get fooled again!"