Update on the UFL

[Fran]

http://www.reuters.com/article...&virtualBrandChannel=0


NFL rival to reveal West Coast football teams soon

By Ben Klayman

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A planned competitor to the National Football League has identified the eight markets it would like to open with next year, and hopes to unveil some of its West Coast teams in the next month.

"I think we're going to have an announcement, probably next month, relative to the first three or four (teams) on the West Coast," United Football League Commissioner Michael Huyghue told Reuters on Thursday. "Once we do that, you'll know more about where we stand with respect to the rest of them."

The UFL, with initial funding from investment banker Bill Hambrecht and Google Inc executive Tim Armstrong, said in May 2007 it would begin play with eight teams in August 2008. However, it postponed the launch to 2009 to allow more time to attract owner-investors, negotiate a TV broadcast deal and build league branding, Huyghue said in an interview at the Sports Lawyers Association conference in San Francisco.

The UFL would be the latest in a series of leagues to compete with the NFL since the 1970s, including the World Football League, the United States Football League and most recently the XFL -- all of which failed.

Billionaire Mark Cuban, owner of the National Basketball Association's Dallas team, is among the owners, and Hambrecht, the San Francisco area-based founder of WR Hambrecht + Co, may join him, Huyghue said.

Huyghue, a former executive at several NFL teams, declined to reveal other owner names, but said "they're well known, very financially strong people who either have some (ownership) interest in soccer or football or baseball primarily."

He said each owner would put up at least $60 million initially, and they have been told to expect losses of $25 million to $30 million a year for the first three years. Profits would follow somewhere in the third to fifth years.

The league will run from August to just after Thanksgiving on Thursday and Friday nights. The plan is to begin with eight teams -- although it may start with six -- in markets not served by the NFL, such as Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

On top of those two, Huyghue said markets would also likely include San Francisco and Salt Lake City, Utah, based on feedback from fans signing up to reserve tickets. Orlando, Florida, was a strong East Coast contender, while San Antonio, Texas, appeals to the Hispanic fans that the UFL plans to court aggressively, he added.

While Huyghue said no stadium deals have been officially signed, the UFL has agreements with six stadiums. He said the UFL is talking with Major League Soccer teams about using their stadiums in deals under which the UFL would pay a facility fee and share revenue generated on football game days.

Huyghue said past NFL rivals failed due to overspending, unrealistic expectations and overly gimmicky approaches. The UFL, however, will have a salary cap -- like the NFL -- and is assuming average per-game attendance conservatively at 25,000.

"We're much more realistic in our expectations," he said. "We're managing our costs better than I think the other (failed) leagues did."

The UFL will not spend heavily on a few star players like the USFL did, he added. The UFL model is based on attracting players from the bottom half of NFL rosters, many of whom have turned into NFL stars when given a chance to play.

The UFL will aim to be more innovative, possibly putting microchips in balls to help referees with ball placement, as well as embracing the betting side of the sport by allowing broadcasters to talk openly about point spreads.

"We're obviously going to make sure we protect the integrity of the game, but it's foolish not to think the NFL hasn't made a significant amount of revenue of its television product because there are wagers on the games," Huyghue said.

[Minor League Man]

I think the WC markets should be Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Sacramento, and Portland.

[Fez]

Glad to see UFL is looking to MLS stadiums. I've been suggesting that as a great option all along. They are nice, new stadiums, but much more modest in size 16-25k capacity. Perfect for an upstart league.

Now the UFL just needs to award a franchise to Columbus Ohio.

[ca]

in the ufl since its nfl team is a joke !

[logoguru]

We're getting a helicopter...soon!
________
tiny tits Cams

[phydeaux72]

San Antonio needs a team!

[SignGuyDino]

LV, LA, and SA seem absolute locks for a team IF this league takes off.

[mrcool92501]

where pro sports franchises go to die

[Morris Mott]

[quote=""mrcool92501""]where pro sports franchises go to die[/quote]

Yes, non-NFL football has been tried in Vegas before when the CFL had a franchise there. But it wasn't the product or the league that the Las Vegas fans didn't like... it was the heat. The CFL runs a June to November season, so a lot of games occur in the summer.

The UFL plans to run from August to November. Well, I do hope the UFL is aware that Las Vegas has an average temperature of 89 degrees in August(their hottest month) and September is not much better with temperatures hovering over 80 degrees most days. That's a whole half season of hot dry desert home games.

Not a good thing.

[rams80]

[quote=""Morris Mott""]Yes, non-NFL football has been tried in Vegas before when the CFL had a franchise there. But it wasn't the product or the league that the Las Vegas fans didn't like... it was the heat. The CFL runs a June to November season, so a lot of games occur in the summer.

The UFL plans to run from August to November. Well, I do hope the UFL is aware that Las Vegas has an average temperature of 89 degrees in August(their hottest month) and September is not much better with temperatures hovering over 80 degrees most days. That's a whole half season of hot dry desert home games.

Not a good thing. [/quote]

Why go see minor league football when you can see major league casino entertainment events? That's the real reason right there.