AIFA expands to Washington D.C. for the 2009 season

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Fran
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AIFA expands to Washington D.C. for the 2009 season

Post by Fran » Sat Oct 11, 2008 7:32 pm

The American Indoor Football Association has awarded an expansion franchise to the District of Columbia. The team, to be known as the D.C. Armor, will begin play in 2009.

"I am so very excited about this franchise," said AIFA co-founder John Morris. "It is perfectly located in the center of our Eastern footprint. That Washington-Baltimore rivalry is going to be great, and don't forget nearby Richmond in 2010. The Pennsylvania and Carolina franchises are close by as well."

"I can't say enough about the AIFA," said Corey Barnette, a principal in the team ownership group. "We are enthused about the opportunity to field a team here. We looked at all of the leagues. When you look at the geographic location and the level of competition, it's hard to not argue that the AIFA is the absolute best. We think it's a very viable league, and we're excited."

The Armor will play its home games in the D.C. Armory, which is being renovated for its newest tenant. The team will also have its offices in the arena, which is located adjacent to RFK Stadium and is easily accessible through the region's mass transit rail system.

"It's a ten-thousand seat arena," Barnette remarked for an interview to air on This Week in the AIFA. "It's a phenomenal environment. It's a huge playing facility, but not so much that it would overwhelm a mid-sized crowd."

"The D.C. Armor will fit beautifully in our league," said AIFA co-founder Michael Mink. Washington is a fantastic sports market with a huge population base from which to draw."

Washington D.C. currently ranks as the No. 8 television market, with nearly 2,300,000 TV households. Nearby Baltimore adds over a million more television households into a region with a total population in excess of eight million people.

Minor League Man
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Post by Minor League Man » Sat Oct 11, 2008 11:33 pm

[quote=""Fran""]The American Indoor Football Association has awarded an expansion franchise to the District of Columbia. The team, to be known as the D.C. Armor, will begin play in 2009.

"I am so very excited about this franchise," said AIFA co-founder John Morris. "It is perfectly located in the center of our Eastern footprint. That Washington-Baltimore rivalry is going to be great, and don't forget nearby Richmond in 2010. The Pennsylvania and Carolina franchises are close by as well."

"I can't say enough about the AIFA," said Corey Barnette, a principal in the team ownership group. "We are enthused about the opportunity to field a team here. We looked at all of the leagues. When you look at the geographic location and the level of competition, it's hard to not argue that the AIFA is the absolute best. We think it's a very viable league, and we're excited."

The Armor will play its home games in the D.C. Armory, which is being renovated for its newest tenant. The team will also have its offices in the arena, which is located adjacent to RFK Stadium and is easily accessible through the region's mass transit rail system.

"It's a ten-thousand seat arena," Barnette remarked for an interview to air on This Week in the AIFA. "It's a phenomenal environment. It's a huge playing facility, but not so much that it would overwhelm a mid-sized crowd."

"The D.C. Armor will fit beautifully in our league," said AIFA co-founder Michael Mink. Washington is a fantastic sports market with a huge population base from which to draw."

Washington D.C. currently ranks as the No. 8 television market, with nearly 2,300,000 TV households. Nearby Baltimore adds over a million more television households into a region with a total population in excess of eight million people.[/quote]
Like they said, great rivalry potential with Baltimore (see Ravens-Redskins and Orioles-Nationals games for examples of this rivalry in action). I like where they're thinking with their footprint.

Only 2 things I say "Hmmmm..." to:

1. Washington, D.C. is the capital city of the world's superpower. (if that doesn't make a major-league city, I don't know what does!) I don't know how a minor league team would do there, to be honest.
2. Why are both the teams in the Baltimore-DC area named almost exactly like their arenas? (1st Mariner Arena=Baltimore Mariners, D.C. Armory=D.C. Armor) Next thing you know, we'll have the Reading Sovereigns or the New Mexico Stars or the Carolina Crickets!
Proud to be a veteran of these boards for the last 5 years...

indoor fan
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Post by indoor fan » Sun Oct 12, 2008 10:53 pm

"Hail to the Armor, hail to the Chiefs, hail to the Armor, fight for old DC"

robster2001
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Post by robster2001 » Sun Oct 12, 2008 11:44 pm

[quote=""Minor League Man""]
2. Why are both the teams in the Baltimore-DC area named almost exactly like their arenas? (1st Mariner Arena=Baltimore Mariners, D.C. Armory=D.C. Armor) Next thing you know, we'll have the Reading Sovereigns or the New Mexico Stars or the Carolina Crickets![/quote]

Well, we won't have to worry about that here in Richmond (for the alleged 2010 expansion team)...

Then again, if that team is called the Richmond Coliseums, you can feel free to remind me of this post. :)

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Post by nobby1979 » Mon Oct 13, 2008 2:23 pm

Why would you squeeze a third team into the Baltimore-D.C. area? Its because of moves like this that Minor League Football fails to gain any traction. Now you are going to split an already small fan base again (even though the polpulation is large). At some point you have to stop thinking about trying to put other teams/leagues out of business and start thinking about what is best for the game.

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