Lehigh Valley Outlawz fans may be able to see indoor professional football after all, if they're willing to take a drive.
The New Jersey Revolution, a competing team from Morristown, saw the column I wrote last month about the defunct Outlawz shafting fan Ken Querio. The Outlawz have ignored his request for a refund on the $120 season tickets he bought for their 2009 season that wasn't played. The Revolution told me they'd give Querio free season tickets for their 2010 season. I relayed the offer and Querio accepted.
The team then went further, offering half off next year's season tickets to 2009 season ticket holders of any indoor football team -- including the Outlawz and equally defunct Philadelphia Soul and New York Dragons, which played in the Arena Football League -- that folded this year. ''I think that it's good for the fans to give them a sense that one bad experience isn't a reflection of the sport ... with what has been going on with teams and leagues folding, people have lost confidence in the sport. That's something we are trying our best to bring back,'' team spokesman Kevin Hanratty told me by e-mail. ''The fans of indoor football need to know that the game is still a great and affordable form of entertainment and is still around.''
Querio described the offer as ''fantastic'' and ''admirable.'' He saw the Revolution play the Outlawz a few years ago, and said he spoke with a few Revolution players after the game who suggested he take a road trip to see their arena. Now he has a reason to make that drive from his Kutztown home.
The irony that a competitor came to his rescue is not lost on Querio. He had followed the Outlawz since their first season playing at Stabler Arena in 2006. He got season tickets this year for the first time and was disappointed the team didn't play. He was even more disappointed the team quietly disappeared with no notice to ticket holders and fans, and then ignored his calls and e-mails seeking a refund. Team President James DePaul of Souderton didn't return my calls to his home and office. The team played in the Continental Indoor Football League in 2008, then left that league to start its own league, the U.S. Indoor Football League. But that never took off.
Querio isn't the only fan who lost money on useless 2009 tickets. After last month's column, I was contacted by Glenn Campbell of Hellertown, who told me a similar tale of buying tickets and being unable to get his $120 back. Campbell said he'd attended every Outlawz home game since the team's inception, though this is the first time he bought advance season tickets. He and his daughter were given the tickets by his wife for Christmas. ''That's a Christmas present we never got,'' he said. Campbell is interested in the Revolution's offer. ''However,'' he told me by e-mail, ''it does not negate the responsibility of James DePaul to pay back the Lehigh Valley Outlawz faithful.''
The Revolution play their home games at William G. Mennen Arena in Morristown, about 70 miles from Allentown. They are part of the Continental Indoor Football League. The season starts in February, with the first home game in April, Hanratty said. More information is on the team Web site,
http://www.revolutionglifl.com . Fans who had indoor football season tickets this year and want to accept the Revolution's offer of discounted 2010 season tickets, should contact the team at
info@championsportsent.com. Proof of your 2009 season tickets is required. Outlawz ticket holders who have been unable to get refunds may file a complaint with the Pennsylvania attorney general's office at
http://www.attorneygeneral.gov or 800-441-2555.