af2 arenafootball2

af2 welcomes back the Peoria Pirates

August 29, 2007 - arenafootball2 (af2) News Release


CHICAGO - The arenafootball2 Board of Directors approved the application for the revival of the Peoria (IL) Pirates af2 team to return to action for 2008, the League office announced today.

Spearheading the efforts for the af2's return to Peoria was DOUG MACGREGOR, President of the AFL's Austin Wranglers and member of Texas af2 Holdings, a multiple-member limited liability corporation that will serve as the lead ownership group of the Pirates.

""We (af2) are excited to announce that the Peoria Pirates have returned to the af2 family," said af2 President Jerry Kurz. "I have the utmost confidence in this operating group's commitment to run a top-notch organization both on and off the field, one that fans in central Illinois will enjoy for many years to come."

The team is in the final stages of securing a long-term lease agreement with the Peoria Civic Center. The previous Pirates af2 entry played in the league for five years, spanning from 2001-2004.

Another important announcement made by the team on Wednesday was that Bruce Cowdrey will return as the team's head coach. Cowdrey led Peoria to 37 wins in his three seasons with the team, including two trips to the ArenaCup. The Pirates claimed the af2's ultimate prize in 2002. Cowdrey spent the past two years as an AFL assistant coach with the Austin Wranglers (2007) and Chicago Rush (2006).

"I am thrilled to be able to bring the action-packed sport of Arena Football back to the great city of Peoria," commented MacGregor. "Peoria is a strong sports market with a solid foundation of loyal football fans that embraced the Pirates during their first run in the af2. We look forward to building on that foundation and making it even stronger this time around."

Further details on the Pirates will be announced locally as they become available.



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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.


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