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Fusion to Conduct Inaugural Game Jersey Auction

March 30, 2007 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Fort Wayne Fusion News Release


After the final whistle of the Fort Wayne Fusion's first-ever game on Saturday night, the players are going to give the shirts off their backs to help the United Way.

The Fusion has announced that they will auction off their inaugural game-worn jerseys during the game. Fans can place bid on their choice of jerseys by visiting the display table on the Memorial Coliseum concourse. Winning bids will be announced on Monday, and fans can pick up their jerseys at the Fusion office during the week.

Assistant General Manager Elvis Ahlborn explained why the team was conducting the auction. "We just recently entered into a partnership with the United Way of Allen County to provide their partner agencies with tickets for the season," he said. "This is going to be a great partnership for everyone involved, and we wanted to do something big right out of the gate to announce it. A jersey auction always makes a big splash."

General Manager Mike McCaffrey agreed. "We were trying to think of something special to do for the home opener for the fans," he said. "We decided to design a new jersey for after the home opener, and allow the fans to become a part of history in Fort Wayne by partnering with the United Way to auction off these inaugural game jerseys."

The partnership began in a most unusual way. "It's actually a pretty funny story," Ahlborn explained. "I live at Three Rivers [Apartments], and one night a few weeks ago I was on the phone while I was doing laundry one night. Rick Farrant lives there, too and he happened to be down there at the same time and he overheard me mention that I work for the Fusion."

It turns out that Farrant is the Director of Marketing & Communications for the United Way of Allen County, and the chance meeting was just the beginning of what has become a major partnership. "At first we were just talking about doing some tickets for the United Way," said Ahlborn. "Rick had some ideas, we had some ideas, and the next thing I know the United Way is a partner in the Kids Club, they have their own section [at Memorial Coliseum] and plenty of tickets to go around. The whole thing just grew into something special."

Farrant was very excited about the partnership. "We are extraordinarily grateful for the partnership with the Fusion," he said. "It's this kind of commitment that shows just how dedicated the Fusion is to becoming a vital and caring part of the community. It's very clear that the Fusion not only wants to play a role in uplifting the lives of the people throughout Northeast Indiana, but the organization is especially interested in insuring that the lives of children are improved."

For more information, or to get your 2007 Fusion season tickets, contact the Fusion office at (260) 484-4095 or visit www.fwfusion.com. The Fort Wayne Fusion kicks off the inaugural 2007 season Saturday, March 31st against the defending American Conference Champion Green Bay Blizzard.

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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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