Sports stats



Laredo Gets an af2 Team

October 14, 2003 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Laredo Law News Release


LAREDO, Texas - Laredo Football Holdings is proud to announce that the arenafootball2 league office has awarded an expansion indoor football franchise to the city of Laredo. The team will play all eight of their regular season home games in the state-of-the-art Laredo Entertainment Center. The af2 has teams spanning from Hawaii to New York and is celebrating their fifth season.

arenafootball2 is played on an artificial turf surface indoors on a field that is 200 feet long and 85 feet wide, the playing field has the same dimensions as a hockey rink. There are eight players on each side in af2 and six of the players will play both offense and defense. The defense is two defensive specialists who play only one way while the offense is allowed one specialist and a quarterback.

Laredo Football Holdings, CEO Julian "Kiki" DeAyala will take an active role in the initial formation of the club. DeAyala is currently the CEO of the Laredo Bucks hockey club, Laredo Arena Operating, and Arena Ventures, which is overseeing the development of the LEC Arena Development.

"I am extremely excited about af2 in Laredo, Texas," said DeAyala. "The Laredo Bucks success demonstrated to me that having another fast, physical sport was a natural for our incredible fans. af2 fits perfectly as it starts when the hockey regular season ends and gives our fans another option of affordable family entertainment"

The new Laredo af2 team features significant local involvement.

"I am pleased that 75% of the franchise will be owned by local Laredo business leaders who have demonstrated their commitment to Laredo over their entire business careers. This investment is another example of doing whatever it takes to bring more high profile events to Laredo and making our city a better place to live".

Professional football in Laredo and DeAyala's background are a perfect match.

DeAyala played his college football for the Texas Longhorns and still holds both the UT career sack record with 40.5, and the single season record of 22.5, as well as captaining the 1982 Longhorn team. He went on to play two years in the USFL with the Houston Gamblers from 1984-85, and two seasons in the NFL with the Cincinnati Bengals during the 1986-87 seasons. DeAyala was a two time, first team All-USFL defensive selection as a linebacker.

Last year the Tulsa Talons captured the ArenaCup signifying the ultimate goal in arenafootball2. The league featured 27 total teams during the 2003 season which ran from the end of March until the playoffs concluded in August. Fans of the Laredo Bucks will recognize several towns currently in the af2 that also have CHL teams; Tulsa, Bossier City, Wichita, and Rio Grande Valley. The new Laredo af2 team will have a built in rival just two and a half hours down Highway 83 in the McAllen / Hidalgo area.

Laredo and Rio Grande Valley represent the first advancement into the football hotbed of Texas for arenafootball2.

John Beckelhymer will be the President of both the Laredo Bucks and the new af2 football team. He sees the new indoor football team as a great opportunity for the Gateway City.

"af2 is going to be a good compliment to the Bucks," said Beckelhymer. "The regular seasons for football and hockey don't overlap (CHL regular season October – March, af2 regular season runs from the end of March – July). I know from personal experience that when hockey ended last season people were kind of depressed because they had to wait until October again to come back inside the LEC for a game. The af2 is going to give Laredoans something exciting to do for the summer months."

In the af2 game fans can keep any footballs that go into the stands. Approximately 10-12 footballs go in to the crowd each game. The af2 indoor football experience is something that fans will recognize, but will still be surprised by some new twists.

"Fans can expect a very high scoring, high energy, high intensity, highly supercharged football game," said Beckelhymer. "With the seating in the LEC they'll be closer to the football action than they have ever been before. They'll be watching a sport that will be familiar, but also different with some twists that most football aficionados have not run across yet with the nets and the boards being in play."

In four short seasons the af2 has doubled in size from 15 teams to nearly 30. arenafootball2 promotes a fan friendly attitude with autograph sessions on the field for the home team after each game. The af2 and the AFL strictly adhere to a Fans Bill of Rights which is unique to any major sport. The Fans Bill of Rights includes: every fan is entitled to a wholesome environment for guests and family members, free of violence, profane gestures and language or rude and invasive behavior that could in any way interfere with a first-class entertainment experience; every fan demands that we maintain absolute respect for the game of Arena Football and maintain the integrity of the finest of fair competition at all times; every Fan deserves our very best effort on a consistent basis, on every play on the field, every action in the stands, every call to our office, and every involvement in our community.

Bucks season tickets holders will have the first right to purchase af2 season tickets. For more information call (956) 726-GAME (4263).

• Discuss this story on the arenafootball2 message board...

arenafootball2 Stories from October 14, 2003


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.

Other Recent Laredo Law Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central