NIFL owners courted by af2

by Mike Vergane, Quad City Times
Published on July 26, 2003 under National Indoor Football League (NIFL)

During last Saturday's showdown between the Quad City Steamwheelers and Tennessee Valley Vipers, AFL commisioner David Baker and af2 comisioner Jay Marcus entertained two owners from the rival National Indoor Football League in hopes of landing these franchises as part of future af2 expansion.

Rich Coffey, owner of the Fort Wayne Freedom, and Ron Borkowski, owner of the Lexington Horsemen, were invited guests of the league front offices.

When questioned as to purpose of the evening, Jay Marcus first denied any knowledge of the owners, then when pressed on the subject, Marcus denied comment and ended the interview.

Coffey and Borkowski, however, spoke freely about the meeting.

"We are looking at all of our options," Borkowski said. "and one of them is the af2. I learned a lot about the af2 Saturday night, and one thing I learned is that we don't want to play Quad City," the Lexington Horsemen owner joked.

The NIFL, which is a single entity league like the af2, is holding its own financially, according to Borkowski, but has other problems which need to be adressed.

"Owners are concerned about rules inforcement in the NIFL. I am also concerned about safety issues like the quality of the fields, and quality of the dasher pads. We have our league meetings in Septemeber. We will listen to what both sides have to say, and make our decisions accordingly."

Lexington is one of the more sucessful and attractive NIFL franchises and would be a natural rival to the Louisville Fire and Cincinnati Swarm.

"We are blessed with a great fan base in Lexington, and have a natural rivalry in hockey with Louisville and Cincinnati, and of course our NCAA rivalries between the cities."

Rich Coffey, owner of the Fort Wayne Freedom, downplayed his meetings with the league officials, but did not rule out any future talks with the af2.

"Between you, me and the fencepost, nothing transpired Saturday evening," Coffey said. "I was invited and I happened to be in the area, so I went to see what this (af2) was all about. I was introduced to everybody and had a great time, but I still enjoy our game better."

"I also had an opportunity to see two of my former employees from the Fort Wayne Fury (CBA) who work for the Steamwheelers, Todd Terry and Shawn Brown."

If the af2 is attempting to woo these two franchises, it is with good reason.

Fort Wayne was second in the NIFL in attendance and is a good geographic fit in the Midwest division.

As for the Lexington Horsemen, the franchise led the NIFL in attendance averaging close to 7,800 per game at the Rupp Arena, home of the Kentucky Wildcats. Lexington is a perfect fit for the Midwest division, located 80 miles east of Louisville and 90 miles south of Cincinnati.

The NIFL is a 28-team league with franchises throughout the United States. The main differences between the two leagues is that NIFL players do not go both ways, and the they are not allowed to use the patented nets that are exclusive to arena football.

National Indoor Football League Stories from July 26, 2003

• NIFL owners courted by af2 - OSC Original by Mike Vergane, Quad City Times

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