Over a Cup of Coffee

by Jerry Hewitt
September 30, 2010 - Indoor Football League (IFL)

Today I want to explore the Indoor Football League's status in Texas along with what options might be available for their new Southwest Division in 2012. A couple of days ago I read that the majority ownership of the San Angelo Stampede Express had been transferred to Randy Sanders who also owns the Amarillo Venom. It was also announced that the Express would go dark for the 2011 season in the hopes there is more development of Texas teams for the 2012 season.

The Texas-based teams are pretty much all that's left of the Intense league that merged with United Indoor Football to form the IFL, but that area of the IFL appears to be getting smaller. Before San Angelo announced taking the year off, Corpus Christi and Abilene joined the SIFL. With those three gone, that leaves just Austin, if they play, and Amarillo, West Texas, and Arkansas which has relocated to Allen, Texas.

These developments have left the Lonestar area of the league as maybe its weakest division and presents a scenario in which some or all of the remaining teams may go to the SIFL in 2011 or 2012.

Texas is considered a hotbed for football, but that seems to only apply to high school, college and the two NFL teams. Indoor teams have struggled with poor attendance and I don't see that changing much. Considering that attendance isn't as good as one might expect in the Lonestar state, it makes expansion more difficult, but it has to be a priority for the IFL if they want to keep the remaining teams.

The SIFL took 2010 off from Texas, but for 2011 it will have at least four teams, and I feel the league will want to protect their interests there by adding more in 2012.

If the IFL gets busy in Texas and finds solid ownership so that travel remains friendly, it is likely that the teams currently in the IFL will remain, but here's the kicker. There is competition for territory between the IFL and the SIFL in Texas, and the SIFL may have the edge as their franchise fees are much smaller than the IFL and operating costs are regarded as much lower as well. These are big selling points for the SIFL. In addition, I believe the criteria for acceptance into the SIFL is less than the IFL. Taking all these factors into account, it just makes sense to conclude that Texas by 2012 could very well be SIFL owned. If this should happen it's nobody's fault but the IFL's for not taking care of business and looking out more for established teams. Of course, this all assumes that the SIFL itself will be stable in 2012.

It appears that the only team in the new Southwest Division of the IFL will be Prescott, Arizona. The league most likely will add the closest two or three teams to Prescott and call it the Southwest Division, but only Prescott will be a true Southwest team. Regardless of whether I feel adding Prescott was a good move or not, it's a done deal.

I am sure the IFL will put a priority to add more teams that are true Southwest franchises before the 2012 season, if for no other reason that Prescott most likely will not stay in the IFL if travel costs aren't reduced.

This is what I see as available IFL potential markets. Brian Urlacher of the Chicago Bears was waiting on an af2 franchise in Albuquerque, New Mexico, as was the newer of the two venues there. With the af2 no longer in existence, it's possible Urlacher might be persuaded to go the IFL route. The IFL has ex-NFL Bears players involved with the Slaughter who might have an in to convince Urlacher.

Next I'm looking at El Paso, Texas. The Generals played one season in the far western city and did well on the field, but I believe struggled at the box office. I believe the Generals were only the second indoor football team to call El Paso home and neither really got the area's attention or acceptance. Be that as it may, the city is still a possible Southwest site for the IFL.

California had been mentioned for 2011 expansion, but changes in workman's comp laws there had the IFL turning away from expansion in the state. To help out Prescott, they may be forced to look harder at any applying from that state the next time around. There are available venues in San Diego, Ontario, Bakersfield, and Fresno to name a few.

On my list next is Las Vegas, Nevada. Even though it fits as a Southwest Division team area I'm not sure it would be a wise move. We can all agree that the average AFL team has more resources than an average IFL one and the Gladiators of the old AFL didn't do well in the stands. With smaller marketing budgets, I find it difficult to believe an IFL team would fare any better.

Last we have Glendale, Arizona, outside of Phoenix. Yes, the Rattlers of the AFL play in Phoenix, but Glendale has a venue that would be one of the best in the IFL. Glendale is also a city that is looking for its own identity. I remember that the city of Glendale was very upset when the NFL Cardinals new venue, in Glendale, had the name Phoenix in its University of Phoenix signage. If a favorable lease could be negotiated, Glendale just might work. When we look at Arizona we also have to consider what Tucson, now in the AIFA, might choose to do in 2012. They have indicated they aren't ruling out the IFL for 2012. There is also a venue in Flagstaff, but it is part of Northern Arizona College and I'm not sure they would entertain a franchise there.

Overall I thought the IFL did well with their 2011 expansion, at least from what has been announced. The addition of Wenatchee, Washington; Grand Island, Nebraska; Lehigh and Reading, Pennsylvania; and Casper, Wyoming all added to existing divisions and just made sense.

I think sometimes that leagues look at expansion franchise fees as needed income, but I can't see the logic of that thinking. I'm not singling out the IFL, either, as I feel most if not all look at the fees from that perspective. The IFL has a good thing going: divisions for the most part that make sense from the travel perspective. Take out Prescott and Fairbanks, Alaska and it's about as travel friendly as a league could ever hope. When the IFL gets around to 2012 I hope they will look at strengthening what they have rather than expanding into new areas and end up increasing some of their teams' travel budgets just to get franchise fees.

Editors Note: A reference to the Trenton Steel of the AIFA being sold to an independent ownership group has been removed. According to a reliable source, the team has not been sold.

Indoor Football League Stories from September 30, 2010

• Over a Cup of Coffee - OSC Original by Jerry Hewitt

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer(s), and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.