San Jose to host expansion Utah Blaze in season opener
October 25, 2005 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
San Jose SaberCats News Release
SAN JOSE, Calif. (Oct. 25, 2005) - The two-time ArenaBowl champion San Jose SaberCats will open the Arena Football League's 20th season at home against the expansion Utah Blaze on Saturday, January 28 as the AFL today announced its 288 game-16 week schedule.
Following the opener against their new Western Division opponent, the SaberCats will embark on a record five-game road trip with stops at Las Vegas (Feb. 6), Arizona (Feb. 12), Grand Rapids (Feb. 19), Chicago (Feb. 26) and Utah (Mar. 4), before returning to HP Pavilion for a game with the Los Angeles Avengers on Sunday, March 12.
"Having to play five straight on the road early in the season will be very challenging," said SaberCats head coach Darren Arbet. "Our schedule is bottom heavy with home games and we've had a lot of success on our own turf so that's encouraging. The bottom line is each team plays eight at home and eight on the road."
The SaberCats will end the season playing seven of their final 10 games at HP Pavilion.
Highlighting the home portion of the schedule is a battle between the past two ArenaBowl champions when the SaberCats host the Colorado Crush on Saturday, May 6. San Jose also hosts Colorado's opponent from ArenaBowl XIV the Georgia Force on Friday, March 17.
In addition the Austin Wranglers (Sat., Apr. 22) and Columbus Destroyers (Sat., May 13) will both make their first ever appearance in San Jose while games against division opponents Arizona (Sun., Apr. 2) and Las Vegas (Fri., Apr. 14) round out the home schedule.
Four of San Jose's eight games at HP Pavilion are set for Saturday nights while two each will be played on Friday and Sunday. "We have a very competitive home schedule," noted Arbet. "Our fans should be excited to see some of the best talent in the AFL come to town."
The league also increased the number of playoff teams for the 2006 season to 12 (from 8) with each division winner receiving a first round bye. Six teams from each conference will compete in the postseason with ArenaBowl XX being played in Las Vegas on Sunday, June 11.
Season and group tickets for the 2006 season are available by contacting a sales representative at (408) 573-5577. Individual game tickets are set to go on sale in December and can be purchased through any Northern California TicketMaster outlet or the HP Pavilion box office. More information is also available at http://www.sanjosesabercats.com.
For a complete league schedule visit the AFL's official website http://www.arenafootball.com.
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Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from October 25, 2005
- Crush release 2006 schedule - Colorado Crush
- Pair of AFL veterans added to Destroyers roster - Columbus Destroyers
- Storm Release 2006 Schedule - Tampa Bay Storm
- Destroyers release 2006 schedule - Columbus Destroyers
- Rampage release 2006 schedule - Grand Rapids Rampage
- Gladiators announce 2006 schedule - Las Vegas Gladiators
- San Jose to host expansion Utah Blaze in season opener - San Jose SaberCats
- Dragons open at home January 28 versus Nashville - New York Dragons
- Avengers announce 2006 schedule - Los Angeles Avengers
- Soul home debut set for January 29 - Philadelphia Soul
- Rattlers announce 2006 schedule - Arizona Rattlers
- Wranglers kick of season January 27 - Austin Wranglers
- Blaze open season against two time ArenaBowl champion, San Jose - Utah Blaze
- Kats announce schedule for 2006 season - Nashville Kats
- Rush 2006 season schedule announced - Chicago Rush
- AFL announces 2006 schedule - AFL I
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