AF2
Partnership with Mary Ellen Garling
 Arenafootball2
or af2 is a grass roots developmental league
designed to promote the game of Arena Football in
medium sized markets in communities with a
population under 1.2 million and in arenas with
capacities between 6,000-12,000. The goal of
arenafootball2 is to build the brand of Arena
Football through coast to coast expansion and
become a true regionalized league with
geographical rivalries and teams that become apart
of the fabric of the community.
Each team in af2 plays a sixteen (16) game
schedule, with eight (8) home and eight (8) away
games. This league was designed to be a true bus
league by creating distinct geographic divisions
that would create excitement amongst the
communities. The community and its arenafootball2
team are directly linked and one depends on the
other for its success. Most of the players from a
specific team come from that surrounding
community, played college or high school football
there or have some ties to that city. With the pay
scale in af2 being $200/game with a $50
league-wide win bonus, the players have to keep
their "day" jobs simultaneously to playing
football.
The game of arenafootball2 just like its older
brother the Arena Football League strives to be
the most "fan-friendly" league in sports. The
Arena Football League now in its 15 season, is the
longest running professional football league in
the United States, behind only the NFL. The
budding relationship with the NFL has opened up
many doors for arenafootball2 and the AFL with
sponsors and owners. No longer can people think of
the Arena Football League as "minor league" as it
is at the threshold of becoming the fifth major
league sport.
Being the most "fan-friendly" sport in the world
is something that arenafootball2 is committed to
become. Two years ago, Commissioner Baker
developed a Fans Bill of Rights, which are ten
rights that every fan has when they attend an
Arena Football game. This is a living and
breathing document that each staff member at the
League and team level strives to adhere to every
day. It is this fan-friendly atmosphere that has
been created which separates the game of Arena
Football with all other professional sports
leagues. A couple of these fan-friendly rights are
that if a ball goes into the stands during a game,
the fan gets to keep the ball. Also, at the
conclusion of each af2 game, the players are
required to stay on the field, win or lose, for 30
minutes to sign autographs.
The Inaugural
Season
In its first season in 2000, arenafootball2
competed with fifteen (15) teams primarily located
in the Midwest, Southeast, and Northeast. The
inaugural 15 cities were: Little Rock, Ark.;
Augusta, Ga.; Birmingham, Ala.; Greenville, SC;
Charleston, SC; Greensboro, NC.; Jacksonville,
Fla.; Norfolk, Va.; Pensacola, Fla.; Quad City, Ia/Ill.;
Richmond, Va.; Roanoke, Va.; Tallahassee, Fla.;
Huntsville, Ala.; and Tulsa, Okla.
The first season of af2 was an undeniable success
story as league attendance for the 120-game
schedule was 7,239 fans per game, 50% greater than
what was originally expected. Over 868,000 fans
walked through af2 venues in the first season.
Besides the NBA, NFL, and NHL, af2 was the only
other professional sports league to fill its
buildings to over 70% capacity (af2 was at 72%).
The success of arenafootball2 in its inaugural
season is largely attributed to the great
operators and their staffs. Last season, average
season ticket sales were 2,609 with over 50% of
the League over 3,000. The season ticket goal for
the teams was just 2,500. The cash sponsorship
average for the 15 teams last season was $286,393,
while the goal at the beginning of the season was
$225,000.
A League of Opportunity
The overwhelming success of the teams in the front
office also carried over to the football side
where 75 players on af2 rosters last season
"graduated" to either the NFL, NFL Europe, CFL, or
Arena Football League. Seven players were either
signed by or invited to NFL training camps, and
one of those players, Jacksonville Tomcats kicker
Jim Tarle, played the second half of the NFL
season with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Sixty
players made the leap to the AFL at the conclusion
of the af2 season, and thirty-two of those players
made final AFL rosters. Four players each jumped
to NFL Europe and to the CFL.
The
arenafootball2 league also sent two coaches to the
AFL and eleven of its officials made the leap to
the Arena Football League. The opportunity to have
a forum to showcase their abilities is what
attracted players, coaches, and officials to af2,
making it truly a "league of opportunity."
Goals for 2001
For the 2001 season, arenafootball2 has added 13
new markets in the Midwest, Southeast, and
Northeast. These new expansion teams include:
Baton Rouge, La; Bossier City, La.; Columbus, Ga.;
Ft. Myers, Fla.; Des Moines, Ia.; Lafayette, La.;
Lincoln, Neb.; Louisville, Ky.; Macon, Ga.;
Memphis, Tn.; Peoria, Ill.; Rochester, NY.; and
Wichita, Ks.
The addition of these markets has solidified
arenafootball2 as the fastest growing sports
league in America. This season arenafootball2
teams will be concentrating on the following goals
as a league:
Attendance: Keeping our buildings filled to over
70% capacity throughout the entire season. With 28
teams now in existence, and the majority of arenas
fewer than 8,000 seats, the barometer for our
league will be % of capacity.
Walk-up crowds: Increase walk-up by 20%. We have
found that in these mid-sized cities that walk-up
crowds tend to be greater than in the larger AFL
markets. Teams concentrate on developing their
marketing efforts around group and individual
tickets sales, and turning their 8 home games into
"events." All of our teams use "game of week"
marketing to attract fans, which includes getting
out into the community making appearances with
players, cheerleaders, and mascots.
Expansion
Over the next five years, the goal is to be in
close to 72 markets across the United States. The
expansion mission is to increase the brand
awareness of arenafootball2 through coast-to-coast
expansion, reduce travel costs, and to create
natural geographical rivalries.
The League will continue to look for arena sizes
between 6,000-12,000 and move into communities
with a population of under 1.2 million.
For the 2002 season, af2 will be opening up a
Western region and adding to the Northeast.
Between 13-18 teams are expected to be added for
the 2002 season. Over the next four years, af2
anticipates to expand by 6-12 teams per year
making af2 the largest professional sports league
in America.
Arena/Team Partnership
The arena/team/community partnership is the
cornerstone of the success of arenafootball2. Each
one depends on the other for success and
profitability. We are looking for good operators
and arenas, but the most important element is the
community. Community's that can sell and can
demonstrate their desire for arenafootball2 will
be attractive markets for expansion.
Arenas
We are looking for arenas that are willing to work
with and grow with their home teams. Each of our
teams operates a budget that is under $1 million
and the ability to be profitable largely depends
on arena deals. af2 teams give back so much to
their community compared to other sports but with
this still being a young and growing sport, our
teams must have the capital provided through
operations in order to market in a community
effectively. We hope that arena managers
understand the need for a sliding scale approach
to rents and fees. As each community's team grows
and becomes successful fees should be comparable,
not at the beginning of an emerging team. This is
the point when the funds are needed the most. We
have seen markets that are less successful because
of shortsighted deals which drain needed capital.
The Arena Football League has just entered its
15th season, and with the blossoming relationship
with the NFL, arenafootball2 is here for the long
haul. This is a "league of opportunity", depending
on players, coaches, officials, and fans who are
passionate about building this league from the fan
up at a grass roots level. We are looking for
partners (arenas) with very little risk; when we
succeed the arenas and communities succeed.
Success is not measured just by profit and loss,
but the value of our team's within the community.
We look forward to developing these close
relationships with arenas and communities in the
future as arenafootball2 develops its brand
throughout the country.
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