Arena League Is Becoming Bigger Than All Indoors

As the Avengers--3-11 in 2000 and 1-5 this season--approach the halfway point of their second Arena Football League season, they continue to struggle.

Unlike the league itself, which is thriving.

Now in its 15th season, the Arena league has grown from four franchises to 19. It has outlasted several other leagues with higher hopes and bigger budgets, among them the World Football League, the United States Football League, and the latest high-profile failure, the XFL.

“I certainly think [the demise of the] XFL gave us more credibility,” said David Baker, the Arena league commissioner. “That group had tremendous [TV] network support and barely made it through its first year. People are beginning to understand the commitment, dedication and resolve needed at all levels for a league to be in its 15th season.

“Any time anyone in sports fails, it has an impact on all of us. There was no dancing on the XFL graves. But the real difference is that, unlike building a league from the network down, which is what XFL did, it was our objective to build from the fan up. And many times, it was one fan at a time over the last 15 years.”

Now Arena league owners and officials are going down a path they consider neither foolish nor fantasy.

No longer do they want their games in only small and mid-size towns. And they don’t simply want to be in metropolises such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York.

Arena owners and officials are thinking global, envisioning teams and divisions not only in North America, but also Europe, Asia and Latin America.

And to help get them where they want to be? The NFL.

Three years ago, the NFL bought an option to own 49.9% of the Arena league. The deadline to pick up that option is March 31, 2002, but the NFL also can buy 25% of the league by that date and take another year to buy the remaining 24.9%.

NFL owners Jerry Jones of Dallas, Tom Benson of New Orleans, Wayne Weaver of Jacksonville, and Daniel Snyder of Washington own or have been approved to own Arena franchises.

The NFL has taken over the hiring and development of Arena league game officials. It also has helped establish an Arena properties office near its own league headquarters in New York City.

“The NFL gives the Arena league instant credibility with their interest,” said Bryan Colangelo, president of the Arizona Rattlers. “If they exercise the option and participate to the extent we hope they do, it gives us the credibility that WNBA currently enjoy because of the NBA.”

Said Avenger owner Casey Wasserman, “The league could go on expanding on its own, but having the NFL accelerates that timetable dramatically. If we have a league that has a strong and deep association with the NFL, that will allow us to truly become the fifth major league.”

What is making the Arena league attractive to the NFL?

For one thing, the Arena league’s attendance base seems solid, if not spectacular, averaging about 10,000 a game. The league drew 1,272,229 fans for 119 regular-season and 11 playoff games last season, and has totaled more than a million fans each of the last five seasons. And with moderate ticket prices--as low as $5 a game in some cities--it’s attracting young fans.

“[The Arena league] has built itself over time and established a loyal fan base,” said Daniel DeVos, owner of the Grand Rapids Rampage. “It was a real advantage to starting small and going from there. That’s how you build your fan base.”

There is no looming labor problem. The owners and players’ union negotiated a six-year working agreement last season, which includes a salary cap. This season the cap is $1.375 million for each 24-player team.

And there’s the game itself--football, but not NFL football. The Arena field is half as long as the NFL field. There are eight men to a side and most play offense and defense. Plus, the Arena rules have given advantages to the offense, making games high scoring.

“The Arena league is a very efficient league, if you look at it in terms of football. With only eight men on the field, and many going both ways, the cost to run a team is not as big. You can see the game expanding globally.” said Stephen Jones, the Cowboys’ executive vice president of player personnel.

Last but not least, the league is getting owners who probably could bid on NFL franchises.

Charles Wang, chairman of Computers Associates International and co-owner of the NHL’s New York Islanders, bought the Iowa franchise--where Kurt Warner made his name--from Arena league founder Jim Foster last November and moved it to Long Island, renaming it the New York Dragons. Automobile heir William Clay Ford Jr., son of the Detroit Lions’ owner, helped establish the Detroit Fury. Wasserman is the grandson of entertainment mogul Lew Wasserman, and heads his family’s foundation.

Glen Mazula, owner of the Indiana Firebirds and an Arena owner for 12 years, is one who embraces the league’s shift from novelty to mainstream entertainment.

“The league right now is positioned better than ever,” Mazula said. “It has much stronger owners, a workable collective bargaining agreement with players, and I firmly believe the relationship with NFL can only help.”