Remember the Arena Football League? Me Neither…
Rumors of the demise of the Arena Football League may not be exaggerated. The original brand of indoor football, which of late had been driven by celebrity owners such as Jon Bon Jovi and John Elway, a lucrative (and past) television deal with NBC and sponsorship opportunities up the wazoo, is facing the same economic hard times as many companies.
Speculation is by week’s end, the league will announce it will cease operations for the 2009 season, though the league is telling fans to hold tight. History says that when a league has made that announcement, it’s been the prolonging of the actual obituary. And as a journalist who has covered both the on-field and business aspects of the game for several publications (including PROMO and Chief Marketer), I’m sad but not surprised.
Here’s a piece from ArenaFan.com writer Adam Markowitz, who has been following the situation very closely.
Former commissioner David Baker announced just before the ArenaBowl this summer that he was stepping down (an interim commissioner, Ed Policy, is still in charge). He built the league into a sleeping giant of sorts, providing the now 22-year-old league with franchise stability and an influx of league sponsors such as the U.S. Army, ADT, Gatorade, Aaron’s, Champs Sports, Foot Locker and Loews Theaters.
But local advertising along the dasher boards, at least the last time watched the New York Dragons play, were fading away. And the national deals seemed to dry up when NBC decided not to renew its broadcast deal after the 2006 season.
The league put too many celebrity eggs in one basket. It promoted itself as Bon Jovi (Philadelphia Soul) vs. Elway (Colorado Crush). NBC’s analysts explained the rules of the game and the comparison to the NFL just about every play. It lost its relevance for purists of the original Arena Football League, and couldn’t gain serious traction with the casual football fan.
New Orleans, owned by Saints owner Tom Benson and once a sign of renewal in the Big Easy, recently folded without explanation other than to say there were too many question marks in the league.
And apparently, at least six of the remaining 16 teams are about to follow suit.
Maybe the end of the Arena Football League as we now know it will be a good thing, especially if its minor league, af2, is able to hold on. It is the essence of the original league, with small market franchises like Albany, NY, Des Moines, IA, and Milwaukee (all AFL franchises at one time) competing in front of avid fan bases.
Getting smaller to try to get big again – and possibly winning back some of those sponsorship opportunities once the economy straightens out – could be a good thing.
(Added 12-10-08, 11:35 p.m.) QUICK NOTE: The league’s owners just voted to play in 2009… stay tuned!
(Added 12-15-08, 10:30 a.m.) NEVER MIND… league voted last night to suspend play in 2009.
