Post by 50yardfan on Jul 31, 2011 18:26:40 GMT -5
Ohio native who helped start indoor football league wants to get local owners
www.advertiser-tribune.com/page/content.detail/id/539044/Spitaleri-hopes-to-start-league--put-team-in-Tiffin.html?nav=5012
Eric Spitaleri has experience starting professional sports leagues.
In 2006, he joined with his brother Jeff to help start what became the Continental Indoor Football League, which still is in existence.
Now, Spitaleri, a Canton, Ohio native, has turned his attention to baseball. He wants to start another professional league, and envisions Tiffin being in the middle of it.
Spitaleri wants to bring a professional baseball team to Tiffin, which he hopes will be financed by local ownership. He said the team will consist of between 22 and 25 players, and be part of a league with four to six teams.
"I want to keep the teams [no more than] three to five hours away [from each other]," Spitaleri said. "I want to keep travel costs low. One major thing I want is 100 percent local ownership, that's the best route to go."
Spitaleri said he's looking to put teams in Bowling Green, Galion, Cleveland and Muncie, Ind. He's had positive discussions with Heidelberg University Athletic Director Matt Palm about using the school's facilities for the Tiffin franchise.
Spitaleri said he thinks this area is a good fit for a franchise.
"I've been to Tiffin area a few times, I like the area," Spitaleri said. "The population is somewhere that I think would support it."
Tentatively called the Independent Baseball League, the teams would play a 36- to 40-game schedule, starting in June. The players would make about $200 a month.
"I honestly think, the budget I have put together, we could put this together year one and make money," Spitaleri said.
The Continental Indoor Football League, which Spitaleri still is involved in, had six teams in the completed 2011 season, including franchises in Cincinnati and Marion. At one time, the league had 14 teams.
Spitaleri admitted that the group made some mistakes in the early going. It started with six teams, but added a number of others after the first season. This was an error he doesn't plan to repeat with the IBL. What he does hope to do is create an opportunity for people to see something different.
"The thing I loved about the travel [in the CIFL]... going to these cities, giving them an alternative on something they could do," he said.
Contact Eric Spitaleri at: info(at) indybaseball.com
www.advertiser-tribune.com/page/content.detail/id/539044/Spitaleri-hopes-to-start-league--put-team-in-Tiffin.html?nav=5012
Eric Spitaleri has experience starting professional sports leagues.
In 2006, he joined with his brother Jeff to help start what became the Continental Indoor Football League, which still is in existence.
Now, Spitaleri, a Canton, Ohio native, has turned his attention to baseball. He wants to start another professional league, and envisions Tiffin being in the middle of it.
Spitaleri wants to bring a professional baseball team to Tiffin, which he hopes will be financed by local ownership. He said the team will consist of between 22 and 25 players, and be part of a league with four to six teams.
"I want to keep the teams [no more than] three to five hours away [from each other]," Spitaleri said. "I want to keep travel costs low. One major thing I want is 100 percent local ownership, that's the best route to go."
Spitaleri said he's looking to put teams in Bowling Green, Galion, Cleveland and Muncie, Ind. He's had positive discussions with Heidelberg University Athletic Director Matt Palm about using the school's facilities for the Tiffin franchise.
Spitaleri said he thinks this area is a good fit for a franchise.
"I've been to Tiffin area a few times, I like the area," Spitaleri said. "The population is somewhere that I think would support it."
Tentatively called the Independent Baseball League, the teams would play a 36- to 40-game schedule, starting in June. The players would make about $200 a month.
"I honestly think, the budget I have put together, we could put this together year one and make money," Spitaleri said.
The Continental Indoor Football League, which Spitaleri still is involved in, had six teams in the completed 2011 season, including franchises in Cincinnati and Marion. At one time, the league had 14 teams.
Spitaleri admitted that the group made some mistakes in the early going. It started with six teams, but added a number of others after the first season. This was an error he doesn't plan to repeat with the IBL. What he does hope to do is create an opportunity for people to see something different.
"The thing I loved about the travel [in the CIFL]... going to these cities, giving them an alternative on something they could do," he said.
Contact Eric Spitaleri at: info(at) indybaseball.com