Post by 50yardfan on May 22, 2009 13:57:25 GMT -5
www.nj.com/news/local/index.ssf/2009/05/new_jersey_revolution_football.html
New Jersey Revolution football team sidelined by recession, vows to return next year
by Lawrence Ragonese/ The Star-Ledger Sunday May 17, 2009, 8:30 AM
New Jersey's professional indoor football franchise has been forced to punt away the rest of this season, a victim of the 2009 economy and some East Coast logistics, team officials said last week.
But the owners of the New Jersey Revolution vowed to return to action next spring at their home field, the Mennen Sports Arena in Morris County, to play a full schedule of games against what they hope will be a full complement of regional opponents.
The Revolution had to bow out of the Continental Indoor Football League this season after most of the league's eastern teams folded, leaving the Revolution as the only remaining team in the Atlantic Division, with the nearest competitor in Wheeling, W.Va.
Team spokesman Kevin Hanratty said it would have been too costly for the low-budget franchise to play most of its away games in the Midwest.
As a result, skaters have taken back Mennen Arena from the football players and their fans on Saturday nights this spring.
The CIFL, which had 15 teams in 2008, downsized this season to an eight-team league, with franchises in suburbs of Chicago and Milwaukee, plus small cities in Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin and West Virginia.
"It would have been hard for them (the Revolution) and other teams if we just had the one eastern team," said CIFL operations director Kevin Keller, who stressed the Revolution could be invited back if there is expansion in future seasons.
The Revolution, which was in its fourth season, tried to play an independent schedule. It played three homes games on Saturday nights last month, blowout wins against the East Penn Sting, 77-18; New York State Broncos 62-0; and Lebanon Valley Cardinals 69-24. Paid crowds for two games in the 2,500-seat arena were not bad -- 800 and 700 -- while a third game drew just 300 paying customers.
But Hanratty said the April 25 game against Lebanon Valley had a total showing of 1,275 fans.
Revolution games, of course, have plenty of passing, running and tackling. But fans also have been entertained by the likes of the New Jersey Nets dancers, NJ Rev It Up Live Girls and the Morristown Madams roller derby team, and have gotten free T-shirts, key chains, footballs, sports drinks and gym passes.
"Sure, what's happened this year is disappointing," Hanratty said last week. "We were hoping to continue, get more people to come and see us. But in this economy, when giant car companies are in big trouble, it's not surprising minor league sports can run into trouble, too."
He noted the Arena Football League, with its national television contract, canceled its season due to the economy. That league recently reached an amended collective bargaining agreement with players and announced it hopes to relaunch the 23-year-old league in 2010.
The Revolution formed in 2006 as a New York-New Jersey franchise of the Great Lakes Indoor Football League, but played all of its games on the road. In the 2007 season, as part of the CIFL, the Revolution established a home base in Morris County, playing before crowds of about 400.
In the past two years, officials of the 4-year-old Revolution committed themselves to becoming a known entity in North Jersey. The team, owned by New York-based Champion Sports, and its players have been a presence at civic and charity events with a goal of creating a fan base to fill Mennen Arena for its games.
In addition, Champion Sports has started up two minor league Morris County professional basketball teams, which kicked off limited play last winter, and has plans to launch a North Jersey team in a mixed martial arts professional league that could compete from September through December. All of the teams come bearing a strong New Jersey identity.
The football team, billed in its first two years as the NY-NJ Revolution, dropped its split-state personality in 2008 and opted for a Garden State-only base. Its logo features a Colonial soldier wearing a tri-cornered hat and holding a New Jersey flag -- a state identity that New York resident Hanratty strongly pitches.
"We are a professional sports team bearing the name New Jersey and, unlike some other teams, proud of it," said Hanratty. "And I'll tell you this, New Jersey is not going to lose its football team. We're coming back next year and the year after and year after. We plan to succeed."
New Jersey Revolution football team sidelined by recession, vows to return next year
by Lawrence Ragonese/ The Star-Ledger Sunday May 17, 2009, 8:30 AM
New Jersey's professional indoor football franchise has been forced to punt away the rest of this season, a victim of the 2009 economy and some East Coast logistics, team officials said last week.
But the owners of the New Jersey Revolution vowed to return to action next spring at their home field, the Mennen Sports Arena in Morris County, to play a full schedule of games against what they hope will be a full complement of regional opponents.
The Revolution had to bow out of the Continental Indoor Football League this season after most of the league's eastern teams folded, leaving the Revolution as the only remaining team in the Atlantic Division, with the nearest competitor in Wheeling, W.Va.
Team spokesman Kevin Hanratty said it would have been too costly for the low-budget franchise to play most of its away games in the Midwest.
As a result, skaters have taken back Mennen Arena from the football players and their fans on Saturday nights this spring.
The CIFL, which had 15 teams in 2008, downsized this season to an eight-team league, with franchises in suburbs of Chicago and Milwaukee, plus small cities in Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin and West Virginia.
"It would have been hard for them (the Revolution) and other teams if we just had the one eastern team," said CIFL operations director Kevin Keller, who stressed the Revolution could be invited back if there is expansion in future seasons.
The Revolution, which was in its fourth season, tried to play an independent schedule. It played three homes games on Saturday nights last month, blowout wins against the East Penn Sting, 77-18; New York State Broncos 62-0; and Lebanon Valley Cardinals 69-24. Paid crowds for two games in the 2,500-seat arena were not bad -- 800 and 700 -- while a third game drew just 300 paying customers.
But Hanratty said the April 25 game against Lebanon Valley had a total showing of 1,275 fans.
Revolution games, of course, have plenty of passing, running and tackling. But fans also have been entertained by the likes of the New Jersey Nets dancers, NJ Rev It Up Live Girls and the Morristown Madams roller derby team, and have gotten free T-shirts, key chains, footballs, sports drinks and gym passes.
"Sure, what's happened this year is disappointing," Hanratty said last week. "We were hoping to continue, get more people to come and see us. But in this economy, when giant car companies are in big trouble, it's not surprising minor league sports can run into trouble, too."
He noted the Arena Football League, with its national television contract, canceled its season due to the economy. That league recently reached an amended collective bargaining agreement with players and announced it hopes to relaunch the 23-year-old league in 2010.
The Revolution formed in 2006 as a New York-New Jersey franchise of the Great Lakes Indoor Football League, but played all of its games on the road. In the 2007 season, as part of the CIFL, the Revolution established a home base in Morris County, playing before crowds of about 400.
In the past two years, officials of the 4-year-old Revolution committed themselves to becoming a known entity in North Jersey. The team, owned by New York-based Champion Sports, and its players have been a presence at civic and charity events with a goal of creating a fan base to fill Mennen Arena for its games.
In addition, Champion Sports has started up two minor league Morris County professional basketball teams, which kicked off limited play last winter, and has plans to launch a North Jersey team in a mixed martial arts professional league that could compete from September through December. All of the teams come bearing a strong New Jersey identity.
The football team, billed in its first two years as the NY-NJ Revolution, dropped its split-state personality in 2008 and opted for a Garden State-only base. Its logo features a Colonial soldier wearing a tri-cornered hat and holding a New Jersey flag -- a state identity that New York resident Hanratty strongly pitches.
"We are a professional sports team bearing the name New Jersey and, unlike some other teams, proud of it," said Hanratty. "And I'll tell you this, New Jersey is not going to lose its football team. We're coming back next year and the year after and year after. We plan to succeed."