Post by fwp on Jan 8, 2010 16:45:28 GMT -5
www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2010/jan/08/venom-zeroing-in-on-sportsplex-for-their-indoor/
WENATCHEE — The Wenatchee Valley Venom, the region’s expansion indoor football team, will play its games at the Town Toyota Center beginning in late March but have a second home for practices.
The Venom, which begins play in the American Indoor Football League for the 2010 season, will work out primarily at the Wenatchee Valley SportsPlex at the foot of Fifth Street, but will also occasionally practice in the arena when space is available.
Team owner and general manager Mark Helm said Tuesday that purchasing a year-old turf from the SportsPlex was the final hurdle in securing the space, which is also the home base for the Wenatchee Fire soccer organization.
“The turf will be laid down next month, and we’ll be ready to go,” said Helm. “We’ve got everything worked out with the SportsPlex.”
Helm said that the idea of practicing at the Town Toyota Center full-time was explored, but said that the team would only practice in the arena on days after games when the space isn’t being used for another event.
“We’ll already have the turf laid down for the game, and if there’s nothing going on, we might stay there,” he said.
Wenatchee accountant Frank Kuntz, another one of the team’s owners, added that the team will likely only practice two days per week during the regular season.
“We’ll have games on Saturdays, be off on Sundays, watch film Mondays, practice Tuesdays and Wednesdays and travel on Thursdays and Fridays,” Kuntz said.
The SportsPlex will be the home for the Venom’s preseason training camp, slated to begin in late February.
“We’re happy to be the official training facility of the Wenatchee Valley Venom,” said Albert Rookard, president and CEO of CORA Sports, the company that operates the SportsPlex. “It’s our understanding that the team will practice in the SportsPlex as far as April, but might move outside after that.”
Elsewhere, Helm said that the team is still anxiously awaiting its final game schedule from the AIFA.
He said the late addition of two expansion franchises to the league has held up the formation of the schedule.
The dissolution of the Arena Football League and the af2, a league made up of smaller-market teams, and subsequent formation of Arena Football One, have sent indoor football teams across the country scrambling for homes.
Helm said the scheduling uncertainty hasn’t hindered season ticket sales.
“We’ve already sold around 600-700 full-season ticket packages, and that doesn’t include the three and four-game packages we sold over the holidays,” he said.
The Venom have added Wenatchee resident Kyle Skalisky as a ninth owner, and Skalisky will begin handling a lot of the daily duties formerly held by Kuntz, mostly dealing with the business aspects of running the team.
“With tax season coming up, I felt that it was time for me to step back a little,” Kuntz said. “Kyle will be great for the franchise.”
WENATCHEE — The Wenatchee Valley Venom, the region’s expansion indoor football team, will play its games at the Town Toyota Center beginning in late March but have a second home for practices.
The Venom, which begins play in the American Indoor Football League for the 2010 season, will work out primarily at the Wenatchee Valley SportsPlex at the foot of Fifth Street, but will also occasionally practice in the arena when space is available.
Team owner and general manager Mark Helm said Tuesday that purchasing a year-old turf from the SportsPlex was the final hurdle in securing the space, which is also the home base for the Wenatchee Fire soccer organization.
“The turf will be laid down next month, and we’ll be ready to go,” said Helm. “We’ve got everything worked out with the SportsPlex.”
Helm said that the idea of practicing at the Town Toyota Center full-time was explored, but said that the team would only practice in the arena on days after games when the space isn’t being used for another event.
“We’ll already have the turf laid down for the game, and if there’s nothing going on, we might stay there,” he said.
Wenatchee accountant Frank Kuntz, another one of the team’s owners, added that the team will likely only practice two days per week during the regular season.
“We’ll have games on Saturdays, be off on Sundays, watch film Mondays, practice Tuesdays and Wednesdays and travel on Thursdays and Fridays,” Kuntz said.
The SportsPlex will be the home for the Venom’s preseason training camp, slated to begin in late February.
“We’re happy to be the official training facility of the Wenatchee Valley Venom,” said Albert Rookard, president and CEO of CORA Sports, the company that operates the SportsPlex. “It’s our understanding that the team will practice in the SportsPlex as far as April, but might move outside after that.”
Elsewhere, Helm said that the team is still anxiously awaiting its final game schedule from the AIFA.
He said the late addition of two expansion franchises to the league has held up the formation of the schedule.
The dissolution of the Arena Football League and the af2, a league made up of smaller-market teams, and subsequent formation of Arena Football One, have sent indoor football teams across the country scrambling for homes.
Helm said the scheduling uncertainty hasn’t hindered season ticket sales.
“We’ve already sold around 600-700 full-season ticket packages, and that doesn’t include the three and four-game packages we sold over the holidays,” he said.
The Venom have added Wenatchee resident Kyle Skalisky as a ninth owner, and Skalisky will begin handling a lot of the daily duties formerly held by Kuntz, mostly dealing with the business aspects of running the team.
“With tax season coming up, I felt that it was time for me to step back a little,” Kuntz said. “Kyle will be great for the franchise.”