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Post by 50yardfan on Jun 24, 2010 21:39:10 GMT -5
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Post by 50yardfan on Jun 25, 2010 11:16:27 GMT -5
www.cantonrep.com/stark/x1237302792/Canton-getting-new-arena-football-team-for-2011Arena football is returning to Memorial Civic Center, but it’s not the Legends.
The Ultimate Indoor Football League announced Thursday that the Canton Cougars will be part of the group’s inaugural season when the league kicks off next year.
Andrew Haines of Jackson Township and Florida resident Michael Taylor are co-founders of the UIFL and co-owners of the Cougars. The pair hope to have “six to 10 teams” for the 2011 season. Other cities already announced are Johnstown, Pa.; Huntington, W.Va.; Highland Heights, Ky.; and Pikeville, Ky.
Haines, who owned the Canton Legends in 2005 before selling the team to Joe Hoffman, said the UIFL will learn from the mistakes his leagues made. Teams will have a salary cap for both players and coaches to keep costs down. He also hopes lower league fees and lower ticket prices will keep owners and fans interested.
Taylor said single-game admission will range from $7 to $25 with season tickets starting at $35. A schedule will be announced in November with games starting in February.
“Our business model is different than before,” Haines said. “With the (Atlantic Indoor Football League), the budgets were $300,000 to $500,000 per team. That was too high to sustain. Sometimes, you learn the hard way on things.”
Haines founded the AIFL in 2005. That league folded in 2006 and reformed as the American Indoor Football Association. Haines also founded the Mid-Atlantic Hockey League in 2007. That five-team league suspended operations in February 2008. Haines sold the league six months later, but play never resumed.
City Service Director Warren Price said the city agreed to a license with the UIFL based on talks with SMG, which manages the Civic Center. No city money or tax breaks are being offered to the Cougars or to the UIFL, which also bases its league offices in the Civic Center.
Price said there is nothing in the agreement with the Cougars that excludes the Legends from returning, but “I assume with a city our size, we probably have the capacity at the Civic Center for one arena league team.”
Hoffman maintains Legends offices in the Civic Center but has not fielded a team since 2008. A message left for Hoffman was not returned.
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Post by exit322 on Jun 25, 2010 22:17:26 GMT -5
The Rep did a decent job with that article. Thought they had some other opportunities of softballs to start saying "yeah, but" on everything Haines did with that team (I'm pretty sure there are still pre-Hoffman unpaid bills regarding the Legends).
I'll eagerly await this thing to blow up nicely.
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Post by 50yardfan on Jun 27, 2010 23:49:56 GMT -5
Facebook - Team names for Huntington, and Johnstown will be announced in mid to late July. Pikeville and Northern KY are expected to be announced in late July or early August.
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Post by 50yardfan on Jul 6, 2010 21:05:29 GMT -5
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Post by 50yardfan on Jul 6, 2010 22:45:01 GMT -5
Ultimate Indoor Football League - Thoughts on a neutral site championship game for the 2011 season...with an all-star game played earlier in the day or same weekend.
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Post by 50yardfan on Jul 6, 2010 23:09:47 GMT -5
Ultimate Indoor Football League - The Canton Cougars will be holding a press conference on Wednesday July 14th to announce the Head Coach, Front Office Staff, Sponsors, Ticket Prices, and more.
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Post by 50yardfan on Jul 7, 2010 21:46:10 GMT -5
CANTON , Ohio (July 7, 2010) – The Ultimate Indoor Football League announced today that is has retained the services of veteran indoor football publicist Dan Ryan as a communications consultant effective immediately.
“We’re very pleased that someone with Dan’s credentials, credibility and experience was available,” said UIFL co-founder Michael Taylor. “He’ll play an instrumental role in getting our PR efforts launched in our inaugural season.”
Ryan, 44, has served as the Director of Communications for the American Indoor Football League, World Indoor Football League and Southern Indoor Football League as well as handling team duties in Daytona Beach ( Fla. ), Frisco ( Tex. ) and Orem ( Utah ).
“Glad to see someone appreciates what I can do for them and I still believe in my communications plan. I’m also intrigued about what that fan advisory board can do with proper guidance. Ryan said.
“The reality is that the communication effort in the entire sport sucks, and I do mean everyone, because no one is committing enough resources and there is no plan,” Ryan added “We’ll make due with the resources we have and we do have a plan.”
The UIFL will begin play in early 2011 and will be announcing teams during the next few weeks.
For more information about the UIFL visit www.theuifl.com or call (877) 500-UIFL.
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Post by 50yardfan on Jul 15, 2010 0:17:25 GMT -5
www.cantonrep.com/newsnow/x680546046/Rashan-Hall-to-coach-Canton-Cougars-indoor-football-teamJACKSON TWP. — Sponsors. City officials. Coaches. Mascots. Oh, my.
The Canton Cougars and the Ultimate Indoor Football League got off to a roaring start Wednesday.
Cougars owner and UIFL co-founder Andrew Haines kicked off his team’s preseason push with a morning press conference at Terry’s Tire Town at Fulton Drive and Everhard Road.
Haines’ team will play at Canton Memorial Civic Center but was quick to say the Cougars and the UIFL are a different beast from the Canton Legends and the American Indoor Football Association he created in 2005 then sold a year later.
“If you talked to anyone who ever went to a game, everyone had a blast,” Haines said. “The difficulty is getting them to come to more than one game. To buy season tickets. What was the incentive? To save a little money.”
The team is offering a VIP Club card that will be tied into the Cougars’ sponsors and products. Haines introduced eight sponsors — Terry’s Tire Town, LaQuinta Inn & Suites, Chick-fil-A, Lightspeed Technologies, City Center Fitness, Winsome Builders, Resurrection Lawncare and Traction — that have joined the Cougars.
Haines said the Cougars will offer lower single-game ticket prices than Canton fans have paid in the past, including $7 seats. There is a league-wide marketing strategy, lower league dues for franchises, salary caps for players and coaches and reduced travel for teams — all designed as primary cost savers.
A buy one-get one deal on season tickets is being offered through Aug. 15. Season packages start at $35 for the team that plans to open in February 2011, with home games at the Civic Center.
“Rebranding, it’s going to be a process for us,” Haines said. “It’s not going to be overnight. I’m asking the fans to give us a chance. Keep an open mind.
“We didn’t have the stuff we have now — the marketing materials, the sponsorship support — this quickly (with the Legends). These are good signs.
“But it’s a long process to restore credibility.”
To that end, Haines announced that former McKinley Bulldog and Canton Legends player and coach Rashan Hall is the Cougars’ head coach. Haines also furthered his cause by handing Geoff Tompkins, the Civic Center director of event services, a check covering rent for the team’s games for the upcoming season.
“The appetite for football around here is 365 days a year,” Tompkins said.
Robert Torres, Canton’s director of economic and community development, said he’s been impressed with what Haines has done to date.
“As a business model, with all the sponsors he’s brought in, he is ahead of schedule,” Torres said. “He is already paying for the lease of space at the Civic Center, so I think he’s shown a commitment right off the bat to having a team next season.”
The UIFL currently has four franchises in addition to Canton: Johnstown (Pa.), Huntington (W.Va.), Highland Heights (Ky.) and Pikeville (Ky.). Haines said those teams, and possibly more, will comprise a northern division. He said a southern division is in the works
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Post by 50yardfan on Jul 16, 2010 18:30:24 GMT -5
The Huntington team will be holding a press conference on Monday July 19th @ the Big Sandy Superstore Arena at 1pm to Announce the Team Name, Logo, Ownership, and Coaching Staff
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