Post by fwp on Mar 26, 2010 12:36:43 GMT -5
www.tri-cityherald.com/2010/03/26/953474/sellout-in-doubt-for-fever-home.html
KENNEWICK -- Teri Carr isn't sure what to expect when the Tri-Cities Fever plays the Kent Predators in the Fever's home opener Saturday night.
The Indoor Football League game kicks off at 7:05 p.m.
But as far as ticket sales?
"I haven't even checked this morning," she said. "I've walked in the door and it's been crazy all day. Do I think we sell out? No."
Carr and her husband, J.R. Carr, came back in the offseason to purchase a part of the team from Texan Doug MacGregor, and Teri is running the day-to-day operations.
Back in 2005, it was the Carrs and Randy Schillinger -- Teri's father -- who helped get the Fever started. That first season, the Fever won the National Indoor Football League title.
Two years later, the Carrs sold the team to MacGregor. But three seasons of struggling in the defunct arenafootballeague2 had MacGregor looking at folding the franchise unless somebody local stepped in.
Re-enter the Carrs.
Teri and her staff have been trying to mend the fences with fans from the previous few seasons, making personal phone calls to season ticket-holders.
"We've been running into places where people thought the team went away," she said. "That has been our biggest struggle this year, overcoming that adversity -- both on the field and off the field."
Though a number of season ticket-holders from last season did not renew, something interesting has happened.
"The amazing thing is that a number of 2005 and 2006 season ticket-holders have come back," she said.
She couldn't quote any exact numbers, but Carr said season ticket sales are ahead of last year.
The new coach, Adam Shackleford, comes to the team after leading the Spokane Shock to the af2's Arena Cup title last season.
"Adam is great," Carr said. "There is no doubt in anybody's mind that Adam knows football. As a person, he's one of the most likeable men you'd ever want to ever meet."
Injury update: Shackleford said that linebackers Derek Nicholson and Jo Artis Ratti, both of whom went down with knee injuries in the team's 64-50 loss to Billings on March 14, will be game-time decisions Saturday as to whether they play.
"They both had MRIs and they came up positive," Shackleford said. "We can wait to see an hour before kickoff."
A win to be had: Saturday's game will pit two teams with a combined 0-5 record -- the Fever at 0-2, the Predators at 0-3.
"Kent is a much better team than its record reflects," Shackleford said. "The defensive line is good, if not better, than we've seen."
The key for the Fever "is our running attack. We need to keep our defense off the field a bit," said Shackleford.
The Fever coach said Kent running back Tyson Thompson -- who was a kickoff returner for the Dallas Cowboys in 2005 -- is something special to watch.
"He leads the league in kickoff returns," said Shackleford. "He's worth the price of admission alone."
Not Dunn yet: Former Fever running back Jarvis Dunn is on the Predators roster, although "I heard rumors that he quit," said Carr. "He's still on their 30-man roster."
On the Fever franchise's very first competitive play back in 2005, Dunn took the opening kickoff back 52 yards for a touchdown against the Corpus Christi Hammerheads.
KENNEWICK -- Teri Carr isn't sure what to expect when the Tri-Cities Fever plays the Kent Predators in the Fever's home opener Saturday night.
The Indoor Football League game kicks off at 7:05 p.m.
But as far as ticket sales?
"I haven't even checked this morning," she said. "I've walked in the door and it's been crazy all day. Do I think we sell out? No."
Carr and her husband, J.R. Carr, came back in the offseason to purchase a part of the team from Texan Doug MacGregor, and Teri is running the day-to-day operations.
Back in 2005, it was the Carrs and Randy Schillinger -- Teri's father -- who helped get the Fever started. That first season, the Fever won the National Indoor Football League title.
Two years later, the Carrs sold the team to MacGregor. But three seasons of struggling in the defunct arenafootballeague2 had MacGregor looking at folding the franchise unless somebody local stepped in.
Re-enter the Carrs.
Teri and her staff have been trying to mend the fences with fans from the previous few seasons, making personal phone calls to season ticket-holders.
"We've been running into places where people thought the team went away," she said. "That has been our biggest struggle this year, overcoming that adversity -- both on the field and off the field."
Though a number of season ticket-holders from last season did not renew, something interesting has happened.
"The amazing thing is that a number of 2005 and 2006 season ticket-holders have come back," she said.
She couldn't quote any exact numbers, but Carr said season ticket sales are ahead of last year.
The new coach, Adam Shackleford, comes to the team after leading the Spokane Shock to the af2's Arena Cup title last season.
"Adam is great," Carr said. "There is no doubt in anybody's mind that Adam knows football. As a person, he's one of the most likeable men you'd ever want to ever meet."
Injury update: Shackleford said that linebackers Derek Nicholson and Jo Artis Ratti, both of whom went down with knee injuries in the team's 64-50 loss to Billings on March 14, will be game-time decisions Saturday as to whether they play.
"They both had MRIs and they came up positive," Shackleford said. "We can wait to see an hour before kickoff."
A win to be had: Saturday's game will pit two teams with a combined 0-5 record -- the Fever at 0-2, the Predators at 0-3.
"Kent is a much better team than its record reflects," Shackleford said. "The defensive line is good, if not better, than we've seen."
The key for the Fever "is our running attack. We need to keep our defense off the field a bit," said Shackleford.
The Fever coach said Kent running back Tyson Thompson -- who was a kickoff returner for the Dallas Cowboys in 2005 -- is something special to watch.
"He leads the league in kickoff returns," said Shackleford. "He's worth the price of admission alone."
Not Dunn yet: Former Fever running back Jarvis Dunn is on the Predators roster, although "I heard rumors that he quit," said Carr. "He's still on their 30-man roster."
On the Fever franchise's very first competitive play back in 2005, Dunn took the opening kickoff back 52 yards for a touchdown against the Corpus Christi Hammerheads.