Chicagoist: Arena Football League Suspending '09 Season

garlic

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 11:46:41 -0600

Chicago Force

Stealth

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 16:12:52 -0600

Chicago Slaughter

Von Erich

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 15:13:43 -0600

What were the Bruisers a part of back in the day? Didn't we have another arena football team in there somewhere? If arena football is considered a farm system for the NFL, then no wonder why it failed. What about the Schaumburg Flyers? Are they feeling this trendy economic bite?

UTV

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 13:59:20 -0600

I would imagine this is why the MLS is shit-scared of raising salaries. I too doubt that the league will come back - it just seems like the smart money is on it not.

Slaphappy

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 11:23:53 -0600

Yet another example of a league biting off more than it could chew. The league lost a lot of its charm for me when the franchises in Albany and Iowa moved away -- those were stable franchises with rabid fan bases, gone in search of more money. I'll be very surprised if the league comes back in 2010.

Tannerman

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 10:45:53 -0600

Chicago averaged about 15,800 last season, which was the 3rd highest in the league. You can see all attendance numbers here: http://www.arenafan.com/history/?page=yearly&fpage=attendance&league=1 Away attendance varied because of size of stadium. For example, Grand Rapids' stadium only holds about 9-10,000 vs. the Allstate Arena which can hold about 16-17,000 Everyone associates the Rush with Ditka, but the team actually played for many years without him. He was brought on as a partner (no one ever says what percentage he owns, but my gut is very small) I believe primarily for marketing reasons... which has helped. But the core of the operations are run by a group of 3 other owners. This is in contrast to many other teams in the league which have heavy NFL ownership/involvement, such as Colorado, Dallas, New Orleans (which folded a few months ago), etc.

dopplerd

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 10:38:16 -0600

Tannerman: What was attendance like at the games? Was it the same home and away? Thanks.

Tannerman

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 09:54:31 -0600

The Shamrox folded in the last couple weeks. I've attended pretty much every Rush game in the past 7 years (and many away games), so it's sad not to see this tradition continue into 2009. On the flipside, stuff at the AFL league level was pretty messed up, and as much as I hate the NFL influence on the league, something needed to give. My hopes aren't high that we'll see a season in 2010, but the Rush have a solid ownership group and from what I've been able to tell, had a decent business model. It would be good to see them return in some form.

Von Erich

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 09:49:43 -0600

Too bad. Arena Football is pretty intense. How long is the Shamrock Lacrosse team going to last out of the Sears Centre?

Ward Committeeman

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 09:27:50 -0600

Boo Hoo. What is Jon Bon Jovi going to do now with his Philly team. I cannot stand that guy. Rich guy you know what

I_h8_toyota_and_BT

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 09:09:50 -0600

that sucks ass. i never even got to see an AFL game, and now it's no more.