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Arena football: Copperheads say hello to Cy-Fair, Berry Center
New AFL team bids farewell to Katy, former moniker

By NEIL STRATTON
Houston Chronicle

On Tuesday, Katy officially said goodbye to its first-ever professional football team. At the same time, the Cy-Fair area welcomed one.

In a move that has been in the planning stages for weeks, the Katy Copperheads announced plans to relocate to the Richard E. Berry Educational Support Center, 8877 Barker-Cypress in Cypress. The Copperheads, who will now be known as the Texas Copperheads, played their first season in the Leonard E. Merrell Center at 6301 S. Stadium Lane in Katy.

They'll not only be changing venues and names, but also affiliations. After one year as part of the National Indoor Football League, the Copperheads will play the 2007 season as a member of the Arena Football League's minor league, the AF2.

Team owner and head coach Bryan Blake said stepping up to the AF2 is a welcome change.

"We moved leagues because the NIFL was a nightmare," Blake said. "(In the AFL), we get support from the league office, and they bring us up here (to Chicago, site of an offseason convention for AFL and AF2 owners and officials), and we have three days worth of seminars that teach us how to market and how to sell tickets. It's more than them just wanting us to pay a franchise fee and that's it. They want every team to succeed."

Blake's dissatisfaction with the NIFL came to a head when the team's second-round playoff game in Rapid City, N.D., became a logistical problem of seismic proportions. Due to a series of financial and travel difficulties that Blake said was the fault of the NIFL and the Rapid City franchise, the team was forced to make the 24-hour trip just over a day before kickoff in rented vehicles, then return in similar fashion.

The Copperheads fell 60-38 to the Flying Aces.

"They say the AFL is only as strong as their weakest team," Blake said. "It's the kind of support we didn't get in the NIFL. I mean, I'm not going to have to be concerned if a team we're supposed to play is going to show up on Saturday, or if we're going to score 100 points on a team because the competition's so bad."

He said the long-term health of his team depended on switching leagues.

"League stability, competition, there's a whole bunch of different reasons (for the move)," he said. "We want to be in a league that's been around for 20 years, and it's the premier indoor football league in the country."

He said he also wanted his team to spend more time in professional venues and less on the road.

"The travel (will be less) and our rivals close to us were also attractive," he said. "We have six teams in Texas, and our fans will be able to go to the road games if they want to. There's us, Corpus Christi, Laredo, Lubbock, Amarillo, and Rio Grande Valley, which I believe plays in Hidalgo. This is in close proximity to us, so we're not going to Rapid City twice or West Palm Beach.

"There's also teams in Bossier City, (La.); Tulsa, (Okla.); Oklahoma City, (Okla.) and Arkansas. Those are all teams basically in our region, all in states touching our state. It would probably even be closer to drive to Oklahoma than to Lubbock."

He said the move to the Berry Center was prompted not by cost or a dissatisfaction with the team's former home, but merely a question of dimensions.

"There was no way at all we could play (in the Merrell Center) because 180 (feet) was the max distance of the floor in the Merrell Center, and it has to be 196 feet in the AF2," he said. "You can change the width at the Merrell Center, but not the length beyond 180 feet. It's also wider. We were 80 feet wide last year, but we'll be 84-85 feet this year (in the Berry Center)."

Jim Chapman, General Manager of Facilites for the Merrell Center, said the move was expected.

"The AF2 came down here to visit our facility, their commissioner Jerry Kurz did, and my understanding is that they had a preference to be in the largest facility they could be in in this area, and the Berry Center is larger than we are," he said. "They are like 8,300 seats and we're about 5,200 when we set up in the same arrangement for the Copperheads, and so we're happy for them if they're moving up in the world."

He also didn't challenge Blake's assertion that the team would need a longer field to play by AF2 rules.

"That may be true," he said. "To be honest with you, I don't know, off the top of my head, the exact dimensions. They're probably bigger than we are, but our floor is 180 feet long and they may require a (bigger) end zone."

He said the loss of the Copperheads doesn't signal the end of professional sports in Katy. Chapman said any teams looking for a modern arena for professional competition would be welcome at the Merrell Center.

"In general, we're open to talk to anybody, really," he said. "Not just football, but any event."

All in all, Chapman said the Merrell Center is better for having had the Copperheads as its guest.

"I think the exposure was well worth it," he said of the team's one-year tenure in Katy. "We got a lot of people aware of the facility and the community certainly supported the team and rallied behind them way beyond my expectation level. The Katy area is a tight-knit society, so when there's something like that available, they're going to support it."

Chapman was careful to express that there are no hard feelings between the neighboring school districts.

"Because we're a school district and they are, we're not competing, and if we have a date that's already taken, or an event that better fits them, we'll recommend the Berry Center and vice versa," he said, "so we're certainly not in competition with them and we're happy to provide leads to them and vice versa."

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af2 expands by five teams for 2007

CHICAGO - The arenafootball2 Board of Directors approved applications for five new expansion af2 teams for 2007, the League office announced today, including four in Texas and one in Cincinnati. The teams are scheduled to begin play in April.

The five newcomers, coupled with the previously announced additions of the Boise Burn and Mahoning Valley Thunder, bring the total expansion class for 2007 to seven teams. The af2's current membership is now 28 teams.
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""We (af2) are excited to announce the addition of five new teams to the af2 family for 2007," said af2 President Jerry Kurz. "I have the utmost confidence in each operating group's commitment to run top-notch organizations both on and off the field for many years. I know the fans in each market will thoroughly enjoy the total entertainment experience of Arena Football."

A multiple-member limited liability corporation called Texas af2 Holdings, LLC, submitted the four applications for the Texas teams. Spearheading the Texas efforts was Doug MacGregor, President of the AFL's Austin Wranglers and member of the Texas af2 Holdings group. This group will take the lead in the formation of new teams in Corpus Christi, Katy, Laredo and Lubbock. Two of the four teams have names and infrastructure already in place. The Katy team will be called the Texas Copperheads and the team in Laredo will be known as the Laredo Lobos.

"In the 49 other states, it's just football, but this is Texas," said MacGregor. "These are great football towns who we think are an ideal fit for Arena Football. Each market also boasts fantastic facilities and strong communities, communities that will quickly fall in love with this unique brand of football."

The Cincinnati application was submitted by a limited liability corporation called CAF Holdings, LLC.

Further details on each of these new teams will be announced locally as they become available.

There is also the possibility for a final round of league expansion. Two more candidates still under consideration for 2007 will be voted on early next week.

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RED-HOT LOGO BURNS BRIGHT

October 26, 2006

BOISE, Idaho - The Boise Burn arenafootball2 team unveiled its logo and team colors today at a news conference at Qwest Arena. The logo depicts a snarling primordial fireball character clenching an af2 ball in its teeth. Trailing behind is a streak of flame as it forges ahead to victory, leaving vanquished opponents in its wake.

The artwork was designed by Lone Rock, a Salt Lake City-based design firm that has designed logos for numerous sports teams and branding campaigns for national corporations and small businesses.

The Burn will wear silver helmets with orange facemasks, and uniforms featuring the team colors of orange, silver and black.

Head Coach Lee Leslie says the new look fits the aggressive nature of the team he plans on putting on the field. "Our guys may not be spitting fire, but they’ll be fired up when they suit up in these uniforms, which portray the energy, strength and power of a raging fire."

The Burn will take the field in the spring of 2007 as one of six expansion teams in the indoor football league.

The name was announced on October 11th.

The Burn are accepting deposits for season tickets now. Season tickets range from $380 to $135 for Premier seats and $210 to $110 for Club seats for the eight-game home schedule. $50 deposits should be sent to the Boise Burn, 251 S. Capitol Boulevard, Boise, ID 83702. Or, call (208) 383-0080 for more information.

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IGNITION FOR THE BOISE BURN

October 26, 2006

BOISE, Idaho - The 2007 Boise Burn roster has begun to take shape, with the announcement today of the first four players to suit up with the arena football 2 team in the spring. Head Coach Lee Leslie announced his players at a news conference at the Burn’s home, Qwest Arena.

Three of the players are familiar to Boise football fans, having starred at Boise State University. Quarterback Bart Hendricks, running back Lee Marks and receiver Tim Gilligan all left their mark on the BSU record books, and Leslie expects them to do the same in af2.

"I said when I was hired that I was going to go after top Boise and in-state players," Leslie said. "In Bart, Lee and Tim, I’ve signed three outstanding talents who will energize the fans and bring a winning tradition and attitude to the Burn."

The fourth signee is former University of Utah kicker, Dan Beardall.

Hendricks (6’00",200 lbs), who holds three of the top 10 single-game total offense records in Boise State history, last played for the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League, and was on the roster of the 2003 Grey Cup Champions. He also played in NFL Europe for Frankfurt and was in the San Diego Chargers camp in 2001. He holds BSU’s all-time record for completions in a career. Hendricks came to BSU from Reno, Nevada.

Marks (5’7" 192 lbs), a California native, ranks 5th all-time on the Bronco list for average yards per carry at 5.5. He lettered all four years for the Broncos (2002-2005) and rushed for 1,889 in his BSU career. Marks started his Boise State career as a defensive back.

Gilligan (5’8" 170 lbs) also was a four-year letterman at Boise State (2000-03), and still holds the Bronco single-game record for catches (16 vs. Louisiana Tech) and the single-season receiving yard mark at 1,192 (67 catches). He came to BSU from Elko, Nevada.

In 2003, Gilligan was named to the All-Western Athletic Conference First Team. He had a free agent tryout with the Chicago Bears and New York Giants in 2004, and played in the CFL for the Montreal Alouettes in 2004-05.

Beardall (6’1" 193 lbs) was a Lou Groza Award semi-finalist and First Team All-Mountain West Conference kicker for the Utes last season. He led the nation with a 92.7 field goal percentage (17 of 19) and set the school record with 12 consecutive field goals. Beardall also played two seasons (2001-02) at Snow College in Utah averaging 42 yards per punt.

In addition, Coach Leslie will hold player tryouts on Saturday, October 28th from 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. with an early registration at 8:00 a.m. at Boise State University’s Caven-Williams Sports Complex. Online registration is available at www.boiseburn.com . The cost is $50 or $40 with an Idaho Drivers License. Lunch will be served.

Team dance instructor interviews will be conducted on October 30th. Resumes are being accepted by fax at (208) 383-0194 or by email: sconklin@qwestarenaidaho.com .

The Burn are also now accepting deposits for season tickets. Season tickets range from $380 to $135 for Premier seats and $210 to $110 for Club seats for the eight-game home schedule. $50 deposits should be sent to the Boise Burn, 251 S. Capitol Boulevard, Boise, ID 83702. Or, call (208) 383-0080 for more information.

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South Georgia unveils new logo

Courtesy: arenafootball2

Last night, the South Georgia Wildcats voted on a new team logo.  The Wildcats held a ‘Meet the Coach’ Cocktail Reception for all season ticket holders and sponsors, and all present were able to vote and help choose the new logo.

The Wildcats will stick with the same team colors of royal blue and silver, but the new logo has a more updated look, featuring a ‘cat-scratch’ that forms the letter W.

General Manager Darren McPhail says that “this new look for the team symbolizes the changes the Wildcats are making throughout the organization.  The fans and the city of Albany deserve a winning product on the field.  This is only one step in a long process to revamp the South Georgia Wildcats.”

Fans were also given the opportunity to meet the Wildcats new Head Coach Derek Stingley.  “I’m looking forward to the upcoming season,” said Stingley.  “My staff is already off and running.  We’re all very excited.”

The Wildcats 2007 schedule has not yet been set by the league, but will be announced within the coming months.

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