The Sweet Bye and Bye
Charliy Nash
Sunday July 22, 2001
In part because of an agreement principal owner Mark Bloom made when Paine Webber bought J.C. Bradford, he needs to sell the team. Despite the Kats’ success on the field and at the turnstiles the team still loses a considerable amount of money each year, largely because of a lease agreement that gives nearly all then non-ticket revenue streams to the NHL Nashville Predators. Bud Adams, owner of the NFL Tennessee Titans, is interested in buying the team, but not with the present lease arrangement. Some newspaper reports have indicated that Adams would prefer to renovate the older Municipal Auditorium, which is currently too small for Arena Football, or to build a new facility. Neither of these options could happen quickly enough to allow the Kats to play in the new or improved home next season. This has raised the possibility that the Kats could leave Nashville, with Adams bringing in another AFL team once a facility is ready.
The league definitely wants to keep a presence in Music City. “I think our main priority is to keep Arena Football in Nashville,” said Commissioner David Baker, “You’ve got a great fan base here.”
Local television station WSMV reported this week that the Nashville Metro government agreed to lower the rent the Kats pay per game from $9000 to $3500. This should make the team more attractive to a potential buyer, but is not enough on its own to make the team profitable.
One fact that all the articles I’ve seen on the subject overlook is the impact of the NFL on sponsorship, broadcast, and advertising revenues. The league is aggressively pursuing advertisers that sponsored XFL games. Once the NFL stamp is placed on the AFL, sponsors are likely to start flocking to the league and to teams. Companies that are unable to afford NFL sponsorships, but had little interest in the Arena League, should find the lure of NFL Indoor (or maybe AreNFL?) irresistible.
There could be a slight downside to this. I can hear PA Announcer Chip Hoback now:
“Jones catches the ball at the Midstate Ford midfield line, he’s at the LensCrafters’ 20/20 yard line, the Perfect Tan 10 yard line, and into the Auto Zone End Zone!” I think I could put up with that.
Vote Now
A poll is running now on Katsfan.com to select the Kats’ 2001 Most Valuable Player. This poll runs through Wednesday, when it will be replaced by a poll for Rookie of the Year.
More From the Big Guy
Many people see AFL Commissioner Baker and assume that he must have been a football player, probably a lineman. “Actually, I was a basketball player about 100 pounds ago,” joked Baker, “And from there led to being a lawyer, like my counterpart [NFL Commissioner] Paul Tagliabue, who was both a basketball player and a lawyer. Somehow we both got in charge of all these football players.” After playing college ball at the University of California Irvine, Baker played in Europe with Athletes in Action. He has two sons who are football players. “My oldest son just got a scholarship and will be going to Duke. My oldest one is about 6’7” 310 [pounds]. My youngest one is about 6’5” 285, and he’s only 15.”
In The Beginning
I recently asked Tampa Bay Storm Head Coach Tim Marcum how he originally became involved in Arena Football. “I was selling used cars in Phoenix, Arizona when the USFL folded,” he explained, “A guy named Mouse Davis called me and said ‘Do you want to coach Arena Football?’ and I said ‘Arena what?’ and that was in 1987. Certainly I’ve enjoyed the involvement I’ve had with the league.” Marcum has seen the league evolve from a curiosity to a more competitive league. “We’re able to compete now with the Canadian Football League for guys that are not in the NFL.”
Charliy Nash has covered both incarnations of the Nashville Kats, and now has make the 2 hour drive to Huntsville for an Arena Football fix. He also covers the Tennessee Titans as a blogger for nfl.com and still hopes this will eventually lead to a paying gig.
